Italy Update

Ok-this is probably about the 10th time I have attempted to post an update with pictures and something keeps happening and the post gets lost. So, this probably is a much different update than I originally had and I will work on putting more up throughout the week. I spent the week helping teach a beginner level English Club. I wouldn't say that I love teaching English........it actually stirs up my insecurities. I struggled most of the week feeling very weak and inadequate and that I wasn't doing enough. I really had to battle satan's lies. I am so glad that God uses weak people and that His power is made perfect in weakness.

The smiles on the students faces made it so worth it. They were so humble. Aida, who is 12 years old was especially eager and excited to learn English. Elia was so hungry for new words. We had an outreach party one night and I pretty much spent the entire evening talking with him and teaching him new words. He doesn't think that he does a good job but he does so well and is a quick learner.

Elia encouraged our team so much. He got saved a month ago and is already growing so much in his faith. He has such a hunger for God's word and wants to read it all night long. He desires to put God above everything in his life. When I got back home to the States I was so encouraged to receive an e-mail from him with a video of his baptism. This was bittersweet for me........I was so happy for him but also sad that Jenni & I weren't there to witness it. We could only stay for a week and the rest of the team was there for 2 weeks.

God always does a bigger work in my life than the work that I go there to do. He really worked on my relationship with Him and the importance of spending time with Him everyday and being in His Word. Not only is the Bible His love letter to us but it is spiritual food and weaponry. We are truly useless if we are not getting in the Word. I felt this pressure for days that I was only there for a week and I had to share the gospel with someone and that when I get home people are going to want to hear stories and I better have a good one for them. That was a big lie from satan and it took a while for me to squash it.

You know what.......I didn't get to shared the gospel or my testimony.............but what I did do was share my smile......my laughter.....my warm spirit........I got to meet a need in their lives. I went and did just what God sent me to do. I taught English to the Italians that were hungry to learn. I encouraged them and the staff in our church there. I got to hug them and talk with them. I did exactly what God sent me to do.

Pastor Frank often shared with us that what we were doing was so important and significant. He would say that we may not see results of people being saved right away. It's a process and can sometimes take years. It's about building relationships. One girl named Carmen who is part of the church there now told us about how she went to English Clubs and it wasn't until a year or so after that she got saved. It reminded me how one person sows the seed and another one comes along and waters the seed......and then another comes along and reaps it. I thank God that He is the Lord of the harvest and that He sees fit to use little ole me to help carry the message of the gospel and the love of Jesus Christ.....what an honor!!!

My eyes were opened up so much on this trip. I was so overwhelmed with the thought of how many people there are in this world and how many of them don't know Jesus Christ. I was overwhelmed with the great need for more workers in God's harvest and the reality of how few there really are. I pray and ask God to send out more workers into His harvest and that I will never lose passion for missions. I also saw my heart more clearly in that it isn't just for one specific people group.....it is for all people. I pray that all nations come to know Him.

AMEN!!!

New Friends

Paul-Romania
Elia-Italy
Maria-Romania
Aida (Paul's sister)-Romania
Alessandro-Italy

Italy Bound!

Tomorrow I leave for my short term mission trip to Torino, Italy. I am so excited about our team. Jenni (pictured above with me) and I who work in the GCM office and two girls from Missouri are going with a team from Texas. Some of our team will be doing English Club outreach and some will be doing Muslim outreach. I am excited to be doing English Club outreach. Jenni & I are partners and we will be teaching Beginners. I have never taught beginners before on past mission trips but I've had many cool times just hanging out and talking with beginners during free time. I love them! My heart melts for them! I feel like I have a natural ability to slow things down for them, patience in listening and understanding them and I just plain ole love to encourage them.

I think this trip will be good for me in a lot of ways. One way in particular is that this will be the first time in 3 years that I will not be returning to Poland. I love Poland so much and have had such awesome experiences there and been so blessed by God on my mission trips there. I had prayed for 3 years about moving to Poland to be a missionary but this year the Lord told me that it's not in my long term plans. I grieved that for a while and I am really OK with it now. God has given me great peace about it and has also opened up some pretty huge doors to other great things in my life.

When the opportunity came about to go to Italy, I was really struck with this thought that was so overwhelming......... "You know what, God loves us so much and desires for people everywhere, of all nations, tribes and tongues to have a relationship with Himself through His son Jesus Christ." I want that to be so fresh in my mind every single day for as long as I live. Jesus is the Living Hope. I have that Living Hope in my life. I want to share this with others. I can no longer possibly even imagine living this life without God. I am so glad He came to save me. I am so glad He came to love me and set me free.

Here are some facts about the city of Torino:
* Torino is the fourth largest city in Italy with its population nearing 2.2 million, of which 94,000 are students at the University of Torino.
* Although Italy has a rich Christian history, sadly many Italians have abandoned their country’s foundational Christian roots. For many Italians, the Bible has become obsolete and irrelevant.
* Cults and occultism have engulfed their society, making Torino the second largest center for occult activities in the entire world.
* By trying to fill their spiritual void with materialism and sensuality, many Italian families have been severely damaged or completely torn apart.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to go and be a light to Italian students who:
* Are agnostics or atheists and disillusioned with organized religion.
* Come from dysfunctional families where parents provide little moral or emotional guidance.
* Are convinced truth is relative.
* Believe friendships are important, but rarely experience close relationships.

Over the years I have asked God to help me to love people more like Jesus loved them. Although I am a very loving person, I realize how hard it is for me to love like Jesus loved. His love for us took Him to the cross where He took our rightful place and bore our sins upon Himself and died so that we might have life eternally with the Father. This was His greatest act of love. I want people everywhere to know how much God loves them. “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?” (Romans 10:13-15)

Please join me in praying that God would be preparing the hearts of those in Italy that we’ll encounter, that their ears would be open to hearing the Word of God and their eyes would see Jesus-The Way, The Truth and The Life! One thing that I am specifically praying for is that God would bring some girls my way that are very broken. I have such a heart for broken people whose lives have been ravaged by numerous things, whether it be by abuse, addictions, loss, etc. I have experienced God's miraculous love, healing, forgiveness, hope and restoration in my own life and would love to share with them that Jesus loves them and hears them. His heart and my heart breaks for them. I want them to know that just as Jesus restored and redeemed my life that He can do the same for them.

Please pray for our whole team, for fun and sucessful English Clubs and Muslim outreach, team unity, that we would be an encouragement to the missionaries laboring in Torino, safe travel and good health, awesome connecting times with students, boldness in sharing the gospel, salvations and that God would do a mighty work in us and through us. One thing that I am praying for myself is that God would accomplish in me whatever He wants to accomplish. I am praying that He does something new in my life and renews me.

I pray that His will be done, Amen!

Family Reunion

I went up to Massachusetts over Memorial Day weekend for a family reunion on my mom's side and to visit some friends. It was a really good yet short visit. It was cool to see so many relatives, many of which I didn't know and had never seen before. I was amazed at how many people in my family are either musicians, singers or both. So I think I get my musical sense from both my mom's & dad's family. Music and singing is just in my blood. You know I had hyped up this trip a lot and really prayed for opportunities to share my life and the gospel with my family and friends. And you know...none of that happened...there wasn't even any real spiritual conversations.

One really cool thing was that my cousin Rainelle (Melissa's mom) looked really good and happy. I commented on how good she looked and she said that "It must be my new boyfriend, Jesus." :-) That was so cool to hear. She got saved just a few months ago. So....I was thinking that it's OK that nothing spiritually big happened on my visit.....things like that aren't always going to happen and that's OK...it's building. I had a great time in Boston with Mike & Melissa and seeing where I'll be living.....I felt like I got more clarity on things.....Melissa and I had a good time with Jen and her kids and with Roy. Building is good......there's nothing wrong with building....you have to start somewhere.

Some pictures from my Family Reunion in Massachusetts

My niece Mercedes with cousin Jessica

My cousin Melissa with our friend Roy
My mom with Aunt Gail
My cousin Rainelle, my mom and my cousin Melanie
My friend Jen and her daughter Madison