Look what He has done.

I dont think there are words to adequately thank all of you who are supporting us here in Italy. And by us I of course mean Eric, myself, this Bible School, and the individual workers who are a part of this program. so for a lack of a more profound sentiment, from the bottom of our hearts, T H A N K  Y O U.

i am amazed daily by the opportunities that surround us here, but even more so, i am amazed at the One who brought all of here. HE is HOLY and MIGHTY and perfect in every way, and its His plan thats being carried out. we literally have not stopped moving since we arrived 22 days ago, but in the midst of all of the movement, i am in awe of His presence among us.

let me illustrate one example of this.

we hadnt been in Italy a week yet, and we were already visiting the ER. first let me preface this by saying that we are all ok! Jodi and i were walking the girls ( *i know they are technically dogs, but they are our girls nonetheless, so go with me on this...) around the block, when all of the sudden Jodi was face flat on the ground! she had stumbled over a huge pothole in the road! it was like a movie scene, all of the neighbors came out of their houses and two of them helped Jodi up, as I was tangled up with the girls and was at the same time trying to stop the traffic flying around the corner.

Jodi and Eric in the ER.

Once Jodi got to her feet, we called Eric and Giacomo to come and get us. We were unsure whether or not Jodi's ankle was broken, so we decided to visit the ER conveniently located right across the street from the Bible school .. .. . .  7 hours later, we were waiting to hear the results of her xray, when I was trying to explain some italian to Jodi and I couldnt remember if what I was explaining was grammatically correct or not. I turned to the woman beside us, named Cecilia, and asked her if i was saying it right. Cecilia was happy to oblige and gave me a quick brush up on my now restrained italian. one thing led to another and turns out she loves learning english! we exchanged #'s and Jodi had her first lesson with Cecilia last week!

2 more hours later, we were saying goodbye to Cecilia and I was wheeling Jodi to check out of the ER. just as we were exiting, we met Margot. Margot is now my student. Last week was our first lesson, and it was one I will never forget. She showed up at the Bible school and before we could even begin our lesson, she began to cry and she told me that she felt like our meeting was from God. She continued to tell me that she felt like meeting Jodi and I was a perfect opportunity to begin to open herself again to the Lord! We talked for the next 2 hours about her faith and about trusting the Lord- which just happened to be the theme of our first lesson!!

I hope this meeting with Margot and Cecilia helps connect the dots of why we are here, what we witness on a daily basis, and why we are so grateful to all of you for partnering with us in this work!

O U R  A R R I V A L

As most of you know, this time around, we took our girls with us. this meant a little different flight plan. my parents were kind enough to drive us to fly out of detroit so that the girls could fly on board in the cabin with us directly to rome. from rome we had a flight booked onto florence, but we knew ahead of time that we wouldnt be taking it, bc the plane would be too small to allow the girls to fly with us in the cabin. to our surprise, (although, not really, bc every time we fly through rome, something to this effect happens) our luggage was no where to be found. After speaking with the help desk, we learned that ALITALIA had sent our luggage on to the florence flight thinking we too would be on board (although in detroit, they assured us we would have to personally recheck our bags for that flight). After another 2 hours, ALITALIA did recover our bags, and we did get them! Another 1.5 hours later, we had the keys to our rental car and were on our way to florence!

the purple ones were marie and minnie's carriers for our flight.

they were so exhausted!

Eric enjoying his pizza at Gallo's.

First order of business after arriving from Rome was to EAT! 

S T A R T I N G  F R E S H.

Our first week at the Bible School was spent getting somewhat settled in, but even before settling in, we had a meeting to lay a F O U N D A T I O N  with our workers! :) During our time in Ohio while we were waiting on our visas, we drew up a new Avanti Italia handbook specifically for the Bible School, that included all of our expectations for the workers and for the running of the school in general. Of course, it also detailed some obvious rules to abide by while representing the Bible School as an AI worker. The meeting lasted a couple of hours as we communicated our vision for the Bible School, as well as our hopes for each individual worker.

Marie basking in the sun while we were hard at work!

The first week was challenging bc we were immediately stepping into our roles, while at the same time trying to get ourselves settled. By day three, it was obvious we needed some type of transportation. Thank the Lord for Robbie (he is the HUF director who lives close to the Bible School) who has allowed us to use his car during this period! I dont know what we would've done otherwise! So, aside from getting the initial documents in order- ie getting registered in scandicci, getting our insurance, and setting an appointment for our permesso di soggiorno ( sort of like a green card here- literally it means "permission to stay"), we were busy getting our apt furnished. We were so happy to see that we already had a bed, the couches, and a small kitchen table with 2 chairs to start with! Luckily there is an IKEA about 20 from scandicci where we were able to buy the essentials for now-  towels, some kitchen/cookware, pillows and bedding.

we also took on the task of beginning to clean out the library and classroom of the Bible School during this first week. It was helpful to have all of the workers on board to assist with this. Just this past friday, we finally reached a stopping point, and we can all say that we are pretty proud of our accomplishments! Our first Friday we celebrated being together with a cook out and games :) Take a look at the transformations below! :)

L I B R A R Y

before...

* the clutter on the right is from an armoir that we moved down to the classroom ;)

.....and after!

* more updates will come later, but for now, it is ready for classes! :D

C L A S S R O O M

Before

*the clutter is from an old armoir. We took everything out and organized what we needed ;)

After!!

* more to come on the updating of rooms at the Bible School. if you are interested in helping sponsor rooms at the Bible School, please email me at avantijsmith@gmail.com!

M E E T  T H E  T E A M

Meg & Lindsey

Meg and Lindsey will finish their 2 year term of avanti this december. in the meantime, we are blending the old and the new :) We are happy to have their smiling faces!! 

the 2014 fall AI team ----(plus Bethany and Meg)

.Morgan. Jodi. Bethany. Meg. Meredith. Miles.

Morgan is from OK and taught English as a second language in America before deciding to join AI. Jodi is from Circleville, Ohio- a 20 min drive from where Eric and I were located in Ohio. She worked in Financial Aid at Ohio Christian Univ. Miles and Meredith are newlyweds who both attended Harding. Before deciding to join AI, Miles was finishing up at Harding in psychology while Meredth was working as an interior designer at a firm in Little Rock.

Let me be the first to tell you, we are expecting   B I G  T H I N G S   from this crew! 

From the directors perspective, it is a gift to be able to watch and experience the growth of the workers.  We are so thankful to be a part of their journeys and to be able to witness what God will do through and in each of them.

the I T A L I A N S

Giacomo and Eric

me & Melissa.

Giacomo and Melissa have been living at the Bible School for some time now, and we are SO HAPPY they are here!! They give a fresh daily perspective of the italian culture. this is SO fundamental and important for our AI workers. A little background info : Giacomo is from Rome and is currently attending the University of Firenze while he is staying with us. Melissa has her masters in teaching and is currently teaching at the Pepperdine branch in Florence. 

F L E X I B I L I T Y. no such thing as "typical" around these parts.

During these first few weeks, we we continue to be purposeful to lay the foundation. We set our meeting time for 730 am every MWF. This worked best for everyone due to our busy and conflicting schedules.

Here's a breakdown for what a "typical" (if there is such a thing!) week looks like aside from our students and other variables that change day to day:

-M-F 8:15-1:30p  The newbees (aka the fall 2014 AI workers) are in language school. This is very exhausting for them for a many reasons, but mainly bc they are using a completely new part of their brain that they've never used before! also, the Bible School is located in Scandicci, so every morning they make the 30 minute commute into Florence, either by walking to the tram and taking it, or by walking to the bus stop and taking it.

The lovely Rosa. She has served at the Bible School for 30 years!

Jodi. Meredith. Miles. and Giacomo.

Ready to eat another wonderful lunch prepared by Rosa!

this one's for you Andrea!

-MWF 130-230p Lunch with Rosa. Rosa is the cook here at the Bible School. She comes MWF and cooks lunch for us. It is a tremendous help to everyone here!!!

-MWF 230-330p  has been designated as our cleaning time. Each worker has an assigned area to clean during this time and to keep clean during the week. These assigned areas of cleaning change weekly.

-MONDAYS Every Monday evening we have a Bible study at the Bible School from 730-830p. This semester, we are using the book Not a Fan, by Kyle Idleman. We also have the video series that accompanies the book. This semester, we decided to split the study between the men and women. Each monday a different AI worker volunteers to lead the study. Afterwards, from 9-10pm Lindsey and Peter teach a group grammar class at the Bible School.

-THURSDAYS Every Thursday, we meet at the church building in Florence to teach English lessons and afterwards to have a Bible Study with some of the church members. We begin our English classes at 630 and the lessons last for an hour. Afterwards, we cook a simple super and invite our students to eat with us. At 830pm our Bible Study begins with the church in Florence and lasts for about an hour. This semester we are studying Genesis.

Thursday night english class at the church building. 

Last Thursday was our first meeting, so we made it very informal and even played pictionary/charades! We had 10 students who came, ranging in age from 12 years old to 65 years old! This coming week, we will have 3 different classes: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. We are happy to get to know this group of students better. We had several of them tell us how excited they were to begin!

Giacomo and Giovanni.

Thursday night Bible study.

-FRIDAYS are "physical fridays." This is something that David and Debbie implemented that we decided to keep! :)  Each Friday we have a planned physical activity to complete. For example, deep cleaning and re-organizing the library and classroom took a couple of Fridays to complete. This Friday, since David will finish with one of the new bathrooms upstairs on the girls side, we will be deep cleaning the bedroom that goes with that bathroom. This includes moving Jodi and Morgan from the front bedrooms, as well as cleaning and organizing the room in which Jodi was staying to prepare for our guests who will be arriving later that evening:  {The Nunez Family}  .

Again, above is a breakdown of things that are fixed every week, the rest of what we do here at the school varies week by week, and worker by worker. Each AI worker has an average of 8 students that they meet with individually throughout the week for their english lessons. We also encourage them to go out with their students during the week in order to form closer relationships. Depending on the month, we will also have get togethers/activities/special group classes for our students. For example, this month we will have a Halloween party!

S T U D E N T S

As I already said, Eric and I have also began our classes for this semester. It has already been so wonderful! We've really missed these lessons!! Its so special to share the gospel one on one and to hear them reading the Word! It is always the highlight of our week!

clizia and me.

Clizia was my very first student in 2010 when Eric and I first came to the Bible school! I am so happy to have her back and to begin studying together again!

Valentino.

Eric has clizia's dad Valentino as one of his students!! we are so excited to be with this family more!

2 weeks ago, Rosa asked me to teach a kids class of about 7 children. these kiddos range in age from 7 years old to 10 years old and 2 of them are Rosa's grandsons ;) While I teach the kids, Eric has a Bible study with Rosa's husband Felice, which is translated "happy." So far, this has been really rewarding. The kids are super energetic, which makes class really fun! Also, I have to add here, that kids are the funniest when you are learning a language! They were giggling all over the place when I was trying to pronounce a couple of their names. Mirco is Rosa's youngest grandson and when he gets to laughing, he literally falls off of his chair! haha. Ive never seen anything like it! :D So far we have learned about emotions and animals. They were hilarious with their pronunciation bc they are mostly taught british english in their schools, so for example, they pronounce SAD like SAUD, and MAD like MAUD. It was entertaining helping them pronounce an american accent ;)

the kids class!

this week Bethany taught the kids and i served as the "polizia." :)

In the midst of getting the school organized, getting to know our workers,  beginning our classes, getting our documents in order (which involves several trips back and forth to different gov. offices) so we can stay in Italy, we also have been car searching with Felice! He has been such a huge help! He took us around to several different car lots and helped us communicate what we were looking for. After all was said and done, we decided to go with a Scenic. It holds 5 people comfortably, and has two extra seats that pop up in the back. We were initially hoping to get a 9 person van for the school, but the cost was so much that we decided for now to buy the Scenic. Later, we will purchase a personal car for Eric and I when we have more time to look. 

At this point, the need for the car/van is urgent not only for us, but also for the school! It has been complicated trying to take care of the school and the needs of the AI workers without a vehicle. One small example is getting to church on thursdays and sundays. The workers take 2 buses and the tram. It ends up being a 45 min commute instead of a 20 minute drive. Another advantage is buying groceries! This was an event in itself! Ive never shopped for 11 people before, so I had no idea really what to expect. last week, it was past time to go to the store, so we asked Robbie again to borrow his green panda.

our first Metro experience!

 Dont ask me how we fit all of it in there. Im still marveling at how it actually worked out! 

ps the big dent was already in the car before we got it! ;)

Anyways, we are so thankful and excited to finally be getting the Scenic! Hopefully we will be taking it this Saturday to visit our brothers and sisters in Vicenza!

This brings me to another happening around the school, which is a who, and she is Bethany Reeves!

m e e t   B e t h a n y !

Bethany, Vendi, and Meredith.

Bethany graduated from Harding last year, and this summer, she spent 6 weeks in the Chec Republic working with LST. She found out about Avanti at Harding, contacted Scot, and ultimately decided to stay with us for 3 weeks on her way back from the CR to personally experience/find out a little about the program! She arrived almost 2 weeks ago on friday Oct 3. After physical Friday and our library time (*we share this outreach with the HUF kids and rotate Fridays. At the library, we put read a children's book in english to a group of about 20 kiddos and plan english activities with them! ), we all met up downtown Florence for pizza to celebrate her arrival!

The team... arent they a good lookin' bunch?!

She has been a sweet addition to our team these past couple of weeks! We are excited to take her to Vicenza this weekend to introduce her to more of our italian brothers and sisters, so that she can better understand their needs and the mission we share. We hope that she will further consider being a part of this program in the near future!

Besides our day trip to Vicenza, we have also been planning a weekend trip to T A R A N T O ! The team is so excited! Eric and I had in mind to travel down at some point with the team before December, but Rosa is actually the one who got the wheels in motion so to speak. She was telling me that she would be traveling down to Puglia ( Puglia is the region in the south where Taranto is located, and where  the town where Rosa is from, Cisternino, is also located. ) the weekend of Oct 25 to harvest her olives from the fields they still own there. This is hard work! All of the sudden, it all came together, and we thought, why dont we all go the same weekend so we can help Rosa and visit Taranto! So this is the plan! Originally we were hoping everyone could go, but after considering where we would stay, it seemed best to only take 4. Jodi was happy to stay in Florence bc she has really taken ownership of feeding the homeless at the train station on Sunday nights. So we decided that she and Morgan will stay behind this time, and once david arrives in January, we will make another trip down ;)

Our loving brothers Fabrizio and Luca, are so so so excited that we are coming. Fabrizio has taken off work, and they also insisted on housing all of us, plus the girls (our dogs) for our stay! We are overjoyed for the team to travel south. We pray this will be a huge opportunity for them to learn even more about the Italian culture and ultimately about themselves and how they will be able to serve while they are here. Without a doubt, this will be such an encouragement to everyone in Taranto. Stay tunned.

2012. Luca, Fabrizio, and Eric.

Get ready Taranto, Avanti Italia is coming for you!!

we hope you enjoyed the update! please continue to keep the Italians, the AI workers, the Bible school, and us in your prayers! We love you all so much!

xoxox

E and J

the good news email.

Yesterday we all had a strange feeling that we would receive some g o o d  n e w s. . .  and WE DID!

Around 11 am Eric got an email from the Italian consulate that said our visas had been approved by the Italian government!! He added that we needed to go ahead and buy our tickets so that he could complete the processing of our visas and send them our way. You better believe we were on the phone with our friend Sharon, who books our flights, faster than you could blink ;) we have been a little nervous that the tickets would be outrageous, but it was just the opposite! they were significantly cheaper! so the double good news it that, including the cancellation fees of the first flight, we only had to pay $50!

Our visas will arrive via fed-ex sometime tomorrow, and we are now scheduled for take off next Saturday, September 20th! We are overjoyed at the thought of finally serving with our team at the Bible School! Please keep us and the team in your prayers!

In the days to come we will be busy tying up our loose ends again. The dogs must be re-examined and re-certified to fly with us on board, lots of packing to do, and goodbyes to say! During this time in limbo, we also have been helping my parents with a mini house renovation, and will be wrapping it up within the next week. We may have missed the work month at the Bible School, but we have certainly been put to good use here!!;)  

I wont go into detail, but the last 3 weeks of this waiting period certainly haven't been for nothing. God has a way with timing and bringing lives together. We are amazed at His compassion and His will to bring us all to Him! "But YOU O Lord are merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! Our next update will be from across the pond!! Love you all!
xoxoxo

More updates.

Last week David got involved with the visa situation.

After calling and speaking with the consulate here in the USA, it became evident that they would not accept the validity of the Bible School in Scandicci. This is hard to understand bc we sent specific letters from the Italian government that recognize the churches of Christ and their sponsorship of the Bible School in Italy. The consulate further explained that they would no longer issue any more visas for American workers of the Bible School. This obviously impacted Miles and Meredith Thompson, who are the first workers to be declined. After discussing what they should do, we all decided that it would be best for them to keep their flight and travel over to Italy on their passports as tourists. They will need to return within 89 days. However, this time will allow them to go ahead and complete their Italian language school, while we figure out how to better communicate the validity of the Bible School to the Italian consulate here in the states. Prayerfully, by the time the Thompsons return to the states after the 89 days, this will all be ironed out and they will finally be able to apply for and receive their visas!

After calling the consulate, David was also gracious enough to call and speak with the Minister of Internal Affairs in Rome on our behalf. This man was very kind and seemed very concerned with the whole situation. He also seemed shocked that we as American citizens were having trouble obtaining our visas. ( In general, Italians have the same fascination with us as we do with them! :) ) He also confirmed the that the Bible School is in fact on record, and confirmed that has been running in operation for several years. The man seemed very confident that we would receive our visas (YAY!), but that we should expect to wait at least another month. He continued to explain that the office in Italy received our request for our visa on the day before their holidays started, and that under the best circumstances, a work visa should take about 2 months to process.

So, for now, we are still here in the states. We are so grateful for all of your prayers and support during this time! It is such a comfort knowing that you are with us on this journey! We know that God's timing is perfect, so we are thanking Him and praying for His guidance. Please also continue to keep the workers in your prayers! Miles and Meredith arrived at the Bible School yesterday, and the team begins language school today! We will continue to keep you updated as everything unfolds. xoxox

please pray with us!

We are asking for your prayers.

Quick Update:

Our scheduled departure date for Italy was 2 weeks ago today. We were forced to cancel our flights due to not having yet received our visas.

In recent days, we have been in contact with the Italian consulate on the phone regarding the status of our visas. From our conversation we learned:

1) They may not be officially recognizing the Bible School in Scandicci Italy, and therefore will not be issuing anymore student visas.
2) After reviewing our paperwork, the consulate decided to change our request for a "Missionary Religious Visa" to a "Work Visa." They did this without first notifying us.

What does this mean?
If the Bible School is not recognized we cannot send any workers to the school. Also, a work visa, is near to impossible to receive, and is not what we need anyways!

What we are doing:
David, the current director will be contacting the consulate today to try and better communicate the need to process our visas, and to resolve these issues.

PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYER today that God will move this mountain and we can begin/continue this work in Italy!

We love you all. We are so grateful to be a part of the body in Christ.
xoxox

Recap. 2012-2014.

Here we are almost exactly 4 years to date from when this Italian adventure first began...unbelievable!

*Disclaimer: 2 years is a lot to summarize in 1 blog post. Find a comfy spot and a cup of coffee before you approach this post. ;)

Where can we start??

The work in Italy truly changed us. As probably any other missionary will explain, we went to serve, but ended up ourselves being changed in the process. Likewise, leaving Italy was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do. This is mainly why I didn't make a final blog post about leaving the country and returning back to the states until now. . .  almost 2 years later.

To be completely honest, we were heartbroken. It was a loss and a homesickness that we carried around with us, up until the moment we received the opportunity to return (details further down:)). We of course knew that America was not Italy. Intellectually, we understood that the cultures were different, but in our hearts, we couldn't help but miss our work in Italy. This was a struggle in many ways, bc it was a grieving process that no one else could really relate to or understand.

And so to sum it all up, reverse culture shock is real. We drug our feet through every step of the process. At first we were dedicated to excitedly telling everyone all about the work in Italy- without concern of the response of our audience. We decided that our states-side contribution to the Italian ministry would be awareness. This wasn't so difficult at first, as we were in some ways blinded to our new culture. However, after several months, the success of the communication of the work, was lacking. We were and are beyond grateful to have witnessed what the Lord showed us in Italy, and we thank Him every day for giving us that opportunity. Likewise, in all reality, we couldn't expect others to fully understand our love for Italy . . .  but we couldn't let it go either. We felt responsible to tell about what we had seen and heard!! We were dedicated to this!

{ Eric & me at our first hockey game together! }

2012.

During the winter of 2012, we came into contact with Ben O'Neil. Many of you know Ben and Jane, and are well aware of their family's dedication to the work in Italy. It was certainly a God moment, as we ran into him very nonchalantly one evening at a hockey game. After some small talk, our conversation obviously began to drift towards Italy. To make a long story short, Ben was interested in helping to send a missionary family to the northern region of Italy. . .  Where? when? yes! we will consider it!! 

{ Eric & Fabrizio }

Summer visit 2013.

So, by the summer of 2013, we decided to return to Italy not only to visit our loved ones, especially those in Taranto, but also to scout out the two main cities that Ben had specifically mentioned: Vicenza and Bondeno. <<We are extremely grateful to all of you in Cabot, as well as many of you here in Ohio, that helped make that visit possible!>>

{ Kristofer, Martina, & Marta }

Youth Retreat at the Bible School. Summer 2013.

One of the most encouraging things we witnessed during this visit was the growth of the youth in Italy!

Click on the link below that will direct you to my Google+ profile, and click on the video called "E&J ItaliaSummer2013." The video we made will help to communicate the desires of the youth in Italy- I promise its worth the watch! The video also will give you a glimpse into the rest of our 2013 visit :)

Google+ Profile
* To keep up with all of our updates, please bookmark this Google+ profile, or join to follow!!

This visit really solidified our desire to return to Italy. Seeing the brothers, Laura, and all of the youth was such an encouragement! In our spirit we knew that we would return to Italy, but even after having 2 fantastic visits with the congregations in Vicenza and Bondeno, the details of our return still felt a little fuzzy.

The Email that changed everything.

Throughout the fall and into the winter of 2013, we kept in close contact with Ben and the Cabot church of Christ regarding this idea of returning and serving in northern Italy. We also began to tell friends and family about the possibilities of returning. We still didn't feel 100% about this opportunity, but we were conflicted bc we felt so strongly that the Lord was calling us to return.

It wasn't until the early morning hours one day in January that we heard the Lord loud and clear. David Woodroof, who was the director of the Bible School when we first began as AI workers in the fall of 2010, sent us an email. Thanks to our smart phones, we were promptly notified ;) David was writing to inform us that he and his wife Debbie had decided to return back to America in August, and were wondering if we would consider assuming the role as the new directors! The days that followed, we met with David and Debbie via skype, talked with the AI recruiter Scot Harris, and ultimately, received the official job offer from the AI committee at the College church of Christ in Searcy.


The rest is history in the making! 

While the role of the new directors wasn't one that we would've immediately imagined for ourselves, it encompasses everything that we hoped to be a part of regarding the mission in Italy! We are so so grateful bc we feel that the possibilities for this work are endless!

Not only will we be teaching the Bible to our students in Florence, but we will also be able to help the AI workers understand and ultimately fall in love with the Italians. Our life and work in southern Italy really gave us a greater understanding of the needs of our brothers and sisters around Italy. We hope to utilize everything we learned and will continue to learn, in order to be able to work together to unify the church in Italy. .  . Much more on this to come in the following posts!


So what have we been doing all this time in America? 

Jobs?

Eric went back to his job as a professional surveyor, while I pursued my art career.

{Eric Smith, P.S. }

Almost immediately, Eric was back to work with a the company where he first began several years ago. To become a surveyor in any state, one must be tested depending on schooling and experience. Working for the State of Arkansas was Eric's first job after graduating from the Ohio State Univ. and so he is already licensed in Arkansas. Coming back to Ohio, Eric took the state specific test here and obtained his Ohio license here as well. 

Columbus Ohio has a wonderful arts district. Specifically, there is an area downtown called the Short North that is packed with over 40 art galleries. After visiting the different galleries and investigating a little, I decided to approach the Sharon Weiss Gallery.

{ The Sharon Weiss Gallery }

{ me & Sharon }

Sharon is one of those people with whom you instantly create a connection. From the moment I stepped into her gallery, I knew I would be blessed by her. Not long after our first meeting, she warmly accepted me and my work into her gallery. Sharon remains a dear friend and gracious mentor to me.

Living Quarters?

Admittedly, when we first arrived, we did spend a couple of months looking to buy a home while staying with my family. After a while, this search didn't really set well with us. We were trying really hard to adjust and settle in here, but the Italian mission was still so fresh in our hearts and minds. Our commitment to Italy wouldn't allow us to "go all in" here in Ohio. It also was difficult in general just to digest the word "settle." For the past 2 years, staying on the move had was our lifestyle. Processing buying a home and settling anywhere, was very strange.

Long story short, nothing ever came of our home search (divine intervention!), and we decided to rent a one-bedroom apt in Lancaster. Thankfully, we had saved back just what we needed to furnish the apt, and only had to purchase a couch!

{ Marie & Minnie }

For some reason, I would always find the girls hanging out in the shower! haha.

Keeping in Touch

The Cabot COC

Before leaving the first time to Italy in 2012, we lived in Cabot Arkansas and attended the Cabot Church of Christ right down the road from our home. All of you in Cabot have been such a tremendous support to us in every way. From day one, you have been right beside us, encouraging us and serving with us, even during our time in Italy!

{ Our Cabot Family }

Coming back to the states was no exception. The transition was draining on us emotionally and spiritually, but knowing that all of you were in our corner helped us so much! Thank you for keeping up with us during this period, supporting us, and believing in this mission! We love you all!

Lancaster, OHIO

Living in Lancaster allowed us to be close to our church family here and served as a central location to both of our families as well :)

{ The Kimbler's & The Smith's }

{ Eric & his mom Christi }

{ Angie, Eric, Stephanie, & Nate }

{ Taylor, Kilynn, Grant, & Trenton }

{ me & Ashley }

{ me, mom, & Eric }

This was taken this May at my mom's nursing graduation! So proud of you mom!

{ Hannie & me }

{ Dad, Mom, Hannie, me, & Eric }

Relationships

We have also been blessed to develop many more relationships (Of course, not limited to the ones on this blog post!), and to grow during this period of transition. Here are some highlights!

                    

{ Nate & Eric }

One of the things Eric enjoyed while being back in the states was getting back into some sports. In the winter, he organized a men's basketball league. This was really helpful in Eric's transition. We had gotten used to a community mentality in Italy, so any chance we got to form a group (for a lack of a better term), we embraced it! He also has really enjoyed getting to spend more time with his younger brother Nate. After Eric and I got married, we moved immediately to Arkansas. Following Arkansas was Italy, and so this time together in Ohio was so special for Eric and Nate. Many weekends were booked playing golf together:) 

{ me, Maddie, Eric, Austin, & Austin's girlfriend Autumn }

The Vanatta kids. Maddie is one of the tween girls that became so special to me during our time in Lancaster. She has been such a sweet blessing! We were fortunate to be able to witness her baptisim after our trip to Winterfest together our first winter back in the states. Austin is her older brother. He just graduated high school and is starting his college career to pursue nursing. Austin and Eric always seemed to be on the same page ;) I have enjoyed watching them joke together and grow together in the faith. We are, not so secretly, trying to recruit Austin for AI 2018!!

{Gracie}

We arrived back in the states September of 2012. Almost immediately, I met 12 year old Gracie. What a joy she has been to me! The Lord knew that I needed her in my life here. 

and. . . the tweens! Shortly after we arrived in September, in addition to meeting together throughout the week, Gracie and I began our own little Bible Study on Wednesday nights. A couple of months later, we met Ashlyn and Kayley. Slowly, we started what became a tween girls class. I am always impressed by these girls! They have the world on a string, and I cant wait to see what the Lord has planned for each of them. This part of my time here has been a life savor for me. I don't know what I would've done without these girlies.

 { Gracie, Sydney, Kayley, Maddie, Ashlyn, & me }

Before our scheduled send off, August 14th, we hosted a game night for the tween girlies.

{ me & Ashlyn after her baptism! }

{ Sharon, Charity, Don, & Xander }

This family has been so involved helping us with our transition here. We enjoyed many game and movie nights together.  We are so grateful for your friendship, your compassion, and your willingness to reach out! We're looking forward to your visit in Italy!

{ me & Andrea }

Thank God for sending me my kindred spirit Andrea! A constant friend, encouragement, and support. Love you dear friend.

Wrapping it up.

In short. . .  T H A N K   Y O U!  We are grateful for those of you who have eased the burden of our transition with your compassion and your love. Praise God for knowing our hearts and sending you our way!

Much more to come about The Bible School, Avanti Italia, and our fall 2014 team! stay tuned!