We serve the one true King.

Ciao tutti.

Helloooooo all!

“better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; id rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God” psalm 84:10

the Spirit has really put this on my heart lately.

Walking by the spirit, living a Christ centered life in this world is difficult at times . . .  joyous at others . . . At all times, it is a CHOICE. This position is molding Eric and I and teaching us many many many things --- in days past ive felt His hand upon me, but I couldn’t really grasp what he was saying to me. In more recent days, I believe He’s convicting me to daily, hourly to make the choice and follow Him! Follow Him at all times with my whole heart. In Luke 9:62, Jesus has this to say to us, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Serving Jesus can sometimes feel uncomfortable. It’s a daily battle dying to self and consciously choosing to follow the Spirit, not because you are unsure if its truth, but instead because you know how narrow the road will sometimes be.

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders/ Let me walk upon the waters/ Wherever You would call me/ Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander/ And my faith will be made stronger/ In the presence of my Savior” HILLSONG. have you heard this song? Im sure you have, and if you haven’t, google it! What if we collectively prayed this way? And what if we as the body lived this way? Im convinced we must. And im just as convinced of His promise to provide, sustain, affirm,  r e f i n e , and to save us. I know this because He’s doing it for me daily! Not because my “trust is without borders” although, im striving for it to be! But because no matter what, HE IS FAITHFUL. Hallelujah! Praise God for He is faithful!  Every day, His mercies are new. No matter what kind of mess we are in, or what lies ahead, as Believers, as His children, we have His rest. So many times in the past few months, He has personally affirmed me. Over and over amidst my doubt (im sorry to confess it) and insecurities, He never lets go of me, not once has He left my side. How amazing is our King?! So its like the psalm. . .  “better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere”. amidst everything we may face, we are thankful and privileged to serve the one true King!

2 more months have flown by since our last update . . .  lots to report!

D A Y  by  D A Y

In the summer time here at the Bible School, our schedules change drastically in comparison to the rest of the year. In the fall and springtime, we are juggling 130 students, group classes, preparing lessons, church activities, retreats, school parties and get togethers, time outside the school with our students, visiting different church communities.... i could go on! ;P once June rolls around the pace changes alot. From June-August we do not have our regular lessons with our students. The italians like to take summers off. I know this sounds strange to us Americans who are used to everyday, organized, schedules, but its just their way. In tuscany, i will add that most of them continue to work until August, but on the weekends they are traveling, mainly to the near by beaches. When it hits August, everyone is gone. Entire companies close until September. Just the other day we were furniture shopping to replace the schools broken buffet and we asked about ordering a buffet that was on sale. The sales clerk advised us not to due to the fact we wouldnt even get the buffet until late september! yes you read that right - late september. crazy. anyways, this calls for a change in our schedule at the school. We stopped classes at the end of May right before the family retreat in Velletri (close to Rome). 

S O   W H A T   D O   W E   D O   I N   T H E   S U M M E R S   ?

1.  W E   H O S T.

we host groups and individuals who want to either visit Italy, study in italy with a university but need a host, or even understand a little bit more about Avanti. This is all around good for us at the Bible School. Sometimes we get guests who are truly willing to help us serve in any way, this is always so wonderful.... and sometimes they are just passing through- which is equally nice in a different way. But whatever the reason they are here, we are always pleased to make new connections. It also is a HUGE help to us financially at the school. We earn extra funding that we can use for retreats or on the upkeep of the building (walls that need plastered, bathrooms, broken furniture...etc). In conclusion, guests are always welcome!

Andrew, Janee, Matt, and Melissa

reaching all the way back to mid May, we had the pleasure of hosting Andrew and Janee. They only stayed with us for a little over a week, but during that time, we were blessed by their loving and serving hearts. After their time with us, they traveled on to the Czech republic were Janee's sister and husband are missionaries. We hope they wil be back to visit us soon! we very much appreciate all of their help! Matt is a current Harding student that came to stay and work with us this summer. He arrived the day before Janee and Andrew and will be leaving in early August. He has been involved with Harding University here in scandicci and also went with us to church camp.

WELCOME BAT.

Our first summer and our first BAT group. BAT- a group of athletes from Harding University. They come and stay about a month at the school with us. They study and train while in italy. our responsibility? cooking. lots and lots of cooking because remember they are athletes!... and cleaning :) if im completely honest, i imagined that taking care of this group would be so difficult. in reality, it was a joy. it was a lot of work, but it was a joy to be around these kids and a pleasure to host them. 

BIG AMERICAN BREAKFASTS

Before arriving, BAT sends us their complete itinerary, along with their desired meal plan. the group stayed with us for one month. almost every day we ate lunch together. the other days, they communicated which days they would need a BIG breakfast, which days a simple one, as well as a few dinners that they would need to have prepared as well. hats off to my amazing husband. he is so organized sometimes that it makes my head spin trying to figure out how he does it! eric made a master schedule of duties for our team we normally worked in pairs preparing and cleaning up the different meals, as well as a long day of changing,washing, and drying sheets for all 26 of them! 

LUNCH WITH ROSA

Rosa was in charge of the lunches. watching her in action was like being in the presence of a master! She was in all her glory! it was fun to cook with her and learn from her. she really loves what she does....and shes brilliant at it! we were amazed everyday how she would time everything down to the minute and we would serve the kids right on time. we were equally amazed at how fast they finished eating- after getting used to long lunches and dinners, it really was a little shocking watching them gobble it down in 20 minutes or less! haha 

EXTREME GROCERY SHOPPING

grocery shopping was interesting . . .  i felt like i was an extreme couponer on 19 kids and counting- if that makes any sense. its surreal to buy these massive amounts of food knowing that within a few days you'll be back to do it all again! we did discover the best time to go shopping was at lunch time. one day i had already been elbowed, ran into, and almost knocked over by an elderly woman, when i decided to get out my cell phone to take a video for all of you in order to accurately communicate the madness. as soon as i raised up the cellphone, the masses had all of the sudden disappeared. i was at a loss until i looked at my watch and realized it was time for lunch. ill say it again and again, food and meal times are sacred for these people! 

OUR SPARE ROOM

Anaiz and her friend, me and Marie. 

We met these sweet girls at the ladies retreat months back. they are from Mexico, but are studying in Peruggia. They were visiting Florence one weekend and dropped by to see us! * PS THIS SUNDAY ANAIZ WAS BAPTIZED IN ROME!!! PRAISE HIM!! 

While we re on the subject, not only did we host several visitors in the school, we also got to use our spare room ( in our personal apartment )  for the first time! it was funny because we had 4 visitors literally back to back- Mino (from Puglia), our two mexican sisters, and Marina (from Milan).  Since they all came while the BAT group was here, we had zero available beds in the school other than our spare room. So thank goodness for the spare room! :) it also was good social practice for our doggies. haha * side note- to all of you that know the girls (doggies) they are so much more social! youd have to see it to believe it!

Jodi, Natasha, and Morgan

We also had the pleasure of hosting Jodi's friend Natasha who came to visit us for about a week! 

Jay and Alicia Walls and company ;)

While we didnt actually get to host Jay and Alicia and their team, we did get to spend a little time with them while they were visiting! They brought their children with them as well as a small group of college students. 

here we were welcoming Jay and Alicia at the Florence church building. It was nice to be all together!

2.   WE   V I S I T .

Andrea Masini.

Andrea and his brother Paul are two of the oldest members of the Florence COC. Andrea's wife is not a christian. he also lives about 45 min from the church building out in the country. We are trying to make regular visits to spend time with Andrea and hopefully be an encouragement to him. 

Luigi and Julie/ Eric, the leaning tower of Pisa, and me

The Saturday before the BAT group arrived, Julie was having one of her follow up surgeries to create  her new eyelid. She had a horrible accident last fall and luckily came out ok besides almost loosing her left eye. all this to say she has had a few surgeries already and will continue to have them until her eyelid is restored. Anyways, we wanted to show her some love and support from us at the Bible School, so we all went to visit her the morning before her surgery. The hospital is very highly esteemed and is located literally across from the leaning tower of Pisa. who knew?! the surgery went extremely well and she was even able to go home the very next day! Praise God! 

Bingo at the Nursing Home.

Right up the hill from the Bible School is a very very nice nursing home. in the past the Bible School has been well affiliated with this place and the people working here (taking the youth there to sing hymns, doing actives together, making visits), and we want to keep that going! one wednesday, we went and played Bingo with the old folks there. I hope we can continue to make frequent visits !

visiting Pistoia.

One night in June, the church in Pistoia organized an evening together that included watching the movie Fireproof together. it's always a pleasure to visit our brothers and sisters- especially the churches that are close to us in tuscany. its important for eric and i that our team have plenty of opportunities to be with our christian family here. we believe in working together with the italians, and the first step in accomplishing this is getting to know one another! please pray for our team in these efforts. sometimes the culture differences/intimidations can be a struggle- pray for us to be confident in the Spirits ability to lead us, teach us, and  U S E  us!

After watching the film and discussing it together, we watched the european cup together! it apparently a really good match . . .  except that Italy lost :(

Vecchiano.

Since we've been at the school, we have made several trips back and forth to Vecchiano. ( ive blogged about these visits ) Last month, Esmerelda, Maria, and I made another visit to see our sister Sandra. 

Just recently we learned that Sandra has left the church in Vecchiano ( 5 people ) due to the fact that the preacher does not believe Jesus Christ to be God. This preacher was once a Jehovah's witness. Sandra brought her concerns to the us at the Florence church and one of our members named Alfredo agreed to lead regular studies on why we believe ( based on the Scriptures ) that Jesus is in fact God. 

Sadly, even after all of this, the preacher still refused to accept the truth. I am communicating all of this for a couple of reasons. 1) obviously to help us pray for this man and his teaching 2) pray for Sandra. Sandra's husband is not a believer yet. She has 2 beautiful young girls and as of now no church to attend. We will be going to visit her more frequently and having church in her home. Please pray for these efforts  . . .  this could be a blessing in disguise. 

3.   R E T R E A T S

Family Retreat in Velletri.

During the summers, we also have a few retreats. One annual retreat is the Velletri family retreat. Normally there is a very good turn out, however this year, i felt that wasnt exactly the case . i say this bc normally we have around 80-100 in attendance, this year we were around 50. 

the church in italy is struggling. it seems like this new generation ( 30 and younger) are absolutely MIA. the churches are very small in number. there are few leaders and the leaders that they do have are tired- not too tired to carry on- but noticeably tired. its hard to know how to jump in . . . doing too much (aka past missionaries with the best of intentions, who have jumped in and taken over for lack of better words ) doesnt allow the people to take ownership of their faith and inhibits them from learning to lead . . . (we unfortunately see this a lot)

 At the Bible School we are in a unique position. we arent necessarily the missionaries to the Florence COC. we arent tied to a single congregation, but we also cant take the entire country on our shoulders either. We have our students that we meet with regularly who really are searching for Christ. We are pulled in many different directions because of the NEEDS of this country and at times it can feel confusing. returning to the message of "choosing Jesus" what we re finding is the need for consistency. This country has seen a lot of missionaries come and go. even lot of avanti workers! i think the most effective and important responsibility we have to offer these people is a consistent servant's heart. strengthening our brotherly relationships as the Lord blesses us with the opportunities to do so, and serving them in truth any way we can. because they are so few, its hard for them to stay encouraged at times. we believe focusing on the daily task of service over time will bring about fruit. as the prophet Isaiah so bravely said ," here i am Lord, send me." pray for our hearts to be willing and trusting. God can use even the smallest of seeds.

Singing and studying the word together. 

The next upcoming retreat will be here at the Bible School! Florence annual youth retreat :) please pray for us in this effort!!! 

4.  S T U D I E S   A N D   S T U D E N T S

left - Andrea and Maria

right - Alfredo, Eric, and Maurizio

Our Monday night English Bible study is going so great! We are studying the book of Mark and always have such wonderful discussions. For the summer, we have invited the Florence church members to come and join us---they are obviously always invited! ;) but in the summer, Giovanni takes a break from his thursday night lesson that he leads at the Florence church building. so we offered to make our english Bible study into an english and italian study for the summer months. This was sort of rocky in the beginning due to the back and forth of translating. you can loose some significance as well as the overall flow of the conversation. the past few mondays that we have met when an italian only speaker is present, i have been translating simultaneously while the study is being led. this approach has been a lot more successful! 

Please keep this Bible study in your prayers!

Eric giving a devo at HU.

Every semester, we try to get together with the HUF kids at least once or twice. We like to welcome them as well as tell them a little about Avanti Italia!

This june i turned 28! 

Some of my students organized a night out to dinner all together to celebrate :)

I hope this break down gives you an idea of the flexible summers we have here at the school! its certainly different from our fall/winter/spring semesters, but we believe it to be fruitful. 

A M E R I C A ??

Eric, me, Hannah, mom, and dad

Back in March my parents offered to fly Eric and I to meet them and my sister in NC for a period of 12 days . . . and we accepted!! After a big year of transitions, it was so  U P L I F T I N G  to be around family! the love and support they showered us with was such a tremendous encouragement. 

we are so thankful for you guys!

12 days obviously flew by. spending time with your loved ones is always special, but even more so when your time is limited together. not being able to be together makes me even more certain of our call. following Jesus costs us something. its different for each of us but overall its the same. it costs us our   l i v e s    ---  but we live for not what is seen but what is unseen, and we carry on, believing the promise of eternity with Him. again, what a privilege it is to be in His service!  

the AI group plus Emily ;)

Lastly, we have to report that Morgan has decided to return to the USA. After serving with us one year, she is now engaged and will be begining a new chapter in her life very soon. We miss her already, but know that God is with her and will use her wherever she lands! thank you for your time with us Morgan! Ti vogliamo bene!!

Today i was also encouraged by this verse and i hope you will be as well :)

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

 Please pray for us to have boldness in our work, that our neighbors will notice that we are His when they interact with us, and that we may joyfully remember that we are in His service! Thank you for all of your support. its always uplifting to know that we are working together for His glory! We love you!

xoxo

E and J

H O P E

I guess this is the record--- 2 months without posting . . . yikes!

I would like to start this post with P R A I S E .  Praise to the Father who gives us everything we need- who never fails us and whose grace is new every morning. I want to shout this bc to not clearly underline the fact that He is the only reason we have any strength or any ability, would be shortchanging this entire ministry. Any fruit that we see here, big or small, comes directly from Him.

I cant help but continue to compare our past experiences with the work that we are now knee deep into. Obviously the biggest difference is that instead of 2, we are now 2 + 2 weenie dogs, a couple, and 3 singles . . . We pray for wisdom and humility in this effort bc "leading" is not for the faint in heart.

Doing something with all of your might bc you personally love Jesus is one thing, to work as a team in this way is something entirely different. I often wonder about the disciples. I wonder about their characters as humans, I wonder about the loneliness of Jesus, I wonder about His passion for His mission, His determination, and I wonder about those who were looking in, what did they see? What did they hear? . . . I always arrive at the same conclusion, in Jesus they saw HOPE.  And in the same respect, Jesus, lonely and tired as He was, never doubted who He was and what He came to do. As tempting as it was- He was steadfast, humble, and submissive to the Father in everything He did.

Im aware that I am repeating myself here, but. . .  studying with our students is SUCH a rewarding and joyful experience every single time. Our students are all over the map as far as faith goes- but what unifies all of them is their search for HOPE, PEACE, and LOVE. hmmmm sounds familiar right? like someone you know? J e s u s . Hes always the only answer!

Ill share a couple of stories about our students to illuminate the goings on around here lately.

First I'll tell you about one of our Thursday night students in Florence. Maria is a believer in that she was raised in the Catholic church her entire life, so using the Bible in our studies was never an issue. As we continued week after week, we began speaking more and more in Italian during the Bible lesson than we did teaching the English grammar. Time after time, we would have the best discussions, until it finally became evident that she was falling in love with Jesus! So much that she even voiced repeatedly her need to believe in Jesus, her need for Him in her life. Last Thursday we wrapped up our Thursday night lessons at the building in Florence for the spring semester. During our lesson, Maria mentioned how she actually had never read the Bible until she started coming and studying with us. I responded by asking if she owned a Bible- she didn't --- I think at that point David and I were tripping over each other racing to grab her the nearest Bible in the church building to give to her ;) and the look on her face of sheer joy, excitement, thankfulness, readiness to study as we handed her that Bible. She literally hugged it and thanked us over and over. Make no mistake- people are looking for Jesus- how simple it was and yet what an honor, to share the good news with her.

top: Florence Sunday morning worship 

bottom: Monday night Bible Study at the Bible School

Since that night, we decided to change our Monday night english Bible study at the BIble School to be an english/italian study instead. In this way, our students, like Maria, who are not fluent enough in english to have a deeper study of the Bible in English, can still come and be a part of this study. Our long term goal would obviously be for this study to flourish and grow-so that ultimately, the Italians would be leading their own studies and growing in numbers of believers.  Last Monday was our first go at this effort to combine the English and italian to one study, and it was a success! We were actually outnumbered in the American/Italian ratio! next week we will be eating dinner together before the study. :)

Please continue to pray for us, and specifically for our ability with the language. It is much more difficult to learn the language in Florence. We seek to work at a top level in everything we do but as we teach English to our students, living with other Americans, and Florence itself being a very touristy city makes it that much more difficult to learn the language. So yes, please pray that we are able to make the time to study and to learn the language more and more efficiently.

WHAT ELSE?

V i s i t i n g   t h e   c h u r c h e s

This will continue to be a major focus for Eric and I while we are in this position. Its very important that we make the effort to get to know the churches in Italy. It is a privilege to be able to be a part of this work for several reasons, but one mainly being the history of this mission. Not only has this been a place to study the Bible via English lessons, but in its beginnings, the school existed also as a learning center for the Italian Christians. While cleaning/organizing/redoing the library, we found several photos from the past when Avanti wasnt even an idea yet. The school was  F U L L  of Italian Christians! and the Florence church was packed as well. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see this as a reality once again? 

In all honesty, many of the churches are struggling here in Italy. They are very small in number and the number of youth is certainly no longer what is portrayed in those old photos. BUT we are

H O P E F U L . and we have to start somewhere! For us, that somewhere, begins with relationships. Part of the outcome of this "POST MODERN" age that we find ourselves in is actually in our favor as Christians-- bc people have denounced all else as meaningless, they are left with relationships! people are looking for meaningful and genuine relationships. We try over and over to stress this to our team. The work here isnt a 9-5 checklist. Instead, its the search to make connections and for those connections to point to the Grace and Love of Christ. Not only is this important with people outside of the church, but it is extremely important for those of us on the inside as well. If we aren't unified as believers, as the body of Christ, our message is in vain to those who hear it. 

P R A T O

C a n   w e   T R U S T   t h e   B i b l e ?  mini series held at PRATO 

Back in March, Prato held the mini series called "Can we trust the Bible." It was such an excellent initiative of the Italian men. There were three speakers: Franco Verardi (from Latiano), Vittorio Vitalone (from Rome), and Roberto Innocenti ( also from Rome). Each man gave a presentation from their own personal perspective: Franco as an evangelist spoke about the love of Christ, Vittorio as an anesthesiologist spoke about science and the Bible, and Roberto as an ex-aithiest spoke about his coming to Christ. The meeting was very edifying and uplifting. We are planing to host this same seminar this fall at the Bible School for our students.

Sunday we fellowshipped together during a church potluck :)

me, Jodi, and Esmerelda enjoying our time together!!

T A R A N T O

Taranto is our home away from home. The love we have for our brothers and sisters there is overwhelming. Even though we are now geographically much closer to them than we were in America, we are SO incredibly busy with the work at the school, that we barely have time to even call and check on them :( We miss them!!!

Adele and Fabrizio

Fabrizio and Luca's mother has been suffering some time now with a sickness. In this period, it has grown worse and worse to the point where the brothers are staying with her around the clock. Please please pray for both of them who being the true servants that they are, are exhausted from working and taking care of their mother 24/7. I mean what I say when I tell you that these brothers are 2 of the most genuine examples of Christianity that we have ever seen. please join us and lift them and their mother Adele up in prayer. They send their greetings to all of you at home.

Due to all of this news regarding their mother, our original plan of taking the team down for a visit was canceled. However, Eric and I decided to go in hopes to be a source of encouragement and support to our brothers. 

We could only stay for 5 days, but we were still able to see the church members and our favorite fruit vendors! We also got to speak more with their employee Andrea. Andrea is my age and we always greeted him and made small talk when we came to visit our friends who own the fruit stand. It just so happened that this time, we actually got to meet Andrea for breakfast Sunday morning while we were there. He even decided to join us for worship afterwards! :)

Our last day before returning to Florence we had lunch together at Ipercoop. We sure do miss these brothers! 

V E C C H I A N O 

Jada and Chiara.

Have you ever seen that big of a chocolate egg ?!

We took a Sunday with Silvia ( our Christian sister from Pistoia ) and her boyfriend to visit Sandra and her family for Easter :) We also got to see the girls' dance recital! 

W o m e n ' s   R e t r e a t 

At the end of March, all of us gals minus Jodi, + Esmerelda, Silvia, and Silvia's mother, went to the women's retreat in Velletri.

As always, it was so   e n c o u r a g i n g   to stay together with the women of the church!
 As Im not yet comfortable to drive the 9 passenger van, Eric was nice enough to do it ;) He and David visited with Giacomo's dad Guiliano while we were at the retreat.

ps.  After talking with some of the women, we decided that next year we will be hosting the retreat in Florence!

While we were at the retreat, we also got to see the Kirbys! The Kirby's are still in Sicily, but we haven't been able to see them yet since we've arrived in italy. They are doing really well and are enjoying their work in the south. We are thankful for their willingness to serve!

A r o u n d   t h e   S c h o o l 

M O V I N G    F O R W A R D

There is always LOTS to do around the school, as there are always many repairs that need to be done. Since we arrived, we have cleaned out and updated the library and part of the classroom. (more pics soon to come on the library. I am waiting to hang the old photos on the wall before we show the final outcome of our efforts with that room. I promise it will be worth the wait! ) Besides this, we have been slowly but surely finishing the 4 bathrooms that David almost completed before he left last fall. 

G u i l i a n o   and   J o e l e

After working a couple of physical fridays on the back bedrooms and bathrooms, we had the fortune of a visit from Giuliano and Joele to help us finally tie all of this up!

Take a look at what we've been up to!

T h e   B o y ' s   S i d e

Boys back bedroom before ^

In reality, the picture should say "during" but seeing as how we arrived in the middle of the work- to us this is "before" ;)

Boys back bedroom after!

What did we do?

spackled, sanded, painted, got rid of old/smelly furniture

What did we add? 

Two new wardrobes from IKEA. Each serves as a closet and dresser.

Future plans:

purchasing bunk bed frame, new windows/screens/serranda

*new window/screen/serranda is a necessity asap. the walls in Italy are made from cement. the windows that we have currently at the school are wooden and are the originals to the school- ie over 50 years old. This means they not only leak air in the winter ( making it close to impossible to keep the school warm ), they also leak water when it rains. This obviously is a terrible combo- cement walls and water leakage :/ Guiliano advised us to have the windows in this room and the back girls bedroom replaced asap to avoid any further damage to the wall of the building. We also then would need to replace the mosquito screen as well as the serranda that is very very old and needs replaced as well.

 ^ Boys back bathroom before and after ^

What did we do?

Spackled, sanded, painted, covered pipes

What did we add?

Added on new door and door frame 

* Also in this bathroom, as well as the girl's bathroom, we need to replace the window/screen/serranda for the same reasons listed above ^

T h e   G i r l ' s   S i d e

^ Girls back bedroom before and after ^

What did we do?

spackled, sanded, painted, got rid of old/smelly/broken furniture

What did we add? 

Two new wardrobes from IKEA. Each serves as a closet and dresser. 

(bc in Italy there are no closets)

Future plans:

purchasing bunk bed frame, new windows/screens/serranda

*new window/screen/serranda is a necessity asap. the walls in Italy are made from cement. the windows that we have currently at the school are wooden and are the originals to the school- ie over 50 years old. This means they not only leak air in the winter ( making it close to impossible to keep the school warm in the winter ), they also leak water when it rains. This obviously is a terrible combo- cement walls and water leakage :/ Guiliano advised us to have the windows in this room and the back boys bedroom replaced asap to avoid any further damage to the wall of the building. We also then would need to replace the mosquito screen as well as the serranda that is very very old and needs replaced as well.

Girls back bathroom before ^

Girls bathroom after!!

What did we do?

Spackled, sanded, painted, covered pipes

What did we add?

Added on new door and door frame 

* Also in this bathroom, as well as the boy's bathroom, we need to replace the window/screen/serranda for the same reasons listed above ^

[   If you would like to help financially in these efforts at the school,

 please contact eric at :   avanti.director@gmail.com  ]

THANK YOU Giuliano and Joele! we couldn't have done it without you!

O U R   S T U D E N T S

Sicilian meatballs anyone?

The girls of the Avanti team took our students to this Sicilian meatball restaurant :) it was a lot of fun to see our students interacting as well as getting to know each others students better!

David and the American Football team in Florence

I gotta brag on David for a minute;) Since arriving in January, he has really jumped into the work here! One of the biggest outreaches that he has become involved in is this football team. It's made up of Italian men of all ages. David contacted some coaches before leaving the states and they invited him to help coach the team! This is a part of what Avanti is all about- reaching out and getting involved in the culture that surrounds you for Christ! He has already brought several of the players to the school. One in particular has began studying with Eric and is very interested in the Bible. He also comes to our Monday night Bible study. This initiative is a good example of our mission and our goal to be all things to all people, serving as Christ did. Midway through the season an opportunity for Miles came available for him to take part in this ministry also!  So, thanks guys for your dedication in this work!!

This is one of my students Valentina ( on the left ). Jodi, Meredith, and I went to a dinner that supported her colleges efforts to help the malnutrition problems in Madagascar. It was a really nice evening and we were happy to support Valentina and her colleges!

Clizia, one of my very first students from 5 years ago at the Bible School, GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE! Crazy how fast time flies!! Above she is pictured "defending her thesis." In italy, even for an undergraduate degree, such as in this case, you must present and defend your thesis while your professors badger you with any questions or comments that they so choose. At the end of the presentation, it is decided whether or not you are promoted to graduate! talk about pressure! Im happy to say that Clizia passed with a 100% !!

 Even though we are always busy with various projects in or outside of the school, time spent with our students is SO important! Now that we are breaking for the summer semester, we are excited to do more things together!

T H E   K I D S

ok so the kids are always the major  H I G H L I G H T of my week :) Ive really grown to love them! and I think they enjoy our class too ;) Also. . . the last two weeks of class, we had 2 new kids to come! 

The Spring Recital.

The kids had a school recital and invited me to come! It was neat feeling that I really am a part of their lives :) I was able to meet all of their families and even extended families.... Also its sweet bc I can tell Rosa enjoys taking me under her wing so to speak when we go places together ;) 

Our last class, I took the kids to Gelatando for a gelato to wrap up the semester. They had a blast running around the piazza and being silly! :)

Im very excited to see what the future holds for all of these kiddos! I feel lucky to be a part of their lives!

R e c h a r g i n g 

We're learning that this is a HUGE necessity in order to work well in this type of ministry. 

Again, comparing our work/lives in Taranto to what we now live/do at the school, another major difference is this inability to come apart and   r e c h a r g e  .  In Taranto we were always working- always. But when it was time to rest, we were able to take time to rest. We took time apart to be alone and to rest our minds and bodies from constant work. At the Bible School this seems to be quasi impossible. . . 

If we're honest, the root of the problem is community living. Even if we go into our apartment, we still are technically at work. Maybe others can make this separation more easily than we can, but for us its a real struggle. Its a struggle to stop working bc there is always something to be done. The end result is that we are working sun up to sun down and find ourselves unable to disconnect and recharge. Im explaining this only to accurately communicate the situation in which we find ourselves. 

The solution?

Taking time out.

Getting out of the school.

Taking time to really be alone.

Unfortunately, the entire first semester we failed to do this at all until Christmas. The result was feeling completely worn out. It's true that if you want to do your job well, you have to take care of yourself ! Lesson learned. We are committed to doing this work to the best of our abilities, and we realize that in order to run this race, we must be equipped-mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. 

Lake Como

Since December, we have taken 2 time outs. One with the team for 2 nights at lake Como. It was very beneficial bc each of us took the time to rest/relax in whatever way we choose. Eric and I also took the dogs. It was nice to be able to take long walks and enjoy each others company.

Saturnia

The second time out was in Saturnia for Eric's 34th bday! This time just the 2 of us and the dogs :) Eric enjoyed playing golf and I enjoyed the silence and nature! 

Interesting enough, we met several very nice people during our stay ( Saturnia is located in the more southern region of Lazzio ) . In fact, the woman who ran the BNB where we stayed offered to hep us organize a weekend english event there in Saturnia. She was telling us that there is a great need for their community to learn english due to the fact that it is so touristy. She also told us that she had connections to the city council and could very easily set something up! So, once again, the possibilities are never ending! 

Marie sunbathing on the balcony.

Well, I suppose I have to stop writing at some point or this post could go on for days! thank you for keeping up with us. Most importantly, THANK YOU for praying for us. Please continue to pray for us. 

In the words of Paul: "Pray also for me, so that whenever I speak words may be given me, so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel." Eph 6:19

we love you all very much!

xoxo

E and J