the departure

so good to see you again :)

i guess my up kept blog could stay punctual only for so long . . .

in some ways i have put off this update but on the other hand, in truth, we've been too busy to stop to write you even a small recap of the happenings that have been chasing us.

JULY : the departure

i havent even started writing yet and i am already getting emotional.
saying goodbye is never easy; saying goodbye to friends and a life we had been building for almost two years, is the worst.

our departure date from taranto to leave and spend our last month in florence was july 20th. we ended up telling the congregation that we were leaving early, not too far in advance from the actual date itself. this happened for many reasons, but mainly because 1) i had been sick and 2) we were gone a couple of weeks back to back for church camp and to be with our students. anyways, we were all together down about the news. the week before we left there was a big meeting about some of the problems the members have been experiencing for several years, and it ended unexpectedly well with a surprise ending of humility and love that proved again that God is still with that congregation and He is faithful!

in the midst of all of this, we were with anna maria EVERY day our last week in taranto because we love this woman!!! saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest things i have had to do. please continue to pray for God to bless her and send her encouragement. we also filled our time soaking up the goodness of fabrizio and luca.... who you have to meet to understand the meaning of the true joy they possess.  we also stayed together with our students and friends- who in the end were tied a lot closer to us than we initially understood; and finally, when we weren't with any of these, i was with my little laura, who isn't so little anymore.

i am not good at "finishing things", but i wanted to make sure that we "tied up our work" in taranto before we left, and the best way i could understand to do this was by writing letters. we wrote letters to encourage, uplift, and thank all of the people we had met and who had changed our lives while we lived in taranto. the church members, our friends, neighbors, and students. there also were other acquaintances such as the rent lady, our supermarket friends at DOK and A&O, the bread lady, the fruit vendor and her entire family, the people at the art store, the mechanics...there were all of these people of the city whom we also had to hug and bid farewell. ive never felt so heavy as i did in our last days in taranto. it was like everything that was originally foreign, that had finally become normal and good to me, i had to let go.

its hard to recount the emotions we have experienced, even days later its difficult to help you understand what we've witnessed and how our lives are forever changed because of this city and God's plan for us there. i feel bold and yet timid because of the way our eyes have been open, scared that i wont be able to translate the life ive been living to a 9-5 american life... and in many ways, i believe that we wont. i believe that God has shown us so much, has humbled us, and taught us so many things that we cant stop  going forward even if we wanted to. Im not sure what life will look like in the states, but i pray that God will use us as He has here and continue to mold us so that we can better serve Him with our whole hearts.

the people that we met and the experiences (good and bad) that we've endured, have caused our hearts to break over and over again, and each time that we were broken, God came nearer and nearer to us. we arrived at the point to where it become impossible to think that we were doing anything on our own! ha. He was at every corner, in every home, and in every situation. the way He moved and used us in that city was undeniable. experiencing Him and His Spirit in this was something that I have grown to be addicted to...I tell eric all of the time - "I think I am addicted to Jesus Christ." I wish that I could explain to you better the things that He has done, but even after a month of trying to process it, its still difficult for me to explain.

even imagining buying a home or having children, or finding a job.... all of this seems so secondary and difficult to grasp in some ways. we have been on the move for 2 years and this constant moving and learning has become our "normal"...  and the house/kids/car/job is all seen through a new perspective now of "italy" and how we will be able to continue in His service. this experience has been like a seed that has grown on the inside of us, and that has now over taken ourselves... this is the point : following and knowing God is better than any other thing we could ever want or imagine.

back to saying goodbye. . . . the letters were a good way to close this chapter. There were things to say and ways we needed to express ourselves that with the language barrier wouldn't have been possible otherwise. the dreadful day arrived and we had our suitcases packed and the apartment cleaned and in order. we decided to wear one of our many (thanks to our friends) matching taranto tshirts that day. our friends came and told us good bye at the apartment, while basically the entire church proceeded to accompany us to the train station. it was one of those moments that you feel like you are in a dream. you are going through the motions, but the reality of the situation has yet to set in. everyone crowded around us helping us with our 3 huge luggages, eric's guitar, our two backpacks, and my duffel bag (yes REALLY) up to our platform with the train headed for florence. the boys loaded everything up and it was time to say goodbye. we hugged and cried....then we got onto the train and it was like a movie, Laura and Luana got out tissues and passed them out to everyone standing around and they bid us farewell through tears and waving tissues! I think I sobbed on the train for a good half hour or more - and there was a strange looking man who was a few rows behind us who couldnt seem to figure the whole situation out.

this being told.....our emotions have been ranging high to low in this past month- thank you all of you who are praying for us! we have still been in touch with all of the members calling and talking and even starting skype with the brothers, and carmela and laura. We still believe that the time was right for us to leave taranto at this point, however, we are even more convinced that our work in italy is not finished- if anything it has just begun. God has planted so many seeds and laid such a great foundation...its exciting to think about what He will do next.

(((ps part 2 is coming next .... i split the last almost 2 months into 2 separate posts.. . . ))))

((Church Camp 2012))

Carmela, Luana, Madalana, me, Laura and Samanta leaving the station in taranto for church camp!

Samanta, me, Laura, and Luana on the train!

getting ready for breakfast!

morning devo

camp fire

Miriam, Alina, and Laura

Guiliano, Eric, Ryan, Roberto, and Peter

Eric

the girls in my room :) they had SO much fun with their pet rocks!

they also loved taking our daily "hikes" together while the older teens played sports.

Laura and Miriam and the fake lizard that the girls played with all week!

they even made a mini film with the lizard and its vacation. haha.

Gabby in art class.

the water fight!

Guiliano and Eric= hilarious.

Eric, Peter McGraw, Peter Bell, and Ryan

the talent show where the american boys were the Village people. 

Eric and Donatello's little boys' arm-pit "old Mc Donald" song! 

Laura and Luana

Eric and his boys

me and Laura

((((next are pictues of the church members in our last days in Taranto))))

Me, Mino, and Eric

we went and hung out with Mino for a day in Brindisi.

One of the days we spent with anna maria was her brother bruno's birthday!!

Fabry, Luca, and Eric

we went to the park with Laura <3 p="p">

eric played soccer with the boys :)

Luana, Laura, and Samanta holding signs that say "we love you guys!"

our last friday night the members surprised us with an evening together!

the taranto congregation.

our cake! italy to ohio! 

they also got us a book about taranto!

Adele, Ninetta, Enza, Carmela, me, and Zia Tina

Enza, Eric, and me

Eric and Andrea

Laura and me our last sunday together.

Fabrizio, Eric, and Luca

Fabry, me, Eric, and Luca at our favorite beach in taranto.

(((the last pictures are of some of our friends from Taranto)))

celebrating our other friend Luca's birthday!

Luca and Antonella

Francesco, Federica, Luca, and Antonella

me and Antonella

all of us together :)

the men

Eric, Antonello, and Francesco

thank you for all of your prayers during this time of transition. please also continue to pray for the good news to be spread here in italy and for the body of believers to be strengthened! we love you!! xoxoxox