T H E W O R K A T T H E S C H O O L I S C O M I N G F U L L C I R C L E
Beginning any type of work takes a thick skin. Beginning a work for the Lord takes really thick skin. Eric and i are so grateful to be in the Lords service here. Coming to Italy for the first time to serve 5 years ago changed us in ways that i cant accurately communicate other than what i hope transpires through our lives. this first semester at the Bible School was met with many different types of trials, but through them all, the truth prevailed, as it always will! The Spirit over and over reminded us to be steadfast, and to keep our gaze on HIM despite ANYTHING that was thrown our way.
In these past few weeks, we have found ourselves once again, strengthened and overwhelmed with gratitude for the love that God continues to shine on us. He is our strength and our song. and He is always at work within us. We are seeing His goodness in our team. Once a bunch of strangers brought together by a mission, is now a family in Christ. Just in the past week I have even heard several of our students say that we are a family at the school. Each of our different gifts are coming to light and its so encouraging to witness! Not only this, but our several of our students are genuinely interested in the Word. They are perplexed by it, curious, and intrigued. its overwhelming from a christian stand point, bc as i always say, the opportunities are ENDLESS. we just have to be willing to continue to show them Christ's love. whether its being bold in our one on one studies (which btw each of us has on average 10 students plus group classes) or coming together throughout the week to visit and encourage them, not a moment is wasted time here. you may imagine that bc we are in italy that everyone has heard the word. false. in fact, many havent ever even opened the Bible! or, they have been taught something unbiblical, or maybe, they have never had anyone to genuinely care enough to sit down with them and tell them the GOOD NEWS! We are so thankful for our team bc they love JESUS and they arent shy about it!! its this energy, this LOVE that i believe that Jesus prayed for among ourselves that touches everyone with whom we come in contact. no, we certainly arent perfect ;) we are cranky and tired, sometimes, just like a real family, but we love Jesus and we love each other and IT SHOWS. Thank you Jesus for the gift of the Body.
Not only have we been witnessing the strengthening of his body within us here at the School, but we are also seeing a glow in the churches. now, mind you, so far Eric and i have only visited Vecchiano and Roma, but we were so encouraged by both visits! One of our goals here at the Bible School is to be more connected with the existing churches around italy. Eric and i decided the first step in making this happen is personally reaching out to each community. 2 weeks ago, eric and i visited vecchiano. A small congregation of 5 people right outside of Pisa. The purpose of these visits is to better communicate 1) who we are as Avanti italia, 2) our goals for our individual workers and as a team, and 3) our desire to WORK TOGETHER with our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Italy!
We were especially encouraged by the response we received from ROme. many of the members had no idea what we were doing at the school, and they were pleased to know that we wanted to work together with them in our efforts.
this takes me back to about a month ago when we had a meeting with 10 italians who head up the church camp here. after lunch we began discussing the different responsibilities at the camp, as well as future retreats throughout the year. at one point, we mentioned our desire to help unify the churches throughout italy. the italians began to talk amongst themselves about the difficulty of finding a structure to house retreats that would be in the middle of italy. we mentioned that we obviously had the school that could be available, and all of the sudden all eyes were on us. they were overjoyed at this idea! and we are overjoyed to help in this way !! :D
I am disappointed that i havent been able to post on the blog more frequently, but it is only due to having jammed packed days here at the school. we hope when we do get to post that you are encouraged by what we communicate to you!
P R A Y E R
One thing we will continue to ask of you is for your prayers. Every month here at the school, we have decided to have a brainstorm meeting in regards to the upcoming month/or months. Our first one went VERY well. We were very pleased with the sense of unity we had as we discussed ways to work towards our goals together as a team. One thing we decided to do was make a list of 5 specific things to pray about together daily. We would like to ask all of you to jot these 5 things down and pray with us stateside!
1. Rosa and Felice.
Rosa has been with the Bible School from the start- 30 years ago! She is affectionate, loving, caring, and a genuine blessing to everyone here at the school. We are praying that she and her husband Felice will become baptized believers in Christ.
2. Unity for our team that is constantly changing as we continue to add new members and take on new roles.
Even as we have only been praying together about this for a month, we have already seen this taking place!! God is always faithful to renew us everyday!
3. God will raise up more Italian leaders in His church all over Italy.
Italy needs workers! the few that Italy does have are exhausted but so willing to serve!!
4. God will reveal Himself to Alessandro.
Alessandro is a student here at the school who struggles with faith but has a great desire to believe!
5. God will equip us and guide us as we begin thinking about hosting a Sunday night Italian worship service here at the Bible School.
This is a goal of ours. Many of our students are interested in the Word. They want to know more. One of the things we hear over and over is their desire for a sense of family/community. As believers, we know that we are part of God's family. This is what we want to spread and show to everyone we meet here.
A NOT SO BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF J A N U A R Y and F E B R U A RY
get ready .... its been a busy couple of months!
The Intermediate class.
Rocco, David, Maria, Orietta, Flavo,
First, id like to tell you a little bit about our Thursday night classes at the Florence church building. Thursdays are a big commitment and a longggggg day...but we LOVE it :) David and I teach the intermediate class. This group is a joy to be a part of. Rocco is in love with Jesus and is always an encouragement to all of us in the group. The others have told us specifically that English is only part of the reason they attend class. They are seeking to understand the Bible and find a family/community. We have great discussions and have formed a wonderful bond during this semester. David has been a great addition to the team in many ways, but especially during the Thursday night class.
O U T W I T H S T U D E N T S
Go Karts w Clizia
in January eric and I got to double date with my very first student in italy (5 years ago ) Clizia and her now boyfriend! its great to have the opportunity to continue to build relationships that began years ago! I truly cherish this girl and her family. Please pray that they will accept the love of Christ.
G A M E N I G H T
Morgan, Matteo, David, and Michela
Matteo, David, Michela, and Julie
Towards the end of January, we had 2 families from the Florence congregation to the Bible School for a game night together. What better way to get to know each other than game night?!
U P D A T E S
Also during this period, we got the girls a new armoir!
After shopping around and reviewing all of our options, this was the best option - both economically and functionally speaking mainly because it is a closet and dresser combined! (There are no closets in italy, so armoirs are a must!) Our goal is to get these for each bedroom as we slowly update the school. please, keep in mind, much of the furniture we have at the school has been here at least since the 80's. our aim is for the furniture to be functional.
*if you are intersted in helping with this need, please email eric at:
avanti.director@gmail.com
H O S P I T A L I T Y
Another "update" is what we have termed as our "hospitality centers" around the school. In each teaching area: the library, the classroom, and the living room, we have set up a tea station as pictured above. When we have our lessons with our students, we can offer them a cup of tea to warm up from outside and feel more at home!
A G A P E I N P I S T O I A
Franco, me, and Eric
On Jan 18th, our brother Franco came to preach at the Pistoia church. Franco is from Puglia (the southern region where Eric and i lived before). Recently, the church asked Franco to be their evangelist. He is doing a lot of good work in italy. Please keep him in your prayers as God continues to guide and use him for His glory!
After service, we enjoyed an Agape together!
E V E N T S AT T H E S C H O O L
The next weekend we had our first movie night at the school!
We watched Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It was great fellowship accompanied by popcorn and sweets ;)
S C O T A N D B E C K Y
Enjoying a Saturday all together in Lucca.
During this period Scot and Becky came to visit! Being able to talk about our goals for the team and the school was great. Their presence was a much needed encouragement to all of us! We are very thankful for their hearts and their dedication to the work in Italy. Thank you Scot and Becky for all that you do!!
T H E G A M E C H A N G E R
Finally after months of borrowing Harding's small panda. . .
W E B O U G H T A V A N !
We are so grateful to Rosa and Felice. For weeks, Felice tirelessly took us around to every car lot around scandicci helping us search for what we needed. After searching for a couple of months, the Lord presented us with this beauty!
Having a vehicle is a tremendous blessing that i believe many of us probaby take for granted until we are personally without one. Having a vehicle that sits the entire team of 7, plus 2 italians = life changing. Not only is this van an everyday blessing to our work here at the school, but it is an investment to assist us in our overall goal of becoming more unified with the churches all over italy. Now instead of wasting money renting a van for 4-5 days, or buying 7 plane tickets, we can use our van in our travels!! ... it also makes our monthly Metro shopping trips A LOT easier!! Thank you for partnering with us to make this a reality!
T R A V E L I N G TO M E E T T H E C H U R C H E S
Meet Jada.
Not to sound repetitive, but getting the ball rolling here at the school begins by getting on the same page with the our italian brothers and sisters so that we can all WORK TOGETHER. The best way that we know to do this, is to go and meet them in their congregations in person, to discuss our desires for the work in italy, and to better explain what we are working towards here at the Bible School. There is much history here at the school and over time, its easy to let things get lost in translation (no pun intended;).
V E C C H I A N O
The first city we have visited so far was Vecchiano. Vecchiano is a small town right outside of Pisa. The church of Vecchiano has 5 members. One of which is our sister Sandra. Sandra came to know Christ bc she was eagerly seeking Him. We met Sandra the same weekend we met Jasmine. They both came to Florence for a visit. While I was talking to Sandra, I mentioned that we would like to come for a visit, so we organized for the 1st wkend in February! We had a wonderful time getting to know her and her family better. She and her husband Alessandro have 2 daughters, Chiara and Jada. Saturday we spent the day together in Pisa, and later returned to her mother's home for dinner.
Eric and I, and the kids, stayed with Sandra's mom in her home in the country. Its when we spend time together, that we begin to build stronger relationships. We were very encouraged by Sandra and her willingness to search for the Lord. The next morning we worshipped in Vecchiano and Eric taught class and gave the lesson. We are excited to visit again with Sandra and her family soon!!
E V E N T S AT T H E S C H O O L
And then there was KARAOKE.
The month of February has been a month of trying things out.... The weekend following Vecchiano, we finally tried Karaoke! it was a fun night with Rosa and Felice and our students !
As we continue to try different things and experiment with different activites, we will have a better idea of what is or isnt fruitful. All the while, we are working hard and striving to reach out and make the connections with our students, friends, and everyone we meet!
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you LOVE one another." John 13:35
R O M E
Our second church visit was to Rome! Saturday afternoon we took the train to Rome. We stayed with the Vittalone family. This family contributes to much of the work in italy in many different ways. their daughter Virginia actually just graduated from Harding last May and is currently back in Rome seeking a job in journalism. It was very interesting discussing the work in italy and at the Bible School with this family. Eric and I are eager to learn from the italians that have been here from the beginning, and to work together for the Lord.
Saturday evening, the Vittalone's took us for pizza along with another family from the Rome congregation, the Grimozzi's. We genuinely felt at home talking with them, and were encouraged by their love for the Lord.
Sunday morning, Eric gave the lesson, and afterwards, we enjoyed a delicious pot luck together! We count ourselves fortunate to have the opportunity to make these bonds with our brothers and sisters. Just from these first 2 visits alone, Eric and i are very encouraged about the possibilities set before us in this work. Please pray for us!!
M E X I C A N N I G H T
The weekend following Rome, we had our first ever Mexican night at the BIble School, and it was a hit!
We had about 70 of our students and their families to come!
Rosa and Felice with their 2 daughters, son in laws, and 3 grandkids.
. . . our most honored guests may have been Rosa and her whole family! ;) Rosa and Felice have been coming to the school events more and more frequently and we couldnt be happier about it!!!
A N D L A S T L Y. . .
Faulkner University
Sunday evening following our Mexican party that Friday , we invited the Faulkner university to the Bible School for a visit and pizza lunch. Afterwards, we were able to explain a little more about Avanti to the group. We were encouraged to have some interest from some of the students and are planning to meet with them one on one soon.
U N T I L N E X T T I M E... thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support of this ministry! none of this would be possibile without you! Please continue to pray for us and with us regarding all of the opportunities we are given on a daily basis. Pray that the Spirit will guide us, teach us, protect us, and use us for His G L O R Y. We love you all so very much!
xoxox
E and J
