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!
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
