Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you and miss and CANNOT wait to see You, Mom and Rob in 16 DAYS!!

2 Months In!!!

It's so crazy to me that it is already November! These past 2 months have gone by so fast and have been so rewarding. We have met many students and truly have been blessed by their friendships.  We have loved getting involved in their lives and their willingness to allow us to experience so many things with them has been incredible.  Their willingness to allow a bunch of strange Americans who talk about Jesus all the time hang out with them really is amazing.  We have had so many great opportunities to talk about the Gospel with so many people already.  (Unfortunately, I cannot use any names due to strict privacy rights in Italy, but I do have lots of pictures up on Facebook!)

Halloween at the Shoemaker's

Trick-or-Treat

Our schedule has definitely kept us on our toes so far.  We are in the middle of school right now, which consists of two weeks in school and two weeks free each month.  So normally, we will have class from 9am to 1pm and after that we normally go to the University to meet students.  Constantly being immersed in the language presents plenty of challenges.  Whether going to the store without knowing how to ask for what you are buying, to ordering at a restaurant, or meeting students who do not know very much English, the language barrier exists.  It has been great to see the Lord work through that though in our team’s lives, as well as in the people we interact with.



Our sweet friend Nunzia!!!


Cooking Poppyseed Chicken for our "American Dinner Party"

In the next couple of weeks on campus we are planning an English club for Italian students.  Our hope is to help them with their English (and maybe learn a little Italian of our own) and through that we can take the topic and point it back to the Gospel through our conversations. We are also having a big Thanksgiving dinner for all of our Italian friends. We are cooking turkeys, dressing, sweet potatoes (if we can find them), and more of the traditional Thanksgiving Day food! All of our friends are so excited about getting to see what American Holidays are like. Through that we will talk about what makes this holiday special for us as believers.  Please be in continued prayer for the Italian students that we have met already and will continue to meet that their hearts will be open to just hearing the gospel.  We have been so blessed to have had so many opportunities to share with Italians in just these first two months.  It is so encouraging to know people back home are in continued prayer for the Italians and us as a team.

 Our Italian friends at our "American Dinner Party"

These past two months have definitely had their challenges, but have been so great at the same time.  The Lord has really shown me a lot about trusting Him and letting Him be in control and not me. It is something that is so hard to let go of wanting to control. The Lord has been so gracious in teaching me about trust and showing me that his love for me is so great. As many times as I rely on myself, he continually forgives me over and over and over again. One verse that I have continually clung to since being here is Hosea 2:19-20, “I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.” It shows me that the Lord has promised to love me and all I have to do is trust Him.  Earlier in Hosea 2:14 it says, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”  I have to let the Lord lead me into the wilderness where he can speak to me and where only He is my provision without distractions and simply allow the lord pour his love on me.



The Roomies!

The Rome team came to visit! We took a little boat trip to Positano!

Some things to continue praying for me:

·      Coping with the language barrier (and hopefully learning more of the language)

·      Continual initiation with students on campus

·      Resting in the Lord’s love for me

·      Trusting in the Lord in every area

·      Loving my team

·      Being bold with students