Thanksgiving in Italy

Thanksgiving has already started here in Italy! Last night 14 friends from bible study, church, and Italian language class came over to my apartment for a Thanksgiving meal. Everyone pitched in and cooked. Such a great evening eating, laughing, and watching the movie Elf with friends. I am truly thankful for the friends I have made to celebrate the holidays with. On Thursday, we will have Thanksgiving round 2! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving week in America.

Tacchino! No hiding that I was an American when I asked the butcher at the grocery store for a whole lot of turkey.

I think we all had more dessert than we did dinner. We were really in the "Elf" mood.

Moving Forward and Adapting

Today I had my first appointment at the Questura Di Firenze to recieve my Permesso Di Soggiorno (Residence Permit). Just about anyone staying in Italy longer than 3 months has to go through the process to receive a permit and it's typically not the most enjoyable process. Well, it turned out to be a pretty awesome experience for me! Lately it has felt like I have not made a ton of progress with the language, but I was encouraged by how many Italian people I was able to converse with at the office. 

One of the ladies I spoke with moved to Florence to 

work at a hotel and through my basic Italian we talked for a long time. The Lord is using each day here to show me more and more just how great and powerful 

He is. Through the small and simple things He

 is doing great things.

Jenny, Rachel and I are having so much fun living together and doing ministry through Gallery 4!

My first 2 weeks in Italy

Ciao from Italia! 

My trip to Italy had more delays than expected and it took a while to get over the jet lag, but I am feeling back to normal and getting into the swing of things! 

When I first arrived, a fellow Gallery 4 team member, Kourtney, came to visit. Having Kourtney here was a great start to my return to Italy.

Following her visit the first student life group with Mosaico Church took place at my apartment. This is one of the highlights of my week!

I'm understanding the language more and more, however responding in Italian is a bit of a challenge. I am staying positive though! The other day I was at
 the grocery store and some man made a joke in Italian and I was able to respond. To me this was a success! I look forward to the day when
 I'm the one making jokes in Italian.

All packed and ready to go

In only a few days I am going to be on a plane to Italy! Getting ready to move to Italy has had it's ups and downs, but as always, Christ has been constant in providing, giving me peace when times have been difficult, and placing so many people in my life to help me along this journey. 

Pictured above is everything I am bringing with me: two checked bags and one carry on + my backpack. What's cool is just about everything in the bags and the bags themselves are gifts or donations from my support team. A HUGE blessing! 

Here are some ways that you can pray...

Safe travels to Italy.

The transition to go well.

Quick understanding of the language so I can communicate.

The rest of financial support to be raised.

The next time you hear from me, I will be in Italy! 

It's official

It's official! I received my visa so now I can go to Italy in September! I know many of you have been praying with me for my visa to come in time and it came 2 weeks earlier than scheduled. Thank you Lord!

September 10-14 I was able to spend the week at Global Outreach International home office and go through training with 14 other missionaries serving all over the world.I am privileged to go to Italy as a missionary with G.O. and to have spent the week with their staff. 

FIRST TRIP TO ITALY

Hey folks! I have some pictures and stories to share with you from my first trip to Italy. I'm currently in Pennsylvania for a couple of months and I'm very glad to be back, however I am looking forward to returning to Italy in September.

At first glance it may seem like Jesus Christ is well known throughout Italy, but the reality is there's only around 1% of Christians in Italy and this includes those who believe and preach the prosperity Gospel. Prosperity Gospel is the belief that following Christ will lead to personal gain in health and wealth. The need for the Gospel is great in Italy and I'm humbled and very thankful for the opportunity to go.

WHERE I WILL BE



Here is the street that my apartment will be on.

 I will be walking or taking a bike to get around
the city. This is a little intersection with some
cafes that I go through pretty often.

Here's the well known Duomo Cathedral

in Florence! Another place that I walk by often.

  

MISSION TEAM

 A team from Mississippi came to Italy for a week while I was there. We spent the week inviting people to the dinner concert, gallery opening, and 

preparing for these events.

We spent an afternoon in worship and prayer at the gallery. Some of my favorite moments and memories are singing with my friends and it was so refreshing to worship Jesus Christ here in Florence with some of my Mississippi friends.

SETTING UP 

GALLERY 4 OPENING

We had over 80 people come through and most people stayed to watch the dancers perform. It's hard to describe, but I was able to see the good news of Jesus so clearly shared through the music, art, and dance. It was such an honor to weave scripture with the artwork and share it at the end of the program. 

 EXLORING ITALY 

  If you know me, you know I love to explore new places. Going in to the trip I thought I would stay in Florence, but I was able to visit six other cities! 

ROME 

 For the teams' last day in Italy, we went to Rome.
 I was able to see the Coliseum, Saint Peter's Basilica,
and several other places in Rome.

VENICE

Walking through Venice felt like walking through a picture on a postcard! My friend Chelsea and got lost on the streets, rode the water bus all over, and
explored one of the islands.

 CINQUE TERRE

Cinque Terre was my favorite place to visit. 
It's made up of five small cities right on the sea surrounded by mountains.

  

 PISA

We stopped by Pisa for a little while on our way back from Cinque Terre. Here's my cheesy picture with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Notice the photo bomber
behind me smiling.

SAN GIMIGNANO

We spent part of a day in the province of Siena and visited the medieval city, San Gimignano.It was beautiful!

MILAN

This was the last stop before flying back to America. The Harris' and I went to see the Duomo Di Milano where I was able to take a picture of a picture that my dad took when he was around my age. He took the picture in the 1980s when he was in the army passing through Italy.


I look forward to sharing more stories and pictures soon!