Sunday, December 28, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
In a nutshell...
I spent all day yesterday with my friend Alessandra. We walked around Rome yesterday and talked for hours.. about life, love, Rome, prayer, Jesus.. it was a really sweet day. It was the first time I had ridden the metro by myself. I felt like I was a "real part of the city," and sort of grown up and not so scared of doing things alone in a city of 4 million people. It was really fun and freeing for me, so to speak. :) Praise God. :)
Also, for those of you who don't know, my friend & teammate Sam's mom unexpededly passed away this weekend. I think today is the first day in a few days I haven't cried. I am heartbroken for Sam. A lot of old feelings have been resurrected from when I lost my dad 3 years ago; The feeling I got in my stomach when April told me on Monday morning (about Sam's mom) was only the 2nd time in my life I've felt like that.. with the only other time being when my Dad died. It's just really intense. I am having a lot of thoughts swirl around my brain. Hmm. My heart brakes for Sam; he's kind of my "partner in crime" here in Rome--- we're connected on basically every team we're a part of (missional teams, "arco" teams and obviously the STINT team)--- so I feel like I've really gotten used to seeing Sam every day and processing life with him and just being his buddy. I'm just really sad for him and all he's going through-- and I'm kind of selfishly, I guess, sad that he's gone, and will be for a little while. I guess I just miss my friend. :(
But-- I listened to a beautiful and wonderful sermon this morning, an older one from the end of April, from Bethlehem Baptist Church, from Pastor John Piper. It was a great sermon about Jesus being the Good Shepherd, and what that means.. how He's alive, and how "Christianity is the only religion that offers a Shepherd that died and came back and is alive to lead and Shepherd His people"... it's really cool to think about, I think.
Jimmy & Joel fixed our internet this morning, and Jimmy & April installed our oven last night, which B'Evans & Sam have also had a part in. So many people helping us to actually get settled and make this apartment a home!... Praise God for these sweet friends. It's great to type this on my own computer (Thanks Joel!) with the internet, working quickly and efficiently. :)
I've enjoyed drinking lots of caffe and eating good food, and trying to work it off doing "Hip Hop Abs" on our TV in the living room... haha. Thank the Lord for hilarious workout DVDs.. :)
I am praising God and learning lots and loving walking with Jesus, through the good, bad, ugly, and sad, here in this lovely and crazy city. :)
More to come later. :)
Also, for those of you who don't know, my friend & teammate Sam's mom unexpededly passed away this weekend. I think today is the first day in a few days I haven't cried. I am heartbroken for Sam. A lot of old feelings have been resurrected from when I lost my dad 3 years ago; The feeling I got in my stomach when April told me on Monday morning (about Sam's mom) was only the 2nd time in my life I've felt like that.. with the only other time being when my Dad died. It's just really intense. I am having a lot of thoughts swirl around my brain. Hmm. My heart brakes for Sam; he's kind of my "partner in crime" here in Rome--- we're connected on basically every team we're a part of (missional teams, "arco" teams and obviously the STINT team)--- so I feel like I've really gotten used to seeing Sam every day and processing life with him and just being his buddy. I'm just really sad for him and all he's going through-- and I'm kind of selfishly, I guess, sad that he's gone, and will be for a little while. I guess I just miss my friend. :(
But-- I listened to a beautiful and wonderful sermon this morning, an older one from the end of April, from Bethlehem Baptist Church, from Pastor John Piper. It was a great sermon about Jesus being the Good Shepherd, and what that means.. how He's alive, and how "Christianity is the only religion that offers a Shepherd that died and came back and is alive to lead and Shepherd His people"... it's really cool to think about, I think.
Jimmy & Joel fixed our internet this morning, and Jimmy & April installed our oven last night, which B'Evans & Sam have also had a part in. So many people helping us to actually get settled and make this apartment a home!... Praise God for these sweet friends. It's great to type this on my own computer (Thanks Joel!) with the internet, working quickly and efficiently. :)
I've enjoyed drinking lots of caffe and eating good food, and trying to work it off doing "Hip Hop Abs" on our TV in the living room... haha. Thank the Lord for hilarious workout DVDs.. :)
I am praising God and learning lots and loving walking with Jesus, through the good, bad, ugly, and sad, here in this lovely and crazy city. :)
More to come later. :)
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Christmas Is Coming! :)
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Boy, am I a sucker for Christmas trees! I am just like Kevin McCallister from Home Alone... You'll know where to find me in a big city: where the big Christmas tree is! Here is one by a beautiful Basilica in the vicinity of Piazza di Spagna... hopefully there will be many more to come! :)
Fendi wrapped their huge store/building in a light-up belt, with a gazillion lights and a fantastic, sparkly belt buckle! The dazzle of it all reminds me of what the ball must be like that drops on New Year's Eve in NYC.
Mercedes-Benz paid for an entire street & piazza to be decorated, uniformly in white or pale blue sparkly lights with subtley-placed Mercedes-Benz logos here and there! For example, on this tree, all of the ornaments are various-sized Mercedes-Benz logos!
Aww, I just thought this street was pretty. Not sure who paid for these white ball things, or how they got there, but I thought they were lovely :)
Lovely :)
Haha... I could have maybe tried to remember what people shouted out between each picture, but va bene... I think the pictures might just speak for themselves. It's probably more fun for you to figure out what's going on in each one, anyway. Ohhh how I love laughing and random moments. :)
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:8-14
Christmas is coming, and take a look at how we are starting to celebrate in Roma!...
Boy, am I a sucker for Christmas trees! I am just like Kevin McCallister from Home Alone... You'll know where to find me in a big city: where the big Christmas tree is! Here is one by a beautiful Basilica in the vicinity of Piazza di Spagna... hopefully there will be many more to come! :)
Fendi wrapped their huge store/building in a light-up belt, with a gazillion lights and a fantastic, sparkly belt buckle! The dazzle of it all reminds me of what the ball must be like that drops on New Year's Eve in NYC.
Mercedes-Benz paid for an entire street & piazza to be decorated, uniformly in white or pale blue sparkly lights with subtley-placed Mercedes-Benz logos here and there! For example, on this tree, all of the ornaments are various-sized Mercedes-Benz logos!
Aww, I just thought this street was pretty. Not sure who paid for these white ball things, or how they got there, but I thought they were lovely :)
Lovely :)----------------------------------------------
So, one night as a STINT team (minus April, because she was having dinner with sweet Italian friends!) we received a package from Brian's parents (Thanks, McKee's!). Brian passed out the goodies, and wanted to take a picture. I set my camera on a 7-shot, continual fire, automatic timer... and this is what ensued...
So, one night as a STINT team (minus April, because she was having dinner with sweet Italian friends!) we received a package from Brian's parents (Thanks, McKee's!). Brian passed out the goodies, and wanted to take a picture. I set my camera on a 7-shot, continual fire, automatic timer... and this is what ensued...
Haha... I could have maybe tried to remember what people shouted out between each picture, but va bene... I think the pictures might just speak for themselves. It's probably more fun for you to figure out what's going on in each one, anyway. Ohhh how I love laughing and random moments. :)
Turkey Day in Roma :)
On November 29th, my missional team (Sam & I, minus Steve & Alyssa-- who were in America for Alyssa's brother's wedding), along with the team of Chris, Beth Ann, Kerry, and Jeff & Kristin Ammons, had a large Thanksgiving Party to serve as a gathering for all of our Italian friends.
Because we were trying to cook for about 50 people, mass amounts of food were purchased... and cooked. Haha, the day was definitely filled with tons of new experiences for me! :)
Chris, with the washed-out and sanitized "Bucket O'Slop"... aka the pre-cooked green bean casserole. :)
Sam, (and Chris's thumb's up) with the also sanitized "Tub O' Taters"--- the giant red tub of potatoes that we peeled, cut up, boiled, and mashed. Phew!
I'm tryin' to make my Grandma proud. Her sweet potatoes are the best, and I am just trying to replicate in Italy! I had to buy the sweet potatoes with April & Debbie, in a market close to Termini train station in Rome. I bought potatoes from about 6-9 different vendors, because none of them had enough for what we needed! Praise the Lord that it all worked out, and He provided enough!
Oh baby, look at that brown sugar/buttery goodness!!!!
Jeff, Kristin, & their three kids graciously hosted the party at their apartment. Here's Jeff (and Joshua & Elizabeth, too!) carving the turkey. What a cool moment to have these Italians experience the carving of a turkey! For some of them, it's the 1st time they've ever seen it! (We had to buy our turkeys from a lady named Simone, close to a section of Rome that has buildings that deal with United Nations stuff. Praise God for Simone, the turkey lady!) :)
A couple of my friends, Alessandra & Paolo, enjoying the buffet table of traditional food!
Jeff read a couple stories having to do with Thanksgiving. (1) He read a children's book, "The story of Thanksgiving" that described the Pilgrims & Native Americans, to teach our Italian friends the reasons why we celebrate Thanksgiving. (2) Then, he read a portion out of a children's Bible storybook, about the woman in the Gospel who was so thankful for Jesus that she broke the bottle of expensive perfume and anointed Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.
Look at all our sweet Italian friends, listening intently to Jeff as he reads! So many Italians got to hear Biblical truth about Jesus this day, as well as seeing the love of Christ lived out in our little community! I praise God for this opportunity!
My sweet friend, Alessandra, and I. She's such a dear!
On the way home, we got caught in the pouring, torrential rain. It was crazy-- the sky just opened up and let forth one doozy of a storm! (Check out how wet my jeans are!) Along with being soaked to the bone, we were carrying the leftovers from the Ammons' apartment to the Metro stop, because the Ammons live a good hour away, across the city, compared to where the rest of us live in Rome. Haha, so we were soaked, and carrying random leftovers, including a microwave!, annnnd the "Bucket O'Sloppy!"... I definitely wouldn't wanna eat those green beans now, especially when they've been covered in about 1 cm of rainwater. Ick!!! What a fun and memorable Metro ride across the city, though, on our way home. :)
Because we were trying to cook for about 50 people, mass amounts of food were purchased... and cooked. Haha, the day was definitely filled with tons of new experiences for me! :)
Chris, with the washed-out and sanitized "Bucket O'Slop"... aka the pre-cooked green bean casserole. :)
Sam, (and Chris's thumb's up) with the also sanitized "Tub O' Taters"--- the giant red tub of potatoes that we peeled, cut up, boiled, and mashed. Phew!
I'm tryin' to make my Grandma proud. Her sweet potatoes are the best, and I am just trying to replicate in Italy! I had to buy the sweet potatoes with April & Debbie, in a market close to Termini train station in Rome. I bought potatoes from about 6-9 different vendors, because none of them had enough for what we needed! Praise the Lord that it all worked out, and He provided enough!
Oh baby, look at that brown sugar/buttery goodness!!!!
Jeff, Kristin, & their three kids graciously hosted the party at their apartment. Here's Jeff (and Joshua & Elizabeth, too!) carving the turkey. What a cool moment to have these Italians experience the carving of a turkey! For some of them, it's the 1st time they've ever seen it! (We had to buy our turkeys from a lady named Simone, close to a section of Rome that has buildings that deal with United Nations stuff. Praise God for Simone, the turkey lady!) :)
A couple of my friends, Alessandra & Paolo, enjoying the buffet table of traditional food!
Jeff read a couple stories having to do with Thanksgiving. (1) He read a children's book, "The story of Thanksgiving" that described the Pilgrims & Native Americans, to teach our Italian friends the reasons why we celebrate Thanksgiving. (2) Then, he read a portion out of a children's Bible storybook, about the woman in the Gospel who was so thankful for Jesus that she broke the bottle of expensive perfume and anointed Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.
Look at all our sweet Italian friends, listening intently to Jeff as he reads! So many Italians got to hear Biblical truth about Jesus this day, as well as seeing the love of Christ lived out in our little community! I praise God for this opportunity!
My sweet friend, Alessandra, and I. She's such a dear!
On the way home, we got caught in the pouring, torrential rain. It was crazy-- the sky just opened up and let forth one doozy of a storm! (Check out how wet my jeans are!) Along with being soaked to the bone, we were carrying the leftovers from the Ammons' apartment to the Metro stop, because the Ammons live a good hour away, across the city, compared to where the rest of us live in Rome. Haha, so we were soaked, and carrying random leftovers, including a microwave!, annnnd the "Bucket O'Sloppy!"... I definitely wouldn't wanna eat those green beans now, especially when they've been covered in about 1 cm of rainwater. Ick!!! What a fun and memorable Metro ride across the city, though, on our way home. :)
I praise the Lord for reasons to be thankful, each and every day! :)
Friday, November 28, 2008
Gesù disse: "Io sono la luce del mondo..."
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
A candle inside Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.This song was a favorite of mine from my childhood. As I've wondered what to share in this update, I have just had it stuck in my head for some reason. I've also thought of the verse, in John 8:12... "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
If Jesus is the light, what does it mean to abide in the light? What does it mean to follow Him, and have the light of life?
I definitely think I need to remember when Jesus also tells us, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house."
If Jesus is the light, what does it mean to abide in the light? What does it mean to follow Him, and have the light of life?
I definitely think I need to remember when Jesus also tells us,
I was reading Psalm 119 today, and was encouraged again by this theme of light as the psalmist writes, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
Then I continued to read and meditate on Psalm 119, and walked away with a new perception. Manytimes, when I read Psalm 119, I walk away thinking of how wonderful God's Word is and how I should strive to keep it, and how it should be my delight, etc. While all these things are true, I circled the words "give me life" many times throughout the psalm.
vs. 25 - "...give me life according to Your word!"
vs. 37 - "...give me life in Your ways."
vs. 50 - "...that Your promise gives me life."
vs. 88 - "In Your steadfast love give me life..."
vs. 93 - "for by them [Your precepts] You have given me life."
vs. 107 - ..."give me life, O LORD, according to Your Word!"
vs. 149 - "...O LORD, according to Your justice give me life..."
vs. 154 - "...give me life according to Your promise!"
vs. 156 - "...give me life according to Your rules."
vs. 159 - "Give me life according to Your steadfast love."
God's Word... the LIGHT to our paths!... isn't just intended to be this encyclopedia of information... but it is rather a story, a story of God, who He is, and where we, as His creation, fit into it--- as people He's created because He loves us, and He has a plan & purpose to allow us to participate in His redemption of His world. Praise Him for that! His Word isn't a guidebook... but a story. A story of redemption and love, that gives us life.
I praise God for giving me life each new day, and for giving me the blessed privilege of participating in His plan for Rome, for Italy, and for the world. Let us go forth and let the light of Christ shine out from us, and let His Word illuminate our paths!
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Random & recent pictures...
The countryside somewhere outside Florence, where we had our fall staff conference.
The inside of the duomo (dome) of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
The outside of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
Some friends & I, exploring Florence, in the hour we had between trains on the way to fall staff conference.
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