Wow...

What a whirlwind of a week! The week was packed with VBS, campus ministry, sight seeing and a lot of Italian food. Those of us who are not enjoying an extended vacation in Italy made it back to Fort Worth late Saturday night with thankfully much less travel issues than last weekend.

One of the first things I noticed when we were back in the states was the wonderful sight of a water fountain. The pleasure we find in the small things when we have been paying 1-3 euros for water all week!

While I am still processing the whole journey, I think the overarching thing that I will take from this mission is the sovereignty of God. Despite Satan's efforts to frustrate us with flight delays, hotel mix-ups, and trains going on strike, we always ended up being where we needed to be when we needed to be there. We also entered this experience expecting to spend the bulk of our time aiding Agape Italia and their college campus ministry (of which we still did), but God also sovereignly placed us in Italy to help make Florence's first VBS a reality. I pray that this outreach would really have an impact on the community surrounding Logos Church.

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Aubrey

We made it

)and weàre typing on an Italian keyboard, which has keys in different places, so excyse the many typos=.

Our arrival was a little hairy, mostly because we sat on the tarmac at JFK for four hours before taking off. But evryone was a trooper — a patience that even surprised ourselves, definitely Godàs hand at work.

The bulk of our work so far has been helping Logos Church, a small evangelical church that has its Sunday services in the theater of a Communist community center, with its Vacation Bible school. As far as they know, itàs the first VBS ever in Florence. It's a significant ministry to the people in the neighborhood, many of whom havenàt encountered Christians before, and an encouragement to the people in the church itself. (Not to mention a ton of fun for the kids.) We've built a "ship" on stage for the Treasure Island-themed skits, planned and executed games, led the kids in crafts and danced silly dances. We've discovered that making a fool out of yourself translates into any language. =)

Weùll be back at the VBS every morning this week. We also started outreach at the campuses in Bologna and Florence today, we'll touch on that more next time.

For now, please pray:
- For rest ... between the jet lag and just the intensity of the jamìpacked days, a lot of us are hitting the wall.
- For hotel rooms. Our hotel had our reservations off by one day, so we donàt yet have a place to stay this Thursday night.
- Praise that we all made it here safely — including all our luggage! — and with good attitudes.

thanks for all your support. We definitely can feel that y'all have our back. Until next time,
Dan and Chrissie for the team

Sunday Update from Flight Control

Dan (or someone else from the team) may be able to give more information, but I wanted to make sure to post an update for those of you who are praying for the team as they're in Italy.

I heard from Betsy yesterday and again today, and the team arrived safely and has enjoyed a few great Italian meals thus far. They connected with the team on the ground in Florence and attended church this morning (Sunday) at the church they'll partner with for the Vacation Bible School this week. They seemed to be in good spirits and excited about the week ahead.

The team had a rough couple of days of travel the first day. They were stuck on the runway at JFK in New York for around 4 hours, which meant they missed their connecting flight in Brussels. Trying to get a team of 17 on the same flight to Florence from Brussels proved to be a test, but one they were able to pass with flying colors.

When the team arrived in Florence, they learned there was a communication challenge with the hotel - just for future information, the words "Staying through the night of the 19th, leaving the 20th" don't communicate the same thing to an Italian as they do to an English-speaking American. So, the team is working on alternate plans for where to stay Thursday night. Fortunately, the Agape Italia group is used to making hotel arrangements on the fly for other teams, and have stepped in to help the leadership team.

A couple of things to be praying for in the next couple of days:

First, be sure to thank God for safe travel, and for a great team of mature young adults who were able to be flexible and maintain an even keel despite some adversity. Pray that the challenges would unite them as a team and allow them to work even more purposefully throughout the next week. Pray that God would give them a great start to the vacation Bible school tomorrow, and that some of their conversations will be fruitful as they work on the campus.

These are a great group of people to work with. Thanks for your prayer and financial support for the team as they've journeyed down this road. You've picked some great people to partner with.

Chris

Off we go

(Boy, those three weeks went fast)

In just a matter of hours, we'll be on our way to the airport. Thanks again for your prayers, encouragement and financial support — whether you pray, give, or go, we're all vital parts of this team.

Before we leave, here are some prayer requests. Please pray:
- For smooth travel. We leave Fort Worth on Friday morning, and most of the group returns June 21.
- For protection from sickness -- several of us are fighting off bugs -- fatigue, and crime. We're not going to be in harm's way, but we'll still be in big cities.
- For our team, that we'd have unity and humble, servant-like attitudes.
- For our leaders, Erick, Sarod, Laura and Betsy, that they'd have wisdom.
- For the Italians we'll meet. We will primarily be working with college students in Florence, with a few of us going to Bologna each weekday. We'll also help a Florentine church with what's believed to be the first Vacation Bible School ever in the city.
- For our work, that relationships will be cultivated so the local ministries, Agape Italia and Logos Evangelical Church, can better serve the community.
- For all of us, courage, perseverance, tact and compassion. Italy is a very spiritually dark place. Though its churches and cathedrals testify to its rich Christian history, to many Italians that's all Christianity is -- something from the past that's unnecessary now. Please pray that we'll show grace to everyone we meet.

Again, this ministry wouldn't be possible without you — thanks for joining us. Arrivederci!

More on Agape Italia

Some of you may have seen these already, but I just discovered them. Here's some good background on Agape Italia and what they're up to:
- Agape Italia: Firenze The local chapter's home page (it's in English too)
- Monthly newsletter and updates, including good insights on fitting into the culture
- Italian politics primer, written by one of the missionaries. Good stuff to know — even if you're not a news junkie like me — because politics will be something that comes up in conversation with the students.

Three weeks away!

Blessed...

We are a month a way and we are so blessed. Blessed to have the opportunity to join the Lord in His work in Italy, blessed to take Hope to the Italians, and blessed to be almost 70% of the way to our financial goal for the trip. This has been a huge burden for some of us as $2,000 is a lot of money to raise for each of us to pull our weight. God is simply amazing! It's been such a blessing to watch how He has orchestrated the funds to come in, from people we didn't expect and in ways we didn't see coming. Please continue to be praying for people who could partner with us prayerfully and financially. I can't wait to see what He does next and how He provides all we need, including the funds.
Praying expectantly,
Betsy

1 Month to go...

Until we leave for Florence! I've posted two more files. The first is a packing list, just a reference for our missionaries that are going. The second file would probably be more useful to you, our casual, mission fan. The second file is our prayer list. Prayer is a necessary part of our mission and we appreciate all the support you are providing.

Packing List (xls, 55k)

Prayer List (pdf, 50k)

Prayers and Culture

I didn't really want to create another post because it would bump Stephanie's down. I guess Stephanie or any of our other talented team members will have to make another posting. ;) A few more files to share with everyone:

• Prayer calendar from our missionary friends that are currently in Florence. Download (pdf, 1.2 mb)

• Cultural resources assembled by your truly. Download Word Doc (.1 mb) Download PDF Doc (.5 mb)
  

La Dolce Vita

What a week…

Without really meaning to, this week I plunged head first into a study of hope…

And of grace…

And of hopelessness…

And despair.The past few weeks so many people around me have been going through horribly hard things…

Sometimes as they talk to me it makes me feel so lost… but at the same time found.

I’m realizing that sometimes it’s when you don’t have the answers and you can’t solve the problems that you draw closest to God.

When you are weak, then He is strong.

Thinking back to college… it wasn’t so long ago – exactly one year ago this Mother’s Day… I remember great times, and I remember incredibly hard times.

Most of all I remember it was a time of great growth in my walk with Christ… but it was also an incredible struggle that came partly because of an incredible confusion along with an incredible pressure.

I felt like I needed to know exactly what I wanted to be, where I wanted to go, and where I was going to end up at for every step of my life.

I felt like I needed to have my five year plan hanging on a rope around my neck… Otherwise I was destined to be nothing.

And it was so frustrating to me, because I felt like I was surrounded by people who knew who they were and where they were going. It felt like they had it all together.

During that time a friend wrote to me and said, “God guided him [Moses] with a pillar of fire and smoke and he followed. Moses knew the final destination but the path was revealed as he went along. The same thing goes for us. We don’t know what the path will be; however, we know that the ultimate destination is eternity in Heaven”.

Those words comforted me so much. I realized I don’t have to know the steps, because God has already walked them. I don’t need my five year plan laminated, because He already has it under control.

I can’t imagine going through college having not known Christ was me every step of the way DESPITE what my major was or what job I had… Despite not having a 4.0 GPA, or being infinitely intelligent, funny, creative, or beautiful.

Because He holds it all.

My heart aches for Italy… for those college students living right in the middle of incredible beauty, fashion, art, culture, history, architecture, and food. But not having a clue about the One who fashioned those things…

For those people trying to figure life out while living in the middle of a place that searches so desperately for “la dolce vita” – the sweet life, but it is always is just beyond their reach…

I can’t imagine living life like that.

It just seems so frustrating, annoying, hopeless…

Pointless even.

They don’t know Christ – the One who created the sweet life, and He is the only One who can offer it to them…

And they haven’t even really had the chance to hear the Gospel before.

I hope… No I pray with all of my heart that our time in Italy can bring hope to Italian college students, and to everyone we encounter on every second of our entire mission.

Because I know that He can provide “la dolce vita” to everyone in a way that is beyond their comprehension – in a way that will completely blow their minds, change their lives, and provide light to their (and our) dark world… It’s my prayer that they will know that “La dolce Vita” is standing in front of them with His arms wide open, if only they will have ears to hear and a heart to believe…

Please pray that they will.

Prayer List

Howdy! For those of you that only know Italy for its food, high fashion, or naked statues, I'd like to take a moment to tell you about the mission field.

Most Italians identify themselves as Catholic but have fallen away from their church due to disillusionment and dissatisfaction with the way the Vatican plays a role in Italian politics. Talking to a few college students, we found that some were pro-religion, some anti-religion, but most expressed that they feel let down by the Catholic Church. That shows in the way "alternative" religions are spreading.

It makes Italy a very challenging area to spread the Gospel in. In a manner of speaking, it's already there, but may not be the focus or may be misinterpreted. What is clear is that Italians are seeking a direction. They long for spiritual fulfillment and will turn to whatever might be near.

We have several missionaries already in Italy, and they provided us with several items that they would like us keep in our prayers:

View Prayer List (pdf, 93k)
View Missionary's Prayer Calendar (pdf, 580k)

In case you lost or need a new copy of our training manual, you can download it from here as well:

Download Mission Training Manual (pdf, 1.1 mb)

"How can I be praying?"

We value your prayers more than anything. In addition to the specific ministry activities, here are some of our biggest requests for now:

Close individual walks with God. This is the most important part of our preparation; as we get closer to going, distractions and temptations are sure to ramp up for each of us.

Strengthened team unity. Jesus said people would know that we are his disciples by the love we have for one another. And with 17 of us in close quarters for eight days, it's important that we get along.

The people we'll meet. Pray that God would prepare the students' hearts so they'll be open to having spiritual conversations and receptive to the message of Christ's love and redemption.

Beginning to take shape

We're starting to get more details of what our ministry in Italy is going to look like.

We'll spend most of our time in Florence, where we'll work with Eikon's overseas missions partners, Greg and Charmaine Lillestrand, and help with their college ministry. We're looking at several avenues where we can meet students, get to know them, and connect them with Agape Italia:

Running English clubs or classes. For the most part, Italian students know English, but they've learned most of it from textbooks. So they're often eager to learn American idioms and slang and practice their conversational skills.

Volunteering with service projects. Social justice is a big concern, or even a passion, for many Italian students, so we'd serve alongside them. In addition to being a way to meet students, this would let us show Christ's love to the poor and hurting, and show to the students that Italy's negative view of Christians isn't always true.

Helping Agape expand within Florence. Of the 12 University of Florence campuses, the ministry is present on only two of them.

We'll also get an opportunity to work in Bologna (about an hour train ride away), where an Agape ministry is being set up. We'd be helping "decode" the area: hanging out with college students and finding out where they live, study, eat, drink and socialize. This will help Agape staffers get the ball rolling in the fall — they'll already have an idea where to spend their time.

All of this is still just a rough outline; we won't know for sure exactly what we'll be doing until we're about to leave. (And once we do get the plans nailed down, they'll probably change again.) As in any overseas ministry, flexibility will be our motto. Thanks for praying for these preparations!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Eikon Mission:Italy blog. Thanks for agreeing to be a part of our support team. Without your prayers and financial support this mission would not be possible. This blog is intended to give updates to our prayer partners as we head to Italy this Summer to support the ministry of Agape Italia, the Italian arm of Campus Crusade for Christ. Though we don't completely understand it, we believe God moves when His people pray, so we are so thankful for your desire to pray for us as we plan to be a part of this mission.

We hope this blog gives you a glimpse of what God is doing through the young singles at McKinney Church, and what God is doing around the world. Stay tuned for updates - we'll keep you posted as we go.

Chris