and so it begins.

ciao mi amici.

i've been in italy for exactly 3 weeks now. it truly feels like so much longer- not in a bad way- in a 'this really is my life' way.

this week, we've spent some time on campus meeting students, and we also started our Bible study, called La Porta... aka The Door. this Bible study is hosted at our apartment. it was quite an experience to have my living room full with 25 people! we visited, ate dinner, and then listened to three women [one american, two italiani] speak of their summer project in malawi. along with a team, these women raised money to go and serve the people of malawi by building a school and a well. the pictures and stories were extremely moving. it was absolutely beautiful to hear two italians speak of serving God to their fellow italians [even though i only caught about every 5th word] :). next time, we will begin our study of the Sermon on the Mount.

today, our team went to careggi [the engineering campus here in florence]. i visited this campus back in march, so it was surreal to enter onto it again knowing i was long-term. my teammate michelle and i spoke with two girls who were very interested in american pop culture. they questioned me mostly about film stars and tv shows. i am rediscovering the life of the lost. it was so easy for these girls to transition into joking about porn, sex, etc. this is something i've just never been confronted with [especially living in oklahoma] but is so understandable.

these precious italians just don't know any better. oh how i pray that their eyes would be opened to the knowledge of their great Savior. please join me.

below is a picture of my team. it is a joy and privilege to serve italians alongside them. clockwise from left: le presento: kelly, abigail, marti, drew, cecilia [italian], sarah, michelle, and me. please continue to pray for each of us- that we would be bonded together as one and love the Lord as we ought.