The past three weeks in Italy have been so busy and passed by so quick. I’m currently writing this on a plane home. But heres an update and last blog for a couple months:

Lets start with the end of Albania. We were in Albania for about 2 months. And it was hard. With about 30 teenagers living together, sporadic ministry, close to no one speaking english, the lack of safety there was, and some disorganization, everyone was ready to leave. It was a growing period for everyone in some way or another I can guarantee you that, but at least personally ministry felt unfruitful, it was getting cold, and for a lot of people it ended up being pretty hard to create friendships with the locals. So after a couple sad goodbyes we were all ready to move on to the next step. 

Italy was totally different. Instead of all living together we were split up into different host homes. Some people with an italian grandma and some with small families. I didn’t know what to expect from this, I was put with a girl on my team that I hadn’t gotten close to yet and with a family with a 15 year old boy who at first barely talked to us. We stayed in a little apartment in this boys room for 2 weeks. But by the end our host was calling us the daughters she never had and that 15 year old boy was calling us sisters. We got the incredible opportunity of being fully immersed in this culture by joining a family. We had breakfast and late night cappuccinos together. We got to talk about our faith and how it differed from Catholicism with them. We got to take the walk to school with our host brother every day. I gained so much insight and made so many memories with this second family that I gained. 

For ministry, our main ministry host in Italy was a catholic priest who saw a need for kids to hear about Gods love. He talked to high schools around and got a few yes’s to get us into their religion period to talk about God. Many schools were opposed and said no right away, it was a miracle that some were open to it. And going into Italian high schools to preach Gods love? Unheard of. We were split into smaller teams and my team specifically had 3 classes a day each about an hour where we got to stand in front of them and talk. The first week it mostly consisted of us introducing ourselves, explaining the program we were a part of, sharing our stories, and then asking for questions. We had to share our testimonies multiple times every day and answer questions about it and this was such a blessing. I got to identify ways God worked in my life and really pinpoint where He changed me. I had to answer questions that I’ve never given much thought to because I’ve never had to. Like why believe in God? How do you have a relationship with Him? How do you know Hes real? Why is there a hell if He loves us? And these kids were curious. So curious. Many of them didn’t know much about God and they had questions ready to ask. Anytime we were answering a question you could see the gears turning in their heads and see how intently they were listening. We focused a lot on how we each have personal relationships with God and that thats the basis of it. The second week we went into the same classes a second time and played a game that showed that God loves us as a parent would, a best friend would, and in ways you think nobody would. And at the end of the 2 weeks we did an event with some worship, a testimony and fellowship. The amount of kids who came to the event was small but from the ones who came we got to hear about how they think events like that are needed and the biggest thing is a lack of an encouraging, Godly community. 

A good amount of teenagers spoke good english. And my ministry team especially got really close to a few italian kids who translated for us. 3 people especially, one being my host brother, shared that us being there and sharing our stories encouraged them to have a relationship with God. Leaving after hearing that was so hard. But so encouraging to hear that we did touch some lives with our testimonies. 

Then this last week was our debrief week. We stayed in cabins and had some activities and some free time to hang out with each other before parting ways, some for just a month and some for good. Half our team is staying and half of us are on our way home until January and a small amount are going home for good. This week was packed with talking about what we can do differently next semester and catching up with each other and hanging out as our og team one more time. After a teary goodbye yesterday we’re all split up now. 

And God worked. He worked so much good. Italy was busy but God used it to teach us just how to share our stories and how to answer questions about our faith and how to show Gods love as well as talk about it. I really believe He used us to plant some seeds in these high schoolers and we can only hope that they continue asking questions and creating a community of believers. 

Now home for a month. We’ll see what that looks like. And then back to it in Mexico and Guatemala. And we’ll see what that looks like as well. 

These people and this team has changed my life. Even just saying goodbye for a month was really hard. We have so many shared experiences and shared hallelujahs and shared tears. This team of people is what a family of believers looks like. My brothers and sisters all from different backgrounds, all with different stories, getting to do life together for 3 months and more to come. The thing I’m grateful for the most is these people that God knew I needed, and He provided. Each person has changed my life in some way or another. So if you have the chance to meet up with 30 random strangers and go live with them and minister with them I highly recommend. 

I’m so thankful for the prayers back home and the help that I’ve had to have gotten to do this for the last 3 months. And I’m praying for the same things going into it again spring semester. I would love to share with anyone about how God worked in me and through me and His goodness that I saw daily. Pray for my time with the Lord to still be an intentional part of my life being home now for a little while. And for the half of my team who is still in Italy!