Bologna Christmas Lights

Enjoy!  Buon Natale!

Book of Hope

Today marked a great day for ministry outreach here in Bologna. Our Bologna team has a unique situation in which Agape Italia is partnered other churhes and ministries that seek to reach the people of Bologna for the kingdom of God.


Today we, Agape, began helping with the Book of Hope distiribution, or libri di sparnaza. We went to a local high school with approximately 1,000 plus students. There schools are arranged a little differently than what we are used to in the states. Each student has a schedule that in unique to them and only some students come each day. So today, Thursday, and Saturday I will return with Cody and Kelly to continue passing out the book of hope at this school in hopes that each of the students there gets one. (Yes, I said Saturday to those who were reading carefully. Even though Monday, and Tuesday were a holiday here in Italy with no school, the schools are on stike on Friday, so we will be going to school with the students on Saturday.) Other teams are focusing on other high schools in the area.

Now, this is very strategic because members of our team went to some of those same schools the week of Thanksgiving and shared about the history of the American holiday. Ester, an Italian that we partnered with also shared what she was thankful for, GOD! Now this was tricky because they were only allowed to share their experiences. Thankfully, there were students who were both believers and non believers that asked just the right questions that the team was able to share the gospel with the students in the audience of several of the presentations. Hallelujah! God is great!

The follow-up to some of the presentation was that Ester was able to get several thousand copies of the book of hope and permission from ALL area high schools to pass them out to the students before school. Just as a side note that is an extraordinary feat! Praise God! The book of hope basically walks through the book of John and the gospel. It also has several testimonies of other young people who lives have been transformed because of a relationship with the savior! We are praying that the students not only read them and share them with others but that the holy spirit stirs their hearts with a longing for a personal relationship with the Lord. I know God is faithful to his promises!

Isaiah 55:10-11 (New International Version)
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The last part of the puzzle is this, on Saturday night, an Italian Christian Worship band, Lost and Found will be putting on a concert just for these High School students at a popular discotecca.

Please pray that as we are reaching out to the high school students here in Bologna, that God is at work! These books could easy be pushed to the side or thrown in the trash, but I know God is alive and well in this city, and that the students definitely need the hope of a savior that has already defeated the enemy. Our team is increasingly aware that without God all our efforts are in vain. Pray that we continue to acknowledge that and seek his leadership and wisdom as we seek this city for his kingdom!

Also, due to scheduling issues and the holiday here in Italy on Tuesday, the English club at the engineering faculty has been unable to meet these past two weeks. We have offered several other times to meet and make up missed times and I am looking forward to meeting with the students again next week in our regularly scheduled time. Please pray for Kelly, Cody, Ryan, and I as we seek relationships with these students that the Lord open doors to share the Gospel!

As always, please also keep me posted as to things I can pray for you for. It would be my honor to take your requests before the Lord. Just send me an email at clearblue06@live.com.

Love in Christ,
Crystal

Choosy mom's Choose Jif, plus other news!

First off I am so excited that after 6 trips to the post office and having someone call the automated post office phone system 5 times, that I finally have the package my mom sent me! Made my day! I also got a postcard and a letter today! Gosh I feel so loved!

A picture of the card and post card, as well as the slips delivered before the package without pickup instructions.

The package, filled with lots of thoughtful goodies!

Choosy mom's choose Jif! Plus Taco seasoning, yumm!!!  Thank you momma so much!

IN OTHER NEWS:

We had our second English class today at the Facoltà di Ingegneria today and had 6 students show up. So, I will update you as to the progress of the class. The students are coming because at this faculty in the spring there will be an English test most of the students will be required to take, so I am going to help them with some test prep.

Last week when we met I had prepared a lesson focusing on a major English test in Italy that I thought that they might be taking, but it was the wrong one. The 7 students that showed up last week all said they were spoke, "Bruto Italiano." They lied, they spoke very good English. We did lots of grammar practice and it was ok. Anyhow, this week I knew in advance what test they would be taking as well as what they wanted to do with our time together. So, this week we focused on the spoken part of the test.
I prepared models of the four different parts and their components. We had a ton of fun. The first part of the test is an interview of the tester about their hometowns, family, and other things. I liked this part because I was able to hear a little from each person about who they are and where they are from. In the second part of the test they have to compare two pictures. The funniest thing is one set was to compare a dog to a chipmunk. It was so funny because none of the Italians had seen a picture of one before. After Kelly and I began to explain what it was one of the girls shouted, “They dance and sing like, umm” and I replied, “Alvin?” She said yes and they are started talking about Alvin and the chipmunks. After a few minutes of laughter we moved on to the third part in which the test takers are given a task they have to plan in pairs. It was fun to hear them interact with one another. The last part of the spoken test is for the students to discuss in a group of three their opinions about a question or topic.
This is where our time together got interesting. One of the questions I asked focused on politics in Italy. Anyhow they were all a little eager to discuss and Kelly got a lot of insight. She studied Italian politics as a part of her coursework in college. After our two hours together was over, I was a little sad that I would have to wait till next week for us to talk again!

Prayer Requests

• That the English club on Tuesday turns into a great way to foster relationships with the Italians. Praise that is on the campus and that we kind of have a room.

• Pray for the discussion group about worldviews of Christianity and other religions turns into a fruitful time with believers and non-believers here in Bologna. On a side note, it will take place in a McDonalds.

• Pray for the small group of girls who want to study the Bible with Annet in Greek and Latin. Praise that we have someone on our team who can do that!

• Pray for the team as we each branch out into personal ministry interest times on campus. Pray that we will each find something that will help develop relationships with Italians that will lead to sharing of the gospel.

• Pray for some special relationships that our Cody, Jesse, and Tricia have with people in the community and praise that some of them are asking the staff about God, the church, and the Bible!

As always, I want to continue to pray for supporters back home. Feel free to email me at clearblue06@live.com and I will make sure to diligently talk to God about what you share!
Agape in Christ,

Crystal

Pictures of Bologna

Objective One

Last week, the girls and I started our campus ministry at the University of Bologna. Getting there is taking a lot of faith.


Campus Crusade for Christ in the United States basically goes to students at a university's campus and initiates conversations with students about spirituality. Most hope that these initial conversations will lead a non-believer of Christ in a relationship with a staff member in which questions can be answered in a non threatening environment that will prayerfully lead the non believer to the person of Christ. That person can then be discipled and ultimately lead to a point where they too will want to share the gospel of Christ with others. Now as a disclaimer, I was not involved with Campus Crusade during college and I am relying on others descriptions of what they experienced during college. Also, this is a brief description is not an all encompassing view of the many varied ministries Campus Crusade has both stateside and abroad.

That being said, that method has not worked here in Italy. The Italians' have a different culture and different worldview than Americans. Our time on campus last week was spent doing surveys with some of the students here in Bologna. Surveys like the one we did have been done by staff members at other campus ministries throughout Italy, and Agape Italia has seen some common threads amoung the different locations but also some differences. We will also be doing some throughout the year just to make sure that as we try and reach Italian students with the gospel, that we don't let culture hinder the message.

In Acts 17: 16-34 Paul has taken the time to observe the people living in Athens and what their culture was like. When he took the gospel to the people of Athens he did so in a way that connected to their culture. Instead of going to the synagogue as was more the cultural norm, he started in the market place where the Athenians shared the daily news. He went to the Areopagus and proclaimed it there. The same place that Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated the latest ideas. He said he had observed the way they had built alters and worshipped many Gods. He also noted that they had an alter for an "unknown god." He used their way of life to communicate a message that needed to be heard there. He did not let what was familiar to him; stop him from finding a way to reach the Athenians where they were.

Paul talks about this more in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."
That being said we are on campus at this point trying to find out what the culture of the students at the University of Bologna looks like.

Some things currently being processed.

1) Most students have said they would not talk about spiritual things with people they do not know. One girl said, “I would talk about spiritual things with my friends, my family, no, my friends, maybe..." So, we will need to get to know the Italians. Sounds easy right, it is not, keep reading. They also did not say the church.

2) When asked where there friends are from, the university or their cities, many of the students replied both, but the ones they were close to were from home. When asked how long it took for them to become close enough to share personal things with them, one replied, "years and years."

So, we need to be close friends with the Italians and that can take many years, are you starting to see that this may be different than the U.S. A fact I learned this weekend is that the average rate of turnover for a missionary serving in Italy is 2 years. My friends, the missionaries here aren't staying long enough to get to a place where the Italians want to talk about spiritual things.

3) National leadership has observed the fact that Italians are a little suspicious of free things. Last year a team was giving out free bottles of water, and the Italians were very suspicious. Free language classes, same thing, there must be something wrong with it. Now think about this, the Gospel is free to hear. (1 Corinthians 9:18) God's grace costs us nothing, but cost God his only son. We could never earn our salvation. It is free. Our good works can't get us a spot in heaven with God. It is free. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Being religious is not enough. It is free. Jesus paid the debt of our sins by dying on the cross, a debt we simply cannot pay. It is free. (John 14:6) Jesus died in our place. It is free. (1 Peter 3:18) All we have to do is accept an invitation. It is free. (John 1:12)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Now my wheels turn thinking about a suspicion of free things, my friends, the gospel is free. Are they suspicious of it too?
4) The Italians don't understand missionaries. Many non practicing Italians think the church is here, why are you? What is the difference between Catholic and protestant? Are you going to tell me that the catholic culture and my by default "Italian" culture are wrong? There has been a lot of protestant churches doing just that and a lot of catholic retaliation. That all being with our bringing in the "Church" and its history here.
There is a lot more being processed and we are working to try and brainstorm ideas that might reach into the hearts and minds of Italian culture so that we can share the gospel with the many lost people here. As a team we are prepared to try many things this year and to fail. Just pray for us, for wisdom, as we brainstorm. Pray for God to go out ahead of us and prepare a place. Pray that God not let His Words return empty even though we are not sufficient to adequately share the "Good News." (Isaiah 55: 10-11)

Ciao!

Crystal

Cultural Lessons 101

So having been in Italy a month tomorrow 11-4-09 ,or as they write here in Italy 4-11-09, I have started learning quite a bit about Italian culture as well as my own and about myself.


1) I am impatient. Most people who know me say, "Crystal you must have a lot of patience, you do..."

Well I am not patient and God is taking the time to show me this being in Italy. I was told by some of my teammates that waiting is a part of Italian culture. When I was getting my paperwork done the longest line I waited in was maybe 30 minutes, and I thought to myself that is not too much different than the states. Well on October 14, I signed up for language classes at the Anglo American School (they teach mostly English to Italians). That day they gave me a list of what books I would need for the course. I went to the book store and they had the work book I needed but not the text book. I talked to the lady at the counter, she spoke a little English, and she informed me the book had been ordered but the bookstore was waiting on the Greeks. Humm... we are still waiting on the Greeks.

That same week, actually before I went looking for the book, my roommates were kind enough to go to the local internet provider, FastWeb to sign up for internet. Well we got internet yesterday, November 7, and in the mean time, I was very frustrated with the waiting.

So lesson number one is I have a lot less patience than I thought.

2) Language is very important to what we do on a daily basis. I can't emphasize this point enough. My first day in Italy I went to apply for my codice fiscale and my permesso. While I was doing this I was given very simple forms to fill out. It needed information such as my name, birthday, and passport number. Stateside if the same form was given to a parent of a student who did not know much English I would not have thought twice about the possibility of such a form being difficult. The information it was looking for was simple. Alas, having had my experience here in Italy, I now know the simplicity of the information required on the form does not matter, if you can't read it.

3) Second languages are hard to acquire. Prior to my experiences here in Italy, I served as a teacher in Texas, where I had English as a Second Language, E.S. L., teaching certification. In training for such a certification the professors I had shared with us many strategies based on tons of research for ways to help students acquire the ability to speak and understand English. Some were rather simple things such as where a student were to sit, or making sure to use pictures with words to help ground the words meaning. Some were a little more strategic such as having cloze passages, or passages that would leave out only key words for the ESL student to fill in. All that said, my Italian teacher used some of the same techniques when teaching Italian to non-Italian speaking students, including me. My assessment, they may help, but very little in the beginning stages of language acquisition. For the first few days I could listen in class for an hour and a half and understand little to none that was said. Having now been in the country for a month, and having been in 8 classes, I can every now and then think, "Wow, I know all the words they just said, now give me 10 minutes to think of what they mean." I will keep you posted to my progress this year.

4) Moving to a country is different from traveling to a country. When I go to visit a place, I am concerned with the best sites to see and the best food to eat, and maybe learning a few words from the host country. Moving somewhere though, I look at the sites to see every day, and say I have time to see that later, now where is the grocery store. You see the restaurants all around and think maybe I ought to try that sometime, but that tonight I think I will cook at home. You hear the language and say I want to be able to have a conversation with the people I see here and not only the ones who speak English.

5) Culture relates to how people view things, including religion, it is a part of their worldview. Now, it seems to me that having done research in college in a field that hinges on peoples worldviews I didn't expect this realization to slap me across the face the way it did. Yet, it did. When I was on campus last week interviewing students about spirituality and culture, it was interesting to contemplate how culture influenced some of the answers we heard. I will be posting more information about this on another post. This point will affect my work throughout the year, and how we reach out to the Italians.

6) This one is not so serious, but I will share. Italian is similar to Spanish in the fact that verbs change have suffixes that change based on if the verb is being done in first person (I), second person (you), him or her, us, we, or them. I hope that makes sense. It is hard to explain it. However, I was working on homework for class one night and it strikes me, in Texas I would phrase that as "Ya'll,” so do they have a plural form of you in Italian? The answer is yes. The word, noi, which literally translates as we, really means plural you, or in Texas, YA'LL! Yes!

I am sure that as culture surrounds me I will continlue to learn about Italian culture but also a little more about myself, and I will keep you posted!

Crystal

Getting Started

Wednesday
So, Wednesday started out with meeting Cody, one of the ICS, or International Campus Staff, to go down town. Side note, ICS are long term team members. We were on a mission to sign me up for the beginners Italian Language class that his wife, Jennifer, is taking. Well, we get there and from the little bit that the teacher spoke in English, that class was moving too quickly, so we left our numbers, and they were going to call with a time for my classes. After that I rode the bus, by myself to Ryan’s, another ICS staff member, house to have lunch. Ryan and his wife Karli were hosting a lunch for Kelly, Annet, and I to welcome us to the city. Karli made carbonara that was oh so very yummy. After lunch Ryan allowed us girls to ask questions we had about what we would be doing here in Italy. About half way through jet lag got the best of me and I was knocked out. :( Fortunately, everyone understood. I felt terrible. On the way home, Kelly and I went to go see if we could get my phone to work, and to run a few other errands. Thank goodness for someone who understands the culture and can help me out.

Thursday
Today started with the joyful trip to Ikea, pronounced here as E-Kea. The three girls were all off to get bed and bath stuff for the new apartment. Here is where jet lag and stress just kicked my butt. We walk in and with a few moments, Annet, Kelly, and Julia have all gone their separate ways shopping. Totally something that would be fine and I would do myself in the states. However, I look up to look at signs to see where things are and realize, wow, I am lost, and I can't even read the signs to know where I might want to go. Now, this is no fault of the girls, it is my fault as I do what I do, I wander. So, I start to get frustrated at the fact that I have no idea where I am and I start to just feel that feeling of, "what am I doing here, and I want to go home!" So, I continue to just walk through Ikea and finally bump into everyone again. My very smart self *sarcastic sigh here* does not ask any of the girls to buddy up with me, which would have been a very easy thing to do. Instead within a few moments again I am on my own. I decided hey I should just do my best and use this as a growing experience. I get to the bedding stuff and go to pick up a duvet cover, and realize I can't read what size this is. At this moment of realization that this is just how it will be for awhile, I am ready to just sit right there on the floor and cry. Not good. Long story short, I survived the experience but I had taken a beating.
When we got back to Jesse and Tricia Marcos' apartment I was ready to go back to Linda's where I was staying and just hide under the covers and to sleep it off. So I got on a bus and rode back to Linda's. I had a wee bit of a celebration when I realized that I did it all by myself. Seriously, I think I aged to 5 that day.

Linda was so very kind and helped me feel somewhat normal for being so overwhelmed during this cultural adjustment, and by 3 in the afternoon I was sound asleep on her couch. At 7 pm she woke me up in time to say that she was off to a bible study and would be back later and we could have dinner. So I decided I would do my best to stay up until bed time. Success!

Friday
Friday, started off much better. Kelly, Annet and I had made plans to go downtown and explore, all for the purposes of helping me to get a general sense of direction downtown so I would not always feel so lost. It was awesome. In the time I was awake the night before, I had really studied some maps of downtown and it really helped. The girls were so gracious in letting me take the lead to see if I really knew where I was, but also being for me when I wasn't sure. :) After we had walked around for a bit we went to this department store called Coin. There I found the bedding I was too frustrated to find at Ikea. Again success! After, that we began to head back to the bus stop to go to Jesse's for the staff meeting. On the way there, we saw a protest by the area high school students against the curriculum. Cool, very cool!

Staff meeting was the first time the whole team had been able to get together. We started the meeting with some prayer and devotional time. Sweet! After that Jesse shared the history of how campus crusade ended up in Bologna, and how the team arrived there too! Some very cool stuff...more on that later. We also discussed as a team what our schedule would look like, and how it fit in with Agape Italia's view of what ministry in Italy should look like. I am pretty excited to get moving on some stuff, but we will also be testing the waters, so to speak. We are the first team here, so we are on ground zero. I will get you more details as they unfold.

Saturday and Sunday
To round up the week, I relaxed and had a lazy Saturday. I slept in, opened the serranda, i.e. shutter like things on the windows, and enjoyed the view and noises. I wrote some thank you cards and some letters to send over to Texas. I caught up on some book keeping for expenses and just really enjoyed the day. A lazy day back in Texas is well, nice, but in Italy it is amazing! That evening Kelly and Annet came to Linda's and we had dinner and chatted the night away.
Sunday morning started with church. Oh, how I forget how awesome it is to hear worship in another language. When I arrived I quickly picked up on them singing Alpha, Omega, beginning and end... and started to sing along in English. After that they sang another song I knew and I also sang along, in English. Two more songs and it was time for prayer. I loved listening in, even if I had no idea what was being said. I was glad that God would know every language that every tribe would come to Him in. Praise that we have an infinite God. When the teaching began, I gave up feeling like trying to marvel at the sound of Italian and just read quietly where I am in my personal devotional time, numbers. Maybe I would have better off listening to sermon I wouldn't understand.

Afterwards, Kelly and Annet were introducing me to a few friends that they know from Nuova Vita and a few spoke English. Paolo, one of the guys was amongst them. After a few minutes of me giving him a hard time about inviting us somewhere on Saturday night and then not calling us, he asks where I am from. When I reply that I am from America, and from Texas, he said, "No, you’re kidding, you sound like your Australian." Several minutes later, he still doesn't believe me. I pull out my passport and show him that I am from Texas and he thinks it is a fake too. Funny right?
After church, I came home and just relaxed. I had pizza for the first time since I have been here and no kidding ate the whole thing. PS for those who don't know, it is culturally acceptable and the Italians will eat a whole one plus other courses in a traditional meal.

So, tomorrow I should move into my apartment and may be without internet for awhile, but I will catch yall up when I can! Oh and Tuesday I start language school. Also next week before Friday, we will go to campus and start well…something great.

Ciao, Ciao!
Crystal

I Have Arrived...

I made it to Bologna yesterday around 2pm here. We immediately left the airport and dropped off my luggage at Linda's apartment. After that Annet, Jesse, Kelly, and I went to meet with the realtor to make the lease for our apartment. After that we went to try and get me a Sim card for my phone. While successful at getting a Sim card, I was not successful in making it work. :( I will work more on that later. When we got back to Jesse and Tricia's apartment, we all had a homemade Bolognese sauce. Yumm. I then went back to Linda's and slept soundly, until the jack hammers woke me up this morning at 7ish. Welcome to Italy!


Today was a day of paperwork. A visa is only step one in being able to live and work in Italy. First I had to apply for a numero di codice fiscale. Basically, it is a social security number in Italy. After, I finished getting that form in record time, i.e. maybe 30 minutes, not the half day it took Kelly, we headed to the post office to go ahead and get my permesso which is a permit to stay. The lady at the desk was not happy about having to do the paperwork for this, but alas it was filled out. So, I have an appointment to meet with the government on the morning of the 29th of October.

After finishing the paperwork, we ate lunch and then went to the center to meet with the guy currently living in the apartment we get to move into in a week. :) So, excited! It is a two bedroom, one bath apartment. It was recently redone so I am excited! When we finished we made a quick trip to a store and found a dryer and straitener that we could use this year.
At around 7pm Annet, Julia and I went to dinner, where I had gnocchi and it was delicious! When we ordered tiramisu and it did not turn out right so the waiter brought us some limoncello to drink...tried it but I think it tastes like pinesol. :) Wouldn't recommend it!

Anyhow, it is late and I am tired and will be getting up early tomorrow. I have to sign up for my language school! YEAH!
Ciao!
Crystal

Travel wouldn't be travel without delays....

Our flight out from Chicago was delayed for about an hour. Which of course means I got to Frankfurt a hour late. Add the time it takes to unload a lot of people off a plane, and go through customs, and go back through security and I was really late. I was supposed to have almost a hour and a half here at the airport, however, I missed my flight. Lufthansa rebooked my flight for 12:15 pm my time and 5:15 in Texas time. So, I will arrive at 2 and 7 respectively. :) I am a very tired traveler and hope to maybe nap at the airport before I arrive. I will try and let you know as soon as I make it!
Crystal

Veiw from my plane window right before landing!

Made it to Chicago!

Just a quick post before I leave Chicago. I am leave for Frankfurt, Germany in about an hour and a half. I will arrive there at about 7:00am their time, and midnight back home. So I will post again when I can!




Crystal

Alice in Wonderland

I was sitting and reflecting today over the past few days since I got the news that this journey I have been planning for so long is about to take off, when I realized just how much my life is about to change.

No, Duh! Right!?! Well, leave it to me for it to all smack me in the forehead like the V8 commercial after over a year of planning.

I was realizing all major life events up into this point that I have experienced only changed a few things around me. During childhood, the biggest change that I looked forward to each year was my birthday; the only real difference is that I got to say I was one year older than the day before. High school graduation is a milestone for most of us, a BIG change, however the only real difference in our life is now we have a piece of paper to signify the successful completion of 12-14 years of school. My next major life change was moving to college and living on my own. While this change actually made life a little different, new town, new friends, family being farther away, for the most part I was still a student and I still knew the culture I was surrounded by. College graduation and moving into the real world and getting a real job was still much the same as life had always been, a few changes but the core of my existence was much the same.
So, I guess this being said I can start to make my point with a little more imagery. :) I love books because I can change my life while not really changing anything. So, I am sitting today daydreaming about this change when I realize all the changes up until this point of my life have been more like reading a book, and not really turning my life upside down.
For some reason Alice in Wonderland popped into my head. She had been sitting under a tree reading a book with not so many life changes, when she fell asleep and her whole world went topsy turvey. So, if you want to know if I am excited, yes! However the feeling I am feeling the most is a little overwhelmed. I am not only having a little change in my life, but almost everything I have known is going away.

I will be leaving family and friends behind as I put an ocean between us. I have packed all my favorite things into a storage building. I have sold my car, and turned in the keys to my apartment. I will be going somewhere where I don't know the language and will for the first time in my life since I was a baby be at a loss of words. I will not have familiar radio or TV or movies to escape into, as it will be in Italian. I won't have my favorite stores right around the corner, or friends and family who know me well to comfort me. I will be a world away. While I have thought about most of these from time to time and said, "Yeah I think I will survive." I am not sure it occurred to me all those things would be at ONE time! YIKES!

So here I am getting ready to jump down the rabbit hole and feeling a little overwhelmed.

Anyhow that's all.... oh, and I am not good at goodbyes, so let’s stick to see ya laters please!

Crystal

I have a leave date!

So I got an email today with a leave date! 

I will leave board a plane bound for Chicago at 10:00am on October 4, 2009.

From there I will board a Lufthansa flight from Chicago at 3:25 pm and will arrive to Frankfurt at 6:55 am.

From Frankfurt I will board another Lufthansa at 8:35am and will arrive in Bologna at 9:55am. 

Yeah for 24 hours of travel to get to Bo!

Looking forward to sharing with y'all real soon with more details!

God Bless,

Crystal

I am gonna go to Bologna...

So, I just got off the phone with leadership.  I am going to go to Bologna.  However, I still need to get to 100% before I can board the plane.  Keep praying, and keep sharing.  To give go to my giving page.

Thanks for keeping me in your prayers,

Crystal

Simply Amazed...

As I get ready to write, the only thing I am doing is singing, "Well I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see. Because this broken road, prepares Your will for me!" Don't know when the last time I heard the song, but on my drive home the song just overtook my brain.


I just got home from my usual Thursday night bible study, and while that part was normal the rest of the day has not been. My stomach is turning in such a way that I feel like I should be on a roller coaster. My mind is screaming that it can't grasp the new information that is coming in. My lungs are gasping for air, as my breathe has been taken away.

So now you have to be wondering what is causing all the emotions...

Today 12% of my support came in, 22.82% this week. This puts me at 87.18%. God is moving that mountain that I have been praying for Him to move. Can I just say that I am simply amazed! PRAISE GOD from whom all blessings flow!

YEAH GOD!!!

I have till tomorrow to get the rest of my support in...Here is my current need...

Total need: $6,648.62

Total in monthly support needed: $554.05

This is so doable.

That's 6 people at $100.00 per month

or

11 people at $50.00 per month.

Can you see the light? I can. If you have supported, thank you so much for bringing me this far! If you are just reading this blog and haven't decided about giving, please consider praying about it right now! God is seeking His lost children in Italy, and I can't wait to serve Him there and be a part of how He is moving. Would you consider making an investment in eternity by joining my team in reaching out for the Italian students?
I am anxiously waiting for tomorrow...Walking by faith, waiting on God to reveal His will for me.

Crystal

34 hours left...

Just a quick post to let you all know where I am.  The most up to date information is that I am at 80.5%.  Keep praying as I know that I am.

Trusting God,

Crystal

The Eye of the Storm

I was just reading my Bible tonight and having some quiet time and reflecting on everything that has transpired in the past 2 days. I was telling God how overwhelmed that I have been feeling, knowing that I need 100% by Friday. Heck, I think I have been more stressed in the past 48 hours than I have been at any other time in the support raising process and that's saying something. My days have included keeping busy, cooking, cleaning, and eating. All of which are stress relievers for me.

However, not much has had an impact at relieving my stress. I prayed a lot on Monday after I got the news but hadn't felt a whole lot like talking to God since. The first time had been mostly heaps and sobs over what the task was at hand and how overwhelmed I felt. Isn't it remarkable that even though God had just brought in 9% in a day that I still doubted his power? Much the same way the disciples wanted to know where food was going to come from for the 4,000 when they had just been with Jesus when he fed 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. (Matt 15:29-39 and Matt 14:13-21) God provides. However, even those who are there to see what God can do and how it is nothing for him, doubt.

This overwhelming feeling has been washing up on me much like the huge rainstorms we have had in Fort Worth these past few days. I would swear the winds and rains of God's power and provision have been threatening to blow me away. My heart and head both feel like they are ticking time bombs. Tonight though, I got home from dinner with Tonja and babysitting and just felt like taking my worries to God. So I prayed.

Matthew 16: 30-34

"O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
I was praying to Him and reflecting on His word and His promises to provide for us and calm washed over me. It was if I was in the eye of the storm. I could see blue skies above to tell me that it would be okay. That even though only a small amount had sprinkled in today, His hand was busy at work. I know that soon the breeze will begin to pick up again, and so will the rain. I know that I will probably feel overwhelmed again soon, but I know whose words I will listen to, and it won't be mine, but the words of a God big enough to provide for all of us.

Matthew 7: 7-8

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Crystal

P.S. Can you tell I was reading Matthew today?

NEWS..North, East, West, South...

So my compass is still spinning and has yet to land on a true North. After again talking to leadership as it is Monday, we are still thinking Bologna. HOWEVER, I only have till Friday, September 25 to raise the remainder of my support. Kelly my teammate will be landing in Bologna then. Annet will arrive tomorrow. My teammates and Jesse and Tricia will be getting an apartment for next year and we will need to know if will be a 2 bedroom or a 3 bedroom. So, my charge in the mean time is to raise the other 26% that I need with only 4 days left. If you know anyone who would be interested in giving please pass on their information to me and I will contact them, or even pique their curiosity by sharing my blog. :) Also, just as important is that you help me in prayer. Just keep praying, just keep praying....




Plan B in the mean time would mean that I would not go to Bologna, but maybe elsewhere. Leadership and I will also be praying this week on what that will look like. So still no answers here. In the world of me, this means not only do I not know when the compass will point North, but I don't know what East, West , and South are. I feel totally lost. Maybe I will feel less overwhelmed tomorrow, after more prayer and quite time, I will feel better. Although, no matter the direction that God sends me I am willing to follow.



In Him,

Crystal

Just an Update...

Last Wednesday, I talked with the people in charge of whether or not I go to Bologna, and when I go. We discussed where I was with support, and what that meant as far as plans for going to Italy and when. She still felt like, after praying and talking with the Italian leadership, that I was still supposed to go. They are not giving up on me yet, even though my deadline for support passed on the 16th. With 63% in it was still overwhelming to think about what still needed to come in and how God was going to do that. So based on all current information, we made the decision to keep going and to talk on Monday, tomorrow. Let's just say it has been a looong week as the days passed by and nothing came in.


Plan B's just start flowing through my finite mind that can't fathom an infinite GOD. I wonder, is He just going to take a year? Do I need to get a job in the meantime? Am I doing what He wants me to do? Do I need to pack now? Do I need to get an apartment, motel, or extend my lease at my apartment for a little extra time? Am I going at all? Is He going to send me elsewhere? Is this all just one big test, "will you follow where I lead you?" It is so hard for me to just sit back and say that I have no idea where Monday's conversation is going to leave me. It is so hard for me not to try and plan something, anything, just so I can have a plan.

I know right now more than ever I need to lean and trust on God. After all, I left my job in May trusting He would get me to Italy to serve. I left my job, without doubting that God was going to provide every cent of a $51,889 support goal that I had no idea how even a penny would make it in. I have said, "here I am use me "so much this summer, that I am afraid of the task at hand getting bigger. I can trust in the ALL POWERFUL, SUPREME GOD of the UNIVERSE can't I? I know I can and that any time God's plans for my life, and my plans for my life compete, I lose. God wins every time! Not because He is mean or He wants me to do things I don't want to do, but because He loves me and dreams bigger for me than I can dream. He wins because He makes my plans look like just a speck of sand in a sand castle. I love when God plans for me! Yet here I stand, wanting to at least know one step ahead of now. Humm...

Today, God showed me just a little glimpse of the power He has. Today between church, the prayer party, and a few generous conversations with friends, God helped bring in 9% of my support in a 24 hour period. Just a hint, I have only had 1 week in which God had provided that abundantly. I knew that when God would start to move I would feel overwhelmed by His provision and power. It actually makes me feel in awe to serve a God who overwhelms me. If I could for one second say, "Wow, this God, I know Him so well, there is nothing about Him I don't understand...," that’s a God I don't want to serve. I like how God has me in this place where I know His power has no bounds, and yet He doesn't show me completely, because I think I would burst in the first few moments. Heck, I am overwhelmed at the little speck of power He has shown.

So as of right now with my new support I am at 73.6% of my support in. I roughly need 23 supporters at $50 a month for 12 months or 11.5 supporters at $100 per month. I know this is within in God's provision. So, prayer partners and support partners keep praying that God complete my support team. Others reading this blog prayerfully consider giving and reaching out to college students at the University of Bologna so that they might know the Powerful God I serve.
Love in HIM,

Crystal

Struggling with discouragement

Before I leave for Italy, I have the task of raising my support for the year. As of right now I am at about 60% and I am scared and discouraged at how 40% and right at $20,000 is going to come in before my September 16th deadline. Yes 7 days away. I truly do feel called to serve the Lord and to help reach people for Christ, but I have to admit my faith is a little shaken. I was praying to the Lord today asking Him what I should do, that I didn't feel motivated to keep picking up the phone and that I felt discouraged by all the messages I was leaving when people didn't answer the phone. I was reminded of the $400.00 that came in yesterday and the three gifts that came in on Sunday.


Every time I question or wonder if God is planning on providing the support, more money and support comes in. God really is good. I should not doubt. He also shows in his word that we can't escape his will. He has supremacy in everything. Colossians1: 18 I know that I should hold fast to this but lately that has been extremely hard. The deadline keeps ticking closer and I wonder when God is going to move this mountain. I don't doubt that HE CAN or that HE WILL. Funny right?!? Funny that I can trust that he WILL move the mountain but also not trust in his timing. I was then driving home, a way that I don't travel often, and I ran across a church bulletin..."Have plenty of time, time is on my side. Nothing but Eternity. - God" Fitting right?


I know God bought me this far, after all in the beginning I thought I wasn't even qualified to go, and now I am certain that it is because of God I am here. I also know that he won't leave me. I just need patience and encouragement.


"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. “Joshua 1:9

Questions

The past few days I have been working on an application for a church, trying to get support. In the process, I realized that many of the questions the application are some of the same questions that I am asked by the people I have met with when telling them about my mission trip to Italy. So for those I haven't met with or ones who want to know more, here it is!



1.) Briefly describe the mission and ministry of which you are or will be a part.
I will be a part of a team consisting of three married couples that are International Campus Staff, and three Short Term International Missionaries. We will be seeking to reach 100,000 college students at the University of Bologna. In a community is which less than 4% of the population attend church regularly. Furthermore, the University of Bologna has not had an effective evangelical Christian organization present for 20 years.

Our goal will be to build relationships with the students at the University of Bologna in two ways. The first will be to host an English club with the students that will allow us to interact with them on a constant basis. The second will be to attend an Italian language program that will help us both connect with students as well as participate in the culture. We are hoping that by building these relationships with the students, that they will be able to see something different about our lives, our hope and faith in Christ, and want that too.

Once we reach them for Christ we are looking to disciple them. We will do this by encouraging regular church attendance, quite time, prayer, and reading the scripture. We are also going to be leading small group bible studying to encourage growth in the word of God.



2.) What will be/are your specific responsibilities?
They categorize my responsibilities in four major categories.

The first is to love my Lord. I will do this by maintaining my relationship with the Lord through constant prayer life, and studying God’s word. I also will seek to grow as the Lord works in my in the coming year, and to allow the Holy Spirit to help me maintain this relationship.

The second major responsibility I have is to love my team. How we interact with each other will determine how those we are witnessing to will view us, and Christianity. We are to be an example of fellowship and of God’s love. We will have a team covenant and norms that I will follow. I will participate in all team activities and make sure that I do my share of the work.

Our third major responsibility is to launch a movement. Our plan is to go after the Italians in Bologna in three ways. The first is to work with high school students. By working here many of the students going into a University from Bologna will have had an opportunity to hear about Christ. The second in to penetrate the family life in Bologna. Many Italians are replacing the close family relationships with the same things they are replacing their faith with, materialism. Some of my team will be focusing their attention there. I will be a part of the team seeking to make a difference with the 100,000 college students at the University of Bologna. We will be working to share Christ with students who don’t know Jesus is the son of God. At the University of Florence last year they interviewed 100 students who all said that they do not believe that Jesus is the son of God. The students at the University of Bologna are very similar. I will also be working with my team to follow up and disciple those who trust Christ, building up Italians to also share their faith and become spiritual leaders in their community.

My forth task will be to Learn a new world. I will be working to learn Italian so that I can both connect with students but to also be able to be a effective cross-cultural laborer. I will also adapt my life style to better be able to serve those who I seek to minister.




3.) Provide a brief story of how you became a Christ follower.
My freshman year of college, I had no sooner moved into my first dorm room, than my grandmother called saying that a friend of my cousin’s would be picking me up at 8:30 Sunday morning and taking me to church. At this time, I knew of God and had prayed some, considered myself a Christian, but had never really gone to church or had a personal relationship with the savior. That semester I began attending church regularly and learning what it took to walk with the Lord. I knew that I could not earn salvation on my own, but that I needed it to forgive my sins and allow me into the presence of the Lord. In October, I met with the pastor at First Baptist Church of Bryan and confessed my sins, and my need for a savior. Christ became to one to whom I would follow and would turn my old life over to. Slowly, things in my life changed and I became ever aware of God’s grace and his loving relationship with me.

4.) Briefly explain how God led you to pursuing this mission.
When I went to Florence last year, our team of 16 was grouped into groups of 4. Each day that we ministered in Florence, one group would go to Bologna, an hours trains ride north. When my team got the chance to go to Bologna, I didn’t know what to expect. We were there to meet two more International Campus staff, Jesse and Tricia Marcos.

Before, we started our afternoon on the University of Bologna’s campus, we sat down for café. Tricia mentioned that they had come to Bologna because of a friendship their son had with another student at the Black Forest Academy in Germany. Their son’s friend’s father was a pastor in Bologna, and had been praying with other churches for over 20 years that someone or group would come and partner with the churches in reaching the University students there. Long story short, Jesse and Tricia moved to Bologna in 2007 and began scoping the campus looking for a way for Campus Crusade to partner with the churches in reaching Italian students for Christ.

When I arrived, Jesse and Tricia both had decided that an important part of reaching students for Christ at the University of Bologna would include building relationships with the students. One of the ways that had proved successful at other campuses was to have a English club or English teacher involved with reaching students on campus. Tricia at that point had already heard that I was an English as a Second Language teacher, and was interested in having me come back in the fall of 2009 to fill the role.

I was certain that I could serve as a E.S.L. teacher, but as a missionary I wasn’t sure. I mean, God knew I was a sinner. I came back to the states thankful she had thought of me but certain that someone else would fill the role. Around January, God began moving my heart in a major way. In church our pastor, Ken Horton was teaching through the book of Acts. In my young adults group, EIKON, we were reading through the New Testament, starting in the book of Acts. In my small group, we keep going through studies that included a lot about the book of Acts. I don’t know about you but I felt that God had a message for me in the book of Acts.

I paid close attention over the next couple of months and one of the things, that I felt God was leading me to with the help of the Holy Spirit was that Paul, who used to persecute and martyr the Christians, was transformed by God. Paul then spent the rest of his life reaching out and sharing the news of Christ with the gentiles. I realized that if God would use Paul he might use me too. I also realized that everyone God used in the bible other than Jesus himself was an imperfect person, and God called them too!

God grew me in other ways too in preparing my heart. He used the story of the woman at the well to teach me that I could leave my jars, or valuable things, and share the good news of Christ. He used words from my pastors and many stories from the bible to show me God’s will could include room for me. Needless to say I can’t wait to share God with the Italians in Italy.

Welcome from Cooper Mountian!

Good evening from Cooper Mountain!

I am setting up this blog at the request of many. I am hoping that I can keep all my family, friends, and supporters up to date with information in reguards to my mission trip to Bologna, Italy. I must warn you though, that I am not at all a good journal keeper and I may need encouragement from you to keep this updated. :)

Tonight is the 5th night in Cooper where I am receiving STINT, Short Term International training. The days have been long but full of lots of very helpful information. Not the case at many conferences! We have talked about loving the Lord, loving our team, and loving the movement. We have had some amazing worship with the CXVI group...totally look them up, and some not so amazing food. However, the scenery is absolutely amazing! Will post more pictures on facebook!

As for support, many of you are already ministry support partners, or prayer partners, or both. Yesterday, I got an updated support goal that was a little higher than my former one. This means that my percentage went down from 58.28% to 56.15%. However I am still exciting knowing that God has brought me this far, and is really growing me as I learn who my provider is. :)

I am looking forward to sharing with you as I continue on this adventure. Please continue to pray that God puts me in touch with the right people to join my team!

Ciao!

Crystal