home sweet home

Ciao ciao!

So I'm back in Port St. Lucie, safe and sound, after a crazy week of traveling. The wedding was amazing, as was being able to reconnect with friends and family. The week really made me realize how much I miss seeing everyone and am really going to try to keep in touch better. 

Also, this week brought some really amazing blessings to friends of mine, including one of my closest friends who, after a year+ of searching, got a teaching job! AND in Port St. Lucie of all places! She'll be teaching 2nd grade at Renaissance Charter School and I can't wait for her to come and hang!

On a more serious front, I am in serious need of prayer. Support is slow and tough and I find myself being bogged down by the lack of progress and stress. Please pray that I will continue to seek after the Lord and trust Him. Also, I please ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with me. I know this is where the Lord wants me but I need your help to get there.

Grazie Mille and Praise to HIM!

Heads Carolina...

At 12pm today my family and I set out on our road trip to Massachusetts for my cousin Liz's wedding. After a stop in Wildwood for my Aunt and Cracker Barrel for dinner (nothing like real chain country cooking in the country) we are finally stopped in Manning, South Carolina for the night. Past few days have been crazy. I mostly moved out of my apartment on Sunday, went to Palm Harbor for a support meeting, back to Orlando to finish moving and a friend's birthday, then to Port St. Lucie yesterday where I saw the summer musical at my alma mater. I don't know what was stranger: seeing the theater redone, me not being on stage (I was really involved in theater in High School), running into a friend from elementary school who leaves today to play MLB for the Angels, or being told I look the exact same as I did in high school from my director.

Now that I've bored you with my to do's - some updates...

I have been really stressed out lately (for obvious reasons) but I am daily amazed by how awesome our God is. Spending time with friends in Palm Harbor was great and refreshing and my lunch went great and will have a possible one time gift and I received an email from a friend and his wife who will be taking a great step of faith and  would like to support me! Praise Jesus for showing His provision!

Please pray for His continual provision, my cousin's wedding and my time with my family, whom I have not seen in a very long time, safe travel, and finally, that the Lord will continue to create new opportunities to share about what I am doing. 

Finally, I'd like to say a special thank you to my cousin. In the mist of all the chaos in my life she has been a constant source of love and encouragement. She has been so amazing, getting in contact with people she knows and telling them about my ministry. So thank you my love; I can't wait to see you soon <3

Ciao ragazzi!

Buongiorno! I've decided to start this blog as a way to keep those you updated on my journey to Italy. First I should start by telling you who I am, what I am doing and, most importantly, why.

(Sorry so long...)

Who I am: In the fall of 2009 I will be moving to Salerno, Italy to work with Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of Salerno. I am excited about this opportunity the Lord has provided me with. My heart is for people to not only trust Christ but to also know a satisfying relationship with Him.

I believe God has called me to Italy first as an act of obedience and second, to use my God-given passion. While a student at the University of Central Florida I majored in history, with a focus on the Italian Renaissance, as well as had concentrations in psychology and Italian. I had the fortunate opportunity to study abroad in Italy two summers ago and fell in love with the country.  Then, last summer, the Lord called me to Salerno for missions and that was when I fell in love with the people. With my passion for Italy and her people combined with my knowledge of Italy and her culture I believe I am an asset to the team.

Why Salerno, Italy?: Campus Crusade for Christ’s goal is to reach the world for Christ. Part of their strategic plan for doing this is by partnering campuses in the U.S. with campuses overseas. UCF’s partnership is with the University of Salerno in Italy. Italy is becoming a spiritually dead country as only 2% of Italians claim to attend church regularly, defining regularly as maybe three times a year including weddings and funerals. The opportunity to know God is absent from their thinking or awareness. A growing number are atheist.

Who is Campus Crusade for Christ and how does this organization work?: Campus Crusade is an inter-denominational Christian organization. Their mission is “turning lost students into Christ-centered laborers.” I will be taking part in this mission by following Campus Crusade’s three-fold purpose: Win, Build, Send. We will do this by having one-on-one conversations, outreaches, creating life-changing community, mentoring, Biblical life application, teaching others how to share their faith, and sending students on mission trips. Campus Crusade for Christ has a vision of reaching the world though college students.

I am responsible for my own funding: Campus Crusade for Christ has no central funds to support their missionary’s salaries or ministry expenses. There would be few staff members today if funding were all raised centrally. Instead, each staff member or intern, like myself, depends upon God to provide ministry partners, like you, to invest in the mission I believe God is calling me to. Your check, made payable to Campus Crusade for Christ, is tax-deductible to you.

Prayer Support: Prayer is another very important aspect of my ministry. Specifically, I would ask that you pray for my health, for my quick acclimation to the culture and that my language skills will return, as well as loving and understanding relationships with my teammates.

What am I trusting God to do?: I am trusting God to supply all my needs by August 1^st.  Specifically, I have two financial goals, the first being monthly support. This is key and will help cover monthly rent, food, etc. The second is one-time costs of plane tickets, language school, etc. These combined make up my total financial support.

No matter what capacity with Lord calls you to give, I appreciate it. I’d like to ask you: Would you commit to $100 or some other amount monthly? $100 is a lot to some people and not so much to others. All I ask is that you give an amount that first and foremost God calls you to and second, an amount that is significant to you. I am excited to get to know you better through this common goal of sharing the gospel. Please see the enclosed sheet on how to give and my commitment to you.

Check out the How To Give link to the right!