The changes that we’ve seen in those ten years are really incredible. We’ve watched the church go from all-Americans to a mix of Italians, Romanians, and Americans. We’ve seen teammates come and go. We’ve crammed Italian into our heads and I still get excited when it comes out right. We’ve changed ministry roles. Our kids have gone through preschool, elementary, and middle school. Heidi and I (OK, mostly Heidi) have matured and grown through years of difficult ministry. Despite all of the change, one constant remains. God’s presence. We cannot help but look back over these ten years and see how God has been moving and shaping things to lead us up to this moment.

The church here in Ancona is young, but maturing. We pray a lot together. We study together. We’re still working on establishing leadership in the church and we’re praying God brings in a harvest through us soon. But I can honestly tell you that I have never been a part of a community of believers like this one. I am so proud to see how far we’ve come.

Our goal has always been to work ourselves out of a job, and we’re getting to the point where that finally looks possible. As a team we have decided that, with God’s help, we think our work will be done in Ancona within five years. It will require a lot of hard work between now and then, and there are a lot of question marks still, but I’m beginning to see how the presence of the “paid experts” can harm a church after a while. It seems like our church members’ gifts will never mature and develop when there’s never really a need for them. And so we cautiously, prayerfully, begin the process of disengaging.

Thanks to our supporters, some of whom have been with us all ten years. That’s really incredible, isn’t it? Ten years of prayers and donations to see this church plant happen, and now we’re at the “beginning of the end.” Please keep praying and lifting this church up. We need it now more than ever.

Until next month…

In high school, part of our driver’s ed course included a few lessons on how to drive a stick shift. There were two of us in the back seat, the instructor on the right, and in the driver’s seat was the poor guy who was the first to try out a clutch. The noises that the car made as we all learned the nuances of just the right amount of gas and clutch were awful. Everyone within a mile knew that someone at the high school was learning how to drive a stick.

I experience a bit of that every time we come back to Ancona after some time in the US. Sometimes the gears grind a bit as I get used to the way of life here. The language comes slower after three months of speaking English. On a good day my sense of direction is bad. Being away from Ancona for a while makes it even worse. Our team has been separated during the summer, and being together again takes some getting used to.

All of these things are little adjustments. Added together and concentrated into  a cross-cultural reentry, and you get a little bit of gear-grinding. Nothing that will burn out the clutch.Even now, a couple of weeks later, things seem much more normal. We’ve gotten in touch with most of our friends, even had some over for dinner. Heidi amazes me as she shifts gears into buying groceries over here (a much different chore compared to the US). The kids dove right into school again. Francesca even started preschool and is beginning to remember all the Italian she forgot.

But despite the gear grinding, it’s good to be back. Our few meetings back with the church members have been so refreshing.In a few weeks our team will be having a team retreat (though with the kids in school we won’t actually be going anywhere). Can I ask you to start praying for our time together? Pray that God would speak clearly to us, and would reveal the next step that he has for the church here. More than anything we want to see a vibrant, growing, independent, Italian church! Ask God to show us what He would have us do.

This guy knows how to party

We went to a Martedì Grasso festival at a nearby town that is known for its yearly parade. It was a lot of fun. Silly string and confetti were everywhere, and there is an annual competition to make the most elaborate float. Some were as tall as the four-story buildings that lined the parade route. Most had kid-friendly themes like Disney characters. But one had the theme of “Italia Sexy Party” complete with topless, 20-foot-tall paper mâché dancers. A really great thing to explain to your 12-year-old.

It really got me thinking. Doesn’t it bother anyone that we have a whole holiday devoted to “sinning” before we get down to business and be serious and fast and stuff? I think seasons where we devote more time to growing in our faith are a great idea, but it sort of shows our true intentions if we precede that time with a bunch of last-minute goofing around before the clock starts.

In our city, the Mardi Gras parade was held last Saturday, a good week and a half after Lent began. If that doesn’t show how unimportant Lent is, I’m not sure what does.

All kidding and cliches aside, the seasons do happen for a reason. Have you ever stopped to notice the fast pace of life to which we have grown quite accustomed?  What happened this year when many were forced to take snow days? Did you feel like you had to practically sit on your hands in order to stop, relax, and enjoy your time?

But, I believe that God made our world this way for a reason. A huge, undeniable, illustration for all of us. The weather changes, the leaves fall, the rain comes, and we are forced to slow down. We long for times in a quiet chair with a blanket, a book, and a hot beverage of choice (coffee, of course). Then, colder temperatures come. We must spend more time indoors. While we are spending time inside, we are watching everything die outside. Flowers and plants are dying. Trees have no leaves, and often dead, dry limbs fall making room for new growth. The ground lays dormant, but something is happening. And, just when we can’t take it anymore, we see it. The first bud on the tree. The first sign that the roses made it through the winter after all. The first truly warm, sunny day. Joy comes to rest for a while. Sunshine and warmth fill us.

I need the winter. I didn’t think so before, and it doesn’t always make me happy now, either. But, I slow down. I look at people’s faces more. I’m less distracted. It is cold. It is even scary. It is often sad. Dreary. But I would never appreciate the spring if I didn’t have to live through the winter. I wouldn’t appreciate the sunshine and flowers if I hadn’t just experienced darkness and death.

Surely we’re all experiencing a little darkness. But, oh what joy comes when God reveals Himself in the Springtime of our lives. May you usher in a beautiful season of growth in your life. Please pray that our little church here in Ancona can experience an Amazing Spring of growth and wonder!

Now, I’m looking at all that we have accomplished as a family and church this year. Our own Chloe was baptized on July 25^th. I would have to say that that is our biggest thing that we celebrated as a family. We also rejoiced with Daniel and Simona as they were baptized in October. They have been with us for so long, and it is so wonderful to see them really growing in their faith. This year was a real turning point for them. Let’s continue to pray that they can get rid of all of the hindrances (like superstitions and other things from their former ways of thinking).

We celebrated birthdays and beach days. We hosted many in our home. We shared in an awesome Bible Study with our friends Simone and Marianna, and then started a new one including one of the newest members of our church, Sam. Which brings me to the new folks that have joined us. We have a new family. Sam and Roxanna, their daughter (a precious 3 year old) Diana, Roxanna’s 18 year old brother Paul, and her parents, Michela and Stellian. What a joy they have been.

Like you, I can’t always recall each and everything that has happened throughout the year. Fortunately for us, God helps us forget the bad (though I’m getting older and starting to forget the good, too). I know that the kids have grown taller. I’ve noticed less hugs in public, and more heart to heart talks in private. I see a man I married 13 years ago, and couldn’t be happier with that decision. I see a growing community of believers that God has called us here to disciple. I see a blank slate before me. I look out the window at the amazing amounts of snow falling (it never snows like this here) and know that if there is anything I messed up this year, anything that didn’t go as planned, that’s OK. Why? Because His word tells me that he will make me whiter than snow! I have a chance for renewal, for change. So, I look at last year with joy! And I look at this next year with hope! And I’m praying that you can do the same, too.

Until next month…

But when everyone is spread out all over, even in other countries, it makes getting together pretty hard! I’m starting to think that God wants this time to be a time of Sabbath and renewal. We have church members in two other regions (like states) and one other country. We have people who have to work Sundays during the summer months, and join us in the evening exhausted but happy. We have a hard time getting together with people because they are at their beach homes or on vacation. Sometimes, even I say “I’m bo-oored.”

Then, I think of it another way. I can use this time to concentrate, really concentrate, on the people before me. Tonight we are having two families over for dinner. They don’t really know each other, but one is from church and the other have expressed interest in coming to church. I’ve been wanting to introduce them for a while. The more relaxed schedule of August makes dinners like this much easier to plan. And no one has to rush off and get the kids in bed for school the next day. Conversation is relaxed. People seem to let their guards down a bit, giving us an opportunity to bring faith into the discussion.

Tomorrow, we are headed about an hour away to the water park with this same family. Since it is hard to take our whole family on a vacation, it is nice to be able to take a vacation day here and there to spend some concentrated time building relationships.

This weekend we are hosting a missionary couple from the Rome area, and I really hope it can be a time of growth and encouragement (and rest, too!). This couple is in the very beginning stages of church planting in the Rome area, and the topic of building the Kingdom here in Italy always comes up. The following week another missionary will be staying with us for a few days.

When all is said and done, I want to look back on my summer knowing that we made many memories. I want to really know that we have used all of the opportunities that God had given us to share and encourage. When school starts, I want to see that we’ve all grown up a bit, not just the kids.

Until next month…

We usually head to the beach before lunch, and take sandwiches to eat when we get hungry. The walk from the car to the beach is pretty far, and the uphill climb on the way home seems like it will never end. But fortunately for us, we have an oasis. One of the Romanian families that attends our church live just about half way between the beach and the parking lot. And they get offended if we don’t stop by and say hello.

One Saturday, quite a few of the church members organized to go to the beach together. There were maybe 15 or 20 of us there, and as the sun went down we all packed our stuff up to head home. I was lagging behind, arms full with the cooler and beach toys. As I got near the Romanian’s house, I noticed their front door open. And inside was … everyone! They were busy making espressos for everyone. The kids were already playing Playstation. People were laughing. At some point a watermelon found its way to the table.

And I was struck by how hospitable these friends were. They thought nothing of inviting 15 people into their small living room and serving coffee. We were all salty from the sea, and yet they invited us to sit on their furniture and chat. If anyone would have passed by their house, I truly think they would have been upset. So we sat practically on top of each other and recharged ourselves for the second half of the walk to the car.

Isn’t this how the church should be? Not just on beach days, but every day? Shouldn’t we always be ready to fling open our doors and invite in whoever happened to stop by? Shouldn’t our house look like an oasis to thirsty people passing by?

Mondays are usually a slower day for me. I don’t have any regular meetings scheduled, and I spend part of my day planning out my week and thinking through conversations that took place on Sunday during our church service. The introvert in me takes some time to recharge on Mondays.

But this week was different. Kyle had the idea to do a Jericho prayer walk. Remember how the Israelites marched around Jericho one time a day for seven days, and on the seventh day they marched seven times? And as they finished the last lap, God miraculously brought the walls of the city down.

Ancona’s physical walls are long gone, but the spiritual walls here seem stronger than ever. The church here is making efforts at knocking them down, but sometimes it seems we have a long way to go.

We met at the monument at 7:00, walking along the Viale until we got to the port, and then we turned around and went back the way we came. It took about an hour every day.
We prayed for anything and everything: our church, the church members, our neighbors, spiritual growth, our leadership, maybe even world peace. We prayed for big things and small things.

That weekend, our church hosted another 24 hour prayer room, and this time the one-hour slots filled up very quickly. It seemed as though many went into the prayer room desperate for some time with their Creator.

Sunday morning, we finished the prayer walk with seven laps, though I couldn’t be there until the very end since Heidi was taking her turn in the prayer room. It was a week completely drenched in prayer.

It was also the hottest week we have had here in Ancona. Many of our activities take place at night when it is cooler, which made for a long day when the prayer walk starts at 7.

But I can’t think of a better reason to be tired. Despite my selfish bad thoughts when the alarm went off, a jump in the amount of time we spend talking to God can only be a good thing.

Because it really is up to Him, isn’t it? We make sure we’re the brightest possible light, and the saltiest Christians we can be.

So now we wait for the walls to come down.

Some good friends of ours invited us to attend a fish dinner down by the port. The area of town is called Gli Archi (The Arches), and all of the buildings have a large sidewalk in front and are covered with huge arches.

The dinner was a benefit for some non-profit organization. They spread out picnic tables underneath the arches and everyone mingled around until the boy scouts hurried by to take tickets and bring the food.

There is a street right in front of the arches, and it’s one of the main ways into town. Traffic tapered off as dinner went on, but the occasional bus or streetbike roaring by quickly reminded us to hang on to the kids.

When people think of Italy they often think of a fancy restaurant or a big plate of pasta. They picture wine glasses and pizza. And to be sure, the big fancy Italian dinner is something we enjoy about living here.

But as I sat, scrunched on a flimsy picnic bench with family and friends on either side, I realized that I would much rather have dinner sotto gli archi than in some fancy restaurant. The seafood pasta and fried fish was great, but not nearly as great as the company. I found myself smiling as Trey chatted with Maurizio, as Silla grabbed Francesca to take her for a walk, as Marco brought over a huge dessert that he bought before the pastry shop closed. Dinners like this are just as much for the company as the food.

But … the food was delicious, too!

With spring comes so much newness. Rebirth. Excitement. God uses these beautiful seasons to give our life more meaning. Though the warmth is nice, I would hate to live in an area without changing seasons. Life never seems to slow down. Things are the same day after day. Here, I see winter as a time when God has us recharge. We stay inside more. We slow down. We sit. We relax. The weather may keep us inside. It may keep us craving a mocha enjoyed with dear friends (and gaining 10 “winter” pounds to prove it). Sure, it’s irritating to be wet day after day from the non-stop rain that comes with Italian winters. Yes, it is hard to keep up with the laundry when you can’t hang your clothes outside. Sure, there are small irritations. But, as I see God bringing life to a slower pace in the winter, I feel encouraged to join in on nature’s cycle.

But, just when we are starting to get the itch, spring arrives. No more cabin fever. Newness. I see much newness in the life of our church body. Much growth. The winter brought great Bible studies among our believers. We studied Experiencing God with a couple in our church, and several got together to study A Purpose Driven Life. Now the spring will be time for the fruits of the Spirit to begin maturing and ripening because of this time of study and reflection. Please pray for continued growth in the lives of the believers, namely Simone and Marianna. They have been really challenged lately because of our study together.

Our schedules also reflect spring’s busyness, as well. There are ladies’ events, church events, Bible studies, mom’s get togethers, interesting preaching/teaching times and more all going on right now. Our current sermon series called What the Bible Says about… has been a real blessing. It’s been good to dig into the Word and help the church discover why we believe what we believe.

Also, as you may have read in our prayer update, there’s a new baby at church!! Please pray for Daniel and Simona as they begin their parenthood adventure far away from friends and family (they are Romanian, living in Ancona).

Thank you for all of your support. Though you may not see the significance, you are a vital part of our ministry and lives. We could not be here without you!