08.04.11
Posted in home service, kids, Newsletters, travel
at 1:54 pm
I just went outside and looked at the odometer on the van we’ve been using. Total miles traveled since we’ve been in the US: 5,985. And we’re not done yet.
That is a lot of time in the van with the kids. Lots of corn fields in Iowa. Lots of hunting for a Redbox to entertain the back seat. Lots of sermons and NPR podcasts listened to. Lots of breaking up the fights over who is on who’s side.
And there have been times when I have thought, “What on earth am I doing? Is the travel worth all the headache? Does anyone really care if we’re in town or not?”
Once my pity party is over and I settle down a bit my mind wanders back to the many conversations we’ve had with our supporters all over the place. I remember the churches we’ve visited and how they’ve went out of their way to make us feel at home. I think about the little bit of time with my nephews and my mom and my sisters and brother and Grandma Cierpiot and cousins and aunts and uncles and maybe even my in-laws*. And all of that really does make all the miles worth it.
I love talking about the church in Ancona. I love bragging on all the great things that God is doing. I love talking about the eight people baptized since the last time we were in the US. I love dreaming and praying about the future and what God might have in store for us.
But I miss home. The kids miss their rooms and their stuff. I’m so tired of digging through luggage to find clothes for the day. I miss Marcus and Kyle, my awesome teammates. I miss the church, and how Italians hug and kiss hello and goodbye. I miss the smell of the Adriatic and how it reminds me of Beach Church.
Can you tell my emotions swing back and forth when I come back to the US?
I think every missionary who had ever written a newsletter while on furlough has said something about the difficulty of defining “home.” All of this (Ancona or Rockford, Illinois) is temporary until we are all united together on the New Earth. So true, isn’t it? It’s great to be in Ancona, making sure the Anconetani are invited to the party.
Until next month…
*Just kidding. I like my in-laws!
I just went outside and looked at the odometer on the van we’ve been using. Total miles traveled since we’ve been in the US: 5,985. And we’re not done yet.
That is a lot of time in the van with the kids. Lots of corn fields in Iowa. Lots of hunting for a Redbox to entertain the back seat. Lots of sermons and NPR podcasts listened to. Lots of breaking up the fights over who is on who’s side.
And there have been times when I have thought, “What on earth am I doing? Is the travel worth all the headache? Does anyone really care if we’re in town or not?”
Once my pity party is over and I settle down a bit my mind wanders back to the many conversations we’ve had with our supporters all over the place. I remember the churches we’ve visited and how they’ve went out of their way to make us feel at home. I think about the little bit of time with my nephews and my mom and my sisters and brother and Grandma Cierpiot and cousins and aunts and uncles and maybe even my in-laws*. And all of that really does make all the miles worth it.
I love talking about the church in Ancona. I love bragging on all the great things that God is doing. I love talking about the eight people baptized since the last time we were in the US. I love dreaming and praying about the future and what God might have in store for us.
But I miss home. The kids miss their rooms and their stuff. I’m so tired of digging through luggage to find clothes for the day. I miss Marcus and Kyle, my awesome teammates. I miss the church, and how Italians hug and kiss hello and goodbye. I miss the smell of the Adriatic and how it reminds me of Beach Church.
Can you tell my emotions swing back and forth when I come back to the US?
I think every missionary who had ever written a newsletter while on furlough has said something about the difficulty of defining “home.” All of this (Ancona or Rockford, Illinois) is temporary until we are all united together on the New Earth. So true, isn’t it? It’s great to be in Ancona, making sure the Anconetani are invited to the party.
Until next month…
*Just kidding. I like my in-laws!I just went outside and looked at the odometer on the van we’ve been using. Total miles traveled since we’ve been in the US: 5,985. And we’re not done yet.
That is a lot of time in the van with the kids. Lots of corn fields in Iowa. Lots of hunting for a Redbox to entertain the back seat. Lots of sermons and NPR podcasts listened to. Lots of breaking up the fights over who is on who’s side.
And there have been times when I have thought, “What on earth am I doing? Is the travel worth all the headache? Does anyone really care if we’re in town or not?”
Once my pity party is over and I settle down a bit my mind wanders back to the many conversations we’ve had with our supporters all over the place. I remember the churches we’ve visited and how they’ve went out of their way to make us feel at home. I think about the little bit of time with my nephews and my mom and my sisters and brother and Grandma Cierpiot and cousins and aunts and uncles and maybe even my in-laws*. And all of that really does make all the miles worth it.
I love talking about the church in Ancona. I love bragging on all the great things that God is doing. I love talking about the eight people baptized since the last time we were in the US. I love dreaming and praying about the future and what God might have in store for us.
But I miss home. The kids miss their rooms and their stuff. I’m so tired of digging through luggage to find clothes for the day. I miss Marcus and Kyle, my awesome teammates. I miss the church, and how Italians hug and kiss hello and goodbye. I miss the smell of the Adriatic and how it reminds me of Beach Church.
Can you tell my emotions swing back and forth when I come back to the US?
I think every missionary who had ever written a newsletter while on furlough has said something about the difficulty of defining “home.” All of this (Ancona or Rockford, Illinois) is temporary until we are all united together on the New Earth. So true, isn’t it? It’s great to be in Ancona, making sure the Anconetani are invited to the party.
Until next month…
*Just kidding. I like my in-laws!
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07.09.11
Posted in home service, kids
at 12:53 pm
I’ve always known that my kids are a crazy mix of American and Italian. There are parts of them that fit in perfectly with their Italian friends and classmates, and there are other parts that fit right in when we return to the US.
This was really driven home to me last Sunday in church. During the prayer time, the man who led the prayer listed the soldiers to pray for and mentioned the care packages that would be sent to them. No matter what a person’s opinion about the war, praying for the safety of the soldiers overseas is a good thing. Then the man leading prayer talked about how glad he was to live in the “best country in the world” and how blessed we are to be in this country. It was the Sunday before Independence Day, so patriotism was high.
After church, my kids brought up the man’s prayer time, and how he said the US was the best country in the world. They told me that they didn’t think Italians would say the US is the best country in the world, and asked us why he would say something like that in a prayer time. It showed me how much my kids really do see things from a broader perspective. The world to them, as well as God’s Kingdom, is bigger than whatever country they happen to find themselves in.
The man’s prayer time, while certainly well-intentioned, pointed out a danger for mixing patriotism and faithfulness as a Christian. We may be Americans or Italians or South Sudanese, but our real citizenship is heaven.
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05.24.11
Posted in church, home service, Newsletters, Team
at 12:03 am
Two weeks from today we will be back in the US. One of our church members was asking the other day what we do for home service. I jokingly explained to her that people in the US think that we’re on vacation when we’re in Italy, and people in Italy think that we’re on vacation when we’re in the US. Unfortunately, neither is true.
Three reasons for us coming home are: 1) To update our supporters on the progress of the work. 2) To see family and friends for the first time in almost two years. 3) To recharge our batteries a bit. This home service will be a bit different, since we are cutting one month compared to last time. The kids’ school schedule is much more demanding now, and having them miss significant amounts of school would be very difficult for them. So we’re trying to cram as much as possible in three months.
Here’s a rough schedule:
June: Louisville, KY and San Antonio, TX
July: Kansas City, MO, Wichita, KS, and Sioux City, IA
August: Yamhill Co., OR
Our “base” where we will return in between visits will be Rockford, IL.
Since our teammate, Kyle Koval, is facing a significant financial deficit, he will also be in the US fund raising this summer. Which leaves the church in Marcus Van Dorn’s capable hands. I actually am excited about the significant reduction in “American Pastors” this summer. I think it comes at a time when the church is beginning to see the need to take responsibility of the church, as well as begin to use their own gifts. Perhaps our absence will be a bit of a wake-up call that our team will not be around Ancona forever, and that it has been part of the plan from the beginning to train leaders to take our places.
Can I ask you to pray? First, pray for Marcus this summer. Ask God to prompt the church to take things over, and also seek to care of Marcus as well. Second, pray for our home service. I feel like we have left out much of the “recharging” part, which concerns me a little, but we really didn’t have much choice. Third, pray for the church. Help them to discover their gifts and use them, and pray for leaders to rise up.
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08.19.09
Posted in home service
at 2:01 pm
I’ve been very lax in updating the blog. Being in the US for a while has made it difficult to keep up with it. But I’ve had my eyes and mind open to this reinsertion into American culture.
This is our second trip back to the US since we moved to Italy. I have been surprised at how different things have seemed to me. Mathematically speaking, I’ve only spent 1/8 of my life living in Italy, so to come back and find that what should be 7/8 familiar seems somehow strange is a little unnerving.
My eye quickly noticed how big everything is here. Soon after arriving we needed to go to the grocery store and pick up some things. We didn’t have a car yet, so we decided to walk – something we’re very used to doing in Italy. I had forgotten about the spacious streets and sidewalks nearly the entire trip from the house to the store. And we didn’t see a soul using them. Very few cars and no one walking around. I kind of wondered what happened to all the people.
We found ourselves staring and unable to make a choice regarding the huge selection of items in the store – a store so big that five or six of our Italian stores would easily fit inside.
Cars are bigger. Parking lots are bigger. People are bigger. Buildings are bigger. I’ve grown accustomed to living on a smaller scale and it was odd getting used to the “bigness.” Of course, America has 3,800,000 square miles to spread out in compared to Italy’s 116, 000 square miles. I suppose I would spread out, too!
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07.08.09
Posted in home service, travel
at 2:48 pm
We’re back in the US for home service. We’ve been traveling like crazy and I haven’t had much time to sit and write. Lots of observations about being back in America are coming…
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09.20.07
Posted in friends, home service
at 12:05 pm
I haven’t really posted about it on the blog, but I’ve started running.
Actually, I started back when we were in the US. I just realized the spare tire around my waist was growing. A friend of mine called it the furlough-15. This same friend also got me hooked on a running program that takes you from the couch, to running for 30 minutes in ten weeks. I started it, and it wasn’t too bad. Our travel schedule in the US made it harder to be consistent, but a surprising diagnosis of high blood pressure became quite the motivator to get in shape.
I’ve kept up the running, even after getting back to Italy. I found a good running partner and a convenient place to run. And today, we finished the running program. On a whim, at about the eleven minute mark we both decided that today was the day. We pushed through the big hills at our track and made it to thirty minutes of running non stop.
It probably doesn’t sound like a lot to some more experienced runners, but to me it sounds like a lot more than the two minutes that I started with!
Oh – the total weight that I have lost … 18 pounds. And Heidi thinks I’m the biggest stud ever.
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07.22.07
Posted in family, friends, home service
at 9:04 pm
We’ve hit that time in our home service when we’re doing lots of “lasts.” Last Mexican restaurant. Last Sunday at church. Last walk around our favorite walking trail.
The hardest “last” of all is the last visit to see family and friends. We went to Heidi’s dad’s house yesterday. Heidi was pretty sure she saw her dad tearing up as we drove away. This morning was our last Sunday at Central Christian Church. They’ve been such a blessing to us, and have made Rockford feel very much like home to us. Tonight we went out with some friends (at a Mexican restaurant – we killed two birds with one stone!). Tomorrow will be our last dinner in the US. Tuesday we fly to the airport.
We are incredibly ready to go home to Ancona. But this week of “lasts” has been difficult on us all. I suppose it’s all a part of being a missionary in a foreign country.
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06.17.07
Posted in church, home service, kids
at 3:37 pm
We’ve been very privileged to be a part of the Central Christian Church Vacation Bible School. Several months ago they asked us if we would be their missionaries for this year’s VBS. I was a little nervous, not really knowing what to expect. Now that it’s over I realize that I had nothing to be nervous about. Teaching about 170 kids about what it’s like to be a missionary in Italy can be a little overwhelming, but we had a blast trying. We were also blessed by an offering from the kids each night. They had a goal to raise $1,000, which they tracked each night with a little car with all of our heads sticking out navigating an Italian road. On the next-to-last night the kids had raised about $950. They were very close to the goal. Everyone was amazed when, after counting the final night’s offering, the total was over $1,900! Amazing!
We are planning on using the offering to get some kind of vehicle in Ancona. We’re not in a huge rush to get something, but we’ll have our eye open to see what God puts in our lap.
Thanks, kids, at Central! And thanks to all the workers who helped pull of an awesome VBS!
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06.12.07
Posted in home service
at 8:49 pm
Trey and I had an errand to run today and I noticed that the car was about out of gas. I pull over, put $10 in, and start the car. The gas light came on about 5 seconds after pulling out of the gas station. The great state of Illinois has been a little hard on the wallet.
Makes me miss my bus pass.
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06.05.07
Posted in church, home service
at 5:37 pm
While we are planted in one place for a while, I thought I would join the Grounds Crew at the church. An amazing older man heads up the work on the substantial lawn that surrounds the church. I stopped him after church Sunday and asked him when we were mowing this week.
“Tuesday,” he said. “Need to move it up because of the funeral.”
A three-year-old in the church passed away. He had suffered all of his life, and finally went Home last week. The funeral was scheduled for Wednesday. Mowing is normally on Thursday.
I kind of mulled over this schedule change for a while. I tried to put myself in the parents’ place, and wondered if I would even notice the state of the church lawn as I entered the building for my child’s funeral. But he wanted to make sure the church looked its best for this grieving family.
This morning as I circled the huge lot on my smallish riding lawn mower, I thought about his desire to spruce things up. Though it seemed a small thing, it was his thing. It was a tangible way for him to show his respects to this family. I think his act says something about the Body of Christ. Paul wrote to the believers in book of Colossians and said, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” My retired friend has obviously taken those words to heart.
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