I LOVE America

by Mark (after having been in the U.S. for a week)

I’m always happy to return to the U.S. after a couple of weeks in another country. I love exposing ministry partners to what God is doing via the JESUS Film in other parts of the world, but as Dorothy would say, “There’ no place like home”.

So, on Wednesday October 6th, when I began my trek to Lake Geneva, WI for our JESUS Film Executive Briefing Conference, I was thrilled to be heading home. As our enormous 747 approached Chicago’s O’Hare, I saw Lake Michigan, Lakeshore Dr., the course of the Chicago Marathon to be held that weekend, and the Sears Tower (or whatever it’s called now), I thought to myself, I love America!

I landed @ 12:35, got my bag, was through customs by 1:10, and was in my buddy’s rental car by 1:20…BAM! I love America…
We arrived @ the resort by 3:00pm, and I was training 14 volunteers to represent the Jesus Film (we call these folks, Ambassadors) by 5pm. Having been awake for 27 hours, and thoroughly exhausted, I called it a night and went to bed…sorta.

By 4am my body was done sleeping, so I got up to have some time with Jesus. The gym opened @ 6am, so my pal and I went over to get a workout I before a day full of meetings. State-of-the-art exercise equipment, English-speaking staff, A/C, and a clean locker room…Man, do I love America!

The scratchy throat and stuffy head didn’t feel right, but nothing was going to put a damper on my time in the States! The leaves were changing, the air was crisp, I was with my homies…other than Leslie being with me, what could be better than this?!

By 3pm, my throat traversed scratchy to downright sore, and my stuffy head moved from an annoyance to a pressure packed head full of snot that made me sound as though I was pinching my nose closed when trying to speak. I went to bed…till Saturday morning…

Our ministry in India was the theme of Saturday morning prayer time. The 50 of us gathered for prayer, over the requests brought from our Indian brothers, felt very small as we heard story after story of the challenges they face in reaching 1.3 billion souls for Christ. The joy with which they speak, even in the face of all manner of trial and persecution, is truly a testimony of the goodness of God. I love America, and I love that Americans can – and have! – come alongside our South Asian staff both prayerfully and financially.

The rest of the conference was profoundly powerful and relentlessly refreshing for all of us. The Lord raised up millions for His work in South Asia. I stood in awe at the kind generosity of our Spirit-filled ministry partners as they continue to give selflessly, even in these challenging economic times. God is good, regardless the circumstances!

From the Jesus Film conference I flew to OC, rented a car (so weird!), and drove out to Joe’s concert in Murrieta, CA. The 100-voice, all male chorale was rehearsing when I arrived. As I entered the church auditorium, my eyes welled as I heard all four parts harmonize “How Can I Keep From Singing Your Praise”. Joe gave me a big ol’ exaggerated wink and smile. Oh please, Lord, I don’t want to weep in front of all these young men, I thought as I fought back the happy tears of seeing/hearing my son for the first time in 3 months!

The boys descended the bleachers to go pray before their concert. Joe was one of the last, as he’s one of the tallest in the top row. “I have no greater joy than to hear of my children walking in the Truth” (3 John 4) is my most favored verse in all of Holy Scripture. It encompasses joy, discipleship, and the Gospel in one succinct verse of Scripture. And it’s what has made my heart tick for the past 20 years, because it’s the Great Commission of Matt. 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’”.

Needless to say, the concert was incredible. Joe and I went to dinner (Mexican!) before we headed to his house on the campus of California Baptist University. After excellent conversation with my first born, I slept in the living room of their house. Joe made sure I had the ‘good’ mattress and a clean sheet, and his comforter – which totally blessed me to know that he wanted me to be comfortable in his house.

Monday through Thursday was spent seeing family and friends and picking up stuff we need for the winter (yeah, it gets cold and wet!) in Fiesole. What a joy to be ‘home’ for a few days!

It’s only been 12 weeks since we said goodbye to all that is familiar. Seems like an eternity. Things are so different here. Not bad, just different. And I’d hasten to say, uncomfortable… One long-term staff guys used the analogy of a paper cut when referring to all the micro-challenges in Italy: one doesn’t hurt that much, but when you get a hundred in a day, they all add up to…uncomfortable…

Sometimes I have to force myself to remember why we're here: God's specific call!

Not complaining…just sayin…I love America!

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

By Leslie

Very Cool Fireplace...in the Kitchen

I have always heard that saying, but suddenly I have a real understanding of what that means.... See, on Saturday I had a bunch of wood delivered by Dino - the wood guy. I was able to get a poker and that little shovel thingy at the open market in the piazza the same day. I am so thankful to have this GIANT fireplace that is basically almost one whole wall of our dining area. It is all open so that when you light the fire it’s just in there almost like a campfire. BUT... its really hard to get going (where’s the little key that turns on the gas??) so that once I get it going and start doing other things around the house, I am always walking by and poking and blowing and adding more wood. I am “keeping the home fire buring!!” I dunno, this just made me laugh today. It was a very fall day today - more like it would be in the winter in the OC! Emily and I made pumpkin muffins from scratch.... like, ALL the way from scratch... like, from a raw pumpkin!! Those of you who know me well know that this is amazing.

Today I had to meet up with my friend, Kylie, to work on some stuff for Magdalena. We get to attend a pastor’s meeting on Wednesday morning to pitch them on our idea for a distribution of the film at Christmas. Anyway, I took the usual bus down the hill but since the lady in front of me on the bus was spitting up on the floor at regular intervals, I decided to get off early and enjoy the long walk to the office. And I really do enjoy the walking - so many interesting people and things to see.

But this morning, I was faced with quite the dilemma. First of all, you have to know that the sidewalks here are only about 3 feet wide, and not at all flat. So, I'm walking along and suddenly have a choice to make - step into the street in front of a car, run over a little old lady with a cane, step in the dog pee that is running from the wall across the sidewalk, or walk straight into the cloud of smoke that has just poured forth from some guy’s cigarette.... I mean, how often do I have such decisions to make in America?? LOVE this place!! I know you are dying to know.... I chose the smoke.

Kylie and I had a productive meeting, and split a pizza from my now favorite pizza place. Please pray for me as I am going to try to greet the pastors on Wednesday morning with a tiny bit of Italian. What an interesting life!!

Em and Grace Celebrated their 17th and 15th Birthdays a couple weeks ago



Sketchy Electrical Stuff...We rarely blow stuff up anymore, though!

Permesso di Soggiorno in hand...and other fun things from Italia!

OH MY!! What a week!

News Flash!!! TODAY Mark and I picked up our Permesso di Soggiorno cards... only took 3 hours. But now we are official - and officially finished with the Questura. At least until we have to take the girls back....

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I guess in total, it has been 10 days that we have been going non-stop. We have packed and unpacked 3 times and celebrated both girls’ birthdays (Italian style!) We have taken trains, buses, rental vans, taxis, and walked many miles. God has shown us His grace, His beauty, and His timing in all of it. I will do my best to be brief as I catch you up on the latest happenings.

New Staff Training:

Sunday morning (9/26) 8 of us piled into a rental van and headed out to a little farm outside of Sienna to have our new staff training. All together, there were 18 of us including our trainers. We had great times of devotion and worship, and we learned more about Agape Italia. Also had some time to just talk about - and work through -some of our “issues” about living here. Indeed, there are days when it’s so hard we just want to pack up and get the next plane home. Then we remind each other that God has called us here and He has a purpose in it. One quote we heard (from a man who has served here for over 20 years) was that, “Italy will strip you of everything but Jesus.” Wow.... I have to say we have felt this to some degree. It was good to hear that the things we have felt are not uncommon.

Milano:

We got home Wednesday afternoon and on Thursday morning I left for Milan. There I had two straight days of meetings to talk about “Magdalena” strategy. Our support staff from Orlando is here this week, so they met with Kylie, Elfi, and me. We also met with the ladies from Milan who were instrumental in putting on the premiere there last April. They have huge hearts to see this film bring enlightenment and change in Italy as it relates to the dignity of women here. We had a wonderful time with our new National Director, Franco Bosio and his wife, Maria. They have joined us in our excitement about distributing the film here in Florence at Christmas and then an Italy-wide distribution on March 8th. (More on this strategy later) Franco is one of the most expressive and passionate believers I have ever met. So thankful to be working alongside him and the whole team!!

Got home late Friday night... yes, LATE!! When Kylie and I tried to buy our train tickets at the station, the tickets were sold out. So we had to take a later train that went to the sketch (yes, I said it!!) station in a different part of town. Thankfully, the amazing Gary Runn came and picked me up since there are no buses and it was 10 PM. While waiting in the Milan train station I was thinking how people can be categorized by their treatment of pigeons.... It all started when the man sitting next to me in the long row of cold, metal chairs decided to throw his pizza crust out on the ground for the pigeons to eat. You can imagine the mayhem when the birdies saw what he did. But the problem was, this was right where people had to walk to get to their train connections. So, there are the Dodgers, the Scardie-cats, the Kickers (you know who you are!!), the Oblivious, the Annoyed... you get the picture. Great way to pass an hour delay in case you are ever in this situation.


Tanti Auguri!!:

Saturday morning dawned early! My sweet new friend, Laura, insisted that she have a little birthday party for Emily and Grace. I wanted to help her get ready and so we made plans for me to meet her at 10:30. When I arrived at her house she had switched the plans on me, and instead was taking me to this very cool street down in the city with many shops. They call it “The street of 100 shops.” There we met up with another friend of hers named Cristina. She and her daughters would be joining us later at the party. So, instead of preparing for the party, we strolled the street and had coffee and I practiced my Italian. After we finished, she took me home. I asked her about helping and she said, “no... just come over at 4:30.” These people are so gracious!! 

We spent the afternoon with Laura and her family, Cristina and her family, and our staff friends, the Runns. There were also a few other teens there. We ate three different fabulous, home made desserts and the girls were sung to in English. Aside from the 50 mosquito bites Grace go out on the grass in their backyard, the evening was perfetto!!

Cinque Terre:

Two months ago I booked us a room in Riomaggiore - a quaint little beach town that is part of 5 little towns along the north/west coast of Italy. Course, we didnt know how busy we would be right now, but when I booked it I wanted to do something special for the girls’ birthdays. So, early Sunday morning we got up and went to the train station. Here, I have to confess that I got my family there an HOUR earlier than necessary... what was I thinking?? I dont know... but when we got there we thought the train was at 9:57 and it was at 10:57. They all just looked at me... deer in the headlights.... Thankfully, they are all so full of grace that we just raised our eyebrows and went to Micky D’s for an Egg McMuffin. We arrived in Riomaggiore around 1 PM and went through the tunnel as directed by Mario (the man we rented the room from.) He said he would find us at the end of the tunnel, and sure enough!! He did!! We spent most of the day hiking the trails and being amazed at God’s beautiful creation. I have to say, seeing and hearing the ocean were water to my soul. More unforgettable memories made with Mark and the girls!! I mean, we won’t soon forget the ocean views, the olive groves, the steep climbs, nor the slippery rocks. We might forget that the short train ride from the last terre to ours was 1.5 hours late while we shivered on the cold platform.... But we are getting kind of used to “Italy Time.” Stuff happens late - or maybe it’s just God’s timing. We are learning to relax and go with the flow. Those of you who know me well know that this isnt always easy for me. More sharp edges being filed away.