November Newsletter: Homecoming!

Photo credit to Practical

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mosaico Church, my church family in Italy. Celebrating the 3rd Anniversary!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, good time with family, and lots of delicious food to eat.  Christmas music has now been unleashed full force, and I hope we are all able to head into this season with joy in our hearts, thankfulness, and eager expectation to again remember the birth of our King, Christ Jesus.  

Gallery 4 Italy Ceasing Operations

Russian Academy of Art Bible study we host in our home!

In early November we received the news that the founder of Gallery 4 has chosen to suspend operations in Italy.  With the extreme difficulty in finding a space for the gallery we knew something needed to be done, but the news still came as a shock.  Although it is easy to look at the situation with disappointment and sadness, we trust that the Lord will have used our time here for the good of His kingdom and advancement of the Gospel, and will continue to use it in ways we may never fully realize.  Even though the original vision was not fully accomplished, we were still able to minister to people, host Bible studies, give out Bibles, and talk about Jesus with many.

I will forever see art in a new way thanks to art classes and all my cool artist friends.

Coming Home

In light of these recent events, I will be coming home from the mission field on December 5.  It truly grieves me to leave Florence, it is a magical city and I will greatly miss the friends and people I met here.  However, I am overjoyed to be able to be home for Christmas with family, friends, and church family, as I was not originally expecting to be able to do so.

 

Firenze is extra magical around Christmas time

Coming Weeks

The next few weeks will be spent getting my affairs in order, spending time with friends, and getting ready to come home.  I am so thankful for the time I was here and I would like to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for supporting, praying, and encouraging me in this venture.  To God be the glory!

Prayer Requests:

• Praise! For all the friends here that makes it so hard to leave. Although it is sad, I consider it a very great thing indeed to have such friends that makes saying goodbye so hard.

• Praise! Being able to be home with family, friends, and church family for Christmas.

• Prayer: For my remaining time here to be meaningful and for the glory of God.

• Prayer: For the people here, whether friends or strangers, to continue to be exposed to the Gospel.

• Prayer: For a smooth transition, closure, and safe trip home.

Grazie a tutti!!!

Process of Moving to Italy Thus Far

This post really should be titled, "Why the Heck Am I Moving to Italy and Other Scary and Uncertain Things" but I really like the word thus.  It makes me feel like I know English well.  And sometimes I need that little pat on the back of feeling like I know English well as I am struggling to learn Italian. 

Or, if I really wanted people to click on this link I should've titled it something like "Jenny Decided to Move to Italy and THIS Happened."  And like most articles that use that particular marketing scheme, not reveal what the THIS is until the end and have it be something really normal or predictable.  Aha ohhhhh I really dislike that kind of marketing.  Even if it looks like an article I'd want to read, I don't want to give that type of marketing page views.  It's against my principles. Haha.  If you are wondering why I'm moving to Italy, I've written about that here.

I left off that post with making a decision to move to Italy on December 31, 2015, after spending 3 months in Florence, Italy, with Gallery 4 as a vision trip.  The next steps were telling the Gallery 4 team and the excitement there, my friends and family, job and coworkers and the bitter-sweetness there. 

In February I flew down to Tupelo, MS, to receive Missionary Orientation Training, squeezing my brain full of everything I need to know to prepare, go, and live as a career missionary, and then some.  It's very exciting and overwhelming, and certainly is a roller coaster ride of faith and trust in the Lord, knowing that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and will provide everything I need if it is His will, from financial support, learning Italian, to downright courage.  I'm already amazed at some of the things I have been pushed to do, that by no means I could have done without a slight mental breakdown if it wasn't for the grace of the Lord ....ahem *public speaking* .... 

Melinda and I representing with the Italian flag. (At first we accidentally picked up the Mexican flag...)

In March I officially started support raising.  I'm so very thankful to those who have have already been so generous with their prayers, finances, time, and encouraging words and am excited for those who are yet to join my support team!  It's a long road ahead, but I intend to run this course with the strength, perseverance, and diligence of the Lord!  In the words of Cinderella, "Have courage, and be kind."

"Sii gentile, e abbi coraggio." - Cenerentola

Some next steps include buying a plane ticket and applying for a Student Visa so I can stay for more than 3 months.  In order to qualify for a Student Visa I will be taking art classes at the Russian Art Academy, they're pretty legit and I'm pretty terrible at drawing/sketching/painting, so...pray for me. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. When are you moving to Italy? My goal date is June 14, 2016! I have a little over 2 months before takeoff.

2. How long will you be there? It's easiest to say I'm starting with a year, because my visa will be good for a year, but really I will be there for as long as the Lord keeps me.

3. Do you get paid? No. Legally I am in Italy as a student and can't work.

4. Where does your support come from? Family, friends, church members, organizations, anyone who wants to partner with me and see this ministry come to fruition, for Jesus to be made known!

5. What will the average day look like for you? Teaching dance classes, performing and helping with Gallery openings, learning to be a local. Lots of walking, and maybe some pasta and gelato...

6. Do you speak Italian? Un po', sto imparando a parlare Italiano. Haha. A little, I'm learning. I took classes for 2 months when I was in Florence last fall. I've been trying to keep up and continue learning, but it's challenging when I don't have many people to converse with and that brain muscle doesn't get used every day. I'm anxious to get back in June to continue learning.

7. How long will it take you to become fluent? They say it takes about a year. Some friends I made while I was in Florence confirmed that, it took them about a year to become fluent after moving to Italy.

Have more questions or want to learn more?  Comment below, or you can find my contact information on the Give page.

First Blog Post!

Welcome to my blog!  I'm glad you're here.  Is this your first time?  Yeah, me too. 

If you're reading this, SUCCESS!  That means I must have done something right!  Or more accurately my brother, JohnPaul, (owner of Practical, a visual production company, shameless boast) must have done something right.  He's handy to have around. 

In three months time, or roughly 93 days, I will be moving to Florence, Italy, as a missionary.  This blog will serve to help keep you updated in the months ahead as I get ready to move and land in Florence, to keep myself sane, give an inside look at my baking experiments (for better or for worse), and quote Parks and Recreation.  But I'll try to keep that last one to a minimum.  Marharhar. 

That's all for today, I wouldn't want to bore you on my first entry...  Soon, I'll take you back...back to the beginning...where it all began. *stares into the distance, tears forming* Just kidding.  But I will tell you all about why I'm moving to Italy and catch you up on where I am in the process.  Until next time, a presto!  Until then, enjoy this nice picture of a bike in Florence.