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!!!

October Newsletter

Buon Novembre/Happy November!

It's so nice being back in Florence.  It feels like autumn, the leaves are falling, and the weather is truly starting to turn chilly.  Here's all that happened in October:

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Morris in Poland, ME

October 1-5 Jeffrey and Rachel Got Married.  Our family drove to Maine to celebrate the marriage of Jeffrey and his new wife, Rachel.  I love her so much and am glad she is now an official part of our family!  It was a beautiful ceremony, simple and intimate in a beautiful autumn setting.  We got to experience a real Maine lobster bake, stay in an inn on a lake, and stopped in Boston on the way home.  It was a great adventure.  

October 6-12 Soaked Up Some Good Time with Family and Friends, although time went by too quickly!  My family humored me and we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving so I could at least be home for one holiday.    

October 13 I voted.  And that's all I'm going to say.  May the good Lord do as He pleases. 

October 13 I Flew Back to Italy, arriving on the 14th.  My two wonderful roommates, Vanessa and Silvia, had coordinated with Paul and Cody (Pastor of Mosaico, the church I'm a part of) to use his car to move all my belongings from Paul and Melinda's spare apartment.  What a relief to come home to that, especially since I didn't have so much as a hairbrush with me! 

October 17 I Started Attending Classes at the Russian Academy of Art, a requirement for having a student visa.  Paul and Melinda are also in the classes, which keeps things fun.  In the mornings we have 3 hours of painting and in the afternoon we have 2 1/2 hours of drawing.  The professors are all Russian and speak little to no English, and so we have translators for every class. Спасибо.  (Thank you)

Look, an almost still life!

I also really enjoy the other students.  I am used to artsy people and the world of dance, but all of a sudden I find myself thrown into a world of a different kind of art.  I find it all very fascinating and inspiring.  Vanessa and Silvia also attend the school, and so I frequently find myself amongst this group of friends.  They regularly whip out their sketch books and sketch anything that sits still for more than 5 minutes.  It's great fun, and I am learning to see things in a new light, about the composition, perspective, lighting, and pause, both in art works and real life.  I occasionally sketch outside of class too,  and frequently find myself thinking, "What is my life?"  Attending art classes in Florence, Italy, learning classical Russian techniques? Che figata/How cool!  The Russian Academy of Art attracts people from all over the world, and I now have friends from Chile, Argentina, France, China, Australia, Russia, Switzerland, Germany, and other places.  Some of their stories are fascinating and I am honored to know them. 

Vanessa, Silvia, and I host a Bible Study at our apartment for the other students of the Russian Art Academy who are interested.  Paul leads the study; we are in the book of Philippians.  It's a lovely Sunday evening, consisting of talking about Jesus, drinking tea, and eating cookies in our regal apartment.  

We Are Still in the Works for Gallery Space #5.  At the moment we are trying to project the cost of remodeling this space, (actually two spaces, one for the gallery and one next door for the studio) working with our business consultant, landlord, and architect. 

Prayer Requests:

• Praise! I made it safely back to Florence and am loving my new apartment and roommates.

• Praise! Art classes are going well, and many new friendships are being built through that.

• Pray: For new friends and old, and relationships to continue to grow.

• Pray: For Gallery Space #5. If this is the space the Lord has for us that things would continue to move forward and be within our budget.

• Pray: For Christ's love and compassion to be made known in Italy, especially in this time of devastation with so many earthquakes.

Thank you to everyone who prays, supports, and reads these little (and sometimes not so little) updates!  I am so very thankful for you!

Blessed be His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory! - Psalm 72:19

Ciao from the Other Side!

Duomo di Milano

Buongiorno famiglia e gli amici/Hello family and friends!  

I am thrilled to be writing to you from across the pond, or as Adele would say, “Hello from the other siiiiiiIIIIiiidee!”  Thank you all for your prayers, all my flights and traveling were mostly uneventful and I had nice people to sit next to with beautiful British, Australian, and Italian accents.  

That's a door. Just stare at it for a while. The man in the photo is for size.

I flew into Milan on Tuesday afternoon, where Paul (Gallery 4 Italy Director) was kind enough to meet me and help get my luggage to Florence.  But first, we explored and saw the Duomo di Milano and the giant museum of a train station before we departed by train and travelled to Florence at 300kmh/186mph.  Wheeeee.

Took a bus to Iacopo Nardi 2 (my apartment) and reunited with Rachel!  She and her parents had dinner all ready and it was just wonderful.  I managed to stay awake for a bit before crashing into bed after being awake for a solid 32 hours.  I slept like a champion, although I did wake up once with a “where am I, who am I??” moment.  I don’t think I figured it out before I fell back asleep.  I’m Jane Doe in a comfy bed and I don’t care, lalalala!

So what will this summer hold?
    •    Settling in.  That might be a bit obvious, but just reacquainting myself with the flow of the culture here, brushing up on my rusty Italian and continuing to learn, and finding a natural rhythm of life.  
    •    Apartment hunting.  I’ll be moving in with Silvia and Vanessa, two art students, when I come back in October.  They started a search, and now I will continue as they just went home for the summer.
    •    Searching for a Gallery space.  Paul had placed a bid on a beautiful space in a great neighborhood, but it fell through.  So the hunt continues, there are still a few top runners, and we just have to be patient and continue to trust that the Lord will provide what He wants us to have when He wants us to have it.  
    •    Our first Gallery opening in July, in about a month!  We really hope to have a space by then, but if not we can always rent a space temporarily.  

A pretty vine-covered building

The four points above are all things you can be praying for.  You can also pray that the Lord would provide both a language tandem partner for me, someone who I can meet with and help with their English and they help me with my Italian, and a culture mentor, someone who will help me with understanding and operating in the Italian culture.  Googling "How to act like an Italian" will only get you so far...

If there is anything I can be praying for you specifically, shoot me an email, I would love to be able to!

Side note: the wifi is out at my apartment for the time being, but I reactivated my Italian phone number and have data and such on that where you can reach me. 

One Month until Italy!

That's right.  Actually less, 29 days until takeoff and 30 until I land on Italian soil!  Say whaaaaaa.  It still really hasn't sunk in as I've been busy soaking up the remaining time with my students, and next week, theater week!  The culmination of all the hard work, students and teachers alike, in a long but oh so rewarding week of rehearsals and 9? shows.  Something like that, but it's a blast.  If you live in the Traverse City area, you should come see a show!  It's a fun time had by all. 

Last week Global Outreach sent out my first official newsletter, woohoo!  If you didn't get one and would like to, be sure to sign up on the Give page and I'll be sure to add you to the list for future.  The newsletters will be sent out monthly and sum up the month's happenings, prayer requests, praises, gelato count, etc.  Totally kidding about that last one.  Actually when I was in Florence in the fall for three months my gelato consumption was sadly lackluster.  Did I mention that the newsletter will also be much more to the point and less wandering than some of these blog posts?  Yes, you're welcome.  

For the past several months we have been looking for a new gallery space.  When Gallery 4 first started in Italy almost 2 years ago, the gallery was above the Porcellino.  If you've been to Florence (or seen Silence of the Lambs) the Porcellino is the covered pillar structure with the famous warthog whose nose you rub for good luck.  Or something like that, I didn't fancy touching its nose because...germs.  The gallery was in the roof of the Porcellino which from a glance (or even staring intently at it) doesn't seem like anything would be up there.  Even the spiral staircase was in one of the pillars.  A cool location, but not exactly easy to find nor very inviting.  Last summer Gallery 4 was unexpectedly told they couldn't be up there anymore, the building was too old to be dancing and jumping around up there.  Disappointing, but overall for the best, as we hope the gallery can be somewhere easy to find and access.  Temporary locations have been used since then to host gallery openings, (one of which was a palace, not complaining!) but we've been hunting for a space suitable for both an art gallery and a dance studio.  By we I mean Paul, Melinda, and Rachel.  I'm still in America,  but they do a good job of keeping me updated until I land in June.  Paul and Melinda are honing in on a couple locations, so that is very exciting!  It's been a long haul looking online, making appointments with realtors and viewing spaces, but it's difficult finding something that works for both a gallery and dance studio, is in a good location, and is within the budget.  Not to mention moving in the very laid back "Italian" time.  They're late for everything.  As we get close to deciding on a space, would you help us pray for the Lord's guidance and provision to choose the one best for His plan in continuing the gallery?

Fun Fact: The Porcellino is also one location where JohnPaul of Practical filmed us dancing Jesus Paid It All (Gesu Ha Pagato Tutto)

Madeline, left, and Rachel, Right

The Gallery 4 team is also in the midst of transition.  Madeline Groenendaal, friend and dancer with Gallery 4, had to return to the States earlier this year due to medical complications.  It's been a long and slow healing process for her, and although she would like to return to Florence with Gallery 4 at some point, it's hard to project when that might be.  You can learn more about Madeline and how to pray for her on her blog.

Rachel Harris, my other friend and dancer with Gallery 4, will also be moving back to the States this summer.  She has been with the gallery for 2 years since its beginning and feels it is the right time to move back home.  

These girls are gems.  Their walk with Christ, love for God and others and the people of Italy, and pursuing excellence in dance to the glory of God our Father has encouraged me so much.  I am going to miss them so, so much, but am excited to see how the Lord continues to use them in each new situation He places them in. 

That's the sad news of the day.  On a brighter note, I will get to live with two other sisters in Christ, Silvia and Vanessa.  They are also super great.  They are both art students at the Russian Academy of Art, where the Gallery 4 team gets their student visas through and also where I take ballet classes to stay in shape.  Where will we live?  We're not sure yet.  I will have Iacopo Nardi (Madeline and Rachel's affectionately named apartment and where I stayed in the fall for 3 months) for a part of the summer.  When I return in October after Jeffrey and Rachel's wedding I will move in with Silvia and Vanessa, wherever that may be.  You can help us pray we find the perfect location and apartment, that fits all our needs including being able to get easily to the Russian Art Academy's locations and the future Gallery space.  I will miss Iacopo Nardi's bathtub and terrace.  (You could also pray for those commodities for our apartment, but that's on the lower end of importance, haha.) 

View from the terrace of Iacopo Nardi. Ahhhhhh

With the culture and government of Italy there are always changes and unexpected curve balls thrown our way, but we are learning to be flexible and to keep our hearts seeking the Lord's plans for the Gallery, not our own.  Thank you so, so much for your prayers and support, my love to you all!