Finale!

Today was the spring break mission trip "finale"at Black Forest Christian Fellowship.  Together we celebrated God's work around the world through six short-term mission teams of BFA staff and students.  How exciting to tell the church body about our time in Italy, as well as hear other teams share about what they did and learned in Belarus, Romania, Slovenia, Tanzania, and Central Asia!

With a limited amount of time to share about a week full of ministry and growth -- and lessons we've been processing since our return to Germany -- each team found it difficult to sum it all up in just a few minutes. I shared my personal connection with this church from when I participated in two short-term trips to Italy as a high school student.  Now, as a leader, I worked alongside several of the same Italians I'd met back in 2005 as teenagers.  It was really neat to see this come full-circle!  Brianne and Andrew also shared with the congregation about how the trip had personally impacted them -- the blessing of new relationships, the power of commitment to spiritual growth, and the importance of connection among believers.

Thank you again for your prayers for our trip!  Please pray with me that the Lord would continue to use the experiences of our week in Italy to impact our lives and encourage our Italian friends.

Friday: Ending Well

My mom has always said how important it is to "end well."  What a great week have had -- and today a great ending to the week.

We spent the day touring Naples with the Italian and American youth from the church.  We got to see book and music streets, eat some yummy gelato, enjoy the sunshine, and relax in the Castel Dell'Ovo on the coast.  It was great to have this closure time with our new friends here in Lago Patria.  They have been so gracious to us, and we are so thrilled to have made these connections!  For me personally, this trip has been like a dream come true.  Some of the youth leaders now were the first members of the Jars youth group back in 2005 and 2006 when I came on a short-term trip with my home church.  It's really neat to see things come full circle since we are now leaders of the youth.  I absolutely love deepening relationships, and this trip was definitely one that helped me to reestablish connections with this wonderful community of believers in southern Italy.

Tonight, after goodbyes were said and Italian kisses given, our team met together for the last time in Italy.  We shared some highs and lows from the week and laughed a lot as Jon recapped some of the best quotes from the week.  Many of us commented on what an interesting mix of people we are, but how we have been unified this week.  We have laughed together, worked together, traveled together, grown together.  It is so encouraging to me to see that our team has bonded well, despite our own cultural differences, and that they have so thoroughly enjoyed their time here.

Goodbyes can be difficult.  But in a way, that's a good thing.  That means that we've invested something in this week.  It means that we care, we've shared our hearts, we've connected.

We're so thankful for your prayers and for a wonderful week together!  Please continue to pray for safe travels and good debrief time together once the students are back at school after spring break.

Ciao,
Heather

Thursday: Budding Relationships

This trip has been very surprising and interesting so far for me. I didn't really know what to expect when I signed up for this missions trip but I was excited. I love Italy and I love the culture. I was excited to meet the people in the group because I didn't know some well. Here in Italy I've gotten to know so many people while being here which is very special to me because I cherish relationships. When we first arrived to Italy we were all so shocked to see the beauty surrounding us and it was so fun to share that with everyone. These past few days have been so amazing because I've gotten to know so many people in my group and outside of my group. 

Growing as a group is something very important when you're going on a missions trip. We started to bond over time before the missions trip a bit, but I feel when we actually came to Italy we started to become more of a group. The first day we came we were practically itching to get to the beach and mess around. Some of us decided to go swimming in the sewage infested waters without knowing but if we didn't we wouldn't have had that time to mess around together. It was so much fun and great to hang out that day with everyone in the group. The day after that we went to Rome and I had fun hanging out with many people and seeing the beautiful scenery around us. I had the chance to hang out with the people in our group and share the things we saw together. On Wednesday we got the chance to really have a lot of group time do things together. And today was great because we had another chance to work together in groups and help give ideas to each other. I love having the chance to be with these people all day and get to know them a little more everyday. And I can't wait to get them more in these last few days. 

But, this is not the reason we came to Italy. I've loved getting to know the Italian people while we've been here. At first it was hard, of course, to try and get to know the Italian youth. They were very nice in welcoming us into their group the very first day and made us feel comfortable which helped a lot. We had the chance the next day to hang out with them some more because of the workshops. I sat down with the Hands On group and we were making origami. I loved just sitting there listening to their conversations and laughing at the deformed bunnies that we made. The next day we went to Rome and on the train ride there I had the chance to talk to one of the Italian guys and he talked to us about his life and interests. He told us some very shocking stories that were very interesting and awesome to listen to. And on Wednesday and Monday we had the chance to go to Italian homes and eat real Italian food and get to observe the culture. On Wednesday I really enjoyed being at one of the homes and seeing how comfortable they were and how great they were at making their guests comfortable. I had so much fun that I laughed until I literally started to cry. The Italians that had us over just enjoyed us laughing with them. 

This whole week so far has been so great and honestly I don't think I'm ready to leave just yet. But I know that even though I didn't know what to expect from it at the beginning I really learned a lot just being on the trip this week. Getting to know the people all around me is awesome and very special. I will cherish these relationships when I leave Bella Italia.

From, Lizi

Wednesday: Viaggo Meraviglioso

These past few days have been amazing here in Italy. We have gone to native Italian family's houses for several meals and each time I learn something new. Every day is a learning experience. I have learned so much more about Italian culture just by being immersed in it rather than just visiting the wonderful sights of Italy. 


Monday we had a "getting to know you/ workshops" session, Tuesday some of the youth took us to see Roma (so much to learn there as well!) and yesterday we did another session of "workshops" for the youth group. That time was filled with so much laughter my sides hurt. Our relationships are growing more and more by the day which makes the thought of leaving even harder! I love these people and the community they have here. It is so wonderful to see how God places different people into a community and fills it with His love and spirit. This community is made up of Americans and Italians, yet they are all family. I love that. 


Today is going to be a full day of workshops. We are making an "American breakfast" for the youth and their families and then having two sessions of "workshops", one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Later on tonight we are putting on a little "showcase presentation." :) We want to show the youth's families what we have been doing all week! Our team will also perform a gospel presentation in the form of drama. We are very excited about today and I think the youth are too. Please be in prayer for our team as we are finishing up our mission and continue to make lasting relationships with the Italian AND American youth here. I love them all so much and will hate to leave them. Thank you for your prayers thus far! Dio benedica! (God bless!)


From, Brianne

Monday: A Full Day!

Wow, what a full day!  It’s already after 11:00 p.m. here and we’re heading to bed soon, so here are some highlights from the day…

… We had a typical Italian breakfast at our hotel this morning: croissants and mini toast with jelly and Nutella.  Yum!  Then, we had personal and group devotions before meeting with the leaders of the Italian youth group to plan details for our evening workshops.  Plans for the week's activities are coming along well.

… Around 1:00, we headed to two different homes of Italians in the church.  Yum!  We were so full after eating multiple courses: pasta, meat, salad, and dessert.  It was great to get to know some of the Italians better.

… We had a little bit of down time before the evening workshops, so some of the students played volleyball or sat and talked.  I even got to help Brianne run some soccer drills!  She is a dedicated athlete. :)

… Soon enough it was time for the workshop event to begin!  We started off with some fun games to break the ice, then had two workshops prepared to share.  Four of the students (John, Grace, Emmalee, and Sunshine) ran the dance station, which taught Cotton Eyed Joe, Cupid Shuffle, and Cha Cha Slide.  Marshall, Andrew, and Lois ran the other station, “Lavoretti Manuali” (hand crafts).  The participants there made paper airplanes and origami animals. 

… We were fed well again for dinner tonight!  Don’t worry, we’re all eating plenty!  It was also especially fun for me to have dinner at the home of the Faulkners, a missionary family that my home church supports.

Now we’re heading to bed because we have an early wake-up for our Rome day trip tomorrow.  Five of the teens from the youth group are going with us, so we are really glad to have that opportunity to get to know them better on the trip.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! 

For His glory,

Heather (for us all)

Sfeugatell’ (from Emmalee and Andrew)

After a delicious Italian lunch (and Andrew learning his first Italian word in Italy, Sfeugatell’) our team settled in to our rooms, and we began to explore our new home for the next week. We continued bonding as a team by wandering through abandoned cabanas, and the scrap piles of metal. We also played pickup games of soccer, and climbed surrounding beach structures. Another great activity was swimming in the deserted Mediterranean waters. Later on in the night we learned from the youth group that the reason the beach was so empty was because a mile down the shore is a sewage plant! This means that we were swimming in the fantastic freezing cold Mediterranean waters of human waste. Yay!

After we all showered (thank goodness) we met as a group to pray about the night to come. We talked about being outgoing and trying to connect with this youth group that we will be working hand in hand with for the next week. So with our spirits up, we meandered over to the church excited to meet the amazing “Jars.” To our utter disappointment no one was there. So we did what any foreigners would do, and took some cheesy group pictures!

A few minutes later Jars began along with a night full of icebreaking and enjoyable community games. We played “Never have I Ever”, and “4 on a couch” to learn all of their names, and to teach them ours. We shared laughs and old stories in order to get along like old friends. To conclude our night, we ate some fantastic Italian pizza (Yum) and went up on the roof to blog!

Ciao,

Emmalee and Andrew

We're Here!

We made it safely to Italy!  We had a great morning of worship at the International Baptist Church here, and we are looking forward to participating in youth group activities this afternoon.  More of an update from some of the students coming soon... but for now, we wanted to let you know that we made it safely and some have even been in the Mediterranean already!  (Guess who?!  Not me...)

Please continue to pray for opportunities to connect with the teens in the youth group and for our team to bond well together.  We're excited to see what God will do this week!

-- Heather