As we were preparing to leave for Italy, I had so many doubts and worries in my mind about how we were going to accomplish everything. But as always, God was good and took away all of those doubts once we began doing our ministry work in Bologna. We were constantly spending time with members of the Nova Vita and San Lazzaro church, being encouraged by their faithfulness to the Lord and to their city. Ester and Mark were our biggest companions as they drove us around daily, and we quickly bonded through the car rides, days at camp, and meetings/dinners. Their love for God never ceased even through difficult times with spreading the gospel to the people of Bologna. The Exchange camp was by far the greatest opportunity to share the Lord's love with children who had never heard the gospel before. Even though we spoke different languages (which was my biggest worry about the trip) we all formed such strong relationships with each other. Silly hand-shakes and games were the first way we bonded with the kids, and then later on in the week they opened up to us and spoke a little English while I--very ridiculously may I add--attempted to say some Italian frases such as "tre tigri contro tre tigri" which is a tongue twister "three tigers against three tigers" or even "le mie gambe sono stanche" which means "my legs hurt"...I used that one a lot especially in Rome where we walked for ten hours :) Overall, the chance to share the gospel through games, art, relationships, and mimes was an unbelievable experience. Often times we think of ministry as flying abroad to another country where people are not aware of Jesus and His sacrifice for us...but ministry is not restricted to only overseas.We can and should continue our work here in Wheaton, where there are many unbelievers walking around us daily at either work or school, sharing the Lord's love with everyone we meet.
Nata
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