After arriving at the train station Saturday night from our retreat, we knew that Napoli was having some issues with trash. However, we didn’t know exactly how bad it was. We read an article in the newspaper while we were on our retreat that said people were throwing rocks at firefighters that were trying to put out the trash fires. Sure, o.k., maybe that happened, but it doesn’t mean the entire city has gone to shreds…does it.
Well, Monday morning we discovered that the dumpsters we normally use were…well…a bit hidden under a huge pile of trash. But hey, not to worry folks, we’ve seen it almost this big before, and no one was even complaining about it. But now we have the added worries of this…
This is a picture that I took Monday morning about 50 yards from our house, on a main street in our neighborhood.
People are getting “stufo” (fed up) with the trash problem and to prove it they are setting lots of the bins on fire. And in case you’ve forgotten your 9th grade science lesson on chemicals, it’s absolutely horrible for the environment and our health.

Pray with us as we are trying to hear the Lord’s voice in how we can help those around us and ourselves with the insurmountable concerns with the trash, health, and safety issues.

PART ONE: I have to begin this post by telling the events of Saturday night. We went to eat at Paul’s barber’s house, Francesco. The group gathered at this ridiculously nice apartment overlooking the sea consisted of Paul, me, Francesco and his wife, Claudia (who is American), and Giuseppe and his wife Silvia, friends of Francesco and Claudia. Since they live about 20 minutes out of Naples and we have no car, Francesco took us and we were to spend the night at his house. We arrived at about 9 but did not start eating the enormously large T-bones until 11. That would be 11 p.m. folks. Now, considering I was running my first 5K the next morning, this was a pretty hefty meal. But, not wanting to be rude, I ate most the the delicious T-bone. Around 1 a.m. I had to go to bed, so Paul and I excused ourselves and went to sleep. The others, however, stayed up until 4 A.M.!! We awoke the next morning and Francesco, bless his heart, drove us back to the city and dropped us off at the race.
PART TWO: This was my first 5K and I was pumped. I showed up and had no idea where to go or if I needed to do anything other than stand around and wait for the warm-up time. After asking around I figured out that I just had to stand around and wait for the warm-up time, which was…well, I could have warmed-up better alone. Afterwards, I just followed the mass of women (did I mention this was a race for women) to the starting line, thinking, “I’ll just go where they go” because if you think trying to understand a different language is hard, try doing it as people are talking over a microphone with loud music in the background. So, as my adrenaline started pumping I made my way with the other women to the starting line and waited….and we were off!! After making my way through the mass of women I finally got in my stride. I fought back the temptation to go faster when I was passed and kept to my pace. Going through the last stretch, which was up a hill, I thought “This is crazy!” But then I saw the finish line and I picked it up a little. As I neared the end I got really excited…and then a 12 year old girl came breezing past me! WHAT!!! I did not even see her coming. A 12 year old beat me by mere seconds. Here’s some humble pie, want seconds?? I finished with an unofficial time of 26 minutes and 12 seconds. Not bad.
PART THREE: After the race Paul and I had to walk to the bus. We could not take the metro because I conveniently left my metro pass at home and we had NO money. So we walked to the bus stop and got on a bus. Turns out the bus had already gone to our stop. Apparently buses here don’t go around and around in circles. When they get to the end of the line, you gotta get off. So we get on another bus to take us back to where the race was, walk back down to the bus stop (this is my third time to go down this street, so I am getting so know it really well.)and wait for the bus that finally takes us home 2 1/2 hours later.
Ran a 5K in less than 40 minutes, got to see parts of the city I didn’t know, and I got to eat a T-bone. All is a couple days work.

Today I was reading John 11 and two things struck me. John 11 tells the story of the death and raising of Lazarus. First, when Jesus sees Mary and Martha weeping, their pain and sadness, he was deeply moved and wept. John writes, “When Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping,…, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.” I do not believe that Jesus was weeping over the death of Lazarus because he knew before Lazarus died that he would be raised. For Jesus told his disciples, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” He was weeping for the pain of his friends. Our God and Savior knows our pain and hurts and troubles. And he weeps with us. We are never alone in our suffering. And the great thing is that in him there is hope and compassion. What other god offers this?
The second thing I noticed was that so many times followers of Christ show examples of obedience and faith, but they also show the opposite. When Jesus tells the disciples they are going back to Bethany so that he can awake Lazarus they rebuke him because Bethany is close to Jerusalem and the Pharisees were watching for him to kill him. I can understand why they did not want to go…they did not want Jesus to be killed – or themselves. Twice Jesus corrects their rebukes. Then Martha, after proclaiming that whatever Jesus asks for God will give him, tells him not to roll away the stone covering the tomb of Lazarus because after being dead for four days there would be an odor. Jesus’ reply is “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” Time and time again he has to tell people more than once to do something. How many times does he have to tell me to do something. Wouldn’t life be so much easier and less stressful if I just did what was asked or commanded of me. Wouldn’t life be simpler if I took comfort in knowing that God has put me where He wants me and that He must know that I can do and/or handle whatever He has placed in front of me? I do not want to doubt or question or fear or worry about any situation – my God is before me and He knows the end result before it happens.
All of this reminded me of the hymn “Trust and Obey”:

MacKenzie

This Sunday we were invited to the countryside outside of Napoli with some friends. So, we piled up in the car and drove about 30 minutes outside of the city and ended up on this hill overlooking the mountains. Our friend, Pietro, his cousin is building a house here within the next year. I have to say it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. We stayed for about an hour just walking around, sitting in the grass, and just enjoying the view. Then we headed off to lunch around 1:00 and ate till almost 4:oo! After lunch, we went back to this place and layed in the grass and took a nap for a while, then drove around some more and came back to Napoli around 8:00. It was a beautiful day with some great friends in the countryside of Southern Italy…Thank you Father for being with us every step of the way. Your presence was definitely felt.

You may recall that when we first moved into our apartment we had a few issues with the washing machine that turned out to be us just not knowing how to install a washing machine. Well, the machine that has only seen 3 1/2 months use has decided it is going to leak water all over the floor. Yesterday as we ate lunch we noticed water was flowing into our living room. A little panic set in. What is going on with this crazy machine we asked? Paul bought new O-rings, but that did not solve the problem. So, today our “doorkeeper”, Enzo, came up and tried to help us figure out what was wrong. The conclusion is that we need to call the store we bought it from and tell them the brand new washing machine we bought from them is not working.
I could come at this problem from several different angles. I could be mad about it, but kicking the washing machine is only going to get me a sore foot. I could be frustrated about all the clothes I am not getting to wash but that will only get me more lines around my eyes. I could be content and know that it will all work out somehow. The machine will get fixed and clothes will get washed….one day. There is no sense in worrying about something I cannot fix at the moment.

This morning I was reading John 2 about the wedding at Cana and when Jesus cleanses the temple. After Jesus rids the temple of the gamblers and traders he says “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” If you skip down to verse 22 you’ll read that when he was raised from the dead, the disciples remembered what he had said and believed. It was only after they had seen that they believed. At Bible study the lesson was on Jesus walking on water and how Peter’s faith faltered. This is a common occurrence not just with the disciples but also with us. I know three women who never worry about anything. The first is my mom. The second is a friend in Fort Worth, Sharon. And the third is a friend and colleague of mine here in Italy. She has been such a great example to me the last three months. She trusts God in everything. She trusts that He will not put her in any situation that she cannot handle, even if she has no idea how she ended up in that situation. I love to watch her live out her faith everyday in small and big ways.
Thank you to these three women for being such great examples of faith for me.

Well, I have turned 27….feels just like 26.
To celebrate my 27 years of being on this planet, we went bowling with some of our friends. It was like being back at Main Event in Texas.
We had tons of fun – although the nachos I got were about the worst thing I have ever eaten.
Anyway…we bowled two games. Believe or not, I lost the second games by one…uh….pin? Yes that’s right…I almost won a game of bowling. I lost in the last frame. Oh well, there’s is always next year.

At our church in Fort Worth (121 Community Church) we heard a lot about “your sphere of influence”. Everyone has a sphere of influence. It’s the people around you. Are you ministering to those you see on a regular basis? Are you reflecting Christ to them? I was reading the newsletter from my lifegroup in Texas this morning and realized that is what our ministry here is based on…our sphere of influence. We live in an area with about 70,000 people in it. I don’t know if I could reach 70,000 people in my lifetime, but I can reach out to the people in my apartment complex, the women at the hair salon, and the people I am getting to know at the market. They can reach out to the people in the sphere of influence and so on and so on. It is a domino affect. When you look out over this city, you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the masses of buildings and the people who live in them. How in the world can God use me to ever do this GREAT work set out before us?? But then, you come down from that view and go have coffee with your neighbor or go to the market just to talk to the people you are getting to know and it becomes a little easier to see how God is going to use me to do this great work. It starts with our sphere of influence. So thanks to 121 Community Church and our lifegroup for instilling this principle in us before we even got here.
MacKenzie

Now that we’ve gotten 3 months under our belt we’ve been asked several times… “So, how do you like it….really?” Well, the honest answer is we love it! But there are definitely good and bad days. For example, yesterday we had a fellowship at our house with about 8 different people from the church. MacKenzie cooked her first “real” Italian meal, (pasta with ragu…no, not in the bottle) and it turned out great! It was a fantastic meal and afterwards we played “Empire”! The best game of all-time. For those of you who know about Empire, just imagine explaining it in a different language and then playing with names you’ve never heard of…unbelievable!
Today on the other hand was a different story. I’ve been looking forward to this day for about a week now, ever since I had a conversation with a guy who works at a pizzeria who wants to study the Bible with me. Today was the day that we were supposed to talk about John ch. 1, but unfortunately he was working at another pizzeria today so we didn’t get to talk. Also at the market this morning was the first time I’ve had someone turn me down to explain the Gospel. But, I didn’t let it get me down. These people are lost, without hope, and need a relationship with Jesus. So, this afternoon MacKenzie and I went to a bar (cafe) to study for a while. I had just started translating a gospel tract when I decided to share it with the guys that work there. I asked them to read it and explain it to me, to see if they understood what they were reading. Well, it turns out they were completely uninterested. One was a atheist and the other claimed to be catholic but he didn’t believe in God, he only believed in being a good person. After an hour conversation of “why I believed the Gospel, why they don’t believe in God, and why the bible is just the same as the koran, and all religions lead to paradise” I decided it was enough. I explained the Gospel as best as I could, I explained to them that Jesus is the only way to salvation, and that without Him, they would perish in hell forever. It’s difficult to look a young man in the face and tell him… “I don’t want you to go to hell, and without Jesus, that is exactly what will happen.” But I did. God, I’m being as obedient as I know how. I know “He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it” That’s why I’m laying it at your feet. I will continue to be obedient…, I will continue to love the people you have called me to…, I will continue to believe that your grace is sufficient… You are my King!
Paul

For Easter, Paul thought it would be a good idea to make Easter baskets for the people we have met. So…off I went to the market to buy baskets and candy and ribbon and cellophane. We also put a little card with two Bible verses on it, Ephesians 2:8-9 and John 14:6. We are giving them to some neighbors, the guys at Paul’s barbershop, guys at the pizzeria we go to, our teacher, and some people at a gelateria we go to. We are hoping that they will create opportunities to talk to people about Christ. So far, everyone we have given them to has liked them.
Paul has had some amazing opportunities. He has talked to one man, Mimbo, at the pizzeria about Christ. Paul gave Mimbo a Bible. When Mimbo asked what Paul wanted him to read, Paul directed him to John 1. Tuesday they are going to discuss it. Paul had a good discussion with the man, Francesco, who owns the barber shop he goes to. Francesco told Paul he did not believe in the church (that’s the Catholic Church) anymore. They discussed the Catholic Church and Easter for a while. That same day Paul got into a discussion with a Jehovah’s Witness. That was an interesting conversation. I will let him tell more about it all in the newsletter. But there are some very exciting things happening right now. Thank you for your prayers – they are being answered!!