This week has had a great start. Tuesday, I went to the market with my friend Mariarita, who has agreed to help me with my Italian. We went looking for something for her father because today (Wednesday) is Festa di Papa, or Father’s Day. It was great being out with a girlfriend, doing something we like to do.
Tuesday night after class we went walking around a piazza close to the school with our friend, Marina. (Walking around is the thing to do here….it’s free). We ended up meeting one of her friends and going to eat pizza.
Why am I writing this?? Because Tuesday was the first time since we have been here that I have gone about with a friend, without Paul. Its important because we are making true friends, not just people we talk to every once in a while. Its important because we are being invited “hang out”. Its important because it makes us feel like we belong….like we are not “the foreigners.”

Alright, so I’m about 2 weeks late for all you “Lost” fans, but hey late is better than never. So, I was thinking today about how the one thing I have in my life that is always constant is my relationship with Jesus. For the past 8 years Jesus has been the one person who knows everything I’ve ever done. He’s walked with me through the thick and the thin, yet He still loves me. I’ve made an effort to get to know Him through reading His word on a daily basis, by listening in prayer and acknowledging the Holy Spirit in daily encounters. I have a deeper relationship with Jesus than anyone else on any level. And that’s why I call myself a Christian.
As of right now I’m surrounded by people who don’t read their bibles…ever, who pray to dead people as if they can help the situations (yes Jesus died on a cross but Jesus defeated death by being raised from the grave), and rely on their personal good works as payment for their sins and yet they call themselves Christians. Sometimes people have issues with other people interpreting the Bible, so I will let it speak for itself “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Rom 5:8 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” 5:10 Jesus also said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” John 14:6. And finally one of my favorite quotes of Jesus “But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 Now I ask you who else can claim that and actually back it up.
I am absolutely broken over the fact that my new friends fail to see the importance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Trusting in His perfect life is the only way that anyone will ever enter heaven because there is nothing that we can do to pay for our sins. Jesus already paid that price, and we don’t have to work to get that gift. It’s because of his perfect life that we can have our sins paid for and it’s because He defeated death and was resurrected from the grave that we can spend eternity in heaven with Him. Thank you Jesus for making it possible. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Paul

Today, I received pictures from my brother of my family from last Christmas. Can I just say, I have a great family. These pictures don’t even represent half of them. They fill my life with a great happiness.
So far, I have not had lots of homesickness. As I looked at these pictures today, I realized just how much I miss them. I do not want to leave Italy or anything, I just miss them. It will be different not being with them on Easter and Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So, to all my family, I love you and miss you.

You are looking at the Santa Scale (the Holy Stairs) in Rome. It is said that these are the stairs that Christ walked up during his trial to meet Pontus Pilate. The stairs were brought over by Constantine’s mother. There is said to be remains of the blood of Christ on these stairs. Catholics come from all over to crawl up these stairs, one by one, stopping to pray on each step. You cannot walk up them – you must go up on your knees. They pray for forgiveness, for healing, for their family, for any and everything. Their priest tell them if they will crawl and pray up the stairs a certain number of times they will get what they are seeking. At the top of the stairs is a picture of Christ on the cross. As I watched people working their way slowly, and probably painfully, up the stairs I took everything in me to not cry uncontrollably. I thought, “My Christ did not come and die for this.” Our faith is not based on works. Crawling up stairs will not save anyone. Christ gives us salvation freely. I thank Him that I do not have to crawl up stairs to reach Him.

Saturday we went up to Rome for the night. Our friend Dudley took us around to see a few of the sights. First stop was to a prison. This is where the Apostle Paul was said to have been in prison. Even if is not, where he was kept was probably very similar. But seeing it gave me such a better perspective on Paul. When he says rejoice in all circumstances – and these were his conditions – I am really at a loss for words. He had such a joy that where he was did not matter. The tall piece of stone to the left of the altar is where the prisoners would be chained with long chains so they could move around the cell. The upside down cross is there on the altar because it is also said that Peter was held here.
We then say the Forum, which is now divided thanks to Mussolini. Right up the hill is a piazza that was designed by Michelangelo. The bronze statue is of Marcus Aurelius. For those of you who have seen the movie Gladiator, he is the emperor that is killed in the beginning by his evil son.
Then it was off to the Colosseum. Talk about a sight – whew. Can’t wait to see it at night. The Circus Maximus is close, but we did not get to see that. Saving it for the next trip. If you have seen Ben Hur the big chariot race is in the Circus Maximus. (Yes I relate everything to movies).
At San Giovanni ( a church) the heads of Peter and Paul are said to be kept. There are huge statues of all the apostles and Paul. Each statue depicts a certain characteristic of each man. Peter is holding the keys to heaven. Paul is holding the sword of truth. Matthew is stepping on a bag a money (a reference to his life as a tax collector), Bartholomew is said to have been killed by being skinned. These were amazing works of art.

Ciao! Goodness, lots has happened in the last few weeks. The greatest – we got internet today. It really is an answered prayer for a lot of people. A huge thanks to our business consultant in Roma, who has called and called and called about our “little” internet problem until the company did something about it. 

yeah, after 6 weeks, we finally received our package from 121! thanks guys for all your support and encouragement.

One of the God’s greatest qualities is simply the way He loves His children. He knows them in intimate ways and ways that no other person has the ability to. He knows when we need encouragement, how we need it, and when we should give it. Our Father is the one and only true God who has this gift and it has become more real to us in the past month. A couple of weeks ago, about the second week we were here, I received a package from some members of my home church in Simsboro, La. It was very unexpected yet very well received. As I was opening this package I honestly had no idea what to expect, but I was definitely prepared for what was next.
I sat down on the bed in the guest bedroom of the Worthy’s house and began to read about 15 different letters of encouragement from our church family. As I was reading about the third or fourth letter I began to weap. I wept as if I had just lost me best-friend, or perhaps a very close family member. It was something I hadn’t done in years. It took me almost 30 minutes to finish the letters because I would often have to just stop and catch my breath. It was an overwhelming feeling.
For the past 6 months we had been preparing to arrive on the field. Now we were here and boy, did we hit the ground running! I had stopped to thank God for bringing us here, but very briefly, but now it had finally hit. We are in a new country, with new friends, a new language, and a new culture…a bit overwhelming to say the least. BUT…God has been extremely gracious to us. It is now 4 weeks later and we are developing friendships and ministering wherever possible. It has taken me that long to be able to write about that day 4 weeks ago. It’s a marker in my life. God encouraged me in a very special way because of your obedience and thoughtfulness. Thanks for being a blessing to us in many different ways.
Paul

God has many wonderful things since our arrival here but there are two that I would like to mention because they have been prayer request since well before our departure.
First, there is a wonderful Baptist church close to our apartment that we go to. There are multiple reasons for going. One, to help with language acquisition. Two, to make partnerships for the future, and third to make friends. Right now the third is the most important reason for me. That church is a God send. Both Paul and I really need it. They are so friendly. Yesterday we at lunch at the home of some friends from the church and stayed until around 6. They are a blessing.
Secondly, I have not been homesick like I thought I was. I remember breaking down in August at the thought of not being close to home, but God has been so gracious. Homesick days will come and go, but right now I have not had but a couple of moments. Not that I do not miss home, but I am not sad and sitting in the apartment everyday either.
THank you so much for praying for my homesickness and friends for Paul and I. They are being answered. Please keep praying for these two things as they are an ongoing thing.

Before I begin the description of the adventures of the washing machine, allow me to say that Paul and I are well. Language school is challenging but we are learning so much. And now the adventures of the washing machine.
We got our brand new washing machine about three weeks ago when we moved into the apartment. By that time, we had a pretty good sized pile of dirty clothes in the floor. So you can imagine our joy of being able to wash clothes. With excitement I loaded the machine (and by load I mean I put about 3 shirts, two pairs of socks, and maybe one pair of pants). Upon opening the door of the machine after it was through washing, the clothes were SOAKED!! I had to wring them out in the bathtub. After a few days of this I sat down with a dictionary and the owner’s manual ( the manual has no English instructions) and tried to figure it out. But no – my attempt was in vain. I took the manual to Shannon Worthy who helped me figure it out. I was able to get the correct cycle finally, but then the machine began to rock and bang against the walls and sometimes walk across the floor. This went on for days and days. Everyone told us it was normal. Ok….but I did not think so. Yesterday after school, I put some clothes on to wash and it just so happened that our friend Dudley, from Rome, came to visit and go over a few things and heard the loudness that is our washing machine spinning water out of the clothes. He was kind enough to look at it for us. It turns out that we had not taken the bolts out of the back that are only in the machine for transport. Aren’t we smart!! But to our defense neither of us had ever bought a new washing machine. So now it is working just fine. So maybe I can make a dent in the pile of clothes sitting in the floor of our bedroom.

Well, life since getting off the plane in Naples has been….busy. We arrived on Sunday, Dec. 30 at about 6:30. Charlie Worthy, our team leader, along with his oldest daughter, Micah, picked us up from the airport and took us to their house, where we meet Shannon, Charlie’s wife, Emma and Alessia, the other daughters. We had a great meal of fresh bread, Italian hams and sausages, cheese, and other antipasto. My favorite was pickled green tomatoes.
Micah twirling a sparkler on the balcony.
Emma and me on New Year’s Eve Night

New Year’s Eve was something. Fireworks, or firecracks as the kids call them, went off all day. One time I thought a bomb went off. I think I screamed a little sometimes, which of course made people look at me and laugh. Guess I had better get used to it.
One thing I admire about the Neopolitians is their relationship with their family. Family is more important than work or making money. So, New Year’s Day, everything was closed. Even the metro (subway system) closed early. So we really didn’t do anything because everything was closed. I did get to try some hot chocolate. It’s not your momma’s hot chocolate, for sure. There are like 32 varieties and the stuff is SOOO thick. Imagine you took a hershey bar, put about 1-2 tablespoons of milk in it, added nut or fruit flavoring or whatever else you want, and heat it up. It is really good, but the thickest “liquid” I have ever tried to drink. It was more like pushing it down my throat, but yummy.
Today, we went to IKEA. We have these stores in the US, but it took Paul and I to get to the other side of the world before we went to one. I think we spent about 7 hours in there getting stuff for the apartment and we did not even get it all. So, next week we’ll go back with a list and measurements.
THe first few days have been really good. We are getting over jetlag, enjoying some great food (we had our first real pizza the other day), and getting excited about moving into our apartment. so, ciao for now.
MacKenzie