I have never done something like this before and am getting a bit nervous. I have had several people ask how they can be praying for me and I feel like saying "in every way"!
I am taking Italian lessons once a week and while it is very helpful, I am no where near fluent! How do you tell someone about The Lord when you can barely ask where the bathroom is? So, pray that the Italians will see Christ in me...in everything that I do and (especially) when my Italian fails. It is so important to keep Christ at the center of everything that you do. There will be times when I am discouraged, lonely, sad, home sick..etc but my prayer is that it is in those times when my faith and relationship with The Lord grows stronger.
Over the past few weeks I've realized how short life is and how important it is to take advantage of every moment. A good friend of mine from college passed away a few weeks ago...he was a Christian and only 23 when he passed away. At that moment, I thought "what if he hadn't been a believer?" What kind of a friend would I have been had I not shared the Gospel with him? We don't realize how quickly someone can be taken away. But, what me must realize is that our friends, family members, and everyone else in the entire world who are not believers will die and not spend eternity with Jesus. Life is short and we must take advantage of every opportunity.
All that to say, I have become much bolder in my faith. I talk freely about it at work and with friends. And why shouldn't I? What is it that we, as Christians, are afraid of? If the Lord is a part of our daily lives then we should be constantly rejoicing and sharing our faith with everyone. So, another prayer request is that I will continue to be bold in my faith.
Another prayer request is that I will reach 100% of my support raising by August 1. As of right now, I am at about 70%. So, I need approximately $3000 in the next month. That seems to be a daunting task but I know that the Lord is much bigger than that! I have already seen Him work in so many ways toward this trip. At every "road bump" that seemed to big to handle, He has taken care of.
I am planning on being in Sesto Calende around September 10 (give or take a couple of days). I still can not believe it is approaching so quickly! I will continue to keep this blog updated as I prepare for my trip. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers!
Before I go...here are a few things I want to leave you with:
First, if you haven't, I encourage you to watch this video. This is my favorite hymn and I cry ever time I hear it! Watch and think to yourself how awesome it would be to hear the entire world singing!
Second, here are some verses that I have been reading in preparing for Italy. Please read them and if you have any to share I would love it! (Disclaimer: there are quite a few in the list!)
Psalm 66:1-6
Psalm 67: 2-7
Psalm 96:3
Psalm 145:21
Matt 16:26
Matt 28:19
Luke 4:18-19
John 17:21
Rom 1:5
Rom 15:13
Rom 15:20
1 Cor 16:9
2 Cor 9:13-15
Eph 2:10
Eph 3:16
Phil 1:20
Col 1:24-25
1 Tim 2:1-4
1 Tim 6:12
Heb 13:20-21
1 Peter 1:6-7
1 Peter 3:14
1 Peter 4:13
Rev 15:3-4
Blessings!
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