September/October

We blinked and September was gone. It was a busy month full of challenges, new friends, and new work. We are so thankful for the cooler weather and for changing of the seasons. It is amazing the peace that comes with the leaves changing colors and falling all around you.

Carli began her job teaching preschool at the first of the month. She has her hands full with the little ones. Day by day her Italian is improving, thanks to the kids. It is great to see the potential relationships that could come from Carli's new job. Please pray for strength, patience, and humility as she continues to adjust to working at the school. She knows this will be a stretching, bending, and growing period in her life, and she is embracing it with a smile.

We both have been continually meeting with people, and building relationships. It hit us this past month how crucial community is in a place like Florence. It is through community that people feel accepted and loved. When they feel comfortable, they tend to be more open to ask questions, which is what we are praying for.. Another realization this month came during the Bible study we attend. For the first time we really saw how diverse Florence is and how many nations could be reached with the Gospel in one location. It gives us such happiness and peace knowing that whatever God has us here for, whether it be planting, sowing, or reaping, we are loving being used for His Kingdom.

Please continue to pray for us as Justin heads back to the U.S. for a couple of days for his brother's wedding. Pray that the relationships that we have here will continue to grow and that the Lord gives us clarity with starting a church plant here in our part of the city.

We love you all very very much!

Carli and Justin

August Update

As these last few days of August wind down we have so much to look back on and be grateful for. We were able to spend the second week of August with one of Justin's students. She lives out in the countryside in a large house. We spent the week with her learning everything we could about Italian history, culture, food, and art. It was a great time to relax and enjoy the beauty of this earth. It truly was such an amazing gift to be there and we look forward to visiting her again.

Each week we are meeting new friends and sharing our lives together over dinner or coffee. It is amazing how many Italians and Romanians are coming into our lives through Justin's work at the school. During our time with these sweet people, our conversations have led to what we believe. It has been truly amazing to hear Justin share the Gospel. Many of them are interested and hungry for the truth. We need you to pray for their hearts and for the influences. We want our lives to be vessels of salt and light to them. We want them to taste and see that the Lord is good.

I (Carli) begin teaching at the preschool next week. I am trying to sort through all of the nerves that come from starting a new job and on top of that a job in Italian. I am thrilled for this opportunity to invest in this country by working along side it's people. I have no doubts that God will provide the courage and language for me to teach these children. 

*Please continue to pray for the three young men who are studying the bible weekly with Justin. 

*We need prayers for peace and discernment about our future ministry here. 

*Lastly please pray for the new friends we are meeting weekly. There are about four families that we are really trying to invest in. 

Thank you!!! 

We love you!

Carli & Justin

July Update

Hello Everyone,

Well, another month has passed and it sure has been busy for the both of us. Carli is still in Marsala Sicily, working for an Italian family there. She will be coming back next week. She is doing very well and is ready to come back home to Florence. We talk several times a day and she has told me several stories of how she was able to share with this family what we believe as Christians and the differences between the catholic tradition and what it truly means to be a Christ follower.

I have been working at the school and this next week will be the last week the school will be opened for the summer. The school will be closed from the 3rd of August until the 25th I believe. So, in this period, I have been working on other projects for work so that I can earn some extra income so that August isn't so bad. This is also why Carli is working in Sicily. We are grateful that the Lord always provides and are excited to give you guys some great news for the month.

As many of you know, one of our pastors here, Pietro, who suffered a brain hemorrhage is now recuperating at his home with his wife. He is still unable to walk for a very long time but is making a lot of progress. We are so thankful that the Lord has answered the prayers of his people to heal Pietro and we hope and pray that He will continue to give Pietro the healing he needs to preach and teach the Word once more.

We also have informed some of you of a couple in our church from Albania. Leo and Ela are their names. They are missionaries with Campus Crusade and are here in Italy for the next few years due to Ela's health problems. She will have an operation this Wednesday to try and get rid of a tumor that has been growing in her body for this past year now. We are praying that the Lord gives her a fast recovery and that He provides for their every day needs since Italy is much more expensive to live in than Albania.

For the last few weeks, I have been praying for starting a men's bible study with a few guys that I know. I have been ready to dive into the Scriptures with a group of guys and I also see that there is a great need for discipleship as well. So, I asked some friends of mine here to think and pray about that idea, and last night we had our first study at our house. It was incredible. There were four of us. Raoul (Italian) Leo (Albanian) Ryutero (Japanese) and myself. It was so amazing for us just to come together and pray for each other and this city in our native languages. We will be starting to read more in-depth these coming up weeks through one of the epistles of Paul. Please pray for us and for God's work in all of our lives and marriages.

Another praise we have is for a student from my school named Simona. She is Romanian and has been studying English this past year. I have invited her to our Sunday service after hearing that her Father is a believer in Ploesti Romania. I do not think that she is a believer even though she was raised some in this culture. She came this morning to church and really enjoyed the service. We are praying that Carli will be able to start meeting with her and that the Spirit of God would convict her and lead her to Himself.

That is about all for now. We will try to keep you updated more often and let you know how things are going. Thank you all again for your continued support and prayers,

Carli and Justin

Il Giorno di San Giovanni

Tonight was a real treat for Carli and me. We were able to watch the 45 minute firework show for Saint John Day. We had the day off since it was a public holiday for the city of Florence, so it was good to spend the day getting little odds and ends caught up before we go back to work tomorrow. 

I would like to share a little something that we have been studying at our Church the last few weeks. We have studied 1 John and commandments for the church to love one another. The passage that I have thought about much lately is in the beginning of the book. 

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life,which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete." (1 John 1:1-4)

The Apostle John was writing about the hope that all Christians have in Christ so that their joy would be complete. My question for myself lately has been, "Is your Joy complete?" This is a question that I would like to ask you as well. Is your Joy complete? This passage should give us a joy and hope that cannot be described. The life of Jesus was made manifest 2 thousand years ago, and He was seen, heard and touched. That same Word which existed with the Father from eternity past, came to this earth to proclaim life to those in death, to give hope to the broken-heart, to release those who sat in darkness. Jesus has come once. His coming was made known and it was recorded. Are we living as if this really happened? Is our joy in life complete because the Word of Life has given us eternal joy and happiness forever? 

My prayer is that as we contemplate this truth, the Spirit of Truth, would guide our hearts so that we may see the satisfaction and joy we have in Jesus. All of the temporal things of this world will do us no good when we have passed from this world into the next. No matter how difficult things may seem to be, our joy is made complete because on Christ our solid rock we stand, even though all around us is sinking sand. 

We love you all very much,

Carli and Justin

June Update

It is difficult to believe that another two weeks have pasted since our last update. 
We are staying very busy with work right now which is a blessing because we always find ourselves meeting new people. We are thankful to the Lord for bringing us this far on this new journey and we only pray that we will remain attentive to the Spirit's leading as we work and live among so many lost. I find myself thinking of how many people that we have already got to know these past three months and to think about all of those that we have still yet to meet. 

We have made a new contact with a wonderful family. The mother, Claudia is one of the students at the school where I teach. Last week, she invited Carli and I to dinner at her house on Sunday night. When she told me what she wanted to cook for us, it was an offer we could not refuse. We stayed at her house with her husband and two daughters for more than 4 hours. It was a great evening to say the least. Please pray for Fabrizio,Claudia and their two daughters. We really think that our friendship will grow throughout the summer. 

Carli is doing well these past two weeks with work. She is still going to Prato, (a small city close to Florence) to train for her future job that will be starting in September. We are praying that her documents will be ready in time so that she can have a work contract. I'm going next week to the city council to try and speed up her visa process so that we will have assurance come August regarding her work visa. Please pray that Carli will have peace and direction with her future at this school. The work will be tough and she will be around kids all day who only speak Italian. 

On a more practical note, the weather here is changing rapidly. This past week, we saw highs reach 95 degrees. Since we, as well as many here, do not have air conditioning, this can be challenging. We do enjoy our evenings though when it cools down. We also were able to experience our first earthquake. It was a 5.3 magnitude about 65 miles north of us. We are on the top floor of our building, so when it started, our living room started to rock back and forth a bit for about 20 seconds. It was pretty terrifying : )

We appreciate again all that you all are doing for us as we continue the work that we know the Lord has called us to. We are here to make disciples of Jesus by developing leaders who can eventually lead churches within each others homes. This vision is very large and will take many years. But, we know with confidence that the Lord has promised to meet our every need and He will not fail. 

We love you all very much, 

Carli and Justin

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

(Isaiah 52:7)

Summer Is On Its Way!

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the recent delay in posts. It has been kind of crazy with work. I am excited to say that we have recently moved into our new apartment and are starting to settle in step by step. Today, Carli is returning to Italy from her short trip in the States. I am so happy for her return. Thanks to all of you who made her trip enjoyable and restful. It will be great to have her back home.

As far as our work here, we have made some progress and the Lord has shown Himself to us in every which way. This Friday, I will drop off the final signatures needed to change by visa into a long term work visa. This is a wonderful blessing because the Italian government still is not allowing non European citizens to enter the country for work. Also, this will enable Carli to now have the opportunity to work on a long term basis. So, we are grateful for this grace to be able to work amid these wonderful people and (Lord willing) to show them the grace of Christ lived out in our every day lives.

Please continue to pray for us this Summer as we work hard on language learning and also praying through a vision for future work here in Florence. Also, we ask that you pray for the friendships that we have already started these past couple of months. I will try to get a list going so we all can have names to pray for. I am trying in this time to be intentional with prayer because I have not been lately. So, I will start writing names of people that we have made contact with and maybe you can take a few minutes each day to lift up these names to Jesus so that the Holy Spirit has His work in the hearts of these folks.

On a more practical note, we need prayer for the every day things. We need to find a doctor here for the both of us. At some point this next week I will try to get my new insurance card, etc. These may not sound like much, but in this country it is hard work to accomplish : )

We promise to be more intentional with our posts and ask that you not stop reading our blog : )
We love you all very much and are so thankful for your support and prayers.

People we are praying for....

1.All of Justin's co-workers with the exception of one. They all need Jesus and the truth of the Gospel in their lives. They are Scottish, Welsh, English, Italian, Albanian, Irish, American and Australian.

2.Carli's Families- Linda and Simona and their husbands. We pray for their hearts and that the Lord can use Carli in their everyday lives to show them the love of Jesus.

3. Carli's future work.
Carli should start work as an English teacher for a private Italian school near Florence this September. It will be a huge ministry opportunity for her. We pray that she will have peace there and start to make friendships with her co-workers and the children that she teaches.

3.Romanian Contacts-

Stella and her family. She is an English student and a nurse here in Florence. She has a wonderful heart and has helped us much in the last month. We ate dinner with her and her son and daughter for the Eastern Orthodox Easter a few weeks ago. She has an open heart for the Lord, we are praying that we can have a chance to share the Gospel with her.

Silviu- new student from Braila

Dana- new student from western Romania

Alina- English student from western Romania. We hope to have dinner with her family very soon.

Florin- A Romanian believer here who desires to start a Romanian church. Even though we may not have the time to work with him, we are praying that the Lord gives him the desires of heart and that Christ will be glorified through his mission here in Florence.

4. Italian Contacts-

Johnny and Anna are two of my private students who live in a suburb of Florence. I meet with them every Saturday for two hours. Lately our conversations have been focused on the validity of the Scriptures and the live of Jesus. I hope that these conversations will continue as we have developed an amazing friendship.

Raoul is a fellow believer who has just been baptized with the local church that we are a part of. We are praying for him as he works with many unbelievers and as he shares his testimony with others, especially those of his family. We hope to be an encouragement to him every week.

Grazia- A friend and student who is a surgeon for the main hospital here in Florence. She has been a great help with medical contacts. We hope to meet her soon to get to know her more.

Monica- A contact from work who is a student and nurse for a pediatric hospital here in Florence.

Avisa and Giorgio- A sweet little family who study English at my work. Avisa is Iranian and Giorgio is Italian.

There are about 350 other students who I have contact with weekly. I am praying that other contacts will emerge from these classes.











"And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:39)

Holiness

"Holiness stands above all the other attributes of God, yet it is simply that- an attribute. It does not stand above God as though it were some category under which He falls, along with other things.  Holiness does not define God; God defines holiness; it belongs to Him alone." -Clyde Cranford

When I reflect on the last two months and how God has molded and grown both of us, I am so thankful. Being a stranger in a foreign place can be a struggle, but I know God is right here with us. We have been so blessed even though sometimes we do not realize it. A few weeks ago, I started taking note of things every day that I am thankful for. I try to be as specific as possible and write it down right away. (I got this idea from the book "One Thousand Gifts". If you have not read it, I encourage you to do so.) Today as I was sitting outside waiting on the train, I was thankful for the sun warming my skin.  It feels like an embrace. That exact moment seems so simple, but if you think about the intricacy it is crazy. It is so humbling to realize that I am just a small speck on a big blue planet, and yet He cares for me.

Many aspects of life move slower here.  At first it is annoying, but I am quickly learning to take it as a gift.  Those moments are the times I get to bask in His holiness. Every moment has a purpose and when you are thankful for those moments it makes you more grateful for all that God is orchestrating daily. Our purpose here is to be used for His kingdom. It is so amazing to be doing work for the creator of the universe. He defines Holiness and our hope is that as we follow him, He will shine brighter than anything else in our lives. "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads is in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of  him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

As always thank you for being a part of ministry here by supporting us in prayer.

Please continue to pray for paperwork to be processed so that I (Carli) can start working at a preschool in September and Justin can get his residency.  We signed a contract on a new apartment yesterday. YAY!!! So we will be moving there at the end of May.  The apartment is bigger than what we are in now and we are excited to see how we get to use it for ministry. Once we have our new address I will put it on the blog so you can send us encouraging snail mail. (hint hint)

We Love You!!!
Carli & Justin

Walk by the Spirit

As I walked about in the city today, a specific scripture came to mind.  I studied it last week, but what brings me back to this scripture again this week is the amount of impatience I have with people. Here are a few examples; I am impatient when people walk too slow on the sidewalk or when they stop in the middle of the sidewalk and take up the whole walkway. These are moments that I do not show the fruit of the Spirit.  Then there are times when I am patient with others, and I expect a pat on the back.  As a Christ follower, I am continually trying to love God and live like Him, but daily I fall short.  Paul writes in Galatians 5:16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."  That's when I realized that if I am walking by the Spirit then displaying the fruit of the Spirit is not something that I am striving to "show", but it is something that shows as a result of abiding in the Spirit. So if I am abiding in God, I am glorifying God by displaying his attributes. Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;"

So as this new week begins here in Italy, I pray that Justin and I both abide in God so that we can walk by the Spirit. Living abroad in another country and culture is challenging and frustrating every day, but the beauty is in how we handle these situations.  If we allow God to work through us and display the fruits of the Spirit we are starving the flesh inside of us that wants to come and show its ugly face.  That is what we are working towards here. We want to show the goodness and love of Christ to the strangers we pass on the sidewalk and to the people we meet and develop relationships with.

Specific Prayer Needs:
*Justin had his appointment last Monday with the immigration office and he has successfully submitted his paperwork. Now we wait. Please pray that the red tape of the government here would be removed so that I can be added on to his visa as quickly and smoothly as possible.
*Pray for our ministry opportunities.  We have a few options opening up and we need you to pray for discernment on ministry decisions.
*Last week I had an interview with a preschool and it went really well. If all of our paperwork can get processed in time then they want me to start in September as a Pre-K English teacher. This is a big and exciting opportunity for me. Please pray that my heart would be prepared for this job and the tasks that are involved.

As always we are thankful for your prayers and for taking time to read our blog. The transition here has been pretty smooth, and we know it is because God has his hand guiding our steps. Also because we have the support of so many friends and family.

We Love You!
Carli & Justin

An Easter Full of Joy

This sweet girl is the daughter of another family of missionaries serving here in Florence. We had the pleasure of spending Easter with them.

Dear Friends and Family,

As we start a new week after all of the celebrations of this past Holy week, we would like to share with you a couple of the amazing promises that our Lord has given us in the Scriptures. We hope that these promises encourage and solidify your already growing joy in the sovereignty of God. 

1. God gives us everlasting and eternal joy in His sustaining grace because we know that all He desires is to do good to us. 

"And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and for the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul." (Jeremiah 32:38-41)

2. We will never taste death but will forever taste the abundant life that only Christ gives us because of His resurrection. 

" When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

"Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers." (1 John 3:14)

3. We all can live and work for the glory of Christ because all of the immutable promises we have forever through Jesus Christ. 

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58)

"For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." (Romans 14:8-9)

These promises are what fuels us daily to not care about our lives, but to live in this vapor of a life, for the glorious giver of eternal life. 

We love you all very much and are so thankful that you pray for us. 

Justin & Carli

An Update...

Hello,

Carli and I are doing great. We just finished up an important week and are looking forward to the great things that the Lord has for us this next Holy week. I am currently waiting for an appointment with the federal immigration office which is set for April 8th. Once I make this appointment, I should receive my residential permit within a few weeks. Once I receive the permit, I must request that Carli be added on as my wife. Please pray for this aspect of the bureaucratic nonsense that we must get through.

Carli is still looking for another babysitter position with a family here. She will start part-time with a family on Wednesday. I am also currently looking for private students looking to learn English while I wait to change my contract to full-time. Please be in pray for this city and for the Christians who live here. Our prayer is that the Christ followers that are here, would be able to have the courage to start some discipleship groups and have the courage to live the Gospel boldly.

One of our friends, Mario, who works for the government, has been speaking to me about his world view and beliefs with the Christian faith. He is very open to finding truth and we are praying that he and his wife will at some point join us at one of the church services. He is a really intelligent person but has not been able to find the truth of the Gospel because of the barriers of catholic tradition and secular spirituality.

We are confident that the timing of our move here and the work that our Lord has already shown us is a testimony to the grace and the glory that Jesus receives when we his children are obedient to His will. We are thankful that all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.

We love you all very much!

Carli and Justin

Never Thirst Again

This week we attended an English Bible Study called Firenze Journey. It is led by our friends Cody and Dannielle. The purpose of Firenze Journey is to reach out to English speakers living in Florence and to share the truth  found in the Bible.  This week we studied John 4:4-45. This passage is packed full lessons to take away.  I encourage you to read the passage. I want to share a few things that stuck out to me.  From the context of the story we know the woman at the well was considered an outcast in her society.  She was the lowest of lows.  This fact did not deter Jesus from reaching out to her.  Jesus embraced what society overlooked and discarded.  Through this passage I am challenged about the importance of  looking past race, culture, and backgrounds.  I challenge you to do the same. The next thing that I took away from this passage takes place after their conversation. At the well Jesus explains that through the gift of God, she can have living water.  At first the women is confused but then she realizes that he is the promised Messiah, and the gift of living water is eternal life.  She immediately left the well and went into the city to tell others to come and see this man.  It was through this woman that many people came to meet Christ. Could you imagine?  It was because of this woman's testimony that many believed.  So no matter your personal background, God can use you.  She had no training or degrees, and he used her to usher people to Him and share the Gift of living water.  I am so thankful that he uses ordinary people who love and trust in Him.  As believers, we have the greatest gift to offer to the world.  Be willing and ready to share it with everyone!

We have a few specific ways you can pray for us.
1. Pray for the continual paperwork process to stay here in Italy. We are trying to get our documents together for me to be added to Justin's visa.
2. Pray for potential language exchange partners. (language exchange partners=two people come together and teach each other a language for free)
3. Pray for the people of Italy.  There are so many cultures here and it is a great opportunity to reach many cultures in one place. (Italians, English, Romanians, Chinese, African, Spanish)

Thank you for reading!
Love,
Carli & Justin

Our Passion

Hello All,
This post will be short because I really want you to take some time today or tomorrow to listen to this sermon on Frontier Missions.  I listened to it today, and I could not be more encouraged. Our passion is for God's name to be known here in Italy. We want the people around us to truly taste and see that the Lord is good. In the coming weeks and months pray about your part in missions.

Click here for the Sermon:

We Love You All!!
Carli & Justin

Only One Life To Live....

Hello Everyone,

We are grateful to God that we are back in Italy and beginning to get settled in. Justin had his first day of training today at the English school where he will be working.  The day went well for him so he will begin teaching on Saturday. We took some time yesterday to explore our zone of the city. The zone is called San Frediano. We went to a couple of stores to buy some groceries and supplies for the apartment. While we were out, we made a few contacts and we hope to continue to meet our new neighbors every day.  Justin and I both hope to always intentionally see these simple tasks as ministry opportunities. Over the past weeks and months we have had several people ask us "Why Italy?" which is a very good question.  The answer to that question is becoming clearer as the days here pass.  As we look around and realize so many people are missing out on the grace and overwhelming love that is found in the Gospel of Christ simply because there is no one here to share with them the good news, Through this glimpse of every day life, we see our purpose. We know that God desires His praise among all nations and God has burdened our hearts to seek out the lost and show them the Gospel. So we have a peace about serving in Italy because we see such a great need for the Good News of God's redeeming grace. Our hope and prayer through our time here is that we would glorify God and intentionally live for Him. 

We cannot express how grateful we are to have the support of our family and friends. We are so humbled at the opportunity to be here in Italy. Thank you for praying for us. Please continue to pray for us a we learn the Italian culture and language. Please consider visiting us soon. 

I will leave you with this quote that now hangs above our doorway. "Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." 

WE love you!!!

Carli & Justin

Hello Everyone,

We would like to share some recent news about our trip back to Italy. We have found an apartment in the city center of Florence which will be our residence for the upcoming months. This is an amazing blessing for us since we do not have now need to take the immediate time to look for a more permanent place.

Justin has a job offer confirmed with an English school in the city center and will be starting to teach a few days after we arrive. This is another answer to pray because we need a work contract to add Carli on to his student visa. Please be praying for our first few weeks back as we try to obtain the soggiorno, (permit of residence) from the government. Also, please pray for Carli as she starts to work as a babysitter. Carli's job will be such an opportunity for the Lord to minister to those families. Pray that we both will have an influence in our work environments as we start our jobs. We will be heading back on the 4th of March.

Lastly, we would like to give the praise and the glory to Jesus for bringing us through every step of this beginning process. We are grateful for the growing of our faith these last weeks and we pray that through this journey we would be completely and joyfully satisfied in the grace of God for each day that He gives us.

We love you all,

Carli and Justin

Good News

Hello Everyone,

We are sorry for the time lapse from our last post. We arrived in the States two weeks ago and have been busy trying to figure out a way legally for returning to Florence. As always The Lord has been good to us and has given us clarity with the options that we were confronted with. Our only option that was the cheapest would be to enroll in a university in Florence for at least a year so that we could apply for a one year student visa. Once we have the visa, we can change the student visa into a work visa. Last week we found a school and made the wire transfer to the schools bank in Florence.

After gathering all of the appropriate documents for the Italian consulate, Carli and I drove down to Miami Monday since that is the only consulate for both Georgia and Florida. We cannot tell you how smooth the process went on Tuesday morning with the visa. The whole meeting took 10 minutes and the consulate told us the visa would be shipped back to us in just a few days. Yesterday we came back home and went straight to bed after driving all that way. When I woke up this morning, there was a FedEx employee that was knocking on the door with the visa in hand. We are good to go back to Italy.

I have been in contact with an English school in Florence who offered me a teaching job if I could get a visa. Upon receiving the visa the director of the school would like me to go back as soon as possible. So, we will be heading back to Florence, (Lord willing) in two weeks. Please pray for us as we head back. Pray that we are able to find a place to stay and also the process for our permit of stay will go well. We are so grateful that we have so many loved ones who have taken the time to pray for us with the matter. We are reminded daily of the psalmist when he says, "Spera in Dio, perche lo celebrero ancora; egli e il mio salvatore e il mio Dio" (Salmi 42:5) "Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him; my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:5)

We will keep you posted as we get ready to leave again!

Carli and Justin

Fine Tuning

Hello Family & Friends,

Another week has passed here in Italy. This past week has been like a roller coaster for both of us.  We have hit a few bumps in the road with the legal system in regards to acquiring a work visa.  We have found plenty of work and we both have went to interviews with possible employers.  Through these meetings with employers and new contacts, we have learned so much about the work visa process.  The bad news for now is that the work visas have been put on hold.  Any immigrant that is not part of the European Union is unable to get a work visa at this time.  The country of Italy is in the middle of electing a new prime minister.  The election is at the end of February and after the election, the ban on visas will hopefully be lifted. So sadly for now we will be returning to the States.  We spent many hours in prayer about what we should do and we feel that it would be best to return to the states and wait for the ban to be lifted.  Once it is lifted, we will go to Miami, to the Italian consulate, and we will turn in our paperwork for a work visa.  Until then, we will Lord willing, find temporary jobs, continue learning the language, and prepare spiritually.

Although we expected this trip to be much longer, we know that the God of the Universe has our lives in His hands and ultimately His timing is perfect.  So during this "fine tuning" stage please continue to pray for us and the country of Italy.  There is plenty of work to be done for His kingdom here and our prayer is that we would be used as vessels for Him in these coming days. We will continue to share our updates on this blog, so please keep checking it. Again we appreciate all of the prayers.

Until next time, I will leave you with this quote that has really encouraged me today: "The Lord is still calling on me to move forward in faith-loving, serving, discipling, and leading. All of ministry is a faith marathon, not a sprint. Daily He asks for my heart, that He might cultivate it, so as to produce fruit in and around me." -Christine Hoover

We Love You!
Carli & Justin

A Promise

"Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

These last few weeks and months have really tested my faith. The decision to come to Italy was not one that was easily made by Justin and me.  The decision to put our lives and our future in God's hands was one that was very easy to make.  When I think about all of the promises God has made, the verse above holds one of my favorites.  It is simple, it does not take a deep thinker to understand the value of this verse.  Throughout these past few days, this verse has taken on an entirely new meaning.  Through this verse I know that wherever I am (either within the comfort of Georgia or in a strange new place) God is there...and if just His presence isn't enough this verse reminds me that he will strengthen me, help me, and most importantly uphold me.  So as our adventure here in Italy is just starting we are full of hope that the people here and our friends and family back home would really open their eyes and see his love and promises as a reality in their lives. 

Update: We have spent the last three days having interviews for jobs, figuring out long term stay procedures, and housing. On Thursday Justin had his first conversational English class in a small cafe.  It went really well. Eight people came and stayed for an hour and a half. He will continue these classes once a week for the next seven weeks.  We visited two families that need a babysitter/nanny.  One went really well, and we are hoping that God opens a door there.  Please pray for us this next week as we continue getting the "boring" but necessary/crucial details figured out.  Please pray for the people we are meeting daily that need the Gospel of Christ.  We love you and thank you for taking the time to stay involved in our lives.

Carli & Justin

Food for Thought.....

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
    “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
        but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. '''(Matthew 4:1-4)

After reading this passage this morning for our devotional, I thought of the applicability of the command that Jesus gave Satan. It is interesting how Christ uses both a natural reality, and also a spiritual reality. Food is the most essential natural reality to every man, woman and child on this planet. Christ understands the limitations that every human faces because he himself gave up his divine power to become a man. On the other hand, our most essential spiritual need is God himself. Christ knows this and that is why he emphasized the greater spiritual need, despite his weakness and temptations on a practical level. 

This way of thinking is so important in all aspects of our lives. We must not be so focused on earthly needs that we lose sight of the reality of our lives as a new creation in Christ. Our enemy would love for us to be focused on every earthly need so that our reliance and need for Christ becomes eclipsed. If there is anything that you take away from this passage please understand the implications of what our Lord is saying. Without God's word living in and out of our lives, without the life of the spirit transforming us into His likeness, we are dead men. If we are born again, that is, born of the spirit of God that has reconciled and raised us from the dead, we will LIVE by every word of God and eat that which he has given us. 

My prayer this new year for my self and my family is that we would know the beauty and the joy and the hope that comes with living by every single word that comes from the mouth of our Lord. 

One Week Out

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to give all of you an update with our departure coming up next week. Carli and I are taking this week to visit family and friends and pack for the trip coming up. We are grateful for all of your prayers and starting this week we will be posting every week either a devotional or prayer requests so that everyone is updated.

We love you all and will post soon!

Carli and Justin