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