Be Still

Hello All! I am keeping this post short. I just want to share a few thoughts with you all from this week.
  
Some days I feel like the world is all turned sideways. I feel like everyone else is going about their normal lives and I am the only one who notices something is off. Then I get a chance to stop and take a step back and realize I was looking at the picture wrong.  That is what this week has been for me (Carli). I was out of work for the latter part of this week because of sickness.  I am so thankful for this break, because it gave me time to think. I think it is easy as humans to get so caught up in things that we have to get done in the day that we sometimes miss what God's purpose for the day is. I know I often get so caught up that I forget to slow down and just be still. This is something that Justin and I both strive to be better at this year. To be still and know that He is God. Everything else fades away in those moments, but what if they were not just moments? What if they were more than just moments and actually began to make up our whole day or week? It is something that we pray for ourselves and for you.  We pray that God will help you to slow down and focus on Him. To take every day captive and through this we could see the bigger picture of our purpose on this earth.

Moving on to my next thought... Justin wrote a little poem the other day and I thought it was very beautiful. (I may be a little biased.) I thought some of you might enjoy reading it too.

"The day shows hints of spring, beauty that has not yet arrived. The light waits on its time. It must wait still until the blossom of the bud. Still those who stay in darkness know not of the grace which has already shown its splendor. It shows not with hints and glimmers; as if to be holding back in secret. The light of this passing world shone brightly but was forgotten. All was but lost and yet the light, yet faint began to grow however many do not see or hear. Spring comes to those who love it, not just to those who enjoy its beauty."


Thank you for reading and praying for us. We are so thankful!
Carli & Justin

A few prayer needs:
*Justin is preaching at Mosaico Church on Sunday
*Carli starts Italian language classes this week
*Continued direction about ministry opportunities here

Winter 2014

Justin & Ryutaro

Hey Everybody,

We can't believe we are over half way through January. We both worked more than usual this week which was good and challenging. Carli struggled at work this week. She knows that she loves working with kids, but ever since she has returned to work she has not had a peace about the situation.  Please pray for direction in this area of her life.  If there is something else she needs to be doing, we pray that it would be made evident.

Last Sunday at church we learned about what church looks like as a community. It was very challenging and insightful.  We as a church hope in the coming months to begin two community groups.  One will be for the large amount of college students that study abroad in Florence.  We have been so encouraged by the steady flow of students each new semester brings.  Most of them have an eagerness to serve and learn. The other group will be for long term residents of Florence.  In both groups we will be going through a series on the basics of the church. Our prayer is that in the coming months our core group will be in one accord and grow in strength.

Now that all of the Christmas and New Years festivities are complete we are beginning to see our friends with have been ministering to on a regular basis again.  Please pray for these relationships to continue to grow and that God would continually give us opportunities to share Him with them. We may have mentioned them in past blogs, but here are four of them: Clotilde (retired lawyer and Justin's student), Sergio (native Florentine who we eat with every week), Ryutaro ( young Japanese believer searching for direction in his life), and Simona (young woman from Romania who is searching for truth).

Thank you for your prayers and love.

Justin & Carli

A New Week

Hello everybody,

We hope that you all had a great weekend and Epiphany. We are back at work and going about our week as usual. Last weekend, we had a great dinner with some friends who aren't believers. They wanted to have us over to recap from before Christmas. We have had some good discussion with them about spiritual things and have made a good friendship with them. We also took our time cleaning our house this past weekend because we have a little mold problem. Since many of the homes in Florence don't have dryers, we have to dry our laundry indoors. This of course, causes moisture and leads to things like black mold. We finally broke down and bought a dehumidifier, (thanks to New River) and hope to have a much dryer house in the coming days.

Carli and I have been searching and praying for a solution to Carli's job problem. She enjoys where she works, except she doesn't get paid on time. I spoke with someone in Florence at another school about Carli's predicament and so we sent her Curriculum Vitae over for the director of this school to look over. Please pray for this job that she potentially may get. We need her to be closer to home and not work so much so that she can devote more time to the ministry needs of the community.

Finally, please pray for our spiritual direction. We feel like we are where we need to be, but we are asking for clarity with how we can be used in this new church plant. We are willing to serve as much as we can, we just want it to be God leading and not us trying to make something happen. Our core group of believers is small but is united when it comes to making much of Jesus in this city. This is our prayer for our neighborhood, communities and nations within these city walls.

We wanted to post a picture of our square near our house. This square holds lots of people each and every day. The "Piazza" is something that we are unfamiliar with in the US but is part of the Italian culture. Tons of people from this section of town meet here throughout the day. Older people come to talk to life long friends in the morning and hundreds of young folks gather late into each night talking and smoking pot. This is where community happens for so many who are lost in Florence. Do we as the bride of Christ have a real community? This is a question every one of us should ponder.

Thank you for your support and prayers as we all work for His Kingdom,

Carli and Justin

Welcoming the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

Carli and I just returned to home after taking a Christmas break with our families for the last two weeks. We really enjoyed our stay and are grateful to everyone who blessed us with all the good food and company. We are excited to get back to work and ministry here in Florence. The Lord has given us rest and we are praying to stay faithful and obedient this new year with His plans for our lives.

First please pray for Mosaico Church.  It is a recent church plant here in our neighborhood. If you would like to check it out here is a link to the website: http://mosaicochurch.org/ We are praying that the Lord raises up long term leadership in this church plant. Next we are praying for Carli's current job situation. Her contract will end in June, so in the coming months we will begin searching for a new job. Please pray that the Lord shows us where she needs to be working. We ask that you pray for Justin as he starts back work tomorrow. Pray that he can balance both work and studying for his driver's license in the next few months. Finally, we ask that you pray for our visa renewal. We hope all goes smooth this next month with immigration so that we can continue to stay in Florence. We are trying to get better at blogging so expect us to write more often this year and please take note that we have changed the name of our blog.

Thanks so much again for your support and prayers.

Carli and Justin

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