A Season of Thankfulness,,,

It's been a while since I have posted an update on life here in Florence.

We have been so busy with the end of the semester!

Although it has been busy and a bit exhausting, things here have been very exciting!

We celebrated Thanksgiving for an entire week in Florence this year. Our team Thanksgiving dinner was put off until December 4 (or November 34 as we like to call it...), and so we just had a simple laid back pasta dinner on November 27 (Thanksgiving Day to all of you). Then, Saturday November 29, we had a HUGE Thanksgiving for all of our Italian friends.

It was such a great time! We had around 100 people crammed into Drew's apartment. Two massive turkeys, 10 pies, and all of the other Thanksgiving food your heart could desire!

We shared the story of Thanksgiving with the group as well as did quite a bit of explaining about what exactly they were about to eat - They liked the mac & cheese - it was the only pasta option available. :)

Although it was a long day, with a lot of preparation preceeding it, it was so worth it! One of the best things was seeing all of our different friend groups coming together at this one event. We had some of our teachers from our language school, friends from a local coffee bar, students we met on campus, students who come to our English club, friends from our church, and on and on...friends from many different places! By the end of the day some of our friends had even exchanged numbers and e-mails with each other.

Drew - our team leader, and host of the event - has a big orange door in his living room. This door was turned into a place for everyone to write what they were thankful for. Some people wrote lighter things - such as "ABBIGALE'S MASHED POTATOES" :)...but there were also many other more serious entries on the orange door. Several Italians wrote (or told us later because they were too shy to write on the door...) that they were thankful for their American friends (us). I don't say this to pump us up in any way, but rather to highlight what God is doing in the hearts of Italians. For some strange reason, all of these Italians are drawn to us "weird Americans". They want to be friends with us. They want to talk to us about the deeper issues of life. God is grabbing ahold of hearts in this city and in this nation. Although it may seem like a small ripple right now...I believe there will be waves. The wheels are turning in their heads...and more importantly - their hearts. There are several students who are asking big questions right now and who are really searching for answers. In this holiday season I find myself so thankful for what the Lord is doing here and thankful that He has brought me here to be a part of it...but also, desperately wanting to see more.

Pray with us for these students who are searching.

Pray for the ones who are searching but just don't know it yet.

Pray for us as we engage with them regularly.

Pray for us as a team - we are the light of Christ to them. We are the Body that they see.

But also, Thank God for what He is doing! He has a heart for Italy and He wants to see these people turn to Him.

Hopeless.

There is a lot going on in Florence right now.
One of the major things happening in Italy is the manifesto.
A law was passed…is being passed…? [I’m not quite clear on the details…I hear a different story from every student it seems] Anyway, this law is for the privatization of all schools in Italy. This deeply affects the students – for many reasons. Students will now have to pay substantially more to attend university than they are currently paying, making it impossible for many students to finish and/or begin university at all. Also, according to many of the students, the public education they are currently getting is far better than a private education [in Italy] would be.
This is a very basic explanation of the law - the consequences are vast and international students of all ages, as well as Italian elementary, junior high, and high school students are affected by this law.
Because of the law the students are protesting, occupying, and striking. All over the city (and country…) school buildings have been occupied by students and banners have been hung in protest. The anarchy flag is flying at many locations and students walk around with megaphones crying out against their government.
I am both intrigued and saddened by what is happening in this city.
Intrigued yet again by the passion of the Italian people to protest so firmly for such a duration of time.
Saddened by what this means for the students.
Saddened, because it seems that this is yet another thing that has left them feeling completely hopeless.
My prayer is that in the midst of this crisis, in the midst of a corrupt government, that Italians would find hope. That God would use this thing that seems so bad as a means to point students toward Him.
I am heartbroken for these people when I think about how little hope they have in their world.
There is no American Dream.
Here, the government is corrupt and unable to be depended on for security.
The economy is unstable and finding a good job [even after 5-10 years of university] is highly unlikely – and highly political.
Relationships are unsteady – infidelity is rampant.
There is very little to hope here. Very little to depend on.
I am praying that these circumstances would not continue to harden their hearts, but rather that they would turn them toward a Beautiful Savior who offers an unconditional, everlasting hope.

Photo Credit: Henry Dawson

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours.

I live in a country/city where very few people know the Lord.

Almost daily I have conversations with students who don't seem to want to know Jesus or anything about Him.

I find myself constantly fighting apathy..Fighting callusedness.

My initial response is to say "These people's hearts are hard. They don't want to know. They'll never know. What's the use?"

But is that what God says about them?

I don't think so.

I think that God's heart breaks for every Italian that is lost and hopeless...and searching - even if they don't realize it.

His heart breaks for every student that is so swept up in their studies, their relationships, the corruption of their government, the instability of their economy, that they don't even think about Him - or about their need for Him.

God LOVES them.

He wants their hearts.

He wants their lives.

He wants them to know His overwhelming love and peace.

God, break my heart for what breaks Yours!

Please pray for me (and my teammates) as we bring the gospel to Italians. Pray that our hearts would not become hard but rather that they would daily be broken. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be going before us as we go on campus and as we have students in our homes. Only God can lift the veil that seems to cover their hearts so heavily.

He is definitely working here, but sometimes it's hard to see that. Believe with us that Italians would cross over from death to life this year.

Che Bella.

I have experienced beauty in many different ways the past few weeks.

In Italy beautiful [or bella] is something you hear a lot. Italians use bella or bello to describe what they did last weekend, what they saw on the street this morning, what they think of your answer to a question, and the list goes on... Everything is beautiful!

That is something that doesn't really translate into American culture. But it has got me started thinking about what things I see in my life that are beautiful. Here are a few:

Florence.

Florence is a beautiful city. I don't think anyone that has been here could deny that. But I've been seeing a different side of this beautiful city the past few days. I have been going out toward the outside of the city on runs lately and experiencing the simple beauty of God's creation. The sunset over the river. The leaves of the trees changing color. People walking their dogs.. Although the city itself and the creation of man are amazing, I am so much more blown away by the beauty of God's creation. How sweet of Him to bring me here and let me experience this beautiful country.

Italians.

Living in Italy, obviously I see a lot of Italians. Certainly there are things about the culture that are frustrating, but there are also so many things to be appreciated about the way they live life. Their passion, their expression, their ability to take life slow and just relax - time is fluid. :)

More specifically, this weekend we went to a concert. The band playing was a group of Christian, college-age guys. The concert was so much fun, but even more than that, it was beautiful. I stood there watching with tears in my eyes as these Italian men sang songs in worship to their Creator and shared the message of the gospel as well as what God had done in their own lives. It was amazing to see. Italians who are passionately in love with Jesus is not something that we regularly see here and it was so refreshing and encouraging to experience it the other night.

Community.

More and more I am learning the beauty of God's design in creating us to live and work together in community as the Body of Christ. It can be so difficult, but also so rewarding. I am looking forward to seeing how God grows us together as a team this year and how He uses those relationships to change me and make me more like Him, as well as uses our community to show His love to Italians.

God is teaching me to see beauty in unexpected places...

Learning, Freezing, and Eating...at the Fattoria.

I've been in Italy for just over a week now...but it definitely feels like a lot longer!

We sort of hit the ground running...moving in, spending time with our team, and then spending the past four days at the fattoria (a farm) in the country side hearing from our national leadership about God's vision for Italy and the vision/goals of Agape Italia.

I am SOOO excited about this year!! I'll write a little more later about some of the vision behind the ministry...I got so pumped just listening to it..I can't wait to see how God moves this year!

The Fattoria was a lot of fun. It was sort of an introduction for all of us who are new staff in Italy. It was great to hang out with the teams from Rome and Salerno and other places. Also, we managed to get in a little horse-back riding one afternoon. Our Italian instructor - Stefano - was so great...such a great picture of the passion of the Italian people. As he was instructing me and the three girls I was riding with, he told us "lead first with the heart, then with the eyes, then the feet...lead last with the reigns. First always, with the heart". He also shared with us his love for horses and how often he rides and how much he enjoys it. He was so open and expressive about his love...he even said his job was "not a job, it is more of a passion."

Such a great picture of the Italian people and the passion they have that could be used so powerfully if turned toward Christ.

One of my other favorite things about the past few days were the stars. They were amazing. We were in the hills of Tuscany, sort of in the middle of no where out on this old farm and you could just see stars for forever...I could not get tired of watching them. God's creation is so much more captivating and awe inspiring than that of man... Looking at the stars was great...but SOOO COLD! It was pretty cold the whole time we were there...and in Italy the heat doesn't come on until sometime in November. AND we had no hot water for a while. I slept in almost all of my sweatshirts every night. :)

Last note about the Fattoria - we ATE SO MUCH FOOD. Real, Italian style meals. I mean, in Italy we basically eat real Italian food all the time...but at the fattoria we did it the Italian way with all of the courses of this fresh made amazing food that was cooked by one lady in a tiny kitchen in this little place. We had wild boar and beef and pastas and vegetables and all kinds of amazing things...but sooo much food. The meals literally lasted for hours.

Ok, It is almost 2:00 am here and I have to go to sleep...we have a day with the Lord tomorrow and then we start language on Friday. Then next week we jump into langauge and planning with the team for the next few months and overall year of ministry. Soon we will be on campus meeting with students and sharing Jesus with them!

[Melody admiring the view - with the farmhouse in the background]

[View of the countryside from the pool]

I Live In Italy. :)

Hello Friends and Family!!!

My teammates and I made it safely to Florence yesterday!!

We had really great flights and all of our baggage made it safely! Praise the Lord!

AND I successfully carried my guitar onto every plane with only minor kinks. It really was a great trip and even the plane food wasn't bad.

The rest of our team met us at the airport and gave us an amazing welcome and have been taking such great care of us ever since.

Our apartment is so cute and our internet is already up and running (thanks to Henry) and we got set up on cell phones today.

Things are coming together and I really do live in Italy. Wow.

God has done such a miracle to even get me here. I am so thankful to be here and it is just so exciting to be walking the familar streets again. :)

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers as we traveled here. The Lord definitely took care of us!

I'll post some pictures as soon as we get things settled in! - Right now all of our stuff is still in suitcases and we have minimal necessities for our house. :)

The rest of this week we will be spending time with the team, getting settled in, and getting acclimated to the city.

Then Sunday we head out for a four day conference for new comers to Italy to get vision for Italy and the year to come!

Our language school and ministry on campus will start in just a few weeks.

Please keep praying for us..we have lots of business to do..and I am still praying for the final bit of my support to come in!

Feel free to email me any time...love you guys!

CRAAAAZZZZYYYY UPDATE!!!!!!!!!

Wow!!

What a crazy 48 hours it has been!!

I have seen God work in AMAZING ways and don't think I fully comprehend it yet!

Friday evening I was informed that I had to have 100% of my financial support by 5:00 today (Sunday) in order to go to Italy. Wow. So after much prayer I really felt like I was supposed to go forward with it and do as much as I could in that 48 hours and trust the Lord to work.

At 5:00 this evening I was at 93%!!!

Not 100% just yet, but I had a 25% jump in less than TWO DAYS! YAY GOD!!!

That being said, I AM GOING TO ITALY!!

We are believing for the Lord to bring in the remaining money that I need..I KNOW He will do it.

Look at what He has done!

So, pray with me and trust God for that final percent to come in!

He is so good and I can't wait to be in Italy sharing Him with Italians!!

Thanks so much to all of you who have been faithfully praying and also giving financially. I have the best prayer and support team in the world and am so thankful that God has placed you in my life!

Also, if you feel led to give you can email me at ajbrown49@gmail.com or click on the link to your right to give now!

"So...WHY are you going to Italy??"

Many people who hear I am moving to Italy for a year want to know WHY.

Great question! :)

Other than for the reasons I have listed in previous blogs explaining the deep spiritual need in Italy, here is why I am going and what I will be doing when I am there:

Over the course of the past year God has called me to go on STINT with Campus Crusade in Florence, Italy. I am so excited that He has called me to go back and be a part of what He is doing!

Win, Build, Send

The mission of Campus Crusade is to "build spiritual movements everywhere so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Christ". A big goal - But God is doing big things and we are seeing cities around the world come closer and closer to fulfilling this mission.

How?

This is accomplished through winning students for Christ - introducing them to the gospel through personal conversations, testimonies, outreaches, media, etc.

Once a student becomes a believer we work to build them up in their faith through mentoring relationships, small group Bible studies, conferences, etc.

Ultimately it is our desire to see Italian students being sent to their own nation and the world. Then, they in turn can be a part of winning, building, and sending students from around the world.

Basically, I will be going on campus at the University of Florence every day meetings students, building relationships with them, sharing Jesus with them, and pouring into their lives. Our team hosts a regular Bible study where students can come and experience Christian community as well as go deeper in the Word and grow in their faith. We also do large-scale outreaches such as Bible distributions and themed parties for holidays and other events.

...

::A few words about Italy::

The Church has lost millions
of adherents to New Age thinking
and materialistic secularism, so
much so that the Pope has called
Italy a mission field.

The Occult is widespread,

and there are estimated to be 100,000

full-time consulting magicians in Italy —
nearly three times the number
of Catholic priests.

A new poll reveals that
a divorce happens
every four minutes
in a country once regarded
as a bastion of marriage.

“It’s a country that has lost a little of its

will for the future. There is more fear than hope.”
~Walter Veltroni, Rome’s mayor

70% of Italians from the ages of 20 to 30

still live at home, condemning the young to

an underproductive and prolonged adolescence.

Italians need the hope, love, and grace that Jesus Christ gives.

God is raising up laborers to go and share this love with the people in Italy.

Pray for more laborers.

Pray for those who are already there.

Pray for those who are going.

Pray for those who are sending the laborers through prayer and finances.

Pray that God would do miracles and take this country back for Him and His glory!

Ahhh!!!! It's August 15!!!!

Wow.

Today is August 15.

One month from today I will be boarding a plane and flying to Italy for the next year of my life.

Crazy...

And so AWESOME!!

Right now I am in Colorado at STInt Briefing with all of the people from the US who are doing what I am doing and giving the next year to serve somewhere over seas with Campus Crusade. There are about 25 countries represented here. It is such a humbling thing to stand in the rooms with these 300+ people and know that out of His abounding grace God has chosen me to go and be a part of what He is doing around the world.

There are people here going to Mexico, Russia, Greece, North Africa, East Asia, Venezuala, Bosnia, Brazil, France..and on and on. It is so amazing to look around and know that each of these people represent a different story of God's grace and provision. Each of these people have a unique way that God called them and brought them to this point. And yet all of us are the same.

We are all broken. We are all here only for God's glory. And we are all here with the desire to see God move in the country we are going to. We are all committed to doing whatever we can to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

I am so thankful...and in such awe...that God has brought me here.

The mountains are such a great place to have this briefing conference. I am absolutely in love with the beauty of God's creation and I feel so close to Him just walking around or sitting by a stream looking at the skies and the mountains and the trees and the rocks and the clouds...etc... It's so great.

AND it even snowed today!!! YES, In August!!! It was crazy...but really great too.

It's great to be here right now instead of Oklahoma where I'm sure its in the 90's if not higher...sorry guys! :)

Anyway, I'm here and I'm training...but I still have some more support to raise. Please continue to pray with me as I believe God to bring the remainder of my support in. He has worked in some pretty amazing ways so far and I believe He will finish out my support before September 15!!

Trusting.

Two weeks from today (August 11)I need to be at 85% with my financial support.

God has been very faithful and has been bringing in new partners everyday and I believe He will continue to move and finish out all of my support.

Please join me in believing God to work and bring in above and beyond 85% in the next two weeks

As my departure date gets closer I am getting more and more excited to be in Italy and be a part of ministry there! I feel like my heart is already in Florence! I can't wait to see how God provides!

:Why Italy?:

Italy, along with much of Western Europe, is rapidly moving away from all connections with God and really anything spiritual.

Only about 50% of Italians have any meaningful link with the church, and of those, less than 1% are evangelical believers.

Many of the university students quickly admit to not even thinking about spiritual things such as eternity, sin, salvation, etc.

Italy is a strategic spiritual battle ground that Christianity can not bear to lose. An overwhelming number of decisions steering the course of the world are made in Western Europe. The ministry in Italy hopes to one day be a training ground for European missionaries who, in turn, will reach their continent for Christ.

WE MADE IT!!

Melody and I successfully and safely made it to Florida and back this week!

We are now licesnced drivers of the state of Florida...Don't ask! :)

God definitely provided for us on the trip and we were able to stay with and ride with Crusade people throughout our time in FL. We road tripped to Miami to apply for our visas with the Salerno stint team - which was really cool because we will only be a train ride away from them once we get to Italy. :)

It was a crazy whirlwind of a trip but we got everything done that we needed to and even managed to cram in a quick visit to Majic Kingdom!! :)

Thanks for you prayers!

Our support deadline is next week so please be praying and believing with us for God to bring in the money so that we can go tell Italians about JESUS!!

I was soooooooooo excited about Disney!!!

Mel & I with our Florida licenses....We actually were pretty sad to give up the OK ones.

At the Consulate after giving Fabio our visa application - very Euro.

Don't Stop Believin'....

We got our plane tickets for Italy yesterday.

We are taking a trip to Florida this upcoming week to apply for our visas.

It's actually happening...everything is coming together.

It is so exciting to see the way that God is moving in every area of the preparation for our time in Italy.

Our support deadline is coming up in just a few weeks. We (my teammate Melody and I) are believing God to work in a BIG way and bring in the rest of the money that we need to be able to leave. It has already been so amazing to see the way that He has been providing for us. He works in ways that I would have never even thought of. I'm so glad He is in charge and not me! :)

Pray for Melody and me during our time in Florida (20-22) as we go to the Italian consulate and do a few other things in preparation to leave. Also, please continue to pray for us over the next few weeks and join us in believing God to do miraculous things to send us to Italy so that me might be able to share the love of Christ with the people there!! I know that this is what God has called me to do and I am so excited to see how He makes it happen.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support...I could not be doing this without you all!

Learning.

I think I am learning a lot right now about what it means to trust God. Like really trust Him.
I was thinking yesterday about Peter and the time he walked on water. He was totally fine when he was focusing on Jesus - he was actually walking on water!! But when he lost sight of Christ and started focusing on the problem he started to sink.
I think that is what happens to me so many times. I'm going along just fine trusting God to do something in my life....but then something happens to take my focus off of Him and place it on the current storm in my life - and then all of a sudden (at least in my mind) the problem is bigger than God and I am sinking...forgetting to trust Him to carry me and just staring at this "huge" thing before me.
Um....hello?!?! He's God. The creator of the universe.
There is nothing He can't do! But from my human perspective I forget that all of the time and put limits on Him.

Anyway, that is just a little lesson I am learning while I am raising support and preparing to go to Italy. God is bigger than any amount of money, or any obstacle I might have to face before I go - and while I am there. He really can handle it. But I have to trust Him - with all of my heart (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Just a little update of what is going on with me. But it doesn't just apply to me in my current situation..I think it applies to all of us, everyday. Trusting God is more than saying the words "I trust you." It is a choice, a deliberate action, a step of faith.

What's Going On With Me....

So....

Over a period of time and through much prayer and thought, I have decided to spend the next year (or more) of my life in Florence, Italy as a missionary. God has placed a passion in my heart for missions and specifically for the Italian people. Many of you know I spent last summer there and God just totally broke my heart for the people and their desperate need for the gospel...but what I didn't know was that He was going to call me to go back - long term (well, longer than 6 weeks...). So anyway, I am excited to follow His call and trust Him to make it happen and work through me while I am there.

This blog is an informal way for me to keep everyone updated on the process of preparing to go (mainly raising the financial support I need to get there) as well as keeping you updated on what God is doing and just what I am doing while I am over there. It is also a great way for me to relay as well as RECEIVE prayer requests. So visit often and feel free to comment! I'm excited to share this journey with you.
Much love. :)