Sunday was our friend Sabrina's 21st birthday. We had a garden party for her at my teammate Marti's apartment. It was a fun evening of fellowship and also a great opportunity to meet students. One of the coolest things about the evening was watching our believing Italian friends [mostly from our church] meeting and getting to know Sabrina's friends who are not believers.
Here are some pictures from the party!

[sabrina with her cake]

[getting a pair of shoes she had admired in a store window]

[marti & sarah bringing out the cake]

[sabrina & some of the friends at the party]

[first group picture of the evening]

[second group picture. in true italian fashion people were coming & going for about 3 hours]

Creating Space.

For the past several weeks our team has been meeting with a group of our national leaders who have helped us revisit some of the foundational things about ministry and why we are in Italy. Together we have studied scripture, talked through our national vision, and discussed what it looks like to do ministry effectively in this country.
One of the things our leaders talked with us about was 'creating space for ministry.' This is an idea that has been before us over the past two years, but it was great to be reminded of it.
I am really looking forward to the next couple of months. Our team has reevaluated and restructured some things and I can't wait to see what happens with the new spaces we have created for ministry to happen. This basically means we have moved our schedule around and have added a few things so that there are regularly occurring consistent blocks of time where we will be doing life with students outside of the university campus.
Pray with us that God would use these times to help Italians see Him. Pray that the image of Christ would be seen through myself and my teammates. Pray that we would have wisdom and boldness with the Gospel.

Pancakes & Sun.

Saturday was a beautiful day in Florence.
Probably the nicest one we have had so far this Spring. We were so thankful for the warm temperatures and sunny skies - especially since we had planned a pancake extravaganza for that day. :)
We invited a bunch of our Italian friends over to my teammates Ross & Lindsay's apartment and made about 12 batches of pancakes. We spent the afternoon eating delicious pancakes, talking, and playing games out in the backyard.
It was really great to get to spend time together and deepen friendships. It was also fun to get to share an American breakfast tradition with the Italians. Many of them had never had pancakes before and most of the students wanted a copy of the recipe to take home with them. :)
Please continue to pray for more opportunities to deepen our current relationships as well as begin new ones. Pray that Christ would be put on display and that we would be bold with the gospel. Pray that Italian students would come to faith this Spring.

<sup>i've been pouring over this chapter from Isaiah today.
it really puts the crucifixion back into perspective for me.
it was ME. me that despised and rejected him. me that turned my back on him.
me that he was pierced, beaten, and whipped for.
and me that has been given new life and restored to right-standing with the Father.
there is definitely reason to celebrate!


1</sup> Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
² My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
³ He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.

⁴ Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows^a]">[a] that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
⁸ Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.^b]">[b]
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.^c]">[c]
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
⁹ He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.

¹⁰ But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
¹¹ When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
¹² I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Isaiah 53 [New Living Translation]