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.