Ciao!

We landed in Naples, Italy 4 days ago, and from the moment we stepped off the plane I could feel that this place was different. The air is warm, the city is full of color and noise and life, and there are mountains and views here are so beautiful. 

After we arrived, we took a bus to a smaller city called Isernia, and that’s where we are staying and doing ministry. It is slower-paced here, quieter, with stone streets, old buildings, and a kind of calm beauty that makes you stop and notice everything.

The coffee is INSANE, the kind that makes you just sit and breathe for a moment, and the people here have been so kind and welcoming. Even though everything is new, it feels meaningful. It feels intentional. It feels like God brought us here on purpose.

Our ministry here is inside the public schools. In Italy, students have a religion class once a week, and we’ve been invited into those classrooms to share our stories and talk about Jesus. At first, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. I didn’t know if these high schoolers would even care. But the moment we started sharing, it was like the room shifted. The students were leaning forward in their seats, asking questions, actually wanting to understand who Jesus is and why we have the joy we have. When we tell our testimonies, they listened. And not just with curiosity, they listen with a type of hunger. Some of them have even come up to us after class asking how they can have a relationship with God too and feel the joy we feel. I’ve never seen something like this before.

The Holy Spirit is softening hearts right in front of our eyes.

It’s also made me realize the power of our stories. I used to downplay mine, like it wasn’t enough or special or dramatic. But I’m learning that our testimonies hold weight because they show who God is, not who we are. The way He has pulled each of us out of darkness and into joy, the way He has healed, restored, forgiven, renewed, these are the things that speak to people. These students aren’t looking for perfect Christians with perfect lives. They want something real. And Jesus is real. His love is real. His healing is real. And when we speak from a place of honesty and vulnerability, the Holy Spirit moves.

Being here has also opened my eyes to spiritual warfare in a way I didn’t fully understand before. I always heard about the enemy and what he tries to do, but I mostly thought of warfare as the lies that hit your mind. Lies like you’re not enough, you’re not loved, you don’t deserve grace. And those lies have been loud in my life at times. But being here, surrounded by community who speaks truth over me and being in Scripture daily, I have learned to recognize God’s voice and the enemy’s voice. I know that those lies are never from God.

And because God is moving here, the enemy has not been subtle. The enemy is not hiding anymore because hiding is not working. He is trying to be loud and direct. I have felt that heaviness. My teammates have too. There have even been family issues and hospitalizations these last few  weeks back home, and I carried guilt for not being there. And as you know, my ear was causing me a lot of issues in Albania which caused me to miss so much minestry.  I felt frustrated and discouraged because I wanted to be present and involved. But even through that, God has reminded me that my worth is not in what I do. He is still moving. He is still using me. He is still working here. And He is still covering my family at home. The enemy may try to shake us or distract us or make us feel weak, but he will not win. God ALWAYS wins. Light always defeats darkness. Every single time.

There have been moments of tears, moments of homesickness, moments where everything felt too heavy. But even in those moments, God has been present. He has been close. He has been gentle and strong at the same time. He has been fighting for us when we feel tired. And He keeps reminding us that He is not done here. Not even close.

The way these students are responding, the openness in their faces, the realness in their questions, the way God is softening their hearts right in front of us, has changed me. I will never forget this. I truly believe that seeds are being planted that will grow into something so much bigger than we can see right now.

“The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.” - Exodus 14:14

Please be praying for my team and I. Pray for protection over our team from spiritual warfare. Pray for peace and comfort when homesickness comes. Pray for healing and full health. Pray for strength, joy, and boldness as we continue sharing the gospel with these students over the next two weeks.

 God is moving in Isernia.

 We just want to stay faithful and continue walking where He leads.

See you all next week for our last week of minestry this semester! Ciao! :)