There is so much to tell you!

First things first; Ireland was a success! Our flights there were smooth and we didn’t have any problems. While we were there the Lord protected us and led us around every corner, especially in Dublin which is riddled with pubs (and therefore drunk people, mostly men). We didn’t have any problems with the locals or finding our way around and we were able to enjoy some authentic Irish meals. Let me just say that boxty fries are amazing and you haven’t lived until you’ve tried them. It was worth the trip to Dublin for those alone.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning we boarded a bus for a tour to the Cliffs of Moher on the opposite coast of the country and after several long days and short nights in a row, I was exhausted. I was running low on patience and grace as well as sleep, but I knew that I needed to get up early to spend time with the Lord if I had any hope of being the slightest bit pleasant. It is amazing how you can be physically drained and on your last legs, when you turn to the Lord and He becomes the only source of life you need. He fills you to overflowing and allows you to be all that you need to be whether you’re the one everyone else is looking to for guidance, or the one everyone is disregarding. It doesn’t matter what you are going through, God wants to equip you to accomplish whatever it is He put before you, all you have to do is come to Him.
It was a sweet time of fellowship with the Lord and I know that He is the One who gave me enough love to be the leader I needed to be in order to keep our group together. On the four hour bus ride to the Cliffs I could have taken a nap, but I didn’t want to miss a single moment of my time in Ireland so I stayed awake while the other girls slept. My eyes were burning all day long from the lack of sleep, but God gave me the energy to physically do everything that we had planned, and to spiritually pour into the girls who went with me. I am so grateful for the Lord’s provision, protection, and influence. I can’t tell you how many times throughout the day I prayed and asked Him to give me the strength not to get in my flesh and be sharp with my friends. Still I failed more than I would like to admit, but I know that His grace was still at work and He kept my heart in the place it needed to be in those moments when I cried out to Him.

The Irish countryside is beautiful and I loved every second of the tour. When we got to the cliffs we were all excited to get off of the bus and see the famous cliffs we had heard so many things about. The day was clear, warm, and windy and we had a great view of everything for miles.

We were even able to take a ferry boat along the bottom of the cliffs and enjoy their majesty from the sea.

I was so grateful for everything the Lord provided for us while we were there and I saw His hand in every detail of our trip. It was my first time to Ireland, I didn’t know what I would find and on top of it all I had four other girls all looking to me to have the answers. Through it I saw God move, not only in me as He stretched me and grew me as a leader, but also in my beautiful friends as they all relied upon Him for their strength as well. 

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By the time Monday morning rolled around, we were all excited to get back to Italy and sleep before another week of school. We would be arriving in the Venice airport at 6:50 pm so we would have plenty of time to get back to school and get to bed early…or so we thought.

When we got to the Dublin airport and checked in, they told us that our flight had been delayed an hour. That was fine with us because we had a four-hour layover in Switzerland so we would still have plenty of time to catch our connecting flight, but one hour stretched into an hour and a half which stretched into two until we were three hours behind schedule. We ended up landing in Switzerland as our flight to Italy left and we were redirected to Germany where our flight to Venice didn’t leave until after 9 pm. At this point, we weren’t going to arrive back in Italy until 11 pm which meant that there were no more buses or trains to get us home to Montebelluna. Through all of it I had to inform all of the school staff of our situation so that they knew that we were safe and that we would be arriving later than expected, I had to figure out how we were going to get back to school, and I had to remain loving toward all of my equally as exhausted and cranky friends. It is only by God’s grace that we all made it back to Italy without seriously exploding in each other’s faces. When we landed at 11 pm, our next step was to find a taxi large enough for 5 people plus baggage that could take us to our home an hour away. Amazingly enough, a man was standing right by the exit and heard us say “taxi” and he led us straight to a taxi bus driver who was able to take us home for 100 euro. As expensive as it sounds, it only cost 7 euro more for each of us than the bus and train would have cost.

We were so grateful to be home! My roommate and I finally walked through our door right around 12 am. I had coffee shop duty in the morning for school and she was giving the morning devotion so we went straight to bed for the short 5 hours of sleep we would be getting. That Tuesday was a rough one for all five of us, but we made it through and this week has been riddled with blessings.

God has been doing a beautiful (and often uncomfortable) work of sanctification in my life as He brings to light parts of my heart that I thought were squeaky clean but are actually black with sin. He is so gentle in His refinement, so careful in His correction and He has been so loving with me as I have been humbled before Him. As I have seen and confessed my transgressions to Him, His grace has overpowered me and He has strengthened me with His Word. As I have been confronted with my own sinfulness and His perfect holiness, I have drawn closer to Him than I had in a long time and there is so much freedom and refreshment at His feet! I don’t know what all of you may be going through, but I want to encourage you not to overlook those “acceptable” sins that may be present in your life. Draw near to God and allow Him to pick the weeds so that new life can grow up in their place. And if you have fallen and feel ashamed, don’t turn away from God and run further into your sin. He isn’t surprised by it, He already knew it was there, but He doesn’t want it to stay there and He doesn’t want you to be trapped by it. Jesus is our High Priest who lives eternally to make intercession for us and it is His perfect blood that cleanses us, regardless of what we’ve done. That isn’t to say that we have a license to sin so that His grace may abound, but it does mean that when we are weak and we do fall, we can run to Him without delay, confess without fear, and live without bondage. Don’t stay trapped in your sin! Run to God and experience the freedom for which we have been set free in Christ (Gal 5:1)! For we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor 3:18).

Now, onto the most exciting piece of news I have to share with you, I have the opportunity to intern at the Bible college campus in Israel this fall!! Everything has happened so quickly I am just astounded by the Lord’s hand in it all! This past Thursday I was looking on the CCBC alumni website for internships and jobs. I had been considering applying for an internship with the campus in New Zealand or possibly getting a job in the states with a Christian company that holds assemblies in high schools across the country when I decided to check the Israel website to see if they had any internships available. The link to the Internship page on the website was a dead end and it told me that the page had been removed so I went to the contact administrator tab and sent them an email saying that I was about to graduate and would like to inquire about interning at their campus in the fall or spring. About six months ago I had done the same thing but in regards to being a student there for this semester and didn’t receive so much as an email in response, so my expectations weren’t high, but within two hours of sending that email they responded saying they would love to Skype with me to talk about the Lord’s call on my life and whether I was willing to intern at either the Jerusalem or Golan Heights campus. I was astounded! Already it seemed like God was doing something and because I feel called to the Middle East, the idea of actually being there for ministry so soon after graduating seemed almost too good to be true. Today I was able to Skype with the director of the Golan Heights campus and he said that they would love to have me there as an intern, he just needed to pray about which campus to place me in! I cannot believe this huge opportunity the Lord has placed before me and I ask that you all join me in praying that His will would be done through all of it! All of my expenses will be paid in exchange for my service and the only thing that would be out of pocket would be my flight there and back to the US as well as my spending money. My duties would consist of student discipleship, helping run the kitchen (so creating student teams and helping them cook and clean), helping with daily group devotions, and helping with other administrative tasks as needed with more responsibility as I grow into the position. I am not entirely sure whether they want me there for one semester or for two, but I am willing to stay as long as the Lord has me there! 

It is so amazing to look back and see how the Lord has faithfully led me to this place and how He has revealed this “next step.” Thank you all for your prayers and for your continued prayer in this as I continue to seek His will for the seasons following my graduation from Bible college. God is so good and He never leaves us to fend for ourselves in darkness! If you are asking the Lord to show you where to go next or what to do, all you have to do is rest in His arms and trust that He is who He says He is. He will show you where He wants you and He will direct your steps into His perfect will for your life, all you have to do is trust Him enough to let Him lead. (And then take steps of faith as He prompts you). Don’t be afraid to knock on doors just because you think they might slam in your face. If the door in front of you closes, look for the one that is opening up and allow Him to redirect you through it.

Also, my outreach team leaves for Verbania tomorrow! We are taking the train and we will be there for the whole week, returning to Montebelluna on Saturday. We will all give our testimonies at different times and I along with tow other girls will be sharing a short devotion, so prayers for that would be greatly appreciated! I can’t wait to see all that the Lord does in and through each of us during this week and I am excited to see the blessings that come from it.

Prayer Requests: 

Verbania 

• That God would speak through the devotions we give as well as our testimonies 
• That we would all prioritize our personal time with the Lord before other things 
• That we would be a blessing to the church there 
• That God would empty us of ourselves and use us for His glory 
• For boldness in sharing the gospel

Israel 

• For God’s will, direction, and provision

Italy 

• That classes would continue to go smoothly 
• That I would be diligent in my studies 
• That all of the details of my mom’s trip would fall perfectly into place 
• Continued provision and safety 
• ontinued refinement and direction

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. I am seeing the fruit of your prayers for me and I pray that you also are encouraged by all that the Lord is doing while I am here in Italy. You are such a blessing to me and I love you all! May God bless you this week as you look to Him and as you fall more and more in love with all that He is. 

Vi voglio bene! (I love you all!)