Ciao a tutti! (hello everyone!)

Guess where I am? ITALY!

We just arrived yesterday and I can already tell God is working. He has big plans for this place and I can't wait to be a part of it. But before I get into the details, I want to tell you about my experience arriving to Italy!

The first thing I noticed was how friendly the people are. They always greet you and say goodbye when you leave, saying buongiorno and arrivederci with a smile. They are also very accommodating to you when they host you.

Remember how I said I was going to room with one other girl in a host home? Well, plans changed like they usually do on the World Race! I am now staying in a villa with 8 other girls in the Italian countryside. The villa is perched on a hill in an olive grove with a beautiful view of the mountains and small towns in the distance.

We have two nonnas, named Gemma and Elisa, and they are the most precious ladies ever! We seriously feel like their grandchildren. After we unpacked our stuff and got settled, they set out Biscotti and fresh coffee for us to snack on. Even though they don't speak a lick of English, they constantly asked us if we wanted more or offered us other food. They repeated the word freddo, asking if we were too cold and gifted us some shawls. They even blow dried some of the girls hair after they got out of the shower without hesitation.

Seeing them host and pour out their love onto us immediately reminded me of Jesus and how he took on a servant role with his disciples. How he washed their feet humbly without groaning. It says in John 13:4-5 "...he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist... After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet."

It also made me think of the story of Mary and Martha when they hosted Jesus and the disciples in their home and how Martha welcomed and served him.

The nonnas exhibiting Jesus' character in this way reminds me of his humility and service, how he showed his love by serving others and looking after them over himself. He cares for us and loves us SO MUCH that he steps down from his high authority and comes down to our level to be a servant to take care of us. That is a characteristic I want to have in my own life over these next 7 months and for the rest of my life. I want to have servant-like love where I host without grumbling and take care of others out of my generosity and care for them. Because not only are you helping and loving another person, but you are also serving the Lord and are rewarded with a sense of joy and fulfillment for loving others over yourself and putting others first.

Another thing that I've noticed is how Italians slow down and take their time with everything. They are never in a rush to get somewhere or get something done. They simply go as they please and don't seem to have a worry in the world! In Ecclesiastes 3:1, its says "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." I often think that I don't have enough time to do this or that. I sometimes feel like I have a time limit where I need to be doing more and completing it quicker, but that is just not the truth and Italian culture demonstrates that perfectly. I can rest in the Lord and his timing, knowing that I don't need to be doing more at a certain time but that I can take each thing as it comes.

Now, for ministry... it is great! Coming on this trip, one of my goals was to learn how to evangelize better and to be more bold in sharing the gospel to people, and here in Italy, that is exactly what we are doing. We are going to high schools during class periods and talking about who are group is, what we do, and sharing bits of our testimonies. We also have been focusing a lot on the topic of God's love and open up time for the students to ask us questions. At first, it was a little nerve-wracking being put on the spot with questions, but I know that the Lord will give us the words to say in the moment and that we don't have to worry. It's so evident that the Holy Spirit is moving through us.

The pastor of the church we go to told us that this opportunity to serve in Italy at the schools is amazing. Over the course of these next 2 weeks, we will be speaking with 2,000 high school students! Many of the students know little bits about Christianity and Jesus, but not much at all. If they practice any religion, it is Catholicism. But they seem pretty curious about our faith and have asked us many good questions like how our relationship with God is like, about our prayer life, and about doing good deeds to go to heaven.

A topic that got brought up today was about life after death. One of the students said that he is afraid of death and doesn't want to go to nothing once he dies. He said he doesn't believe there is a heaven and hell and thinks we all just disappear. Of course, I told him what we believe that because Jesus died and took the punishment for our sins, we are able to be saved from eternal damnation in hell. That we are able to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus and because of that, we don't have to be afraid. I could tell from his eyes that he was thinking deeply about the words that God spoke through me and after our discussion, I felt led to pray for him.

I have seen the way these students are all absorbing the words we are speaking and I know that God is working in their hearts. I ask that you would pray for these students that they would continue to be receptive to the words we are saying and that they may be open to accepting Christ into their lives. Also please pray that God will continue to speak through us and give us the wisdom and boldness to share our testimonies and answer these sometimes difficult questions the students impose on us.

There is one final thing I'd like to share with you all and that is about plans for the Christmas Crew. The 13 of us that are staying in Italy for Christmas have been searching desperately for places to stay that are affordable and accommodating which has been difficult. Our budget is low and with the amount of people, it's hard to find a place for a good price. At one of our meetings, we all felt hopeless and felt like it would be near impossible to find a place. But after praying and discussing ideas together, we came up with some solutions of people we could contact and things we could do to get closer to our goal. And over these past few days, we have been getting leads from people we contacted of possibly being able to stay with them. I would love if you could pray over that, that God would remove any anxiety we have over that and that he would provide a place for us clearly.

Anyways, that's all that I have for today! I have to say, Italy is one of my new favorite places and I can't WAIT to see the many more adventures and lessons God teaches me. I am so excited to speak more in these schools and plant seeds in these students hearts!

God bless, Hailey