This is what heaven will be like. Pass, pass, pass score! The teams keep changing and I can no longer remember who is on my team. But I can’t stop laughing. We have been playing for hours, and my lungs can feel it. And yet I don’t want to stop. Every so often we stop to look up at the mountains to enjoy where we are. Thank you Lord for this place, for these friends, for this season.
A few weeks ago we took the students to the Italian Alps for debrief weekend. Our hope was to help them summarize 90 days of classes, new friends, adventures and cultural experiences and prepare for the question: How was Italy? To thank God for his faithfulness and remember the good He has done and prepare for the next season. To stop, look up, and enjoy where we are.
Yes, I have another semester and many more adventures to come. But I’ve been thinking about the reality of this quote for myself, “Though life can only be lived forward it can only be understood backward.”
So I’ve taken some time to process my answer to the question, “How was your first semester in Italy?”
Here’s the short answer -
It forced me outside my comfort zone, I was a sponge for learning, and I experienced being known so intimately by God.
Here’s the long answer -
I was forced to step out of my comfort zone with the language, and living in a big city.
I stepped off the plane knowing one word in Italian, “Ciao” and it didn’t get me that far. I quickly realized I would need more and I became frustrated that I couldn’t connect with people. It was a humbling experience to feel like a child in language. Knowing only basic words to communicate. Our Italian teacher was like a kindergarten teacher with an expressive smile tossing the ball around the room as we practiced saying our name and numbers.
I realized how much fear I had with language. I didn’t like trying something new that I wasn’t immediately an expert at. It look a lot of messing up and making mistakes. And that was out of my comfort zone. I still remember my first time stepping out of my comfort zone. I was walking to the store and decided that I wanted to introduce myself to the shop owner. The entire walk there I practiced my Italian, saying the greetings over and over again in my head. I could feel the nerves in my stomach as I got closer to the entrance, “What if I can’t remember anything when I walk in?” Deep breath and walk through the door.
I did it! I actually said hello, and asked her how she was doing and her name! And I got a smile from her! Big win! I walked home with my bags in hand and a smile on my face. Now when I walk through the door I can confidently say, “Buongiorno Joya” and she says, “Ciao Bella” back to me.
I was also out of my comfort zone in a big city. Moving from a small town to any city would have been challenging. But I moved to Rome! Navigating buses, metros, and maps in another language was a challenge. My first day on my own I decided it would be a fun idea to ride the metro to a random stop and get off and walk around. It sounded romantic. This was a terrible idea as I spent the day getting on and off the metro at sketchy stops not knowing where I was or where to go. But this past week I was walking in downtown and smiled as I realized that I knew how to get from one monument to another without a map. Growth happens outside our comfort zone.
I was a sponge for learning.
I took almost a full course load of credits auditing the classes. Learning is definitely more fun when you aren’t being graded for it.
I took Art history class and I learned how to see! The professor offered us “tools for our tool belt” she would say. One of them was learning to "look". To appreciate art with your eyes and give it more than the average 13 second glance. One day I returned from a full 8 hour day of class at the museums and decided to practice what she preached. I was standing in the kitchen and glanced out the window. It wasn’t an unusually beautiful sunset compared to others we had seen. But I remembered her words, “really look and see.” So I opened my eyes and went back to the window. And then there was something in the distance. I must have been looking pretty hard because two students came up behind me and said, “What is that?” Soon we were all on the roof looking at the horizon. It seemed like a cloud of smoke but it was moving in a strange pattern. After further examination we realized that it was a flock of birds. I would have missed it. But I looked and I saw.
I experienced being intimately known by God.
I am walking down the street to the crossfit gym. And all I keep thinking is thank you Lord. He knew how hard it was for me to leave Sewickley because I loved my gym. It was part of my community, my outlet and ministry. I grieved leaving because I knew, or rather thought, I could never find a good gym this close to where I lived again. And yet here I am on the road with sneakers in hand, just 10 minutes from from my next Crossfit class. The cauleses are starting to form on my hands again and I have a coffee date with a new friend from the gym tonight. Lord you know my heart and exactly what I need. Why do I ever worry.
Ministry:
My word for the semester: Alongside.
I arrived in Italy 3 days before the students. I was still jet lagged and they were asking me questions like they expected me to know the answers. I had to get comfortable saying, “I don’t know, but let’s find out together.”
And that was the theme of the semester.
I took classes alongside the students.
I travelled alongside the students.
I did Bible studies alongside the students.
I learned Italian alongside the students.
I road the metro, cooked dinner, watched Roma, ordered capuccino. All alongside.
And God used every minute.
Some of my favorite moments were the unexpected miracles.
The conversation at the kitchen counter about a student's relationship with their boyfriend.
The 10 minute break in class to ask questions about what we had learned.
The ride on the metro when a student shared about experiencing God.
The walk through the city that turned into a student sharing their testimony for the first time.
A coffee date that turned into an opportunity for God to poor out his love.
All because God had placed me alongside these students. To live life with them and be a vessel for God to work through me.
“I don’t know, but let’s find out together.” I’m reminded this is the theme of discipleship. I often think I need to have it all together so I can teach others. But true disciples say, let’s follow Jesus together.
So I end this semester thankful. Thankful for the lessons learned, the experiences and adventures and all God has blessed me with this season.
Excited for semester numero due starting this week!
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