Back at it…

Do you ever have those weeks when you look back and wonder, “Wait, where did this week go?!?” That’s how this one feels to me… I just can’t believe it’s Friday already!!

Thanks for praying for Alessandro this week — we started our language lessons again, and spent 6 hours with him over the course of the week… that’s a lot of Italian for someone who hasn’t really spoken Italian in awhile! But it was good to get my brain back into the groove, especially since I got to meet three new Italian friends this week and am going to see several Italian friends over the weekend!!

THAT is a testimony to God’s grace!! January and February have this reputation in Rome of being “dead time” on campus, because it is an exam period for the students. The system in Rome is really different, and I don’t really understand it, but basically students have 2-4 reaaaaallllllly big and difficult exams over the course of January and February. Apparently, they typically spend almost every waking hour studying for these exams, so they can be hard to get ahold of during these months. So, when I sent out 9 texts earlier this week to some friends, I wasn’t really expecting to hear much… but then 3 of them texted me back!!! That’s a third of those girls… PRAISE HIM!! So, God IS moving, despite the reputation that January and February have!! Would you pray that students would continue to be willing and available to meet us, despite their busy study schedules?? THANKS!!

I only have a little bit of time before Kerry and I get to go meet with an Italian friend, but here’s a quick photo overview of what my holidays were like in Rome:

On December 13th, we had our Italian friends over to celebrate Christmas!! It was a really fun night of eating Christmas cookies, singing Christmas carols, and talking about why Jesus' birth matters to us... as well as dancing and ridiculousness!!

We spent Christmas Eve at the Vatican, watching Midnight Mass from outisde of St. Peter's Basilica. This is the team infront of the giant Christmas Tree, St. Peter's, and the Nativity Scene.

) Check out the bottom of this post for a better view of our Piazza!

This is our Piazza... decorated for Christmas!! Note the "Charlie Brown Tree" in the middle Check out the bottom of this post for a better view of our Piazza!

Our STINT Christmas Tree!!

: The week before Christmas, some of my teammates and I escaped to the mountains in Northern Italy for a few days… This was the view from our balcony!! It was an incredibly refreshing time of being with Jesus and Ella in the mountains I also skiied for the first time, which was an adventure! It was a sweet way to spend part of our Christmas break!