Year in Review

Though 2010 has not quite drawn to a close, my Christmas break has commenced, and I have begun to reflect on my year in Vicenza:

32 Saturday children's English classes

10 one-on-one English students

2 weeks of camp with a total of 94 campers

5 youth retreats

5 women's or family retreats and conferences

2 ladies' small group Bible studies on the army base

4 conferences hosted in Vicenza with guest speakers

3 potlucks with 2 children's skits

6 Old Testament Bible characters (Ruth-Elijah) examined in Sunday School

8 overnight guests in my apartment

9 congregations around Italy visited for worship or special events

3 baptisms witnessed + 4 more (heard about) of friends

1 wedding + 1 baby born in our church + 2 children's birthday parties

6 new church window displays created

5 kids babysat for extended periods of time

23 chapters of I and II Corinthians covered at our Thursday night Bible study

4 theatre, music, or chorus recitals of church members

2 natural disasters, 8 simultaneous computer viruses, 1 lingering health ailment

countless hours and meals in the homes of church members

countless conversations

countless challenges

countless blessings


I feel like my mission has been lived out as a jack-of-all-trades: children's minister, youth minister, English teacher, friend, encourager, tenant, photographer, writer...

"I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."

~I Corinthians 9:22b

My motto during the middle of the year, as a new role outside my comfort zone was thrust upon me, became "And who is equal to such a task?" (II Corinthians 2:16b). At the missionary retreat in August, I found my answer a few verses later: "but our competence comes from God" (II Corinthians 3:5b).

With my health still sub-par all year, I am grateful that I have still been able to be here carrying out my work. My temporary thorn in the flesh has given me the opportunity to rely on God's grace and power: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' [...] That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (II Corinthians 12:9a, 10).

This following passage is a little dramatic for my situation, but I really like the idea it represents: "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead" (II Corinthians 1:8-9).

This year, working on my own most of the time, I have learned to rely on God for everything, and He has proven Himself faithful over and over again in the little details of life as well as the big picture.

I know that God has put me in the perfect spot for now to use my gifts and talents to serve others and Him. As I bounced all over the country (and world, for that matter) in 2009 before landing in Vicenza for 2010, Paul's speech in Athens, long a favorite passage of mine, was played out in my life: "[H]e determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26b-27).

In each location of my Avanti Italia journey, I have learned and grown so much. I look forward to seeing where God will lead me in 2011!

The Youth Retreat That Wasn't

Last weekend's youth retreat did not go at all as planned: multiple date adjustments, a last-minute location change, fewer participants than anticipated, and no concrete schedule (believe me, it wasn't for lack of trying). Nonetheless, I feel that I can say it turned out okay...

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do,

and your plans will succeed."

~Proverbs 16:3

We were supposed to go to the mountain home of a family from church, as we did for the youth weekend in September, but a meter of snow on the road leading up to the house precluded the possibility of arrival. Thus our sessions took place at the church building, leaving time for the teens to also get together with friends in town. The theme of our studies was marriage, and I was delighted at how much the teens participated in the discussions, asking questions and offering their observations. We also watched and discussed two movies demonstrating Christian faith and love, threw together some meals, and played intense rounds of UNO. Our five participants came from three different cities, and six young adult tag-team teachers and chaperones lent a hand. Due to the small turnout and laid-back nature of events, at the end we joked that we had been involved in the youth retreat that never happened :)

Wednesday was the annual December 8 convegno in Conegliano! Certain churches have staked out holidays to have youth retreats or one-day convegni, since everybody is off work on these days, and Conegliano's is always on the Immaculate Conception holiday. About 100 attendees, mostly from the Veneto region, gathered for a morning of speakers, lunch in a nearby restaurant, and an afternoon discussion session regarding the theme verses, Romans 12:1-2. Everything was translated into Twi for the large Ghanaian contingent; generally the congregations in the North have more Ghanaians than Italians. Overall the day was a wonderful time of fellowship: seeing friends and kids from camp, meeting new people, and traveling with my Vicenza family (we took the long way home and saw a couple castles and WWI monuments)!

Sunday in Vicenza we took a church picture: Our average attendance is less than the square root of that of my home church in Oklahoma, which also probably has more Christians than all the congregations in Italy combined...