One Year Mark

It's been exactly one year since I left Albuquerque to begin my journey in Prato, Italy. I never imagined my field time would go by so fast. I remember like it was yesterday how I was feeling as I boarded the airplane knowing I wouldn't step foot back in the states for 18 months. I was scared to death and in all honesty, I didn't think I could do it. I didn't think at 19 years old I was going to be able to live in a foreign country for so long with out my parents. But, the Lord is good and He's helped me through this past year and I love looking back and reflecting on how I've grown and what God has done for me.
When I first got here, I didn't know Italian (of course) and now I'm able to easily have a conversation. I didn't know how to cook, and now I'm making homemade lasagna, baking, and making several different types of pasta. I've learned how to have complete and total faith in the Lord, take one day at a time, and be still and know that He is Lord.
As for the work that's going on here, it's been pretty slow lately. I've lost a couple of English lessons but hopefully I'll have one or two new students here pretty soon. My team and I have made a few new friends but they have no interest in Christ and the Bible. It's very difficult for all of us and we're starting to feel like we're not making much of a difference here. It seems to be getting us all down lately so prayers would be greatly appreciated.
It hasn't been easy and I definitely wouldn't have been able to do this without the love, support, and prayers all of ya'll have shown me. Thank you so much for everything. I love and miss you all very much. Take care and God bless!

P.S. The pictures above are of when my mom and aunt came to visit in March. Good times!

Slave of Christ,
Charise

Time

Nine months and counting...

I have been living in Italy for 9 months now and now I only have 9 months left. I cannot believe how fast it's gone. It has definitely been the fastest 9 months of my life. It's a bitter sweet thing. I'm really looking forward to going back to the states and being with friends and family but then again, I'm probably never going to experience anything like this again in my life. I'm starting to think about what I'm going to do once I'm done here and that kinda freaks me out. For one, because I have no idea, and for two, because for the past year and a half, being in the AIM program I haven't really had to think about my future. I was just living in the moment. I'm still living in the moment but I now have to consider what I want to do with the rest of my life. It's a little scary. I know God has something planned for me but as of now, I don't know what that plan is.

My dad just recently visited me. He was here for several days and we were able to do a bit of traveling together. We went down to Rome (my favorite place in Italy so far), Florence, and I had the honor of showing him around Prato and what it's like living here. Christmas was not the same but it was a wonderful experience and I loved that I got to share it with my dad. It went by too fast in my opinion but we had a blast nonetheless. My mom will be visiting in March and Chandee will be visiting in June so I have a lot to look forward to. :)

Every Tuesday and Thursday my teammate, Molly, and I go to an old folks home. Talk about a challenge! I haven't been this challenged in a LONG time. It's difficult to understand people at that age anyway, but in a different language...yeah, that's hard. I've only gone a couple of times and they both have been difficult for me emotionally but hopefully it will get better. I'm hoping to be allowed to read the Bible to them (in Italian of course) so we'll see how that goes.

My other teammate, JaMarcus, and I visited a church last Thursday to try to meet new people and hopefully find more Christians to fellowship with, and I'd say we were successful. It was a good experience and I'm going to be giving one of the members English lessons. :)

So, that's what's going on right now. Thanks for reading and please leave a comment. God bless!!

Charise