Where to start...

Ciao!
It's been a while, but I have been crazy busy! Between teaching, meetings, class prep, and getting to know students outside of class. It's been crazy, but amazing! :) My Italian is definitely improving, so thanks for your prayers. The other day I was able to have a full conversation about the Gospel with our neighbor, it was such a blessing, I had Italian words coming out that I don't know where they were coming from, except for the God leading me and giving me the words. :) It was really neat.
I've been meeting with students, and getting to know them. All of them are Italian and super sweet. They all want to know why I am here for long, and it's a great way to share the Gospel, I let them know exactly why I'm here...to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Italians. I've had some great conversations with them. It's so hard here because of the Catholic church, one lady told me that in America it's easy to convert to Christianity, but here you have to be Catholic it's tradition. This is how so many of the people here think. Either you are Catholic or you are an Athiest, there is no in between.
Classes are going great. I love teaching and the students are SO much fun. They love learning and love hearing about our lives in the United States. It's amazing how God has given me such a love for the Italians. His love is so sweet, it's unfailing and endures FOREVER. He is the only one who can satisfy the need these people have. They are so empty, when you first meet them, they seem happy and joyful, but the more you get to know them the more the facade falls and you see how much they need a Savior, how desperate they are. The other day I was in Valvasone, walking around, and I saw this Catholic Funeral Processional, first the car with the body and flowers, than men holding a cross, then the Priest then like 100 people, all going through town on the way to the cemetery. It was so sad, you could see the emptiness in the eyes of the people, praying for their dead, not knowing that it is too late for those who have died, but that there is hope for them. Also the bells rang all day long, people pay to have the bells rung for when a person dies, the longer they ring the richer the person and the more likely they are to get out of purgatory. It's so sad. Please be praying for the people here!! They are so lost.
Well I have to go, but I'll leave you with a couple pictures!

On the left: We had a day of park ministry with the students from SBI.
On the Right: Part of the ESL team (missing Bethany) and two of my friends from Valvasone The rest are pictures of the fantastic ESL team. :) At Becky's birthday party, clockwise, it's Bethany, me, Becky, Sherry and Maureen!