going home, another new believer
Posted by Drew | Filed under General
The story is really long about why I’m going home. I considered creating some kind of elaborate tale about conflict with national leadership or perhaps a sketchy relationship with an Italian girl, but I know jokes like that don’t always translate so well over the internet, so I think it’s best if I just fill you in on the real story.
Yes, I’m going home soon. Sometime in December I’ll be back in Tupelo, and I’ll be able to spend Chrismas with my family. I really can’t tell you how good that feels. But there is a feeling of disapointment at the same time, because we’re having to miss some valuable time on campus, and some valuable team time over the holidays.
ok, so as I read back over this, I realize that i’ve neglected to clarify that I’m coming back here. My time here is far from finished. I should be back in January, but that’s not certain at this point.
Right, you want the story. Remember how I was asking for prayer about our visas? We still need those prayers. And now I can fill you in so that you’re able to pray more specifically. When we leave Italy, we will fly straight to Miami to apply for religous visas at the Italian Consulate. This is the same kind of visa I had during my previous two STINTs here. Since I last came, the laws have become more strict for both entering and staying in Italy. The laws for staying here require that we stay only 90 days without a visa, and when we leave we must remain outside the country for an additional 90 days, meaning we have to be gone by Dec 7, and can’t return until March 7 without a visa. The laws for entering require recipients of religious visas to be ordained ministers of a religious order. Fortunately, since I am on staff full time with CCC, I qualify. The challenge, and great prayer need, however, is for the rest of my team who is not on staff, and are at the mercy of the Italian government who may decide to declare them ineligible. If that happens, well… Let’s just pray that doesn’t happen.
So, I’m thankful for the opportunity to come home for a while and spend Christmas with my family. But at the same time, this isn’t great news for us, or for the ministry (at least from our limited point of view… who knows what God has planned in this). We’ll fly to Miami and spend some time there going through the application process, and possibly debriefing and evaluating the semester as a team. After that, we’ll be free to go home. Speaking of, is anyone driving any particular leg of the journey from Miami to Tupelo within the first few weeks of December? I have a crazy plan of not flying, but bumming rides all the way home. Let me know if you can help.
Gayle continues to amaze us all. Each day on campus we have someone who just prays the entire day. Gayle was doing that on Tuesday, and while she had stopped to talk to Francine, two Italian girls called them over to talk. So they did, and a girl named Filomena prayed to receive Christ! That’s 5 for the year. All 5 with Gayle.
Hopefully I can send a better update soon with prayer requests for our last few weeks here, partnering with the Christian student group MLK, our thanksgiving dinner outreach, and a description of my first Italian wedding. Please continue to pray, especially for our visas. Thanks.
