we’re back in Salerno
Posted by Drew | Filed under General
I guess that’s old news now. here it is almost march and the last post I put on here was Jan 2. Maybe it’s because I’m getting so close to 30, but it seems that weeks go by much faster now. Maybe it’s just Italy.
on campus
Almost a month worth of time on campus, and we’re officially back in the swing of things. One obstacle was that students didn’t start their spring semester until this past monday. And that’s just certain departments. Most won’t start until after next week. It’s a different system over here. Students have been on campus despite no class because they take their exams during these months. Again, different system. I’m still not sure I understand it.
Haswell came back
Yesterday we had our first big outreach of the semester. For the first time in my experience here, it was completely initiated by Italians. Pastor Antonio of the church in Battipaglia, also the man primarily responsible for our STINT team being in Salerno as opposed to some other Italian town, was so impressed by the results of the Thanksgiving outreach that he convinced Haswell to come back once a month for the rest of the year. This week we did a Valentine’s Day theme, and Haswell talked about love relationships. (He couldn’t make it last week). Low attendance, but a great message. I was very encouraged by the involvement of the MLK students. They did more to prepare for the event than we did.
prayer
I’m really starting to see more clearly just how much greater the role of the Holy Spirit is in ministry, and how much smaller my role is. It really makes me value prayer. I wish that this revelation was transforming my prayer life, but I continue to be a slow learner. But recognizing this truth has made me very optimistic about what God might be doing here. I’ve been able to step back away from the worries about what I’m doing and what we as a team are doing, and observe a little bit about what God is doing in the lives of my friends. They really are being convicted by the Gospel. And not because of our clever strategies or pursuasiveness. Probably more in spite of those things. The Gospel is so powerful. Look at what it has done for so many of us. That’s no small feat.
Thanks for praying with me and for me.
Drew
Christian soldiers must be as intense in their praying as in their fighting, for their victories will depend much more on their praying than on their fighting. – EM Bounds
