Italy Retreat & Venice

Greetings, Everyone!

We spent Monday through Wednesday in Desanzano, Italy at an ECMI retreat for the missionaries in Italy. It was a good time of getting to know those missionaries and hopefully encouraging them as B.J. shared a meditation on Tuesday morning and Rachel and her mother led some team building exercises for the ECMI Italy team. We had lots of pasta and pizza, and, as you can see above, we made sure to experience Italian gelato.

Wednesday to Friday were spent being tourists in Venice, the city of canals, boats, and gondolas. The four of us (Rachel's parents and us) were able to walk and ride around most of the city, navigating the narrow streets and the water transportation system, as well as wearing out our feet and sense of balance (at times we still feel like we're on a boat). We had the opportunity to share about why Jesus is the Messiah with a group of young Jews who were in turn trying to convince us that an old Jewish rabbi is the Messiah. Aside from the overall ambiance of the city with all of its anicent cathedrals, Jewish witnesses, and Italian food, perhaps the most unique experience for us taking a 30 minute water taxi ride from our hotel to the airport.

We're looking forward to enjoying the rest of our vacation (until July 14) here in Spain. The reality of us moving here within the next year and a half is settling in a bit more, so please pray for us as we continue through this time of great transition. While we know that God is leading us here to serve Him, we also realize that hundreds of details are involved in our transition. So please pray that we'll trust God with each details step by step--we're learning a lot about faith these days. Hasta luego!