Trials, trials, trials...

"Consider it all joy, my brethren,

when you encounter various trials,

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect

and complete, lacking in nothing."

James 1:2-4

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,

that He may exalt you at the proper time,

casting all your anxiety on Him,

because He cares for you.

Be of sober spirit,

be on the alert.

Your adversary, the devil,

prowls around like a roaring lion,

seeking someone to devour.

But resist him, firm in your faith,

knowing that the same experiences of suffering

are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you

to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you."

1 Peter 5:6-10

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden,

and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

a little behind...

NEW PICS:

 
Checco, Me, Siena, Sara, and Andrea

The next two pics are from my Halloween...haha...i dressed up as a cowgirl...we watched a movie and then walked around in the center for a bit, and Aida and I were the only two dressed up in the group.  But it was a grand evening.

Left to Right: Me, Aida, Daniel, Salvatore's friend, Salvatore, Fabio, Paul, Andrea, and Silvio

The two COWGIRLS, Me and Aida!!

Some random picture from an evening at Magda's apartment...we had a great time.  And yes, that is me on the lower left corner!!  The others (from left to right, bottom to top) are Areta, Magda, Cristina and Dani.

The next pictures are from the mountain trip again...when we climbed Viso Mozzo.  That was a great day.  It was so beautiful, and the company was great!  It was the second time us 5 as a group climbed a mountain together.

Carmen and me on the peak.

Me on top of the mountain...looking over the edge into the white abyss of clouds!! 

Daniel, Paul, Andrea, Carmen and me on the peak of Viso Mozzo with Monviso in the background.

Me, Andrea and Paul.

So, I've been out of xanga for a while, and just discovered that I can upload pictures from my computer onto my xanga site!! 

Yeah, it's probably been there like months and months...but hey, what can I say? 

With that said, here are three random pics.  I shall probably post pics more cuz it's so much easier!  i wanna try the whole video thing, too....

EDIT:

Okay, here's to trying to post a video!!  It's from September, when a group of five of us from church went to the mountains.  I filmed it from the peak, after the long hike up.  It was beautiful...we were above the clouds. 

A few of us girls from church:  Nevila, Erin,  Carmen, Me, and  Bruna 

A few of the guys from church:  Stefano, Elia, Fabio, Simone, Checco, and Andrea

A group of us from church...

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!!!

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!  So, I'm only two days late...but in my defense, we officially celebrated Thanksgiving last night...and we got home at like 1.30 in the morning.

So last night we celebrated at Il Rifugio, and we kind of had a different evening, in that we mostly had people from Church invite their friends, because we wanted to have "new" people come.  What we've done in the past is just invite like everyone that we've kind of kept in contact with throughout the years, which has been good, but last night was amazing.  It was incredible.  There were tons of new people, and we counted a grand total of 73 people!!!  3 of my university friends came, and one of my high school friends came, who brought her boyfriend and her boyfriend's brother.  It was a great time...very encouraging.  God really answered my prayer.  I prayed that my friends would see a difference in us, that they would somehow be "intrigued" if I can say that.  It was just overall a very encouraging and wonderful evening.  I was kind of worried that it would not go well, that it wouldn't go very smoothly, but it was awesome!  We had different people sing and play in their native language (we had Romania, Bulgaria, US of A, Italy, and Equador/Argentina) and then our church band (I play the keyboard) played two songs at the end.  It was neat.  I was glad that my friends were able to come, and see our church and how important it is to me.  I pray that Jesus will work in the hearts and that He will give me opportunities to share more with them. 

Here are a few pics from the evening:

Me and my friends from university:  from left to right, Me, Tiziana, Chiara, and Maria Pia

Me and my great friend from high school, Emily

Anita, Aida, and me.  Anita is Aida's friend from school.

Our band....from left to right: Dadi, me, Andrea, Checco and Simone.  Daniel also usually plays, but he is not in the picture...

university, church, life...

It's been like a month since I last updated...

I don't know where to start.

Much has happened, much is happening.  University is going well, keeping me busy.  Church is awesome, I love our church and our community.  we need to grow in evangelism, and i'm the first to say i am weak in that. 

And well, Life is, well, life.  I am encouraged in so many ways, seeking God's direction in many things, one in particular, and constantly amazed at how faithful Jesus is to me. 

doodeedumm

Well, I am just starting my third week of university...my second year!  wow...time flies.  And pretty soon here my family and I will be "celebrating" our 6 year anniversary of living in Italy!  oh yes, i do still remember the date...t'was definitely the start of a turning point in my life.  When I look back, it's definitely been a crazy 6 years.  Full of pain, tears, joy, growing, forgiveness, grace...and i could go on.  All I can say is that God is faithful.  I've really especially felt His presence these last few months, I feel God is really teaching me things and helping me grow.  It's pretty sobering to see how much God has worked in me, and yet still how much I have to learn and grow in.  But remember Philippians 1:6!  I am a work in progress...but then again, who isn't? 

Our church is starting these little Bible Study groups, called Alla Scoperta, where about 3 or 4 of us from church will gather, and we will invite our friends, and hopefully meet at one of their houses, and study the book of John.  It's actually just the first 4 chapters to start with, and then we'll see how it goes from then.  I'm really excited about it, and I can see how it is challenging my faith, which is good.  I still have yet to overcome the biggest obstacle, though...