He Will Come to Us Like the Rain -Hosea 6:3

This is my last post from Italy. I have many mixed feelings. On one hand, I am very excited to be back home to see my family, my girlfriend, and everyone else I have been separated from over the past 5 weeks, but I am going to miss Bologna. I have met people here that I will be friends with for a very long time. They are great guys and I love hanging out with them and just talking about life. This past weekend we had a debriefing of the trip and just a lot of free time to reflect over the past month. My life has been changed forever, to say the least. I have a whole new outlook on not only missions but sharing the gospel and, in a nutshell, loving others. My team I have been here with has been amazing. I would not have had a successful summer if I wasn't with this group of people. I have learned more than I could ever write in a blog. I am so excited to be back home so I can put into action what I have learned here. One of my favorite songs, For the Glory of it All, has a verse that says "Everything will change, things will never be the same." This is a true statement if there ever was one. I truly thank each and every one of you for your prayers, money, encouragements, and overall support for me and this mission. You have no idea of the vast effects that your support has caused and will cause. God is doing amazing things here, and he will continue to do amazing things here, because God was here long before I came and plans to stay long after. I ask you, in my last night in this place, pray for this barren ground. Pray that seeds have been planted that will grow into a harvest that hasn't been seen here in decades. I also ask for you to keep missions in a special place in your heart, for it is a life changing event. Your support has given me the opportunity to become so much more of a man of God than I was, and I could never thank you enough. If I have learned anything from this trip and my journey to get here, it is that God is so Great, and with God, ANYTHING is possible. I repeat, ANYTHING is possible. This blog is only the beginning of what I want to tell people, so please, when I am back home and you see me at church or on the street, pull me aside and talk to me about my trip. E-mail me and I would be more than happy to respond. Call me, and we'll meet up. I could never talk enough about this trip.

I leave you with a key verse for me on this trip and that has given purpose to my trip.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

I love you all, and I love God, but only because he first loved me. I have a funny feeling that I will be back here someday, but who knows...God works in mysterious ways. Until next time,

God is Great, God Bless! Ciao!

Luke Wagnon
lwagno1@tigers.lsu.edu
(318) 218-3452

Every Move I Make

So this is one of the last posts I will make from Italy this trip. It is our last full day in Bologna. It is a very weird feeling, because this has been my home for 5 weeks, it is weird to leave. I feel like I just got here. But as always, time flies when you are having fun. Also, I have been changed for the better (yes I did just quote Wicked), but it is true. I have found courage in my evangelism and in being able to share the gospel. We had lunch with Filippo yesterday and Giorgio today. My friendship with them will go on long after I leave this place. Along with my friendship, I will continue to share the gospel with them. Because, even though they are not believers, they have come a long way from not believing in any God to maybe, in fact, there is one, and he is unfathomable and personal and a million other adjectives that you could use to describe him, all in one. God is working in their lives, and that "knock" that I have referred to multiple times before is getting louder and louder, it is just a matter of time before they hear it. Psalm 139:12 states that to God, "even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for the darkness is as light to you." No matter how hard someone tries to deny God or hide from God, he is ALWAYS there. I just hope and pray that Giorgio and Filippo will come to realize that God loves them and is the only thing that could ever give their life that meaning that every person longs for. Pray for them. Pray, pray, pray. God is Great! God Bless, Ciao!

Happy Fathers' Day...and Geaux Tigers!

I know that you are coming to this blog to read about my trip in Italy, but I am going to ramble a bit about the great man that is Dad...so bare with me. I hope yesterday everyone got a chance to talk to their fathers and wish them a Happy Fathers' Day. I was glad I got a chance to talk to my Dad before he initiated his traditional Fathers' Day ritual of falling asleep while watching the U.S. Open. We talked about LSU baseball and I sympathized for his fallen Hogs...until I remembered the past two football games between the schools, then I don't feel too bad! But it was good getting to talk, especially about baseball. My dad was the Jason Varitek of our back yard...he has the bruised ankles and shins to prove it. Actually, I went home about two weeks before school ended this semester to visit and we went into our backyard to throw a bit for old time sake...I have never seen a 50 year old man move faster than when a low fastball came at my Dad. But he still has it. I cant tell you how many times we have gone through this practice, but I can tell you that I will never forget the afternoons growing up and the Wagnon motto of "Do your best, forget the rest." See, baseball was my first love, and he knew it. Long before the female gender came into play, there was me, my dad, and a poor tree that was hit so many times that it finally fell over (with a little help from a hurricane). Anyways, another Fathers' Day has come and gone, and since I only got to talk about 10 minutes with my dad instead of spending the day with him, I just wanted to talk a little about Dad. So Dad, I know you will be reading this soon while you are at work and I want you to know that I love you and I can only hope that if God graces me one day with a son, then I will be able to give him what you have given and still give to me. Happy Fathers' Day to you and every other father who might stumble upon this.

So back to business, we have 4 days left on the campus of Bologna. We are making some great contacts and really getting close to these people. One of the greatest things about this place is, even after we leave, I know the people we have met and the connections we have made are going to continue. Today we had lunch with one of our friends who I might have already told yall about, Filippo and two of his friends. One of the national staff came with us and got his information as well. It is a good feeling when you know that God is doing something special and you are a part of that. I want to thank you for your prayers to this point and just continue to pray that, in this last week, we will make a lasting impact in the lives of these students to where they will continue meeting with the staff here after we leave. God is so great. God Bless...Ciao!

P.S...GEAUX TIGERS...BEAT TEXAS!

Rejoice

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!

During our men's bible study time last night, we went over Philippians 4:4 which is shown above. Here especially, it is hard to always rejoice because we are always going and doing. Yes, we are doing it all for God, and we pray to Him for people to respond, yet we still worry about it. I, personally, needed to hear this part of Philippians. It goes on to say "do not be anxious" which, for me, is hard to follow. I worry about what to say to questions. I worry that I am not doing enough here. I worry that the people I share with will not be able understand what I am saying. And, of course, I will pray that I will have answers and that I will do enough and they people will understand. But even after I pray, I still worry, which is unnecessary. I have given God my prayers, and he will handle them. It is crazy to think about, but to rejoice is just as much of a command as any other you will read in Genesis thru Revelation. Two days ago, I met a guy here named Filippo. Bo, the project director, and I were sitting down doing an activity called Solarium, and he literally showed up out of nowhere next to me and wanted to participate. We went through Solarium and I found out that he believed there was a God and knew about Jesus and the Bible. He had studies Christianity before, and it did show to an extent. We got lunch with him and then some coffee. Over coffee we learned that he was studying philosophy. We asked about his favorite philosophers and what their views on God were. He then turned the tables and asked what we believed. Naturally, we told him. We shared the gospel on a piece of paper and then went through some verses in the Bible that explain the gospel quite well. When we told him that all we did was believe and had faith and we were saved by the grace of God(Ep. 2:8-9) and he told us that "We were lucky" and they he wished it was "that simple." We told him that it was exactly that simple. Our conversation was cut short because his friend kept calling him because Filippo had to return something, but I know we got through to him. I think he just had a hard time believing it was that easy for him to know God on a personal level. We are meeting with him next week because he is studying this week. Pray that God will work on his heart, and reveal to him that, it is that easy. Pray for me that, in this last week and a half, I will finish strong. Pray that I will leave nothing to chance, and have full confidence in God and just be able to rejoice in him. God is Great. God Bless! Ciao

Rome

This past weekend we traveled to Rome. Walking those streets was so surreal. Seeing things like the Colosseum (Below) and the Sistine Chapel (Also Below) took me back to sophomore year in High School for European History class. We toured the Vatican and Roman Forum, Saw Julius Caesar's grave, and even an Egyptian Mummy! But none of these were my favorite part. We were able to go into the Roman prison where Paul was held while he wrote Philippians and 2 Timothy, the last place before he died. No words could describe the feelings I felt in the small dark room. This place was so bad, and if you read Philippians or 2 Timothy, it's hard to believe his attitude was still like it was. We read from different sections of those two letters while we were down there, it was moving to say the least.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 says "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

Here Paul is, knowing his death is near, staring it in the face and saying "bring it on, I am done on this Earth, it's my time to rejoice with my Father in Heaven." I have never been in jail, nor have I ever been anywhere close to death. I can only hope that when my time comes, weather it is tomorrow, or 100 years from now, I will be able to say the same words Paul wrote in the prison I was in two days ago.

We have two weeks left in Bologna. Pray that I will hold nothing back and that God will use me for his will. Pray that these students we now know, will be able to open their hearts to something they have never had in their lives. God Bless. Ciao!

Below are the Colosseum, Sistine Chapel, and Me in Paul's Prison

God's Humor

So ya know how yesterday I was talking about how slow the first 3 days of this week went, well God showed me up today. And I know that it's not literally God showing me up or him joking, but when I look at my blog yesterday and what happened today, I can't help but grin a little bit. I talked about how I wanted people to hear me and to respond and this week was going a bit slow compared to last week...I now believe I said a bit too much. It is like God read my blog and said to himself "so Luke wants some activity huh...lets see what I can do." Today I had the most in dept, intellectual conversation I have had since I've been here. It lasted about an hour and a half with maybe 5 minutes of small talk before getting into spiritual talk. Our main goal of today was to show this short 7 minute film to people to see what they thought and what they thought each character meant. It is a good film and I enjoy it, but when we got on the streets...we soon found out that the DVD player we were supposed to use was dead. So, we decided to do what we had been doing and just talk to people. We met this guy named Matthew sitting on one of the ledges of the porticoes and begin talking. Before I know what's going on, I am talking deep spiritual stuff with this guy about God and the church and what to believe. Matthew did not believe in God. He didn't think that he needed a God to tell him what is right and wrong. But he believed in right and wrong and having morals and doing the right thing. He also didn't know why, if there was a God, why people fought wars in his name. I told him that first of all, that his right and wrongs can be found throughout the Bible as what God wants us to do/not do. The reason they are the same is because we, as humans, were created in Gods image, and that we have the mind of Christ. The war that he talked about I told him was not God's will, but the will of man. I told him that God is a loving God and that man is the one using the name "God" as a reason to fight, but in the end, it was for the success and strength of man. It wasn't, in any way, glorifying God. We then talked about Jesus and what he did on Earth, and how he makes the bridge between us and God. His response to this was like he hadn't heard this in a long time. We also talked about what happens after death and heaven and how I know exactly where I am going. We talked about the Bible and how God is abstract and pretty much any religious topic, we covered it. When it is all said and done, the thing that stuck out to me the most was the fact that, he knew more about my God than anyone I had talked to so far. It showed me that, even though, right now, he does not believe in God, he has been looking for something, or else he would not have had such in dept questions and answers. Most people I have talked say that their might be something higher, but Matthew knew about God and all the different views of God and descriptions of God. The only thing he didn't know about God was how to believe in him. Maybe he just happens to know a lot about God and the Bible. Maybe it was just a coincidence that we ran into him out of all the people on the streets. But I don't believe either. There was a reason he knew all of this and there is a reason we walked up to him. And if I have learned anything in my 20 years; I've learned that THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES. I am going to meet with him next week for lunch or coffee so please pray that God will work in his life and on his heart. Matthew 19:26. God Bless! Ciao

We are Learning

So, one of the tough things about being the first group somewhere is the fact that, well, we are the first group. A good bit of projects this summer have been going on for previous summers, so when the students arrive, they know exactly what to do. They know what works, and what doesn't. What to talk about, what to avoid. Unfortunately, we do not have that advantage. Aside from the 3 full time staff couples here, no one has ever come here with our intentions in the past 20 years, as I have mentioned before. Which is good because we have the ability to be very flexible with what we do because no one knows if it will work or not. On the other hand, we find things that don't work so well either. The first week was amazing, we met many people and since then have met with them again. Monday of this week was a good day for me as well, seemed very promising for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, the past two days have not been as eventful as the days leading up to them. Luckily, today we were able to grab lunch with one of our friends we met last week. Don't get me wrong, we are still learning a ton and with every unsuccessful trial, we narrow down what works so in the future we will know what to do. I am going to end this blog on a good note though, and it is about Monday. Monday we were walking around and there were very few students on campus because they love to have 3-4 day weekends. But when it was getting closer to lunch we decided to walk up to this group of 4 guys standing around talking and try and start up some sort of chit-chat. We ended up getting invited to have lunch with them and talk about a wide variety of topics, including God. Like a few opinions I had gotten before, one of the guys said that he believed there was something bigger, but he did not know if it was the same God that the church talked about. He believed that if there is a God, then it is going to be inside him and not something from the church. That answer from a non-believer is better than some answers you will get from Christians about what God is. It is encouraging to see that, even though they do not know exactly what they thing, they have a good bit of it figured out. We exchanged numbers and are getting lunch later this week, and I cant wait to talk more about his beliefs. Please pray that God will open his heart and all the hearts of the other Italians that we have met and are hanging out with. Pray that God will let his light shine in our hearts like in 2 Corinthians 4:6. Pray that they will listen when we speak of the Gospel and when they do hear it, pray that they realize..."hey, that's pretty similar to what I think." Thank you all again for supporting me to get over here and while I'm here... I have seen God's love and grace though yall. Below are a few pictures from Venice...Enjoy. God Bless! Ciao!

Ephesians 6:19-20

Hello to all. I hope everyone had a good weekend. My weekend was enjoyable. We took a train to Venice for the day yesterday. Venice was beautiful! One of the best things about it was that it was good getting to relax after a long week. The week was good, don't get me wrong, but exhausting. I am very thankful for my strength this week. I can think of a few times when it would have been very easy to be discouraged and just stop trying for that day or stop talking to people. But, no one said it would be easy. I know that every person I talk to, even if they disagree with everything I say, still hear me. Even if they do not respond right that moment, I know that there is a greater chance than if I didn't talk to them. I was told that there would be culture shock when I came overseas, and there was...but the foods and social behavior wasn't the shock. When I ask someone what they think about God, their answer is more of a shock than anything you will read in travel books. Not that they are different from what I believe, I expected that, but just the apathy that is shown when a response is given. "There is no God" is a response I received from one student. He was a nice guy, very friendly and kind to a complete stranger. But when he said this, I had to hold myself back from just saying "are you crazy?" But that is what he believed, and he was ok with it. We continued talking and I shared my beliefs with him and we exchanged e-mails and he had to go. That was it. That might be the only time the gospel is shared with him. And not the "God is real and if you don't believe you will burn in hell" but the fact that "God loves us so much that he gave his son for all of our sins" and he wants to be in our life SO bad that he is giving us a present...the gift of grace...and all we have to do is accept it. Many of the people we have talked to have never heard that. I know it is hard to believe, because I know at home, I can't watch TV or drive down the street without seeing something about Jesus loving me or how close I am to salvation. But here churches are visited more as museums than for the purpose they were created. Sorry for the rant, but I know times in my past where I have taken God for granted, and knowing that there are people that aren't only lost, but have no idea they are lost... it breaks my heart. That fact alone is reason enough for this whole trip. So when I am exhausted and feel like no one is ever going to open up to us or give us the opportunity to share with them, that thought always comes to my mind. Because I grew up with God in my life, it's my job to share what I have learned in my 20 years with these people. I pray each day that the people I talk to will respond, because they have everything to gain. My request is that you pray also for these people to respond. Thanks for keeping up, and Geaux Tigers for getting to the College World Series! God Bless! Ciao!

Hangin' with Giorgio

Hello all, today was our second day on campus. But first, let me talk about last night. We had our guys time after dinner last night so we decided we would just walk the town while going over various things about the trip so far and future activities. Well, we were walking through one of the smaller Piazzas near our apartment when we noticed a group of about ten people singing along to a guitar. Of course, they were singing in Italian. But as we walked closer we saw Italian Bibles on the ground, so we decided to stop and talk. Through our conversations, we found out that they were a Christian group who attended a Catholic church nearby, and they were focusing on evangelism. Coincidence??? I think not. So we sat and tried out best to sing along. We figured out a few songs by the melody but we were still lost with the words. After we finished singing we all agreed to get some tasty gelato. We exchanged information and promised to meet again soon. It was like chicken soup for the christian soul. Coming here to this city that is supposed to be so dead spiritually and for the most part has lived up to its reputation, then seeing a Christian group like this singing the same songs we sing and believing in the same things we believe in. It was quite encouraging to say the least.
So, today we were on campus again and about an hour into our day we meet this guy named Giorgio and a few of his friends. We struck up a conversation and found out that he was very good at English. We talked about a variety of things and he even asked us to get lunch...we accepted of course! After lunch we got some coffee and parted ways. We hung out with him for a good 2-3 hours just learning about him and his thoughts. We exchanged info as well and have already talked again today. I believe we will be hanging out again soon in the next few days. We did get a small chance to talk about his views on religion and they were interesting, but I expect to continue to learn during our next meeting. Since it is 12:30 here I think I am going to sleep so I can be ready for whatever God has in store for me tomorrow! And if anyone is reading this in Shreveport or the surrounding areas...go see ACT's West Side Story...its fantastic! God Bless! Ciao

Matthew 19:26

So today was our first day on campus. We got out there around ten in the morning and stayed out there talking with different people until around three. We met a variety of people in our walking. All of them knew about God, but we only met one person who said she was a Christian. We were talking to this other girl who believed part of the Bible. She believed that God and Jesus existed, but didn't believe in the miracles that he performed. For most of the morning, it was pretty rough. But it was a completely different time during the afternoon. We went to the Law Building and met two girls studying for exams. They talked to us about their views of the church. One of them actually teaches children at church on Sundays. We walked around a bit longer and found this small courtyard that had some tables and benches. We sat down and began setting up a visual survey that helps us with learning about the students. There was this guy sitting at the table next to us so I asked him if he would like to participate in this survey. He spoke very good English and was very interesting in what we were doing. When we got to the questions about God he told us that he was an Atheist, but his answers were similar to Christian answers, just with a "well if there was a God" attitude. He talked about there being this huge Love and family that he wanted in his life, but didn't think there was anyway he could reach it. When we were finished with the questions I told him that I had that HUGE love and I knew how he could get it. I went through the gospel about how as people, we are sinners and that because we sin we deserve death. But, I told him that before we were even sinners, Jesus Christ died for us and if we accept him as our savior and bring him into our hearts, then we will be saved. But it isn't that we deserve it; it's a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 says that it is by grace through faith that we have been saved. I also told him Revelation 3:20 which says that Jesus is already here and all around us, wanting to be a part of our life. All they have to do is open the door and he will come into their hearts and they will be saved forever. He asked to keep the booklet and we exchanged e-mails so hopefully we will keep in contact and I will be able to see what God does in his life. Even though he claimed atheism, I saw his face when I shared the gospel with him, and he was interested and very intrigued and I know God was at work. I hope you will pray with me that God will work wonders in his life. Because I know that God has that Agape Love that Alejandro is looking for and wants in his life. God is so Great. God Bless! Ciao!

Happy Republic Day from Italy

Today was Italy's equivalent to our Independence Day. Almost every store was closed and so was the University. We haven't really done any physical exercise since we got here besides walking, so we decided to go to the city park because we were told there was a basketball court there, and who knows, maybe we will meet some people. Well apparently going to the park on their Republic Day is the equivalent of going to the lake on the 4th of July. It was packed! We found the basketball court and began playing with different Italians. Luckily, they spoke good English. We talked with them throughout playing and agreed on coming back later in the week to play again. We are meeting many people here and they are all so interesting and nice people. That is what gives me the most hope about them. It isn't that they are just horrible people that live a morally wrong lifestyle, but that they are uninformed. They are so close to the greatest gift in all the Earth, I am certain that it is just a matter of time before they find it. This is why we are trying so hard to get the word out about who Jesus really is and what he did, because if they know more than just he was this guy who was affiliated with church then good things will surely follow. God is Great, and he loves all of us. Jesus is right outside their door, they just have to hear him knock and open the door. As we make our first big all day campus visit, please pray that they will be responsive and open their ears so they can hear God's knocking. God Bless!!! Ciao!

God is Great

I walked the longest portico in the world today up the side of a HUGE hill to San Luca church. It is about 4 miles long and all uphill. Needless to say I was very relieved to get to the top, but it was worth it. Above is the view of what I saw from San Luca. It's times like these when I wonder how in the world can someone not believe in God. There is no other being that could create such a masterpiece. It was ironic because on the opposite side of San Luca is the city of Bologna. Actually on a clear day, like today, you can see all the way to the Aegean Sea. But the point I am making is on one side of this hill you see a landscape of beauty as God wanted, but on the other side you see a city with a university that has not had a Christian organization present in 20 years. They are so close and the only thing between this imperfect university/city and God at his finest is a walk. The only problem is the HUGE hill (see above) separates them. To get away from the metaphors for a minute (by the way, I did make an A in English), these people and students in this town are so close to God but are separated by a big hill called sin, that they cannot cross alone. They have this dynamite called Jesus that can blow that hill away, and all it takes is one sentence, one question, one prayer. Yesterday was our first day to be on campus. We were only there for about an hour getting the feel of it all; praying for the students and trying to initiate conversations...not as easy as it sounds. Seeing the students walk to class and thinking that some of them, most of them have never even heard of Jesus Christ or God. Sure they walk past churches everyday, but they are just another building to them. Our first official day on campus where we will be there for multiple hours will be Wednesday (holiday Monday and Tuesday...so no one will be on campus). Please, PLEASE keep us in your prayers as we prepare to share the Gospel and also, pray for the students so that they will be able to respond to our words. God Bless! Ciao!

Ciao from Italy

Buon Giorno from the beautiful city of Bologna, Italy. The image above is the view we have from our apartment. This city is amazing. Today was our first full day in Bologna, so we spent most of our time absorbing it all in. We met in a cafe to have breakfast and go over some cultural norms that we should get familiar with. I managed to order my breakfast of "brioche con crema e cafe (cream pastry and espresso)." After the meeting we walked around the city a bit and then had lunch where I, again, ordered on my own. We finally got gelato and then took an actual tour of the city. Below this entry will be a few pictures from it. We then learned about practical needs while we are here, like groceries and such. Although we are the first group of students to come to Bologna, over the past year 3 couples on staff with Campus Crusade have moved here to get things started. They have been helping us out a lot with how to do things and whatnot. Tonight our group split up and went to their different apatments for dinner...amazing! At dinner we talked about our plans for the summer more in depth and it sounds very exciting. Tomorrow will be our first day on the campus so please pray for us as we go tomorrow that God will work through us. Below are pictures of the Alps as we flew into Bologna, San Petronio, part of the outer wall of Bologna from the Roman Empire that dates back to 400 B.C. and finally a picture of Bologna from one of the surrounding hills. And just a fun fact about me is that John Grisham is my favorite author and "The Broker" is my favorite book...which ironically takes place in Bologna. Well, I found out at dinner tonight that the room in the cafe that we had our meeting in is the same room and cafe that John Grisham wrote most of "The Broker." Needless to say, I will be spending time in that cafe. Until next time...God Bless. Ciao!

Be Still and Know that I am God

Psalms 46:10 states "Be still and know that I am God." Most people know this part of the verse...but it goes on to say "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the Earth." Today was my first day of briefing for Italy. We had two meetings today and will have three tomorrow. The speaker talked about this verse and I felt much more comfortable after hearing it. Today has been crazy getting to this briefing and really having it sink in that I am going to Italy. I mean, I knew that I was going but it always felt so far away. Now its less that 48 hours away. I have had multiple emotions since arriving. I am excited, but nervous. This will be my first trip overseas so I have even been a bit scared at times going into this huge unknown for me...but then I think of that verse. I know that the only reason I am sitting in this hotel room right now is because God has perfectly planned for me to be here. When I think about that, the courage and strength I want to feel, I feel. Also, the group of men and women I'm with is amazing. Finally, if you could pray not only for the 14 people going to Italy, but the 150 college students that are going all over the world, that are all at this briefing. God is Great! Until next time...Ciao!

It'll be here before I know it

Wow!!! I cannot believe that in one week from today I will be arriving in Bologna! I have been planning and praying for months for this moment. We arrive in Dallas on Sunday for meetings and briefings and next Tuesday I will take a ten hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany and then a one hour flight to Bologna. For the next week I will be getting organized and packed. I am very anxious and excited. Please continue to pray for me in these final days before my trip. Ciao!