First Day on Campus

It seems like we stepped off the plane forever ago. We have been here a week tomorrow and it feels like it has been a lot longer...which isn't a bad thing. We have gone through all sorts of training over here and letting the team get accustomed to the new culture and environment. Yesterday we took a train to Florence to meet at the national headquarters for Campus Crusade, better known as Agape Italia here. Yesterday morning was the last briefing time so now we get to go on campus. Everyone has been ready for this since briefing back in Dallas so now that this day has finally come, I believe we are ready to go. The time we have had with our team has been wonderful times of building up and fellowship so that we can go today and pour out to students all over campus. We will be initiating with students in the most basic form. They are in their environment, in their city, in their language, and we are going into that to bring the gospel to them. We will be walking up to the students while they are standing and talking or sitting at a cafe having an espresso, or eating at the mensa (cafeteria). We will be able to meet them, talk with them, find out what they think and how they feel about spirituality. I have told the team to be prepared for off the wall answers because this is not America. Like mentioned in my support letter and I am sure I have stated it in a previous post from last year, but Bologna is a dark place spiritually, only 4% of the entire city even goes to any kind of church, and how many of those are actual believers I don't know. The reason I say that is because the few that do go to church, go to church and get confirmed so that they can get married in the church, not because of God or Jesus.
Over the weekend, we took the hike up to San Luca (pictures on a previous blog). No sight is better that seeing God's work and how it was supposed to look. The rolling green hills with all sorts of trees...the beautiful blue sky with a mountainous backdrop. And having the sun out and shining down on all of our Lord's work was truly a sight. It is sights like those that I don't understand how people can look at something so beautiful, and not understand that it didn't just happen. God made it happen, he put everything perfectly in its place.

We are about to leave and go out on campus for the first time this trip. Pray for our team and our mission. Pray that the Spirit will guide us and give us the wisdom and boldness and confidence needed to do His work.
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." - Ephesians 6:19-20