Lets start a revolution!: March 2008

Ciao! I don't even know where to begin...So far Italy has been amazing, challenging, breath-taking and unreal all at the same time. I have just finished my fourth class today and am definetely looking forward to spring break. We have already traveled to Rome, Florence, Verona, Venice and some of the smaller towns nearby. There is so much history and culture and depth and art that it seems I can't escape...which is totally fine by me. The culture itself is very laid-back and chill. We have reposo everyday from 1:30ish to around 4 and everything including the police stations shut down for lunch and naps; it is so wonderful. The alps are in view from my bathroom window and I have never felt more surrounded by God's beautiful creation.
The classes have been really amazing. We started with Evangelism and Missions. These first three weeks were really intense and really heavy. I feel as though I learned more in those three weeks than I have ever learned in my whole life being a Christian. There were a lot of topics and ideas that I had to wrestle with and still am. We were taught so much in such a short time that it is hard to process everything at once. I was very enlightened and perplexed for the first two weeks. There have been a lot of unanswered questions that I am still trying to work through. One thing that God really impressed on me is that every Christian is called to do missions in one way or another, I never really looked at it this way. I was always had an "anti-missions" stance just because it seemed so far out of my comfort zone. But while I have been here I have had a bit of an attitude change and am beginning to be more open to the idea of short-term missions. I am actually seriously considering coming back to Italy to teach English as a Second language for a year or maybe two. I am praying about it right now, seeking God's will.
We also had a ministry week. This week was terrifying to me. (Yes, it is the week in which we had to do mimes for those of you who know what I am talking about.) I had never done any blatant ministry activities and I was really focused on what people would think of me and not so much on what I was trying to do. After a while and especially after taking the two classes on missions I discovered that it is not about me. This is probably a really obvious discovery but it really helped me have a better attitude about evangelizing. The mimes went well and it wasn't as horrible as I had imagined. We also did a lot of tract distribution throughout a few different towns nearby San Lorenzo. Overall it was a good experience despite the very rainy weather. We were able to talk to a few people and that is what is important.
I have learned the most from the people that I live with. I know that God gave me certain roommates so that I might grow as a person. It has not been the smoothest ride but I know that I am learning so much about people and mostly about communication and how terribly important it is.
Wow, this is really long guys...sorry. Overall I am having a wonderful time and I wish that all of you could enjoy it with me. I would really appreciate your prayers, especially for God's will in the future. Hope everyone is awesome!