Ciao Italia (Hello and Goodbye Italia)

It's been a month and a day since the students and other staff flew home to the states, and I flew off to Florence to visit my dear, dear friends that I had not seen in 3 years. It was such a refreshing time! The majority of the staff and students that I worked with when I was there are all still there, so I felt like I was walking back into my old life. It felt so normal, and by the end of my 10 days there, I sometimes forgot I didn't actually live in Florence anymore. I mean I babysat for the National Staff Team kiddos one day, which is what I used to do! I went into my time there with the expectation of living life with people. I didn't need to see anything touristy. I didn't need to really eat anywhere special. I just wanted to live life in Florence once again. That's exactly what happened.

It was so refreshing to walk into a city full of friends that I could be completely myself with, and even meet new friends that started working with Crusade after I left, but still feel a quick friendship form. I loved walking around the city with people catching up on life. Hearing about the ministry and what the Lord is doing. Hearing about their lives and how the Lord is working in them. Getting to see a city that desperately still needs the Lord and connecting with the people there to be a part of reaching these desperate people. Seeing my Italian friends that are so important to me!!!!!

My favorite thing about my time in Florence, were the vast amounts of time I got to spend with the Lord in the places I would go when I lived there for 2 years. The second day I was there I got to sit on the bench overlooking Tuscany that I had sat on 3 years ago and decided to come back to the states. Another day, I sat looking over all of Florence and prayed for the city. In the middle of the craziness with the amount of tourists (which I realized this time I was technically a part of), I was able to sit in Piazza Signoria three different times reading my Bible while watching art students sketch the beautiful sculptures around us. What refreshing times to my soul!!!!

Plus Florence was just really fun! I mean, what isn't fun about vast amounts of cappuccinos, catching up on The Bachelorette, watching a World Cup game on a tiny screen with 100s of people, eating at a dinner table with friends so many times, eating on a balcony overlooking Florence, having staff try to to recruit you back, getting to sneakily move baby furniture around for my friends in the middle of the night hoping they don't hear me, and so much more!!!!!

Enjoy some pics from my time, and look forward to more consistent posts now that I am back in Lubbock, in my cute house!!!! Can't wait to share pictures of it!

Nicole and I in 2007/Nicole and I now!

My time with the Lord spots in Florence

Fun friends!!!

More pics here and here.