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A post from Luca….

Students have arrived for the summer!  With all the planning for summer project I have not been very diligent in updating my blog, but when Chris came into the living room and told me I must read Luca’s latest post I was so encouraged that I had to share it all with you!  Check out what he has to say…

 

Forgiveness is a dish best served warmly

 

Back online again (happy now, Chris?), and I’ve got a surprising story to tell. I was lurking around the Internet when I fell back on the AGAPE site. My eyes found the Italian section instantly and this thing came out of the blue - ehr, ’twas white, with colums in red and blue, but that’s just me being too precise.

The title of this story is “A Credit Card Thief’s Eternal Debt is Paid” (click here for the original) and that’s how it goes.

 

 

Forgiveness has stolen the heart of a thief.

Elena, an employee at Netgate, an Internet café in Florence, Italy, discovered a credit card left by a customer. After fraudulently charging nearly $1,000, she was wracked with guilt and called the cardholder, asking her to come by the café.

Gina Erickson, an American missionary with Campus Crusade, was relieved by the call. Sobbing, Elena confessed to Gina that she had used the credit card, promising to pay the charges. Anticipating anger, Elena was dumbfounded by Gina’s forgiveness.

Gina’s fellow missionaries at the University of Florence encouraged their teammate to initiate with Elena further. Reluctantly, Gina stopped by Netgate and invited Elena to lunch. She accepted immediately.

“I feel like my heart is an iceberg,” she told Gina. Recoiling from the recent loss of her father, Elena longed for relationships. Gina listened intently, but she didn’t anticipate the question that followed: “Do you have anything you’d like to share with me?”

Gina explained how God desired a personal relationship with her. Elena received the gift of salvation, and God paid the charge.

 

 

My jaws hit the floor for the astonishment. I mean, I have expected the missionary to explode in a sudden, uncontrollable outburst of (righteous?) anger towards the so-called thief. Instead, she forgave her. My eyes got wide open and I ejaculated, “Holy guacamole! That girl stole ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS from your credit card and you actually forgave her? Like, nothing ever happened? It was your money! How are you supposed to have it back?”.
If the story’s objective was to make me wallow in amazement, well, I guess it hit the spot real good. Then I thought: I am a very “negative” person - which means, I usually hold a grudge towards people who disrespect me and/or my immediate surroundings - and if I were her, I would have hold a personal grudge. It’s like a friend coming around, comes in, breaks stuff, steals your girlfriend, uses your pillow as an handkerchief and says “I’m sorry” in the end (Okay, that was a long and frustrating example, but I think you got the point). And all you do is “it’s okay, I forgive you”.
But who’s the one who got damaged in all this? Not him, that’s for sure.

My thoughts began to grind and I recalled an example that was in a book called “More Than A Carpenter” by Josh McDowell:

A young woman was picked up for speeding. She was ticketed and taken before the judge. The judge read off the citation and said, “Guilty or not guilty?” The woman replied, “Guilty.” The judge brought down the gavel and fined her $100 or ten days. Then an amazing thing took place. The judge stood up, took off his robe, walked down around in front, took out his billfold, and paid the fine. What’s the explanation of this? The judge was her father.

Not only I am damaged, but I am showing the other that I am granting him something far beyond any material instinct: the will to forgive.
Strike two for the amazement. And that was an example of forgiveness. And now I am struck with a strange feeling in my bowels. And I felt like my grudge was wrong. And “I feel my heart as an iceberg” (sic!). And I’ve used too many “ands”.
Which means: I’ve got to walk a looooooong path before I can call myself a Christian. Long and full of thorns is the way, I just hope the LORD is by my side every time. I wish I could be like Gina.

“Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.’” (Matthew 18:21-22)

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25)

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Can’t wait to talk about it with my AGAPE friends.
Wait a minute. I remember now. Amos already told me this story once…crap, my surprise effect just got ruined.

 

a talk in the piazza…

Last Tuesday I strolled down the street to Piazza Bologna to meet and chat with my friend Danilo.  I had just come from my apartment where I had been spending time with the Lord and listening to the last of Tim Keller’s talks on Reasons for God.  I arrived in the piazza and found Danilo amidst the hustle and bustle.  Walking around a bit we found an empty park bench and took a seat.  

It so happened to be less than a week before the upcoming Italian elections (which ended today with Silvio Berlusconi regaining power for a third term).  Surrounded by all things political, shooting the breeze with Danilo did not prove to be difficult.  I asked Danilo, a modern history major, to shed a little light on political life in Italy.  Trust me when I say that Italian politics are more complicated than you would believe.

As we sat and talked, the conversation naturally steered from politics to more important things.  Danilo had been talking to a guy in his dorm who happened to be an atheist.  They had been talking and Danilo had asked him why he was an atheist and what had led him to that point in his life where he believed that there was no possible way for God to exist.  He said that there are two types of thinking in the world: faith and reason, which are diametrically opposed to one another.  He said that he could not believe in God because when it came to believing in faith or trusting reason, reason won out.

Often I am not able to see how God is moving or working directly through me, but when I am able to see Him work it is something that makes me get really excited.  This was one such case.  That morning, the Tim Keller sermon I had listened to was titled Doubt: What should I do with my doubts?  He talked about how as believers we all are on a continuum of doubt.  Somedays we have great faith and other days we experience doubt.  What is amazing about faith is that the strength is found in the object of our faith (Christ) and not in our ability to cling to that faith.

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and an atheist, writes in his bestseller The God Delusion that the major battle of our generation is not creationism vs. evolution but rather naturalism vs. supernaturalism.  As I listened to Tim Keller explain it, he made it clear that this creates a false dichotomy, that it is not naturalism (reason) vs. supernaturalism (faith) but rather a faith in naturalism vs. faith in supernaturalism or to put it in other words, faith vs. faith or belief vs. belief.

Talking to Danilo that day, I was able to explain to him what I had just learned in a talk that morning.  He could then go back to his friend and explain to him that it was not in fact faith vs. reason, but rather his faith a naturalistic worldview vs. faith in a supernaturalistic worldview.  This week I hope to be able to go to dinner with Danilo and his friend and explain more what it means to believe in God.

On a side note, check out this article on the upcoming Ben Stein movie called Expelled from Relevant Magazine.  Ben interviewed a professor in the movie and asks him to explain the origins of the universe.  Apparently the professor had a hard time convincing Ben that matter arrived “on the back of crystals” and got quite frustrated.  The movie is a critique of the scientific world and their intolerance to anyone who questions evolution and believes in intelligent design.  

Bristol Student Conference Update

Bristol, England Student^Conference Update! 

 

Praise the Lord for bringing seven students from Rome to Bristol for the European Student Conference!  Considering that we had not even heard about the conference until after the registration had passed, it is amazing that any of the students were able to go.  For many of them, it was their first time to England, first time to try Starbucks and their first time to try beans for breakfast!

Our students were able to join about 200 other students from all over Europe to hear more about what Agape Europe is all about.  I think for some it was good for them to see that the Lord is moving all over Europe and that Agape Italia is a part of something bigger.

While sleeping on the floor at night, trying to understand Brits with their funny accent, or even learning to drink tea instead of espresso, these students took some great things away from the conference.  Some things were a bit of a shock for them, mainly the style of worship was nothing like they were use to, but other things were priceless for them to come away with, like a since of community.  Our students were cracking jokes together, exchanging phone numbers and becoming friends!

I think students were able to gain a better understanding of the heart behind what we do here in Rome and even understanding the need to share the gospel with those around them.  I am so excited to see what the Lord continues to do in their lives and teach them from this conference.

Thank you so much for praying and partnering with me to impact eternity in the eternal city! 

check out my latest update letter!

 

In this issue:

Impacting Eternity in the Eternal City (Let the Spring Breaks Begin)

The Idiot & Me

Looking Forward (What is God’s Will for My Life and How Do I Discern God’s Will?)

 

Also Coming Soon to My Blog:  Bristol Student Conference Update and The First Ever  Malawi, Africa Summer Missions Project for Italian Students

 

  Click here to read the latest edition of Foro Romano, my monthly update letter!

Dostoevsky…

he just keeps coming back

I don’t believe much in coincidences.  I think there is usually connection when things keep coming to the surface.  That being said, Dostoevsky just keeps coming back.  I’m not sure why that is, but this Russian author has been popping up everywhere.  I remember the first time I heard of Fyodor Dostoevsky was when I was on a mission trip to St. Petersburg, Russia back in 2005.  The only thing I knew was that he was an author and there was themed restaurant by the same name of one of his most famous novels, The Idiot.

This past summer I got it in my head that I wanted to read more classical novels.  A little strange because in high school I avoided having to read anything of the sort.  I started by reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wylde because I had seen the play and there is a song by James Blunt called Tears And Rain that references the main character.  After finishing that, I was searching through the Barnes and Nobel classics and came across The Idiot so I decided to pick it up.

I’ve been reading it for quite some time now, picking it up and putting it down from time to time.  This latest time I picked it back up after reading an article from Relevant magazine that listed the novel in their top five list of modern classics.  In their review, they said that like a typical Russian writer, Dostoevsky can seem to write about a streetlamp for 45 pages.  I laughed in agreement.  What drove me to pick it back up is that the “idiot” is considered by many to be the greatest Christ figure in literature, displaying grace unthinkable and redeeming those truly needing a deliverer.  (I am still reading with about 200 pages to go).

As I was reading The Holiness of God, by R. C. Sproul last month another instance of Dostoevsky showed up.  Sproul wrote a common paraphrase from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.  “If God does not exist, everything is permitted.”  I thought this was a thought provoking quote.  Just a few days before reading this quote I was talking with a student and I asked them what their life would be like if there was no God.  She said that her life would not change at all because she didn’t even know if she believes in God.  I told her my life would be radically different if there was no God, because God has worked so much in my life that for there to be no God, I would live like the rest of the world and there would be nothing to stop me from seeking every desire that I have.

Today was the most recent Dostoevsky sighting for me.  I was listening to the second of a series ofsermons by Tim Keller titled Reasons for God.  Tim is a pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, NYC.  This particular sermon was on pain and suffering and why God allows it in the world.  He talked three ways to look at pain and suffering.

 

Look back to Christ suffering and dying for our sins as proof that the reason for pain and suffering is not that God doesn’t care or unable to do anything about it.

 

Look ahead to our inheritance found in heaven where we will experience restoration, the first fruits seen in the resurrection of Christ.  Here Tim Keller quotes Dostoevsky from The Brothers Karamazov (which happens to be on my bookshelf, but I’m not sure how it got there).

“I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidean mind of man, that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, of the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they’ve shed; and it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify what has happened.”

 

Look into the Gospel where our hope is found in Christ, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross so that He might redeem us.

If you go this far, thanks for sticking with me and listening to my Dostoevsky connections.  I’ll let you know how the rest of The Idiot turns out.

 

Don’t let this happen to you… 

I recently received and email from my mom saying: 

“Jack and Carson were so excited to see your prayer letter arrive that they actually got it off the kitchen counter and ATE it before I even had a chance to open it. Could you please email me a copy of it?” At first it sounded like the stereotypical high school excuse for missing homework, but she sent a photo as proof.

If you should find yourself in a similar situation, do not be alarmed.  You can just check out my foro romano section linked at the top of the page to check out any past prayer letters that the dogs might have eaten.  

 

Amazing Race…

  This week my friend Megan is visiting.  Megan went to Miami with me and some of the others, and we worked together at the university  bookstore.  While everyone was at Bristol for the student conference, Megan and I took an Amazing Race style tour of Italy making stops at Florence, Pisa, Verona, Venice, Orvieto and Civita over four days.  It was an intense, fun weekend, but I am glad to be back in Rome.  I will be posting pictures on my flickr page soon.

 

Coming your way…

Speaking of Bristol, thank you for all your prayers.  We were able to send seven students from Rome and several others from Salerno to the student conference in Bristol.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it in my February prayer letter.

 

Please be praying…

Please be praying for us as we are planning for spring break trips that are coming up.  From March 8-28 we will be having around 120 student from Miami, Ole Miss and other campuses coming to Rome and sharing their faith with Italian students.  Please pray for these students that they would raise the financial support needed to come over, that their hearts would be prepared to take steps of faith and for the Italian students that they meet.  This is such a great time and a huge encouragement, but can be quite tiring with so much responsibility. 

J. Crew coming to Rome?

Actually no, but from this ad it looks like J. Crew is trying to bring Rome to the US.

From the looks of things, I think it would be best if J. Crew just forgot about Rome.  Please know that Romans do not dress this way and if they saw someone wearing this they would probably laugh.  Don’t get me wrong, Rome is as diverse as any big city, but it also has a much more urban grunge feel to it.
Check out this video though.  If you don’t have the desire to visit Rome, maybe this romanticized  ad will entice a change of heart this Valentine’s day.  If you can look past the conspicuously placed yellow purse you will be able to see many  great shots of Rome:  the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, Castelo San Angelo and the Pantheon.
It is quite a fun video.  Click here to check it out.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Rome,
Joel
PS-  Thanks to Eric Macum for telling me about this video!

What do Christopher Columbus, Star Wars II and the Barber of Seville have in common?

Have you ever played the game called Tribond®?  It’s the game that asks:  “what do these three things have in common?”  At first glance there does not seem to be any possible connection but the object is to figure out the connection, no matter how obscure.  Here’s my Tribond® question for you:  “what do Christopher Columbus, Star Wars II and the Barber of Seville have in common?”  The answer isn’t too difficult.  In fact the answer is in the last clue.  All three have ties to Seville, Spain.  

Christopher Columbus:  The tomb of Christopher Columbus is found in the Cathedral of Seville.  This is (L to R)  Me, Matt, Chris and Kanda doing O-H-I-O in front of his tomb.  But it seemed like an appropriate thing to do.

Star Wars II:  In the second episode of Star Wars there is a scene of Queen Amidala’s palace on her home planet of Naboo.  The scene was filmed in Seville at the Plaza de España in Seville.  This is a photo I took from one of the upper balconies.  I really like this plaza.

Barber of Seville:  This opera was set in the town of Seville and while I was there I felt compelled to find the Barber of Seville and have my hair cut by him.  I mean, how often are you in Seville and in desperate need of a haircut?

Thanks for playing the game with me.  I’ll tell you more about Spain over the next few days.  In the meantime you can check out my photos on flickr and tell me what you think.  I love feedback.  

Ciao for now,

Joel