A Time for Miracles

This post is going to have two stories in it which is rather thrilling so be excited!

First story requires a little bit of background. There are a few of you who know but maybe a few who don't, but a week before I left for Rome, I had to go to the emergency room. I ended up having an ovarian cyst that ruptured and let's say it wasn't a fun situation. I once again want to thank the amazing people who were there with me that night and stuck through and prayed for me. I love you all and am eternally thankful. I fully healed before I left so yay!

Ok. Story time. After that experience, obviously I'm a little more aware of my body and a few nights ago, I noticed this pain in my right armpit but I just brushed it off, assuming I would sleep it off and went to bed. Well...the next morning, I wake up and it's still there. More, it's even more painful and when I feel it, it's swollen and there's a lump. Naturally, I go online and do a little research. Well, there was a possibility it was either another cyst, a cancerous lump or just some kind of infection. I prayed about it and talked to Anna's mom who is a nurse practitioner. She just told me to wait it out and see if it get's any worse. So that night, as some of us ladies were getting ready to go out to the Colosseum (more stories with that, just check facebook at some point), Anna just prayed over me and asked that Jesus would just take whatever it was away and just heal me. (Interesting side story, after the Colosseum, we had to walk back for an hour home because the trains stopped running at midnight...and we were out late. Did I mention I did this whole walk back barefoot without complaint?)

Well, this morning, I wake up and most of the pain is gone! As the day goes on, it's less and less until I just realized not too long ago it's completely gone! The pain and everything else!! So for sure, praise Jesus on this one.


Alright, second story. Today, we went to the international food store, which was amazing. Afterwords, we went to a restaurant for dinner where the waitress was just truly awful. She just didn't care about us at all, was not helpful and in the end, charged us an extra 8 Euro for a sit down fee and a service fee!! We just payed it and left. Well, we have this favorite gelatoria where the workers there know us and like to give us free desserts whenever we go in. We call this place Enzo's because the store owner is named Enzo.

So after this obnoxious experience, we decided to treat ourselves. We all got the big bowls of gelato and after sitting there for awhile, one of the girls sneaks up behind us and gives us another (this is the 5th one I believe) free dessert and it was delicious, as normal. (we are seriously going to be FAT when we get back...that was soooo much dessert) We talked to the girls who work there (one's name is Emma, we forgot to ask the other girl) and told them about what happened to us and that we just really appreciate them for all they do and that we love them. They just smiled (Emma speaks english well) and chatted. Emma told us she was sorry it happened and to just come and see them all the time. It was just a really nice treat after such a crappy dinner. We are so thankful that God introduced us to these amazing people and I'm excited to get to know them better!

I may have already written this but I really like it for today: "For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them." Isaiah 30:18B

I love you all, keep on glorifying God!

Ciao,
Anna

The Jesus Shield

Well, we went to Assisi today. It was about a two hour bus ride and when we got there, we got to just walk around the city (gorgeous by the way) and even went to St. Francis Church. I traveled around with Anna M. the whole time and we were actually really disappointed with the church...sad I know. Afterwords, we were getting hungry and had stopped by a restaurant that was a little more expensive, but had an AMAZING view over the city in the valley below us sooooo, we decided to treat ourselves and ate there. It looked like it was going to rain and the restaurant owner was like "as soon as it starts to rain, we go inside" so we were like ok.

Well, we sat down, had lunch (pasta with wine and then a tirimasu for dessert) but the whole time, there was a weird kind of sprinkle going on so we just sat there and prayed to Jesus, asking him to just hold off the rain until we were finished. Then I said "Jesus, show us your love and your power and hold off the rain until after we eat and leave the restaruant, then let it downpour so we know you did it just for us".

So then, we start watching the valley and slowly see the entire valley being encircled with the rain, but we're in this little dome of protection, not getting hit at all. It was like Jesus was right there with us, holding back the rain. Once we finished eating, we went inside to pay, hit up the bathroom, and when we get outside, BAM it's pouring rain! It was so amazing. Probably the best experience ever.

When we got on the bus and left, I was sitting there, listening to some music (Anthem thank you very much :-D) as well as some sermons when there was this beautiful sight. The sun was behind some clouds and was at the perfect angle where there were rays all around the clouds and that beautiful golden lining. I just prayed to God that everyone on the bus would see it and that some people would look at it and start to wonder where such beauty could come from. Then I look around and there were many people staring at it, and some were taking pictures so I do home that God has answered my prayers in that. Woot!

So, something to pray about. Please pray that my roomies and I can find some balance. We are doing very well I promise, but you know how it can get, spending every moment with the same people...sometimes it can get a little intense haha. So please pray for that!

I miss you all and pray for you :-D

Ciao,

Anna

Unknown title

Well, I'm coming to learn that as much as I want to be a peaceful person, whenever I'm in a situation where I'm just tired, and bored, and hungry, and just really do NOT want to be in class, I get really testy and moody. I get to the point to where it seems like I'm just mad at everyone and I didn't realize it until one of my roommates told me about it. I do think God wants me to learn from this and to really get away from it. It's one thing I'm praying hard core about right now so I know God will come through, it's just going to take some time.

So, last night we had our first bible study! It was quite a good time. We learned each others God stories and one of the girls has been going through a hard time with God so we got to pray over her and try to help her through it. It's tough for me to see because I love this girl and I KNOW what she's going through since I've been there, but all I can do right now to help is pray for her and just be there for her. I do hope that she will open up to God again and let him come in and help her.

I've been memorizing some verses and I want to share a few.

Commit all you do to the Lord. Trust in him and he will help you. He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37:5-6

For the Lord is a Faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for him to help them.
Isaiah 30:18B

He has torn us in pieces and now he will heal us. He has injured us and now he will bandage our wounds. In a short time, he will restore us so we can live in his presence. Oh how we might know the Lord.
Hosea 6:1-2

All of these have been helping me in some way, whether with a current situation or with solving the past. I would encourage everyone to really dive into the scripture and memorize it, so that you have the truth solid in your heart.

Ok, time for a new recipe! Carmel/kettle corn!!

Pour some oil into a pan, maybe like...a couple TBS.
Next, add in some sugar that is brown (not brown sugar that is that sticky stuff). I
f you have none, then maybe do the brown sugar or just regular sugar. You will want like...a lot. 1/4 a cup? In case you haven't noticed, we don't have measuring stuff, so everything is by guessing.
Now let that heat up and add in some kernels and stir constantly. Once they start popping, put a lid on and shake it. Put back on heat for a few seconds, then shake. Repeat this until it's all popped or mostly popped. Add some salt, either now or if you want, when you add the sugar, and enjoy! Beware, the bottom will be black...but it's ok!

Love you all and I pray things are going well with you :-D

Ciao,

Anna

Understanding

Pane raffermo sorpresa,
This will be described later.

It's hard to forgive someone when the refuse to accept it. I'm learning that I just have to forgive those and then let go and pray that they come around.

God is just showing me that his path is the best path. I can't lose focus on it and so today, I was given the opportunity to share with a classmate of mine during our painting class. We hung out twice today and had a couple good conversations. Sadly, right now I know he's not open to anything so I just pray that all I said that is the truth will stick and the seed will be planted.

Trust is another issue. Ive talked about it with my roommates and we all agree and struggle with it. The main issue is trusting that God will provide, mainly in the husband department. I know if I could choose, I know who he would be but if he's who God wants me to be with, who knows! I think God would make it known to him and he would do something about it so I just need to chill out! I feel a lot of girls struggle with this because it's hard!

I have found myself delving into His word more and more and just being so excited to do so. It's such a great feeling and a great way to learn. The roomies and I are writing scripture to memorize on and putting it on our walls by our beds which is nice to look at and wake up to in the morning. I hope to be able to recite scripture for different situations because wouldn't that just be handy? Much better than searching through the Bible when you're in a hurry and having a good conversation.

Overall, even though it's been a few weeks, God has been so present and I'm so excited to grow in Him.

Ok, what you've all been waiting for...Pane raffermo sorpresa!!!
I'm an expert chef now, along with my roommates help. So, we were organizing the kitchen and found someones bread loaf that got shoved to the back...and it was hard as a rock. We wanted to do something with it so we decided to try to make a bread pudding! With no recipe! We grabbed 3 eggs, beat them with a fork, added maybe 1/2 a cup of milk and like a cup of sugar. 1/4 cup of both orange and pinapple juice and poured it over the chopped up bread in a baking pan and put marshmallows on top. Bake for maybe 20 minutes at 350 degrees. It's magical. Everyone, go do it. Tell me how you like it.

This is our angel food because we know for sure Jesus had a hand in helping us make it. We prayed over it and He for sure blessed it! This is His gift to us, and now our gift to you!

Next time, I'll teach you how to make carmel/kettle corn from scratch!

Love you all!
Ciao

Anna

Humility

What have I learned thus far?

Well, it sure is a challenge to live with 6 other girls, especially since 2 of them are non-believers. I'm having the hardest time with them, as much as I like them. God is really teaching me to be patient with them. It's very easy to get frustrated with the decisions they make and what they talk about but I just need to pray for them.

Another thing, I'm realizing I am SOO glad to be single right now. It's nice to be free and not accountable for anyone else. Many of you know my story with Andrew. Well, the two roommates who are non-believers are both in serious relationships and constantly talk to their boyfriends. I see my old self in them a lot and it makes me hurt, knowing what they're going through and also makes me glad that I'm not like that anymore. It's a weird feeling.

After talking with my two sleepmates Anna and Katelyn a lot about future husbands and the like, we just keep going back to how we need to trust in God and He knows best for us so we don't need to worry about our looks. This is another lesson: becoming more humble. We talked about how we all can have poor self images and that constant need to be accepted and desired by others. Well, God has been trying to shove it in my face that there is so much more than that and He is the only one who matters, so don't worry about what other people think.

I know so far I've learned a lot and I'm still in the process of learning those thing (and I also realize I'm sure a lot of my posts don't make much sense, I just write what's on my mind and it doesn't always come out in a coherent way, so sorry!) but my goals for the end of this semester is to be more at peace with myself and have this calm, gently serenity about myself, among other goals. So look out everyone!

I'm loving Jesus right now (as I do every day...) and man, life is just so good. Just keep praying for me and especially pray that God gives me a big helping of Patience Pie because it's getting a little rough in this house hold....

Love you all!
Ciao

Anna

Reaching out

Well, for awhile now, I've been praying that I could get to the point in my faith where people could come to me for help and ask me questions about it. Well, the other day, a girl in my studio who I'm good friends with did just that.

She told me that she needed to talk and she did something wrong/bad so I got up and was like OK, let's do this. We had a really good discussion and in the end, I think she was able to see some light at the end of the tunnel so I just hope God continues to work on her heart. She is a Christ follower, but she has fallen off the path a little and just needs to get back on with all of her heart and not just when it's convenient for her!

I'm still loving Rome immensly and I wish you all were here with me to see what's going on! I'm praying for you all and I'm sure God is working his miracles with you like He is here with me!

Ciao!
Anna

A new doorway

Many of you may not know this, but my relationship with my mother has always been a strained one. We can get along for a few hours, but that's about it. Well, she's been in Europe for almost two weeks now (she left before me) and ventured her way down from Scotland to where I'm at so she could see me. I was quite apprehensive about it due to our past but decided to go along with hanging out with her for awhile.

Originally, I had planned on only having lunch with her but something told me to just spend the whole day with my mom, so I did. We had quite the adventure. First, I showed her how to use the bus/tram system and we took it up to a pizzaria I really enjoy. Before we got there, as we were walking, we run across this guy selling pretty jewelry he made from twisted wire. We spent time with him, talking, buying jewelry when he made me a free, special pair of earrings and later after we had eaten, he caught my mom as we walked by and made her a ring.

Afterwords, she didn't have another ticket for the tram/bus so we went out looking to buy some but all of the shops were closed so we had to hope I could find some on a tram because some of them have machines where you can buy them. Thankfully, the first tram that pulled up had one but I had to stay on there and get off at the next stop since it takes awhile to buy them from the machine. It was quite the adventure we had together.

Then, we went to a grocery store, bought some vegetables, went back to my apartment and cooked dinner together. We had a real good, adult conversation for once and it was really nice. As she was leaving, she came in for a hug and for the first time in my life, I didn't pull away or shrug it off. I felt this need to just hug her with everything I had. We did this a second time as she walked out the door. After closing the door, I just cried. It was so good, that after praying about it endlessly, my relationship with my mom is starting to heal, thanks to the Lord our God. He has shown me that through time, He will heal all with his love. Even thinking about it now I'm brought to tears.

It was a very good experience and an awesome day. If any of you have problems with your own parents, please, pray to God to fix it because He will. And you will be so grateful for it.

Love you all!

Ciao,
Anna

Mmmm, yes please

Tonight, it was beautiful.

We finally had a little house meeting with my roommates and afterwords, I was sitting there with Katelyn and two other roommates who are non-believers and I was able to start a conversation about my beliefs and God. We had this amazing talk where I was able to share my views and they were able to talk and share where they have come from. Now is not the time for them I know but God has planted the seed so that Jesus can help me cultivate it throughout the semester so that it will grow.

I know that one girl, B. is very willing to listen and just doesn't know who God is so please pray that God will open her heart and she will listen to what the Holy Spirit says through me and she will become a sister. She is a dear girl and I already love her to death!

I'm so thankful for all that's happened so far and it's only been 3 days! Please keep praying because they are working!

I love you all and I hope I have some people reading these...haha

Ciao,
Anna

All the small things

If you commit suicide, do you go to hell?

Last night, I stayed up until about 2am talking with my roomies Katelyn and Anna M.. We had the most glorifying talk and even came to a conclusion about a few things so let's see what you think about it all.

Grace: The forgiveness and love of God without our earning it.

Example: At a sermon I went to, the pastor told a little boy if he could bowl 10 strikes on the Wii game he has set up for the service, then he would get a free shirt. The boy tried but failed. The pastor still have him the shirt, because that's the grace of God.
So even though we sin and don't follow the Lord's wishes, he still forgives us because of that love and grace.

Beautiful no?

We started the conversation with do people who commit suicide go to hell? We thought yes, because then you're taking away that one gift God gave you and then you're unable to repent for that sin.

BUT, because of the grace of God, he knows your heart, and you are still forgiven.
(this is all granted that you've given your life to Christ)

If you have any other thoughts or ideas, please share them!

I'm HERE!

Well, I've finally reached Rome and it's beautiful! The buildings are just amazing and everyone here is really nice! We've gone to a few different Caffe's and Pizzaria's as well as the grocery store and everyone has tried helping us as best they could.

Today, some roomies and I, along with Charlie, went to this little Bar (Caffe) and the girl working there was the best! If any of you watch NCIS, she looks just like Abby. Well, she was quite helpful and when we were able to communicate successfully, she got very excited and it was beautiful. Then, when we were leaving, Charlie asked how to make a cappuccino and so she brought him back and showed him, then spoon fed him the milk foam. It was hilarious. We also all got a picture behind the counter with her so that'll be coming soon!

Let's see. So far I've learned that things for sure don't go as expected. God has definitely shown me that with a few things but I need to just be patient and wait and eventually he will provide. Right now, the comfy shoes I brought to wear and for sure not good to walk in on cobblestone and my bed is all springs but I just need to wait and God will provide! Also, God has blessed me with the best room mates ever (let's see if I'm still saying that in a few months haha). I'm excited to see what all we do this semester together!

Well, that's all for now, I'll have more interesting stuff to talk about soon!

Ciao