july update 2 *includes US trip details

Ciaoooo!

I'll be quick with a few updates and then let you know about my US schedule :)

BIG praises for some things I've been able to do in the last 10 days:

• Albano girls: Sara, Veronica, Valeria, Claudia. More good convos with these girls. Valeria and Claudia (sisters) attend regular and profess Jesus as Lord and have got their parents coming now too!! Sara and Veronica (sisters also) come from a broken home and are a bit more unsure of things. Either way, we pray the Lord continues to open hearts to confidence and hope in Him! 
• Lorenza: I had a wonderful afternoon with her and the kids!! She opened up to me about some really personal things and we were able to pray together. I am just so blessed with how the Lord lets me be part of things when I feel so weak. She is looking for a babysitter full time. Honestly, it kills me because I'd love to do it, but I can't. Pray for her, her children and that she can make peace with the father of her daughter, and that the father of her son comes to know Jesus. 
• Rome & the prostitutes: I had an amazing evening with my friends at Schiavitù Mai Più. We are a new organization trying to evangelize prostitutes through direct contact on the streets, directing them to clinics and other help, looking out specifically for those being trafficked. We will meet again in September after summer to discuss future approaches. I definitely want to be more involved. I was amazed by a lot of things. How relatively 'easy' it was to talk to the girls. We were out 3 hours and talked with only 6 girls mainly because we had really long conversations. We prayed with 4 of the 6 (whom the team had met the weeks before). Please pray for Stella (Hungarian, 24), Christina (Romanian, 25 with son), Adriana (28, Romanian with son), Christal (24, Bulgarian with 2 kids), Claudia (20, Romanian). I really love these girls and hope to see them again...and one day in another context. We pray for miracles. For less 'business' demand. For other available lines of 'work'. For cultural shift here in Italy (and sending countries) to respect humankind. 

We have baptism coming up this Friday! Pray for those getting baptized, that their lives glorify Jesus! Sadly, I'll be on the airplane.

Please pray also for Concetta, a Sicilian lady from my Tuesday night Biblestudy group. She lives with her son in a very volatile relationship. She wants his love so badly (he's in his 30s), but he is quite harsh with her and she is stuck dependent on him financially. Pray that she trusts in Jesus. Pray for Orazio that he leaves Buddhism for TRUTH.

Please pray also for my friend Andreas, son of our church member Hilda. A few months ago he moved to Milan. Anyway, last week he was admitted to the hospital, he couldn't breathe, had some lumps around his armpit. He came out and was readmitted this week. Please pray for his physical AND spiritual healing. May Jesus touch his heart! And may Hilda know how to help him as a mother.

Please continue to pray for Fation. May he surrender to Jesus.

I am going to miss my home for a month. But thankful for many homes, and that I am able to return. Here is some general US info:

CALIFORNIA (Jul 26-Aug 3)

JULY 28, SUNDAY- 7:30pm (after 3rd service Reality LA) picnic at Griffith Park. Bring something to eat and drink, a blanket, etc. I thought this way I could talk with everyone better than in a crowded restaurant! Entrance: Los Feliz. My #425.736.3295

JULY 30, TUESDAY- 7:30pm I will be at South Glendale Community Group, Reality LA.

JULY 31, WEDNESDAY- Dinner with Biola friends in Diamond Bar. Contact me for info.

AUGUST 2, FRIDAY- Rhetoric2013 Spoken Word event in Long Beach, 8pm! Buy your ticket and come with us! It's gonna be such a blessing!

WASHINGTON (Aug 10-16)

AUGUST 11, SUNDAY- 

5:30pm 'The Wall' book event hosted by Calvary Chapel Eastside. I will talk about my new book, as well as some new thoughts, and engage in a time of Q&A! Pizza included!

7pm Missions Dessert Night at Calvary Chapel Eastside, Bellevue. I will share about this past year in Italy and some things I am looking forward to for the future! Showing pictures! http://cceastside.com/ 

I will also have some openings for getting together outside of these events (if you promise not to make me eat Italian food :) ). 

See you soon!

xo, Allie

                                           Above, L-R: Veronica, Claudia, Valeria, Me, Sara

Above: me at the park freeing a baby pigeon that had been stuck behind my window...still praying the pigeons go away!

july update

Thanks so much for praying for me this month! It's been a blessing to have a flexible schedule without work, and I am seeing the Lord answer prayer.

Lately I have been able to:

• Meet up with the 4 girls (2 groups of sisters ages 17-21) from Albano. It ended up being a short time, but sweet and we are planning a beach day in August.
• Meet up with Marti and Danny...missionary friends doing a church plant in a neighboring town. We hope to do a lot of collaborating between our churches. Such an encouragement!
• Scheduled a get together with Lorenza and the kids next Thursday! This was her idea so I'm super encouraged and going with it...I ask for lots of prayer because she is quite an intimidating person and carries a lot of pain.
• Today I had lunch at Monica and Bruno's. It was really good. They are very open about problems in their 7 year long relationship and understand the need to get married, but there is a lot of fear and dysfunction in their hearts and home. Pray for them! I also got to chat a bit in the beginning with 20 yr old daughter Erica and boyfriend Matteo. They are so sweet and I know Erica suffers a lot from her mom's manic-depression, and she is far from God. I got her number today so pray we can connect more!
• Tonight I am headed off for the FIRST time to a zone in Rome that is heavy with prostitution. The group I am connected with (been on the prayer team since they started in March) has mainly met Eastern Europeans...though apparently Chinese prostitution is growing here and the Nigerian group is well-established. Pray for safety as we talk to these women, and wisdom for me as I ask God how He wants me to be involved when they start up again at the end of summer. We want to offer hope and freedom and healing in Jesus.
• Been spending lots of time with Tania as she is home studying for exams. Please pray that God reveals Himself to her, that she knows His love, that she makes some critical decisions in her life according to His will!
• We had a wonderful basketball game with the youth last week!! Leo, Giulia's 17 yr old brother came. We love him so much and pray for his salvation!! We have another basketball game scheduled with the youth July 17, before Leo leaves for Florida to improve his English. Pray for our youth that they grow strong in the Lord. Tania had a really hard/good talk with Moira who is apathetic about her life and full of anger in a very passive way. I talked to Elijah about worry and anxiety. Giulia is enjoying popularity...I think with her cancer she just wants to fit in, but is drawn by the world.

The rest....

• Dinner with Livia (21 yr old pastry chef friend) fell through because she ended up going out of town...hoping to re-connect before I leave.
• I am really hoping to connect with Fation before I leave but I know he is studying for exams and I'm not sure how to reach out to him.... 
• Also hoping to get together with Melinda, the young woman attending my Tuesday night community group. 

Everything else has pretty much been on hold for when I return. The Bible study in my home on Tuesdays has been growing really well. We had another new lady last week, a single mom from Cameroon. We also had Ivano (friend from church in Rome) come out to add to our male group! Zenovia has not returned (our neighbor)....we continue to pray for all these things. Baptism coming up soon!

I was able to visit the medical offices here (something I could never do during work hours) and register officially with a doctor. God was gracious and it went so smoothly! Sometimes I get nervous doing these things by myself. But God is always before me! I know He is helping me with language and I've been able to study a bit, and get out more in Frascati.

BIG THANKS to everyone who has been so welcoming and accommodating regarding my upcoming US trip! I feel blessed to know such wonderful people and am really looking forward to seeing you all. Expect a blog next week with my schedule.

xo, Allie

Below: local bubble-man in town square; Tania and I on a midnight passeggiata to get gelato :)