back in italy :)

A huge thank you to everyone who's been following and praying for me this past year! August 17 marked my 1 year Italian anniversary. Thanks to those of you who just joined this prayer-blog list. You are awesome!!

THE USA

It was great. It was fast. But it also felt paced. I typically have difficulty switching between cultures, but I felt so much strength this trip and was able to enjoy my time in peace. I appreciate all of my friends who drove out to see me, gave of time/resources, and came to any of my events. Loved.

BEING BACK

One big praise is that my Italian has not seemed to have suffered. If anything it is getting better. I am thankful for that! This is always a priority prayer request--that I develop my language skills. I am praying for time and energy to devote to study this year.

I've been making my rounds and visiting people. Thankful for some extended time off work ( I now don't return til September 5). Some updates on that end:

• Concetta moved house. Still living with son, but seems to be doing better. Keep praying for her. 
• Monica has decided to leave Bruno and is pressing into the Lord. So cool! In the end, her daughter Erica (20) did NOT come to stay with us during the break-up. We are still praying about how to reach out to her. But Tania and I will be jogging, praying, and other things with Monica to support her desire to pursue healthiness....
• Livia is moving to Colorado in November in search for someone to sponsor her as pastry chef. I am sad that we never seem to stay in the same area for long! Praying nonetheless to have some good times and God-conversations with her before she leaves.
• Spend the day with Valeria and Claudia and family (from Albano study) at their beach home last week. Glad to have connected with them again. So sweet. Pray for the salvation of this family.
• Saw Roberto the other day and we plan on getting together Fation when we all return from the holiday. Pray for these dear friends of mine. Not always sure how to maintain my friendship with them...praying for creativity and opportunity.
• Matteo (new believer) is still coming to our Tuesday night group which just started up again last night. We are trying a new format, more discussional and applicational. It was awesome!! Praying more for the Holy Spirit to move make us grow. Thankful for addition of the SWEETEST elderly couple, Raffaele and Patrizia!
• Bought some material for Sunday School. Praying for grace and direction this year.
• Lorenza has been going through a rough time. Baby Giulia was also in the hospital but is now better.
• Teenage Giulia (cancer) was admitted to the hospital as well when I was gone. Apparently she was unconscious for a time. We continue to pray for her healing. Also her brother Leo is back from Florida and we saw him yesterday. He wants to have us over to 'tell everything'. So cute. Pray for Leo that he can know Jesus.
• Visited with friends Marti and Danny who are church-planting in a nearby town. We are praying/in beginning stage of collaborating to open a (Christian) coffee shop here in Frascati. I am super pumped about this idea. It is also a dream of Tania's. We are hoping to open next summer, at which time (prayerfully) I would leave my job to work with this project. More info to come!  
• Also on that note, (Marti and Danny are part of Schiavitù Mai Più, the prostitute ministry) we hope to start street visits again in September. Possible day visits in my area as well (a bit risky). Sadly, a few of our solid team members will be missing this fall. So we pray for the Lord to guide us.

That's it for now! I would love prayers for a good, joyous, strong start to work next week! Praying for the families that will be in my class, and my colleagues (old and new). 

Love to all.

Allie

Above: making Congolese doughnuts with Tania's cousin from France (R)& our friend Brenda (M).

                          Me with Valeria, Tania, Claudia and Tania's cousin at the beach.

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 :)

july

Well I've finished with work!! I can't tell you the sensation I have knowing I will not be leaving early for work tomorrow. I take it as a great gift from God, this month of freedom.  I just ask for wisdom to know how to schedule my time. Also for energy and confidence with Italian language.

I want to take a moment to thank Jesus for bringing me through quite an interesting and difficult year of work, for teaching me a lot, and loving me gently througout.

Some things on my July to-do list:
(please pray for prioritizing and for God to be glorified in all of my friendships here)

• Going to lunch at Monica's (manic-depressant church lady with 20 yr old daughter Erica, not Christian).
• Meeting up with Livia again.
• Going to the beach or rock-climbing with my random group of guy friends (not Christian): Fation, Roberto, Alessandro?
• Having Alberto and room-mates over for dinner.
• Meeting together for our discipleship group Marco, Michelangelo, Tania, Me. We didn't manage in June because of our schedules. I'm up next to share. Pray that God moves and knits us together!
• Sleepover: I want to take Lorenza's kids for the night to give her a break. Pray she accepts the idea!
• Hanging out with Veronica, Sara, Valeria and Claudia--the young girls (16-21) from our Albano Biblestudy. They are so precious and so broken and in need of Jesus and encouragement.
• Meeting up with my American friend Marti who is planting a church in a neighboring town with her husband...just to encourage one another!
• Getting together with my colleagues for dinner.
• Daily study of Italian. Ask God to anoint my tongue, my mind. I need to improve!
• Do my 1st street visit with the prostitute ministry I am hoping to be more involved with in Rome.

Other church and personal requests remain:

• We continue to have TUESDAY NIGHT Bible Study in my home. Pray for more men. Pray for those getting plugged in: Matteo, Melinda, Concetta, Jenny (Hilda is out of town for while), and for our neighbor Zenovia (not a Christian) who joined us for the first time last week!!
• This month we will have a baptism for Laura (sister of Lorenza) and Paolo and Simona and whoever else....
• Please continue to pray for our church leadership (wisdom and grace) and the spiritual maturity of all members. Praise God my sunday school lessons have been going ok!
• Personally I feel a great insecurity about sharing my faith right now. Pray for the Lord to reveal himself to me, and help me to love, believe, live and communicate effectively.
• TOMORROW we will have a basketball match and dinner with Moira, Elijah, Giulia (our youth kids) and Leo (Giulia's unsaved 17 yr old brother). Pray that these kids are ignited with the love and knowledge of God. Pray for healing from Giulia's cancer. Pray for Moira who failed her classes this year and will be held back for the 2nd time. Pray for Elijah who is struggling with not having many friends.

USA TRIP

I will write further detailing my CA-OR-WA itinerary. But since some of you have already asked, I'll write a brief sketch here:

July 26-August 4 Los Angeles
August 4-10 Sunriver
August 10-16 Seattle
August 16-18 Los Angeles

During my first week in LA I have a wedding and an event for my book. I am thrilled to be able to make it to Rhetoric 2013 this year in Long Beach if anyone wants to join! Looking forward to spending time with family and friends. I'll be seeing my parents' new home in Seattle which will be quite a change! Not certain about my car or cell phone situation, but I will update here as soon as these things are hammered-out. It's gonna fly by but I am SOOO looking forward to seeing your faces! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers and support.

Love, Allie (sorry I don't have any pics!!)

of prodigals and prayers

Tonight was amazing. It was a combination of:

• Excitement to finally see growth in the Frascati Tuesday night community group!
• Tania re-joined the group after many months...
• God specifically spoke in ways that answered a year of prayers (even prayers of Pastor Robert and I just yesterday!) through a new lady coming, Concetta, and Robert was given the opportunity to elaborate on some really pertinent truth for both Matteo and Tania who were present. The love and grace of God was demonstrated.
• Melinda, a young 30-something single, raised-in-Christian-home but confused etc. woman came again for the second time.

Continue to plead with God with us for the hearts and lives of our church members in all 3 community groups: Colleferro, Albano and Frascati. Pray for 13 yr old Giulia who is sick again with fever. Ask God to heal her cancer. Also 16 year old Moira is sick and will be held back from school a 2nd year. Pray for Monica who needs to trust Jesus with her life and not fear making the right decisions regarding the boyfriend she has. Ask God to guide. Comfort to Laura. More men to come to faith....

Next Monday at my house will be the monthly dinner/accountability prayer time with Marco, Michelangelo and Tania...we are the '20-somethings' of the church. We've started taking turns testifying/confessing of what God is doing in our lives. Tania shared powerfully last time. I will go next. Please pray for me that I hear from the Lord and that each of us continues to be honest before God and each other and seeks to know and live for Him.

Thankful for my American friend Heather who let me crash at her place when I got stuck in Rome Saturday night. Public transport has been SO frustrating these weeks. So uncertain. Thankful.

I had a great time with Livia last week. We are already making plans to see each other again next week. I adore her. She told me of her dreams to move to America in the fall to look for work. I'm bummed to see her go, but also excited at the possibility for her. Anybody looking to sponsor an Italian pastry chef for a visa??

I am wrapping up the school year this week. Then I teach one week of summer school and July welcomes summer! Please ask the Lord to give me grace, humility and love for my boss, colleagues and students. Specifically for Raffaella--I need wisdom, boldness and opportunity to speak more openly with her (& Maison!) about Jesus. PRAISE Jesus for my precious precious students and how much love I have received from them this year. What a year it's been.

xo

watermelon gelato = best thing ever

community

Community. I spoke with Robert about how we can foster deeper community between our home groups spread out among the Castelli. We want to be sharing life together in a Biblical way. We want the believers to make personal applications to what we are studying. Continue to pray this prayer with us. Maturity and filling of the Spirit. Communion with God and Man.

Association: in final paperwork! Huge blessing: this lawayer is a Christian and would not charge us. We plan on using the money we set aside for our new tracts!

Livia. Meeting up with her this Wednesday finally! Praying for a wonderful, intentional, open time with her. May she (and family) hunger for Christ.

Fation. Don't really know how he's doing. Continue to pray for him and family (mom who tried to kill herself etc.). If you look 5 pictures down on the right side of the blog there is an old photo with me, Alessandro, Roberto and Fation...continue to lift these friends up. Salvation!

Tania. Continue to pray for her. For wisdom, diligence, healthy communication, healing. Praise God for growth.

Matteo. He came to our Bible study last week! He has so much to learn but seems very earnest as a new Christian. Pray for his body, mind and heart and that Robert can support him well.

Lorenza. On Friday she asked me again about tutoring her in English. I have NO TIME in June but told her I would love to in July. Pray for this, and that ultimately I can encourage her in her faith. Also, Sunday we had GIULIA'S dedication. It was a joyous event bringing most of our 3 Bible study groups from Frascati/Roma-Albano-Colleferro together! Lorenza gave a testimony to how the Lord transforms and how His love is faithful when ours isn't. She wants to raise her children in the Lord, 'with pride' she said. I cried.

Veronica, Sara, Claudia, Valeria. These are my precious 16-21 year old girls from the Friday night Bible study. V & S have been coming regularly again. Please pray that the love of Jesus becomes real, vibrant and personal to heal and transform! Pray I can get together with them in the coming weeks.

Visitors. It's been SO sweet having Stephanie visit in the beginning of May and Brittany and Marc just recently. Thankful for my amazing friends who catch the vision for what God is doing here and came all this way to spend time with me!

Book. My new book for women, The Wall, is available on Amazon (paperback and Kindle). Feel free to spread the word! Thankful for this project...am already receiving feedback. Need wisdom on how to respond to ministry from this book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Wall-Conversation-Single-Women/dp/1432795120/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370297499&sr=8-1&keywords=Allison+Raven+The+Wall

Thanks for your love and prayers. God is sustaining in ALL THINGS.

PS, check out this gorgeous hymn I sang at St. Frances' Basilica in Assisi last week! http://www.mljmusic.com/Portals/0/Lyrics/Gather%20us%20In.pdf

'Not in the dark of buildings confining, not in some heaven light years away, but here in this place the new Light is shining, now is the Kingdom, now is the day! Gather us in and hold us forever. Gather us in and make us Your own! Gather us in all peoples together--fire of love in our flesh and our bones.'

Below: Steph & I in  Assisi, 3 pics of Giulia's dedication @ new Christian Paolo's home, Brittany & I at Frascati park.

tesori

In Italian 'tesoro' means 'treasure'. It can also be an endearing name like 'honey' in English. On Sunday I was teaching about Mary the mother of Jesus in Sunday School (interesting especially since Eli brought a Catholic friend!). This morning I was with my students thinking of Luke 2:19 that says, 'And Mary treasured up all of these things and pondered them in her heart'. I know I wrote about this a few months ago too, but it still touches me. Sometimes treasuring feels a bit like hoarding. We don't know how to love and let go. But I am learning this, this freedom. I am thankful for the countless moments that no parent will ever ever get to see...only me. The teacher. And I find that God fills my days with treasures, those that don't rot and rust and destroy: for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Just a thought for the day.

Some prayer updates:

CHURCH tracts/location/association: Thanks to those of you who asked about giving toward our gospel tract fund! What a blessing. We are still waiting to hear from the city offices and our lawyer regarding available church location/signing associating contract. Italy....

CHURCH people: Lorenza (single mom) has a sister Laura who has recently given her life to the Lord and is growing a lot. Think that when I first arrived in Italy she was trying to kill herself. We are thankful for her growth and for Paolo (another new believer) and for Simona, Sara, Veronica (daughter/grandkids) of Anna who attends the Albano study. They are not believers but are becoming open and hosted the study at their house last week! Baby Giulia will be dedicated in June as well as a baptism at the end of the month! The Colleferro study (which I don't attend) is really growing and maturing as well. Praise God. Giulia--the 13 yr old with cancer--has had fever for 3 days and her mom is taking her to the hospital tomorrow. We saw each other tonight and she was in tears. Continue to pray for healing. Praise God also that for once I felt I taught a somewhat smooth lesson in Italian last Sunday!

WORK: Still lots of chaos. It will be like this til the end of June. Anyway, please pray I can be a good witness and not succumb to the dysfunction or attitudes around me or in my own flesh! Pray I have energy to balance all I have going on this month with work, church, visitors, etc....

FRIENDS: In our monthly meeting, Tania Marco & Michi have decided to take turns giving testimonies of what God is doing now in our lives. Tania started last night. It was a really big deal that she open up about her past and present with her brothers and I'm really thankful at God's transforming work. It was a sweet time. Continue to pray for these--going against stream always for their faith. Also, I hung out with Fation last week and he said his mom had tried to kill herself. Home continues to be turbulent. He and his family need Jesus.

Thanks so much and love to all.
Allie

At coffee with friends sunday morning we witnessed this elderly lady pulling a basket of goods up through the window on rope from the top floor. That's one way to do get your groceries!