Thankful Hearts.

Yikes. So I am already absolutely terrible at updating my blog and we’ve only been here 3 days. Ha. I will definitely try to improve but pretty PLEASE read Toni and Natalie’s blogs because they’ve already made some incredible / funny posts! I bet you'd love them :)

http://pink-yellow.tumblr.com - Toni

http://ihateitalianfood.tumblr.com - Natalie

Needless to say, I am feeling extremely blessed beyond belief to be in such a beautiful place with two of my very best friends. Our time here in Italy has already been a life changing experience and I know things will only get better with each day.

Most important:: I just wanted to start by saying THANK YOU for all the prayers, support, love, & encouragement as I prepared for this journey of a lifetime. For awhile there I really was so nervous / anxious and uneasy about the whole trip, that I started to second guess my decision to even come – but luckily I have wonderful family and friends that kept filling me with hope & promises of God’s protection along the way! I’m not sure I could have made it here without each and everyone of you.

Since Toni, Natalie and I are all documenting our trip with our blogs – I figured I should make mine a little bit different than theirs. Especially because their posts are quite funny – I just can’t compete with that!

I’m just going to give y’all some of the highlights of our journey so far and hopefully express what God is doing in each of our lives while we are here. We can't wait to see where He takes us!

Praise God for Blessings:

1.) From the start, Charlotte & Kirk have been considered our “parents” away from home and have arranged everything for us here in Italy. They’ve lived here for 10 years, but are originally from Ohio. They have gone to extreme measures to “baby” us through this whole process and I don’t know how we would survive without them.

2.) We successfully arrived at our new hometown – Arezzo, Italy – safe and sound. The Lord definitely had His hand over every situation & prepared the way for us.

3.) Toni’s bag was left in London. Seems quite tragic, but actually was an enormous blessing. None of us honestly think we could have made it on & off two trains and up 3 flights of stairs with all of our 25 lb backpacks, Natalie’s bag, my two 50 lb bags, & Toni’s 66 lb bag! Toni handled the situation like a superstar, of course && never once even complained. Praise God for blessings in disguise & Toni’s selfless heart. Luckily it arrived today, Wednesday. Yay!

4.) Our apartment is absolutely perfect. We love it. Toni, Natalie and I live with another student from OU, Sarah. We are located outside the historic walls super close to Pam (grocery store) & a Chinese junk store (comparable to Sam Moon- I know, you’re jealous). We are about 15 minutes from campus and 15 minutes from Charlotte & Kirk’s house. Toni & Sarah have their own bedrooms, Natalie and I share a room, a spacious living room / kitchen / laundry room, and a fancy bathroom. We have great insulation, precious landlord, are on the 3^rd floor & couldn’t feel safer.

5.) Everything in Italy is absolutely gorgeous. We have been blown away at the Lord’s sweet handiwork in creating this country. We’re left in awe at His ability to capture our hearts over and over again with His beauty.

6.) We have already been stretched and pushed out of our comfort zone, probably more than we all imagined, and it has been good for our souls. We knew that coming to Italy, not knowing one bit of Italian would be hard, but it’s been quite the challenge. We literally feel helpless and extremely co-dependent on anyone who can help us. We are being forced to put ourselves out there and make the best of it. Which is much needed for 3 girls who live a very safe and complacent lifestyle where we know everything & most everyone.

7.) We have borderline successfully conquered learning directions around Arezzo. We were kind of just thrown in there, with a map and no visible street signs to help us. Jesus has definitely guided our footsteps and paths beyond what we could imagine. We have never once felt lost or overwhelmed and have ran into other students from our program at the exact moment when we needed to see a familiar face and be reassured we were walking the right direction.

The Lord has definitely been nothing but faithful in every aspect of the trip so far. We are all sitting at our kitchen table right now talking about the past few days, and in every situation the Lord has proved Himself and His sovereignty above all else. Obviously there are thousands upon thousands of other reasons to give Him the glory for our trip, but those are some of our favorites.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, pray for us, and enjoy this journey with us. I think we’ve got some of the greatest friends in the world.

With a blessed heart,

Callyn