Finally settled

A lot has happened in the last 3 weeks. Jim has been working so hard day in and day out to try and get the team settled. Being the only one with fairly fluent language skills.. a lot has been required of him. He has been to tons of apartments and finally found 2 that worked for the guys and the Burrages. The guys got to move in on thursday and the burrages yesterday. Everyone was really ready to sleep in their own bed. We have had the Gallo family with us since the 13th. That is 9 people in our apartment! They were great roommates and Turner loved having a kid his age to play with all of the time. The Gallos have an apartment now but are just waiting for the power and water to be turned on. Everything is a process! They have been living out of suitcases for over a month now and are sooo ready to be in their own place. Talk about a persevering family! Last night was our first night as just the five of us since July 28th... it was a really sweet time and we enjoyed just being together.

We went to the Italy briefing last week. It was great for us to catch up with old friends and coworkers! One thing we did learn is that a lot has changed since we left 4 years ago. The office team has been really working hard on making Crusade/Agape Italia into a legal, credible, above reproach organization here in Italy. Something they discovered is that EU citizens have very high privacy rights. That means that we cannot post any pictures, videos, or stories that are about them without their written consent. So, I will try to figure out how to update you the best I can about ministry without doing anything illegal.

I guess the main prayer request for the moment is for Jim. He has been speaking all day in Italian about very complicated matters that concern us registering with the city, getting social security numbers, finalizing apartment contracts with landlords and realtors, figuring out how to get our vonage phone to work with internet providers over here, etc. The list really does just go on and on. He is exhausted and we haven't seen him as much as we would like. But hopefully now that everyone is settled and a normal schedule starts tomorrow... he will feel a little more relaxed.

Thank yall for praying for us and I will update you again soon!

Week 1

We are here! So sorry it has taken so long to post something but it took a few days to adjust and to get internet. Normally the process to get internet takes 3-4 months but because we lived here before and have a SS# we were ready to sign up. The flight was as horrible as can be imagined. Thanks to Hurricane Irene our flight was delayed 2 days but because of so many flights being cancelled they rerouted us on a direct flight from new jersey to rome! It took about 5 hours off the trip. We were really thankful for that! There were many reasons the flight was so bad but it is still too painful to talk about... so I won't. We did land safely, with all of our bags, car seats, strollers, and our desk top computer came out unharmed... amazing! The 4 hour drive to follow in a van that was too small with no a/c and holding all 3 kids was just the icing on the cake. We arrived in Salerno, exhausted, no sleep in about 22 hours, and collins was screaming.... but the Italian family next door was so excited to meet us that they all came over and started talking. Nonna, her two daughters, a granddaughter, a realtor, a family friend, all speaking rapidly in Italian and trying to do whatever they could to make Collins quit crying... which just made him cry harder. They are really sweet though and we look forward to getting to know them better.
Jet lag has been a big hurdle to overcome. We all slept until 12 or 1 in the afternoon on day 1. We went to bed at 6am on day 2, watched movies for 4 hours most nights between 1-5am. Found Collins in our bed on day 4... not sure how he got there. It has been crazy! Last night, they finally slept for 8 hours straight! It was from 12am-8am but it was consistent.
The Shoemakers arrived 4 days after us and we helped them settle in. We are still apartment hunting for the rest of the team so please pray for that. 1 family with 2 kids, a couple with no kids, single girls, and single guys... 4 in total are needed before next week. Please pray especially for the family!
Sorry if these thoughts aren't flowing well but we are still really tired. A few final things... kids are eating better now that we found hot dogs and Turner says he loves his new home and he loves Italy so that is a huge blessing. We hope all of you are doing well! Thank you for your prayers and support! I will update again really soon with pictures. Please email us and tell us how things are on your side of the ocean.