Happy Holidays: Thanksgivmas and an American Thanksgiving (or two) in Tuscany

As you all know, we left the States a week before Thanksgiving. Since this year is the first time Adelena will be joining in the holiday season festivities, we wanted to be sure and celebrate with our family before leaving the states. 

While we were in Florida, my (Aleece's) family decided we would celebrate "Thanksgivmas." So, the Saturday before we left, we gathered with all of my family who was in town to count our blessings, eat our favorite holiday foods, and exchange gifts. We also celebrated my dear cousin Whitney's birthday, which happened to fall on our appointed Thanksgivmas day. 

Once we arrived in Italy, we quickly learned that we would be celebrating American Thanksgiving twice. On Thanksgiving Day, we were invited to the Harding University in Florence (HUF) campus to join their faculty, staff and students as well as students and faculty from Lipscomb University, Harding University in England, several members of the Florence church and several other dear friends of the HUF directors. The food spread was incredible: turkey, ham, and every vegetable casserole imaginable. The desserts ranged from pies, to cakes, cookies, puddings, even rice crispy treats (a special treat indeed, since marshmallows can be hard to come by in Italy!) There was a unique bond we shared that day around those tables, a bittersweet enjoyment of this celebration. We all agreed it was delicious food and joyful company, but there was a twinge of sadness when we thought of our loved ones so far away. I, for one, gained a new understanding and depth of thankfulness this year. 

Our final Thanksgiving celebration brought a buzz of excitement and a good dose of craziness to the Bible School for a few days. After a great Fall semester of English lessons, our workers invited all of their students and their friends and family to come celebrate with us. Since we had only been here about a week, we had no idea what to expect.

In the days leading up to our big Turkey dinner, we shopped, we baked and cooked and prepped. Two massive 30 pound turkeys showed up and made their way into our (clean!) laundry room sink to brine. Friday night, I walked into the kitchen to see sweet Hannah with her arm up to her elbow inside one of the turkeys, removing its innards. Bless her. 

Saturday morning, my sweet Mom left to go back to the states. She had graciously made her first trip across the Atlantic to help with our transition. I'm positive we could not have made it through that first week and half without her. Thanks Mom! (Come back soon!)

Saturday evening at eight o'clock, the tables we normally gather around to eat at were groaning under the weight of dozens of Thanksgiving delicacies. As we surveyed the main courses and two walls lined with desserts, we all laughed at ourselves for being concerned about not having enough food. 

To be completely honest, the next few hours were a blur of introductions, failed attempts at understanding Italian, and lots of food. I did manage to learn to say that Adelena was "sette mesi" when anyone (aka everyone, ha!) asked how many months she was. I was blown away by how much Italians LOVE babies and dogs. It seemed as though our little family was instantly absorbed into the greater family that is the Bible School. It was simultaneously comforting and humbling. 

We must have looked a funny bunch that night: A small group of Americans serving a huge group of Italians all this American food packed with absurd amounts of sugar and butter. Everyone attempting to understand and speak a foreign language - some with more success than others! At the end of the night though, I think everyone would have agreed upon being thankful for the fellowship and community that was found in our packed classroom and living room. 

As we collapsed into bed that night, just before the carbohydrate-induced coma set in, a sea of new faces filled my head and my heart. It was so exciting to finally meet all of the sweet souls our workers have been studying English and the Bible with. One thing I couldn't help but marvel at was that the students not only showed up, but that they brought their friends and families as well. To me, this indicates the workers here have created such an atmosphere of hospitality that each student is fully confident of their and their loved ones belonging and acceptance here.  What a brilliant way to show people the church in action.

I hope and pray the Lord will help us to use this ministry to continue to build this community and His church. We were and are so grateful for this opportunity to step into this new-to-us corner of the Lord's Kingdom and we cannot wait to see what He is going to do here in the days to come. 

Two Weeks In Italy

First of all, thank you all for your love and support. Without it, we would not be in Italy right now. 

It hardly seems possible that we left Florida only two weeks ago. 

You know, we really didn't know what to expect from this move. Moving overseas is unlike any other move we Kelleys have ever made. While we have spent extended amounts of time overseas at various points, there is something definitively different about leaving with no return date. It's odd to pause and think we won't be returning to the states in a week or a month. 

Slowly but surely, we have been settling in. We've bought Adelena a real baby bed - she's been sleeping in a bassinet and pack n play since she was born - and that seems so permanent.

Though it took us a solid five days to unpack them all, we are no longer living out of suitcases.

I've finally stopped walking into the laundry room when I mean to walk down the hallway.

I think I may be able to successfully make my way on foot to the nearby market, though I haven't tested this on my own, so maybe this is an overestimation of my navigation abilities. 

Did I mention that we live with seven other people? They are our team and we could not imagine a better group of people to start our journey as directors with. Their passion and dedication to the Lord and His work here is astounding. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving - twice. I'll have to write a separate post to tell you how special it was to celebrate this American holiday with our fellow Americans and our new Italian friends.

We are slowly completing all of the necessary paperwork to stay here legally and take over the director role.

Each day, we attempt to wrap our heads around the inner workings of the Bible School, but that is still a work in progress. We have stepped into a complicated machine with no written manual to guide us. We are learning by doing, hearing, and seeing. We make mistakes and we readjust. It's humbling and rewarding work. Again, we have a great team to work with!

This semester's English/Bible lessons are coming to a close, so the schedule is slowing down and we are beginning to feel solid ground beneath our feet. 

Over the next few days and weeks, I hope to share pictures and stories of our time here thus far. 

Until then, please be in prayer for a few things:

1. Our visas/ stay permits. 

2. Our health. Living with a house full of people we share many things, including germs. 

3. Our team. Many of them will be traveling in Europe or back to the states for Christmas. They all worked so hard this semester, so pray this break will be restful and rejuvenating for each of them.

A Month of Chaos in Photos

When we decided to move up our departure date, a quick look at the calendar told us that we only had about a month before we needed to leave Searcy to spend time with our families. We took a deep breath and then dove headfirst into a month of absolute chaos.

We sorted, we donated, we listed and sold.

We repeated that process multiple times.

Eventually we got around to packing, but continued to pause briefly to wonder aloud "How in the WORLD did we accumulate this much stuff in just three years?"

A lot of life and death happened in that month, too. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but the ones we did take are very telling, I believe. There's a dozen or so below, so that counts for a lot of words, right? 

The Unexpected

In all honesty, I do not have the words to write the story which has unfolded for our family this year. 

I don't even know where to begin in order to explain how we started this year fully intending to move to Romania but we will end it by moving to Italy instead.

I don't know how to explain the heartbreak and confusion we felt when we realized our plans for Romania were being put on hold for an unknown amount of time. How we grieved for the people and plans we had so eagerly prayed and prepared for. 

I don't know how we found the courage to pursue another opportunity the Lord placed in our path during that time of uncertainty, but I am so thankful we did. We cannot wait to begin directing and serving with Avanti Italia!

It doesn't make sense how we could be simultaneously devastated and thrilled, but we are. 

I still question our sanity for considering all of these changes less than two months after welcoming our daughter. 

We have seen tremendous growth in our family this year. Literally, by adding sweet Adelena, but also spiritually. We have been pushed and pulled and stretched; made to question things we previously felt so certain about.

You know what? It hurt. It wasn't fun or glamorous. I have felt a sense of camaraderie (yes, I just spelled that correctly without looking #harding) with the Ecclesiastical writer.  I have wanted to scream out "VANITY OF VANITIES! All is vanity!" more times than I can count. I have pondered about the seasons of life for hours on end as I held my little girl close and felt like the rest of my life was falling apart. 

Yet, as we sit here in October, I look back with peace at all that has occurred and all that lies before us. We have learned some difficult but valuable lessons in humility and obedience. Through these lessons, we have been led to another opportunity to serve His people. 

Countless times in the past months we have been rendered speechless in the wake of the Lord's providence and love. As we have completely shifted directions, He has provided for us. 

Initially, we were set to move to Italy just after Christmas. It become clear about a month ago that we needed to push our move date sooner so as to ease our transition and give us adequate time to prepare for a youth convegno and new Avanti workers who will arrive in January. With our updated timeline, we leave for Italy in less than a month. Even through this major change, the Lord has provided. He has been moving in the hearts and souls of His people and they are surrounding us with support, giving selflessly of their time, prayer, love, and financial resources.

In the past month, we have sold most of our things, packed the rest, and hit the road. We are spending precious moments with our families before leaving on a jet plane (with a seven month old and a toy poodle in tow.) With so many major changes looming, we are attempting to take it one day at a time. Trying to be as fully present in the present as possible, so as not to miss Him in the midst of the chaos. 

If you are reading this, welcome to the chaos! We are excited you are here and we hope that you will continue to join us in this crazy journey. Stay tuned for a re-cap of the past few weeks of madness and to see how this story continues to unfold!

- Aleece