a new family

buona sera amici! okay, i don't think i even know where to start with this one! so much has happened in the last few days and the lord has been handing out some major blessings! i guess i'll start by saying that i am completely overwhelmed with how much of a blessing my family is. since this weekend was easter, i went home to austin to see everyone. for those of you that don't know me well, i have a rather large extended family. we all got together on sunday and ate lots of great food and just got to hang out and talk. normally these family functions are a bit stressful because there is always some inevitable arguing of some kind, or someone is sick, or we've just seen each other and it's a bit too soon for another gathering, but this one felt a little different. i have been really fortunate in the last couple months to hang out with my cousins outside of "official family time" and it has been really great. i know that the lord is working in my relationship with one of them specifically, and i am praying that she comes to know him intimately soon! also, i don't have a lot of friends back home, so whenever i do go home, it's all about the family--which i love! there are five of us, my parents, me, my sister leah (18) and my brother bryan (15). we cooked together, watched movies together, worked out together, and just loved each other. i could not have asked the lord for a better support system or place to come home to. i love them all very much and this weekend was fantastic.

yes, fantastic...for a few reasons actually. another is that once again, at the peak of my doubt, the lord provided enough support for italy to meet my sunday goal of $1000. praise god. i cannot even explain how much he is blowing my mind through this support raising. i have been struggling with not thinking that the money is going to come in time and basically just being stupid, and he has overcome all of that doubt...every single time! i am being so blessed by my supporters and i can't tell you how thankful i am to have you partnering with me in this experience.

and yet another blessing...i recently joined the facebook group for the summer project and have gotten to see some faces of the people i will be ministering with this summer. i'm so excited because they all look awesome. yay! and, i have a name twin. how tight...shout out to hayleah!

pace cane! (look it up :)

oh change, how sneaky you are!

buona notte! (or 'giorno' depending on when you are reading this) i hope everyone is doing well! i apologize for not being consistent in my posting, but school seems to get the best of me most of the time. well, i thought i'd update you all on italy stuff, and just life in general.

i am now back in college station after a very long spring break. some lovely friends of mine and i went up to the lake of the ozarks and stayed at a family friend's lakehouse for a few days. we basically danced and ate the whole time. then we went to st. louis for a day and did very touristy things...we went to the arch and had dinner on the hill, a cute little italy-esque community in st. louis. we were there the majority of spring break and had a fantastic time. here is a picture of the group that went:

also over spring break, i made a major life decision. i found out that i have been accepted to three grad schools, and i have officially decided to go to texas state. this means that i will be living in austin after i graduate. i am very excited about living in austin again, but it's going to be weird living there on my own and not at my parents' house. i'm looking forward to being so close to everyone too. the other schools i applied to were all out of state, so i would not have been able to see everyone as often as i'm going to be able to now. yay! i know the fam is excited about that too. i've been looking at apartments and i might have found a roommate...if that works out, it would be amazing, so please be praying for that!

i sent out the first round of support letters last week as well. i sent them on tuesday from missouri, so hopefully you will all be getting them soon! if you haven't, you are probably further down in the alphabet, in which case, you will get yours next week. i'm very excited about this because it is a huge step in the preparation process for my trip. the letter is personally written and it explains the trip and how you all can be supporting me. if you haven't gotten a letter in the next couple of weeks, and you want one, please let me know! it is probably because i don't have your address!

support raising is going well. i am learning a whole lot about patience and submission to the lord. it is definitely hard for me to let go of my naturally demanding personality, but the lord has been blessing me with extreme calmness of heart when it comes to raising enough money. it is amazing that i can even say this because the thought of raising $5000 was daunting originally. the most high is my provider though, so i am comforted.

here are some more pictures from spring break!

me, chelsea and toni in the car

the lakehouse!

imo's is the best pizza ever!

beautiful view in the neighborhood

toni, me and amanda on a walk

group picture :)

the arch

jumping picture!

that's it for now friends...love you all.