Faith for the Journey Comes One Step at a Time

Roll with the Changes

If there is one thing that is true about moving overseas to reach Italy for Christ, it is that you have to be ready to roll with the changes. And there are so many!

We are sorry we haven't posted sooner since our last blog entry. We have, of course, sent our prayer letter out to all our supporters just a few weeks back but some of you are not yet on our prayer letter list so if you'd like to be added, just post here and let us know and we'll add you to our list (at least for sending letters while we're still stateside).

Lots of things have been going on...some great, some so-so and some less so. But of course, we are as some of said, "strangely called" as we sense God's call and confirmation with every step we take toward our expected launch date. We had spoke early of mid-August but we are now thinking more likely it will be early, the 1st week of September, God willing.

Some of the great things that have been happening include Jeannette and Lee completing Italian 1 at a local community college, finding 2 couples desirous of renting our house, getting all our passports done and returned for the entire family, VISA invite letter from one of the officially approved 7 churces in Italy on its way (should be here this weekend), selling Lee's motorcycle before the bill was even due (we had a 5 months no interest, no payments) for the same price he bought it for (he rode it like a dozen times but bought it so Bethany could have his car for going to work and school and originally had hoped to save money on gas back when he was driving to work). Other great stuff includes completely re-doing our yard with sod (Jacob had accidentally sprayed the yard in 3 spots hoping to kill weeds and we ended up with three very big spots of dead grass). But after Lee, Mike Moran and all our boys and their boys got out there and worked it, we now have one of the nicest looking yards in the neighborhood and the association is happy! :-)

Some of the so-so stuff is just realizing that though we will probably lose $30,000 to sell our house, given the current market where values are going down by 1% per month and with the very real possibility of it getting worse for some time, we are now starting to lean toward selling. We don't think we can cover enough of our expenses to make it all work with renting. One important thing that we'd ask you to pray for is that we'd be able to get out of our loan without a penalty (required to be in it 3 years and in July, it will be 2). We've learned that if you have to move out of the state for work reasons, you can be released sometimes. Well, maybe Italy will qualify! But all of this, the financial loss, is one of the things where we say, we did not become Christians to make money and we surely are not going to not do what God is calling us to do because we lose half of our equity in our home! God is in control and since He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He could replace that it a heartbeat if He wants. So we trust God and His sovereign providence! Another so-so thing (good but challenging) are expenses from various things lke Jeannette's dental work that was badly needed ($2,300). Please pray for this though as it is beyond our means as well as the Italian immersion class that Lee would really like to take later in the summer ($2,500) to help him be prepared. If any feel led to help, please know we'd greatly appreciate it. As always, our supporters our our lifeline for ministry. It is a partnership and we could not even dream of doing any of this if it were not for you.

One not so great thing is that Lee's trips to Mayo have yet to prove to tell us anything different. However, we have our last trip in this series on the 28th where Lee will take a series of breathing tests that he already took but this time after being on steroids and antibiotics. He's feeling a ton better, has a ton of energy and has been working like a fiend to address all the issues coming at us in all directions but some of that is due to the drugs and we really would like this not to be the long-term treatment prognosis. So if Lee does very well (at least a 12% improvement...which we don't think will be a problem), then they will be willing to recommend some alternative treatments. They say for some, it's been amazing the response but there are some side-effects...don't know yet though what.

However, one of the big stories of our lives right now has been Bethany graduating! We know what they mean when they say, "More busy than a one-armed paper hanger." Together, Bethany and Jeannette did Bethany's invite, Jeannette designed the graduation program for entire school, Lee coordinated getting the pics for the PowerPoint style presentations and all of us have been getting really excited about the final day (June 1st). Bethany will be graduating with a 3.65 grade point average and has done all sorts of wonderful things during her high school tenure but the most wonderful of all is Bethany's love for the Lord! We thought you might enjoy seeing Bethany's life verse and other info from Bethany's graduation night.

God bless and we love you all. Thank you for all your prayers and please keep praying. And if any of you wants to e-mail us, we'd love it! Just post to this blog or e-mail us at abandoned2Jesus@gmail.com. And tell us how we can pray for you!! Love you tons!

Bethany Walti

Life Verse

1 Timothy 4:12

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.

High School Accomplishments

Bethany has excelled in her grades and extracurricular activities throughout her high school experience. She has played junior varsity volleyball with the Flames, been a top swimmer with the Otter Creek Otters, and has been a part of several missions trips including sharing the gospel at juvenile detention centers, working at two Christian camp summer programs with Native Indian children in New Mexico and North Carolina and working with a Sovereign Grace church in Bolivia last year. Bethany has loved sharing God’s love with those who need the Gospel, especially children. Bethany is grateful to have attended her last year of high school at Valencia Community College where she excelled academically. She has also thoroughly enjoyed being part of Deluge the last three years and serving on the leadership team her senior year.

Future Plans

By God’s grace, Bethany is excited to be moving to Italy with her family, and God willing, attending Saints Bible Institute in San Lorenzo, Italy in the Fall (www.saintsbibleinstitute.com). She earned the Bright Futures scholarship and will most likely return to Florida in a couple years to finish her degree in journalism. Please continue to pray for Bethany and her future….her relationship with the Lord and the plans He has for her.