Some thoughts from Kelly

Kelly’s fragments of thoughts...

Any of you that know me well, know that I have a passion to see and understand the things that God is doing among the nations...what has He done in history...what is He doing today and how does His word show itself as true and transcendent? Since the earliest days of my journey with Christ, I have been receiving emails, magazines, and journals keeping me updated on all that is happening in the lands and people groups that I don’t live among. I love to talk about it, pray for this work, impart this fire into my students, and be changed by the wonders I am learning. God is indeed answering this prayer by allowing me to be on this trip! Here are some of the highlights that He has shown me as we’ve toured Rome this week:

Rome Baptist Church: Sunday morning, Kim and I made our way into the small but VERY multicultural church. We joined in worshipping the Lord with saints from all over the world, including several from the Philippines, Asia, and Africa. The worship songs were traditional and easy for us to follow. Some were hymns (Great is Thy Faithfulness and Yes, Lord Yes) and others were modern (Beautiful One). The church doesn’t have Children’s Ministry for the months of July and August because so many of the workers are gone...how do you like that? :-) And so the Pastor first had the kids come forward as he gave a mini-lesson directed to them. Next he spoke to the congregation out of Exodus 20 about the Ten Commandments. This is ironic to me as my church in Phoenix is also preaching through this same passage on the Ten Commandments! And to close the service, all of the visitors stood, introduced themselves and told a little about how they came to this place. At first we were hesitant to share, but all in all, this was a really sweet part of the service as it made you feel welcomed and known.

Castle di Sant’ Angelo: This was our second excursion on the day that we toured the Vatican and was definitely one of my favorite parts of this time in Rome. This ancient castle has been used for many different purposes throughout history. It was originally built to be a tomb for the emperor but was later used as a castle, a prison (wow!), a place of refuge for the popes when the city was under attack, a storing place for the vatican treasury and now as a museum. Kim and I first walked in the grand entrance, around the high walls, down a winding ramp into the basement - which we later found out was the funeral procession - and we were wide-eyed and in awe of this castle. I’ve never been in a castle like this...I could only think of the word *refuge*. Then we made our way up, up, up the steps. On the first floor, we could see over the first rim or balcony and spotted stock piles of cannons that were ready to be fired off, if needed. From this point, there was much below us and an entire level up to go. We continued on our way and toured the inside: the treasury room, the papal apartments and rooms full of various artifacts...and then we reached the top balcony. OH MY! I have never seen such a view! You could see the entire Vatican City from this view. My mind was flooded with scripture verses about our God, see a few below:
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
“Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.” (Psalm 61:3)

I pictured myself there in the most ancient of days. Looking down on the city, that could possibly be under attack and I felt incredibly safe because my perspective was from on high and there was a ready defense in the face of ANY scheme of ANY enemy. Such peace in this place and such rest! I felt physical safe in that place and through God’s word, I can see that He wants me to feel this SAFE and this PROTECTED when I am in Him. I am excited...and maybe you will join me...in doing a word study to see what else God’s word has to say about Him being our refuge. He is already bringing verses to light and now I have a deeper understanding of what it means to take up shelter in the shadow of His wings until the disaster has passed! I’d love you to post some of the verses you find :-)

The Colosseum: I was really looking forward to seeing this part of Rome as I remembered much from my Church History classes in college. I was changed by the information I learned then and I knew that standing in this place was going to be powerful as well! It was intense indeed, also grievous and actually quite somber. We toured around the outer circumference of the Colosseum first, climbing the stairs and reading all the information they had posted. Then we stepped into the center and gazed across the entire view - it was stunning. I stood speechless as I recalled all that has historically happened inside this Colosseum: crowds coming to be entertained by watching people fight to the death, be mauled by animals...all as a social experience. Those waiting to fight (or die) were held in cages below the actual floor and the emperor and wealthy citizens enjoyed the front row seating. Christians were led to this place, like an ox to the slaughter, to be martyred for their faith. And all this happened in the place that we were standing...all of this happened as a way of entertaining a crowd. I am not even sure how to process this and how to reconcile it in my heart...such a stench of death in this place.

Ironically, a black cat randomly appeared perched on a large bolder. The cat disappeared as quickly as it appeared and we have no idea where it went. I’m definitely not the superstitious type...but it was creepy!

A prayer in conclusion: Oh, that the Lord will look on us as a human race, as a people that has been wrong, would He be merciful to us, and forgive us for the blood that is on our hands. I realize that this happened in ancient generations but would He redeem it and raise up a generation that stands for and displays His righteousness instead of inventing and approving such acts of depravity. Amen.

**See the video on my facebook wall, entitled “Colosseum” for actual footage.

Leaving Rome - ciao!

7.4.11

Happy Birthday America! Well the fourth of July has never been quite like this for me. I’m on a train from Rome to Florence as I type this and as I watch the tall trees, rich green foliage and fields of yellow flowers speed past my window I can’t help but wonder if you are eating cotton candy at an Independence Day parade. Are you going to see fireworks? Have a cookout? Well, whatever you do, I hope you enjoy and you are reminded of the riches of freedom we have in Christ and also in the country we reside in until we reach Heaven - when we will at last be truly home.

When we arrived at the train station, less than a block from the little hotel where we stayed while in Rome, we weren’t exactly sure which train to get on. Things here are not very clearly marked and the people who walk around the train station helping people find things don’t work at the train station and expect you to pay them when they help you. People do anything here to make money off of tourists. We stayed clear from those guys. Eventually we found the right train and walked down to one of the last cars in order to find seats. We sat down in two empty seats and shortly after we started moving realized that we were supposed to be sitting in an assigned seat number. We took out our tickets and.... we were sitting in exactly the right place! Oh, God is good. He guides and directs us even when we are completely clueless! It is so comforting to know that the Spirit of God counsels over us - even we don’t know what to ask for. We often have no idea what we need, but the Lord knows AND he delights in giving good gifts to His children. I am so humbled by this. I feel the Lord has been so near to us and has protected us and guided us - undoubtedly more than we even realize. By HIS grace, we are leaving Rome without being pick-pocketed!

Kelly and I woke up this morning, our last day in Rome, and we walked less than a block to this little cafe we call “first gelato” - as you may guess, it’s where we had our first gelato in Rome. We ordered some food and ate off of each other’s plates. I wonder if people look at us and think that Americans have strange eating practices. I’m guessing not one local would want to share a meal with either of us for fear we would eat off their plate, too! We both ordered a cappuccino - rather surprising for Kelly, a non-coffee drinker - but she needed to have the experience of trying one. I was sooo proud of her! But..... I ended up drinking both which explains my slightly increased level of nervous energy at the m.m..mm..moment. We enjoyed a croissant, ham and cheese omelet, and AMAZING toasted bread.

When we get to Florence, we will check into a hotel which will be home for the next 2 nights. We have decided that the trick for traveling internationally from city to city is always staying at a place that is close to a metro train or bus stop. If you can learn to use the public transportation and plan your days well, you can cover much of a fairly large city in only a few days. We anticipate Florence will be a bit of a slower pace than Rome. We basically walked from 4pm to 10pm yesterday.... and hey, we even found a bad part of town! Don’t worry, mom... we walked behind other tourists that were arm-in-arm with their boyfriends... a strategy I’m convinced really works. If you’re with a man here, they don’t bother you. The other thing is .... there are a lot of British and Australian people who stand outside of tourist attractions like the Colosseum and the Vatican handing out flyers and talking up these big crazy parties that go on every night. When Kelly and I passed this one guy in front of the Colosseum - which we now refer to as “the hot mess” - he said to us in his suave, Australian accent, “Hey girls do you want to party tonight?” Kelly and I looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking and we just looked at him with the “I don’t speak English” face and a slight shake of our heads, smiled and kept walking. “You don’t speak English?” he said. “You sure look Australian.” Yup. That’s it. best compliment ever. You know how badly I’ve wanted to be Australian?!? Since I was a little girl my sister and I used to practice accents and once of our favorites was the Australian one.

Here’s a picture of the “hot mess” - he’s in the center of the picture with the white t-shirt. that’s his bottle of “juice” on the rock.

ooooh! internet time running out! gotta go! more later!

pictures from the Castel Sant'Angelo

more pictures :)

courtyard in the vatican

all the rest of these statues and paintings are in the Vatican museum. We could not take pictures in the Sistine Chapel. We were also not allowed to talk.

some pics of our time in rome!

Vatican and church today

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” I Corinthians 1:25

Some thoughts to share after a day visiting the Vatican Museum in Rome on Saturday (yesterday):

Do the brilliant accomplishments of mankind compare to the wisdom of God? Would the sculptures, fountains, roads, walls, castles, and museums all built to glorify man ever compare to the glory of God which is called out by every living thing, every sunset, every valley, mountain stream, and ocean wave? Can you even compare?!? Oh, the glory of God is everywhere! The evidence of His presence - fingerprints of an Awesome Creator - on everyone and everything! I am in awe of God’s intricate design - too complex to fathom and yet the simple beauty of a setting sun still causes my heart to skip a beat and tears to well up in my eyes as the common yet miraculous scene I behold shouts “THERE’S A GOD! THERE’S A GOD! THERE’S A GOD!” ... and this colorful ballet of light and shadows was set into motion by a word. Just a word from the lips of our Creator. That’s it... and this magnificent applause to the God of the universe happens, by God’s grace, every day.

Now, before I stand on my little soap box, let me just say that I appreciate the beauty of the art that I saw at the Vatican Museum today. We are to give our best to God and I do not judge the hearts of the artists who put forth so much effort, time, and skill to create the masterpieces I saw today. That is not my place. All beauty is God’s beauty and we worship God with the gifts and skills he has given us - and it is right that we give our worship to Him through art. I am an artist myself - I just have a problem with the fact that a place of worship to God has been turned into a tribute to man and a place to make money. The object of worship that I saw today was not the One True God ALONE.

“I am the LORD; that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” Isaiah 42:8

.... ok now it’s soapbox time.

I look around me, here in Rome at the evidence of years - centuries of building, learning, striving, self-improving, intellectual advancement, more building, more creating, more, more more.... Most structures are for the purpose of glorifying a mere mortal... a created being - rulers, conquerors, the pope, even ancient church leaders. I’m reminded of the fact that this all - even though it is beautiful to behold in this moment and even reminds me also that God is not limited by time and was God even long before these structures were built - but it is all dust. WE are dust! Here today and gone tomorrow. (Ps 103:14 “For He knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust.”) Man thinks they accomplished something great when for centuries people flock to visit something like the Vatican. Today we saw hall after room, after room after hall of amazing paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. It was a little much to take in all at once. Even our Rick Steve’s travel book says on p. 834 “After long halls of tapestries, old maps, broken penises, and fig leaves, you’ll come to what most people are looking for: the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.” Quite honestly, though, Kelly and I were a bit nauseous after visiting this. All the tour books tell you to visit here. It’s a “must-see” according to most. But for us we were struck with the fact that, basically - in a place where at some point in time this was supposedly a place of worship, it has become a money changing mecca of idolatry. Gift shops around every corner selling picture books and rosaries - postcards and keychains. I walked on with eyebrows angled down and a slight twinge of pain in my stomach. I’m not even going to start with the heresy observed in some of the paintings!!! Mary in the center with Christ on one side and God the Father on the other, the Spirit resting on her?!? Um..... nope. Jesus bowing down to Peter, handing him a pair of keys?!?! Um.... nope again. I could go on..... Amazing as this art may appear, much of it was devastatingly inaccurate, giving glory where it does not belong. One day, though, it will be reduced to dust. So what is all of this for? Is there anything that lasts?

Oh, but there is! The Word of the LORD endures forever. (Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.”) He has said that His glory matters. He has said that people matter. That is why He sent His Son to die on a cross, rescuing all who would put their faith and trust in Him from a life of striving emptiness, nothingness, and an eternity of suffering. He has made a way for us to know Him here on earth, and to spend eternity with HIM in heaven! He has come so that we might live the abundant life of a life in Christ and so that HE gets the glory! We are for Him. A life of worship to Him alone - undivided - indeed is what He desires for us... so that we have eyes to see His glory in all things big and small, but not just observe it - be a part of it - a living, breathing act of worship to our God. So let our art be for HIM! Let our lives be for HIM! Let our worship be for God ALONE and not for ourselves or for man. No one deserves glory except for the One True God, the lover of our souls and Creator and sustainer of the universe here, now, and beyond what anyone knows, sees, or can fathom - past, present and future!

.... soapbox dismount.... and she sticks the landing!

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church today.....

went to church this morning at an English speaking multi-cultural Baptist Church in Rome. The body of Christ is alive and well here! They had all the visitors stand at the end of the service and introduce themselves. Kelly and I were tempted to stay seated but, alas... we did stand. There were other visitors there from Ukraine, Colorado, (Chicago and Phoenix), Florida, and Asia! People in ethnic dress all the way to calico print dresses to Armani. Talk about an experience! And we all sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" together to start and end the service. Oh, the body of Christ is amazing! Praise the Lord for His faithful followers who worship and gather in all corners of the world!

bella roma

weàre in Rome.... so we ate gelato and pizza today. mmm... this city is alive with the hustle and bustle of daily life. people speak passionately and they are always on the move... except for siesta time, of course. kelly and I are struck with the kind nature of the people here... they are very service-oriented and do all they can to make your day.

feels like the fast pace of new york city. but with ancient ruins mixed with the modern architecture.

gotta go... have to go! internet cafe time about to expire!