Sounds of the Bridges of Verona

Here is another video that has 'sounds' from the various bridges in Verona. It helps you imagine the people crossing them, as well as the life that is passing by. Take a moment and pray for the souls that are behind the sounds you hear.

* Drivers of cars
* Children
*Adults
*Bicycles
* etc.....

Verona Video

If you want to see some good video of Verona, check out this video from YouTube.....

Borgo Trento - Trento Neighborhood

Borgo literally means "Burg" or rather neighborhood in Italian. Trento is a city in Italy, but is also the name of a neighborhood in Verona. As we have been looking at different areas of the city in which to live, we had determined that we did not want to live in the historic center of the city. The buildings are amazing and beautiful there. There is also lots of options of things to do. The problem is that because there are so many tourists in Italy, the shopkeepers in the historic area assume that if you are a foreigner that you are a tourist. Who wants to invest time in friendships that you assume are with people that are leaving because they are tourists? So, we wanted to go to a calmer, less touristy part of town. Also, we wanted somewhere that was true Verona. In looking for an apartment, there is a neighborhood, that somehow had not stuck out very much before. It is Borgo Trento. With the potential of our ministry launching near where we live, we continued to consider the spiritual characteristics of the city. There are no evangelical works in Borgo Trento of which we are aware. And of course, as we have written about before, only six percent of Italians consider themselves practicing, and eighty-five percent does not attend mass nor confession not even once throughout the year. Not sure, if this is the neighborhood where we will live or not. But as the prospect grows, our excitement quickens. Soon, we should have a better idea of where we will live, if not the actual address of our new apartment!

Beryl Sloneker, 1917-2009

Then another man stood before you, he said "Remember the time,
A missionary came to your church, His pictures made you cry.
You didn't have much money but you gave it anyway.
Jesus took that gift you gave
And that's why I'm in Heaven today

Last week I went to the hospital to see Mrs. Sloneker, a 91 year-old prayer warrior. She was curled up weary from heart failure and years of waiting to go Home. As soon as she heard my name she asked, “When are you going to Italy?” Her daughter was shocked at her mental clarity. She knew. She had been praying and she knew exactly what God was doing. She died that night. Today I went to her memorial service. The last song sung was, “Thank You” by Ray Boltz. As we watched a slide show we saw pictures of people around the world. They were miscellaneous people until one of them was me. I was surrounded by some of my Haitian children. Later, I found out that those pictures were of people the Sloneker family loved and prayed for.
A year ago today many of you began your commitment to pray for the work God is going to do through me in Verona, Italy. It’s coming. I am preparing my application for a Religious Worker Visa. I’m buying a one-way ticket. The real estate agent is looking for the right apartment. If God is not in these things, they are in vain. Thank you for praying. I need you. The people in Verona need you.

Please pray for the spaghetti growers on the Switzerland-Italy border. They are at risk of losing this year's crop. Conditions are similar to the what they were in 1957. Please watch this short documentary and please remember to pray for these hard workers. Thank you.

Looking Forward...not Behind.

As has been our habit for nearly two decades, we like to read aloud to our kids. The book I'm currently reading to them is one of my favorites. It's called Dove, which is also the name of the author's boat. It's written by and about Robin Lee Graham who sailed around the world single-handedly as a teen back in the 1960s. In it, he writes about some of the places he and his wife, Patti (whom he met and married during his five-year voyage) revisited:

"Sometimes, we backtracked Dove, but when we paid a return visit to a cove or beach it never looked as lovely the second time around. We'd find a lagoon that was really beautiful and return to it perhaps two days later, but the water was colder, the colors more subdued, the wildlife less interesting. After this had happened several times we learned not to look over our shoulder. It was the next place that mattered, the view around the next headland, the swim in the next lagoon."

We heard just a few days ago that our team leaders have received their needed support and have begun preparations to leave for Verona in early June. Fellow teammate, April, who likewise has her needed support in place, will follow a few weeks later. We are so thrilled and excited for them.

We have enjoyed our time in China and in the States. But, we are looking forward to the next cove, the next headland, the next lagoon. We are looking forward to Verona!

Matt, Angie, and April, we will join you there, soon!

Pre-Departure Stage Transition

Angie and I have just announced that we are heading back to Italy in June, after receiving some new financial commitments this week. Read more about it at our blog at http://www.thecrossersblog.com.

You'll be seeing more about the process on here and in our updates. Send us your email if you would like to receive our updates!

In Christ,
Matt & Angie

Dry calls....

When I got back from Colorado I was so pumped and ready to go to Italy right away.  I am ready to pack my bags and go start learning Italian.  It was such a rejuvenating time.  

I got back and was bombarded by support raising.  My bubble popped.  I thought to myself, "It's going to be so much easier from now on to raise support!"  Well, I think it is actually gotten harder, but I am more aware of what I'm doing and also know how to balance my days between language learning, fundraising and prayer and scripture time. (that's a BIG +)  

Believe it or not, but there are 300 churches in Wichita, KS alone!  Today I called about 10% of them.  Yup, 30 churches.  It was funny because by the 15th church I called, it started to be kind of fun and I noticed myself being more friendly and cheery about it.  

This is what my dialogue was and I stumbled all over it, but I'm learning to communicate my message better... 

"Hi! my name is Brandi Davis and I'm a missionary raising financial support.  Is there a missions coordinator or pastor that I could talk to at your church?"  

The receptionist would answer and say these following choices:

• They are lay leaders
  
• Let me find out who that is.. just one second
• Our pastor is in charge of the missions
  
• They are out of town, call back on Monday
• Here is their email 
  

So I got a lot of church homework cut out for me!  

If they did not answer I left a message and said:

"Hi, my name is Brandi Davis and I'm a missionary raising financial support. (pause)  I work for Team Expansion, which is a church planting missions organization based in Louisville, KY.  I plan to go to Verona, Italy to start a church plant with 7 other team members.  I would appreciate your call back.  Please call my cell phone at 316-259-6044 

Thanks and Have a great day!

I kind of sounded like a salesman despite the few hiccups, sneezes and long pauses because I forgot what to say.  

I have learned that the connections that you have are only the beginning.  There are millions of connections to many different churches, you just have to find them.... 

I found a whole lot today.

That was my adventure for today, which produced a headache and fatigue.  The great thing about it is that I'm not scared of dry calls anymore!  I actually like to do it; as weird as that may sound, it's true.

Just a minute ago a pastor of a church that I contacted called back and sounded interested!  See.... connection! 

I'm feelin' good:)

Distance from Verona to other Countries

So, tonight before bed, I was playing around with Google Maps. Great fun, if you have never played with it. Unfortunately, there still are no "street level" photos of Verona, but I did check to see how close Verona is to other countries. By car, Verona is 2 hours and 24 minutes from Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. It is 3 hours and 35 minutes from Germany and Croatia. And it is 4 hours to France.

It is interesting to see how "close" a city in Northern Italy is to so many countries. Also, once the church is firmly established in Verona and multiplying in the surrounding areas think how close those new offshoots would be to neighboring borders! The Verona church could someday be the launching pad for Southern European mission endeavors!!! We must keep praying for the foundation of the church in Verona and for those to come to know Christ in a daily relationship.

Greetings from Colorado...

Hi! We are currently attending MTI...which stands for Missionary Training International. It is located in Palmer Lake, Colorado. We are getting ready to begin week number 4 out of the 5 weeks we are going to be here. The first 2 weeks were a program called PILAT. It provides you with many techniques and tools to use when you are learning a new language. We found it helpful and will definitely apply it when we start learning Italian! We are now in a program called SPLICE. It's a pre-field training which focuses on strengthening your skills for cross cultural life and ministry. So far, we really like it and feel like it will be beneficial to us when we arrive on the field. We have also been thankful to attend the program with another member of our team, Brandi Davis. It's been so nice to see her everyday and get to know her better! We have also been able to spend some time with the The Blackburn family who live in nearby Colorado Springs.

Here are some pictures from our trip so far...


Mountains surrounding MTI


This is a little town we visited called Manitou Springs. It's located at the base of Pike's Peak.


Manitou Springs is known for their natural mineral springs. Their are about 12 located all through the town. We found this one and Brandi decided to try it out!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Hope everyone is having a great 2009!
-Brandon and Savannah Eaton

An "Easter Egg" in Michelangelo's Last Judgement

As we are going to Italy and will be using art as a means of reaching out into the community, I have been studying some of the great Italian artists. Far and away, my favorite is Michelangelo. The works I like the best are his sculptures Pieta and David, and the scenes from the book of Genesis frescoed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Another of his more interesting works of art is the painting, The Last Judgment, which is also in the Sistine Chapel right behind the pulpit, where the Pope stood to give Mass. During the project, the Pope's Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, opposed the depiction of nude figures in the chapel. In response, Michelangelo worked da Cesena's semblance into the scene as Minos, judge of the underworld. (He's the demonic figure with the ears of a donkey in the lower right hand corner of painting.) Upset at this insult, he complained to the Pope telling him that Michelangelo had placed him in hell. The old Pope, who apparently had a sense of humor, is reported to have said, "That is too bad. If you were in purgatory, I could help you. But my jurisdiction does not extend to hell, so the portrait will have to remain."

While that is a funny story, the painting is not. It is, as its title declares, a depiction of the last judgment whereby Christ will separate those destined for a resurrected eternity with God and those destined for eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire with Satan and his demons. Because Hell is a real and literal place, we want to spread the Good News that there is an alternative to this place of agony -- the way to which God opened when He sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Lord, whether we are in the homeland of Michelangelo, or here in the "New World," help us to "snatch others from the fire and save them." (Jude 1:23)

Quoting a European

Atheism is the main faith in Europe. If you believe in a religion of any faith you are laughed at.
-D.R.

Ov Ooo

I spent the evening with my best friends and their two adorable children. The little guy is almost two and is just the cutest thing. Tonight we played the Love You game. He would jump from the ottoman into my arms and then we would say "Love You" to each other. Except his words sounded more like Ov Ooo. It was a delightful game, and even though it lasted a long time, I couldn't grow tired with it.

I loved watching him stand tall and "jump" to me. Well, he didn't really jump. He just leaned forward and I picked him up and lifted him high and swooped him to me.

Sometimes it feels like we're jumping - it's scary and it's hard and it's all we can do not to just give up and stay where we are. Yet, however wide the chasm seems, the Lord's arms are going to be there to swoop us to Him. He's not waiting to catch us when we land. He's carrying us through.

So, as we draw close to Him let's proclaim Ov Ooo and hear His love in return.

An Italian Benefit

Here are some pictures from my fundraiser!  It was a Christmas concert/art auction.  

me playing the guitar

"The First Noel"

My table decorations

The Stage

"Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!"

All by candlelight

The Concert Goers

"The Musicians"

Italian Trivia

"Angels we have heard on high"

"Go tell it on the Mountain"

"Away in the Manger"

"Silent Night"

Ben on the violin!

These are just pictures of the concert.  I also got it all on video!  I'll put pictures of the art and of the wonderful food donated later!  

Verona in pictures

I was hunting up info on the annual nativity display in the arena and came upon this site. I don't have a lot of info on the photographer at the moment, but she has some really good pictures and some interesting info on Verona! So check it out-
http://veronadailyphoto.blogspot.com/ It's not quite a daily photo, but very frequent. Have fun exploring! Maybe we'll meet this lady someday!

Rest

Last night was "Snuggle Night" at our house. Snuggle night has looked different through the years, but last night it meant that it was Bryan's turn to snuggle with Mama. As a result, I was relegated to his bed. In the past few weeks, I have grown increasingly dissatisfied with our waterbed and haven't rested well. Last night, in contrast, I slept as peacefully as the proverbial log and woke up rested and refreshed.

Sometimes, that's how I feel about our time in America and our upcoming time in Italy. I find myself growing more discontent here in America. I know that God is allowing this and that He is bigger than the oft accused "economy." I know that in His timing we will finally arrive in Italy and this time in America will fade like a dream upon waking. In any case, I know that once we do arrive in Italy, I will breathe a deep and restful sigh of peace.

Mumbled Thoughts

Tonight I went grocery shopping. I started out tired - really tired. And when I'm tired, my thinking abilities go somewhere between Haiti and Texas. As I'm walking along, I find myself thinking and even speaking in Creole.

This will be the test of Italian... when I go out late at night, am I thinking in Italian?

Team Retreat - Day 01

So, the National Missionary Convention ended this morning and our Team Retreat started this afternoon. It was a great first day, breaking the ice, doing some Team Building exercises and hearing from John & Judy Webb, Team Care Pastors. We are looking forward to a full day tomorrow and a half day on Tuesday. We'll post more pictures soon.