Random Thoughts

Dear Blogosphere:

I don’t know if that is even the right word. Is it just Blogsphere? ‘Cause that looks weird. It must be Blogosphere. And if it isn’t, NON TI PREOCCUPARE!!!! Va bene? Okay.

I don’t really know what to blog about, so I’m just going to make some italicized points.

It is now May. That is really strange. I have been living in Naples since the last week of January. Wow.

I’m twenty-four years old. I realize that is not old, but from my shoes, it seems old. I mean, it is the oldest I’ve ever been. Haha. When Jon Foreman was twenty-four he was writing amazing songs. I need to get started on that.

My brother is coming to Naples in like two and a half weeks. You have no idea how excited this makes me. I can’t wait to show him around this crazy place.

In basically one month and one week, I will say goodbye to Italy and hello to Belgium. I’m excited to see Hands On friends and hear about their experiences living in Europe. I’ll be real sad to say goodbye to Italy though. It’s a weird emotional roller coaster. I’m beyond excited to see my family and friends again, but I know I will miss this time of my life in Italy.

It is so much more than I could have ever expected or dreamed of. It has been a really hard time, but I have learned and grown so much from it. It is as if I’m starting to see the “real” world for the very first time. America is nice, but it is comfortable and easy for me to live there. Living in Naples has given me the opportunity to look at the world through the lens of a different culture. I’ll just say that appearances aren’t always what they seem. Life is truly a difficult thing sometimes and without the hope of Christ, I don’t know how people do it.

It is heartbreaking to sit on the train and look at all the people around you and realize that you are probably the only person on the train who knows Christ as Lord. And even more heartbreaking to realize how big this city is and how few believers there are. There are over four million people in Naples. Less than one percent are evangelical believers.

When I told people that I was coming to Italy, I got a lot of really mixed responses. Some people told me to enjoy my vacation. Others were confused as to why I was going to a country to work with the church when everyone there was Catholic and already believers. To that I say this – even if every practicing Catholic were truly a believer in Christ alone, the number of practicing Catholics in Naples is extremely low. I think about ninety percent claim to be Catholic, but anywhere from ten to four percent of that are practicing. And let’s get real, Catholicism is not Biblical Christianity. If that offends you, then talk to me about it. Biblical Christianity means trusting in Christ alone for salvation. And that’s not what Catholicism is about.

And this blog entry turned into much more than I expected. The end.