Just a quick note to tell you that the great state of Michigan came through for us yesterday, and Lord willing Thursday evening Melodee will be flying back to Italy!
Hopefully we will be able to re-apply for citizenship by the end of the year!
Thank you so much for being with us on this journey and for putting up with the extra e-mails!
I will not write Merry Christmas yet because I hope to say with a picture of ALL OF US TOGETHER!!
I just wanted to share with you that God is answering our prayers!
Eva waiting for Mommy!
Melodee called the Background Check People (BCP) in Lansing, and at first they said that it would not be ready before her departure date, but when she explained her urgency of coming home for Christmas, they went out of their way for her!
They have it all signed and ready to go!
This morning she will be driving from Ohio to Michigan to pick it up, and then she has an appointment 20 minutes away to have it legalized so that she will have what she needs to come back to Italy!
That means that, Lord willing, she will have the documents with a day to spare!
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!
At the risk of overwhelming your inbox, I just wanted to let you know that Melodee got back her background check from Pennsylvania, so today she is headed to Harrisburg to get it legalized (Apostille).
That means that we are a quarter of the way there, and hopefully soon we will be at half!
Please pray for:
Thank you for praying!
In other news…
My translation of The Valley of Vision is ready to print!
At the moment, they are raising the funds to be able to print it.
As you can imagine, Christian publishing in Italy is very much a mission!
If you would like to donate to the cause, you can do it by donating to Coram Deo Ministries (Fund #4600) here, and letting them know that you would like to donate for the Valley of Vision in Italian project.
Do you have a countdown app on your phone? I have at least two!
One specifically for Christmas, and another one for everything else (and Christmas!).
I have two countdowns that are particularly on my heart right now, and prayers.
Most urgently, I need to finish tomorrow’s sermon.
This is my weekly countdown. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will be preaching from Matthew 4:12-17. I admire you pastors that get your sermons prepared weeks in advance! I’m still tweaking until Sunday morning at 8, when I am doing well.
More importantly, we are counting down to Melodee’s return.
Her return ticket is for December 19th, which is only 12 days away.
Unfortunately, all we can do is wait and pray that her background checks from Michigan and Pennsylvania arrive in the mail so that she can then turn around and get the apostilles done.
Please pray!
We are doing ok. We have our moments.
My parents have been a great blessing, feeding us lunch almost every day.
We have friends who have also brought us meals too.
I am trying to not neglect my ministry and my parental duties.
The kids have tried to keep busy with their school work.
But it’s hard. Maybe you are one of those who have been there.
We tried to listen to the song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” yesterday, but it did not go well.
Thank you for supporting us in this challenging Christmas season through your prayers.
We thank the Lord for Daniel and Sara, who gave Melodee a ride to the airport Tuesday!
Since you asked, Melodee made it back to the States, and last time I talked to her she was headed to Michigan for the first and most important leg of her trip, along with her mom.
Here is Melodee’s checklist:
Eva cooking
In the meantime, my parents are feeding us lunch almost every day, I am re-learning how to run the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, the kids are helping me cook and clean, and in my free time, when not playing soccer mom, I am trying to be a pastor, get my sermon done and anything else that comes my way!
We appreciate your prayers!
