The Urban Rose

Saying our goodbyes...

2009-06-19T03:52:00.001-07:00

Ciao Tutti! (Hello Everyone!)
It is so sad to think we are finishing our last week here in Roma L We leave for debrief in Switzerland tomorrow evening which I think I am ready for. I am sad to leave my new Italian friends. Two girls in particular, Eleonora (Nora) and Valeria. Yesterday we made brownies with them at Kanda and Jenny’s apartment (they are Americans who are interning with Campus Crusade in Italy). It was the first time Nora and Valeria had ever made brownies. It was so fun! And then of course they were delicious to eat afterward J! We played crazy eights while we ate them and then we went to a café in Trestevere (which means across the river). We met all of our friends from our time here at the café for a farewell gathering. We had some delicious aperativo (appetizers) and drinks. We had a great time but it was definitely bitter-sweet. I had to say goodbye to both Valeria and Nora but I hope that I will get to see them again someday!

Please pray for them, that the Lord would draw them into a sweet relationship with Himself! They are such beautiful women and it has been a privilege to get to become friends with them!

Our last week in Roma!

2009-06-16T09:41:00.001-07:00

Come va?! We are finishing out our last few days on campus! It has been so fun getting to know Italian students and share with them about my relationship with the Lord. Knowing Him is such a radical concept to explain with students here but it's been a privilege to see students view God in a way they've never thought of before and encounter His grace. Students like Lorenzo and Daniele have become my close friends of mine. It has been refreshing to be here and I am going to miss these students immensely.

Hope's mom and friend came in town Sunday so it's been fun sharing the culture with them and see them interact with our students. Also, last week I had a challenging and enjoyable experience speaking at our weekly meeting out of Ephesians and share what the Lord was teaching me. God has put a growing passion in my heart to communicate God's word in front of larger groups and I look forward to having more opportunities to do this when I get back to Chicago!

Pray for us as we finish out our time here, that we will have many opportunities to share Christ's love with Italians these last few days! Ciao ciao-mike

2009-06-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Above is us with Lorenzo and Laura at the party.

And this is Eleanora and Hope at the Trevi Fountain.

Fun Friends!

2009-06-09T09:35:00.001-07:00

Ciao Ciao!!!
Its hard to believe another week has flown by and that we have just a little over a week left in Rome! Wow!

This past week has been really fun though. I met an Italian student named Eleanora who is studying Psychology at the University of La Sapienza. She is finishing her first year and exams. She is so sweet and speaks English really well! I've really enjoyed getting to know her over the past few days and find out what she likes to do and what she believes. She has been really honest about what she believes and she is just becoming a great friend. I'm really looking forward to spending more time with her and finding out what she thinks about the gospel. Would you pray for her and for me as we continue to become friends and discuss spiritual things.

Last Thursday we had a party to invite our Italian friends to. The theme was a Texas BBQ and change. It was incredible! There were close to 20 Italians and about 15 Americans. We just met tons of people and then watched a short film called Liberte. The film was a great way to talk about God and spiritual things with others. Michael and I spent part of the evening with two of our friends from the University Tor Vergata, Lorenzo and Laura. They are really fun! Lorenzo is so thoughtful and crazy! We are looking forward to going to the beach with them this weekend. Would you pray for good conversations with them and opportunities to share the gospel!

Thanks so much!
Ciao!
Hope

History in the making

2009-06-03T08:41:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a free day at the Vatican so we all went to see the Sistine Chapel where Michaelangelo basically drew the story of the Bible from beginning to end. Crazy stuff. Then we saw the Pope address 60,000ish people in 5 languages at St. Peter's. I'm realizing there's a lot of history in this place and it's overwhelming to take it all in. But while many come here from all over the world to take pilgrimages and see where it all began, following Christ as a Roman seems to be a distant reality for most. The Bible?...Is it true? Can you really know God? Does God even exist? These questions flood the classrooms of the universities of today. I hope thru Agape Italia (the name of our movements here), God will reveal who He really is on these campuses.

Today we met with students from the psychology and archeology faculties of La Sapienza, many of whom we hope to see again tomorrow night at a BBQ we are hosting! As we talk with students, it is interesting to hear where they are coming from spiritually and it's refreshing to be able to share my life with them. Please continue to pray that we would speak boldly and clearly regarding our Lord, that He would open their eyes, that students would see His love for them. Grazie!

Ciao-mike

The First Week is Finished!

2009-05-29T11:19:00.001-07:00

Wow its hard to believe we just finished our first full week here in Roma! This week our missional team "Curlz" spent time at the university Tor Vergata. We were at the campus of Literature and Philosophy which is just outside the city. On Monday my action group and I met a few girls who were having lunch on the lawn. They were really nice and super friendly. We met them a few times each day to say hi and chat a little but they werent very interested in spiritual things. However on Wednesday Kate, Brittany, Jenny, and Kanda met some other girls who ended up meeting us last night in the Center for Gellato. We are looking forward to seeing them again this next week and getting to know them better.

Please pray for us to be able to share the gospel with them and that the Lord would capture their hearts.

Please pray for the language barrier to be broken as well as we seek to learn more Italian and as we come to meet more Italians!

Ciao Bella!
Hope

2009-05-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Above is one of the cafe's we go to for breakfast and time with the Lord.

And the Metra- there is a ton of graffiti everywhere.

2009-05-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

Our Missional Team in Roma..We Love our Gelato!!!
(Ty, Hope Mike, Kate, Brittany, Jenny and Kelly)

Here we are at Il Colesseo!

2009-05-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hope and her action group (Kelly, Kate and Brittany.

Il Colesseo (Colessium)

First week fully on campus

2009-05-26T10:01:00.001-07:00

Ciao!
Hope and I have been teamed up with a few of our students to join the missional team at "Tor Regada" and have had fun getting to know Italian students and build relationships with them. We are hoping to grab tiramisu with many of them this Thursday night and talk with them more about spiritual things so be praying for them. Ty, the student I have the priveledge of discipling this summer, and I went on to La Sapienza with a longterm intern here, Brian. We met up with Federico, a student from Venice that he has known for 4 months and is really close to starting a relationship with Christ. Like many Italian students, he is agnostic. We were talking today and was asking me questions about who the Holy Spirit was and what He was doing in my life. Afterwards he stated, "I want to experience the Holy Spirit!" He is so close to making this decision to follow Christ so please pray for him. Gotta run and meet some students for dinner...

Arrivederce-mike

Ciao!

2009-05-23T03:03:00.001-07:00

Ciao Friends!
We are here in Roma and are loving it so far! Last night I met with my action group for the first time. It consists of three women, Kate, Brittany and Kelly, and myself. We went to a seafood place. It was adorable and very Italian. It was the first time I have ever tried squid and octopus and clams. The squid and octopus werent too bad in the seafood salad but I didnt like to clams. Two of the girls got a pasta dish with crawfish in it. Their faces when they got their meals where hilarious. Over all I liked the place but I am not sure we will be going back!

Today is a free day and Michael and I are going to try to meet up with two Italian students we met yesterday to go to a park. Please pray for them- Marianna and Andre that they would want to meet and that we would begin to build a relationship with them as well as have opportunities to share the gospel!

Thanks for all your prayers!
Ciao!
Hope

We are here!

2009-05-22T08:58:00.001-07:00

We got in a couple days ago and are getting oriented to the culture. So far we have eaten lots of pizza, pasta and kabobs. Hope and I came with a team of 23 with students from Miami of Ohio, UVA, Purdue, Clemson, Rio Grande, Cleveland State, Lubbock Christian, and Madison from Harper College. Today was our first time on campus interacting with Italian students. They are so relational and want to hear more about this Jesus. Over half the students are either hostile or indifferent towards God and it is very different than one would think being the launching point for Christianity. We are excited to build relationships and see the gospel change lives here. Gotta run but we will write again soon!-mike

T- 24 Hours to Briefing

2009-05-16T22:04:00.001-07:00

Wow! We leave for Rome briefing in less than 24 hours! Today was a whirlwind as I look back on it. It began at 9:00AM this morning at Millinium Park for the Aruna 5K hosted by my Cornerstone students. There were about a dozen South Asian American Students who participated by raising/ donation money and running/walking the 5K. The students raised over $500 for an orgainization in Mumbai, India! It was a blast to see them complete it.

After that I met up with two girls who are going to Rome with us, Carrie-Lynn and Carmen, as well as the two girls who are staying in our home this summer, Emily and Ashley. The five of us went to the South Loop shopping area to get some last minute things for Rome and groceries :)

The afternoon followed quickly with cleaning and laundry and then to top it off we all had dinner together- Deep Dish Pizza from the best pizza in town, The Art of Pizza.

I think we will be ready to go come Sunday at 4:00PM. I am starting to get really excited!!!

Counting the days

2009-05-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful day today! Earlier Hope helped me get my fish tank ready for being gone for 6ish weeks and now I'm sitting out on our porch watching the El roar by while I write emails and work on talk. It's wild to think we leave in less than a week and about all that will happen Lord willing before then. I hope you are having a great day! You can follow our blogs as well on my facebook profile as well so feel free to stop by and let me know how you are doing! Well that's all for now. My dad flew in town to see my sister's baby and celebrate our birthdays so we're heading out!
ciao-mike

Roma

2009-05-11T08:56:00.001-07:00

We leave in a week! Hope and I are excited to give this site a makeover in preparation for updating you frequently about what the Lord is doing this summer.

One praise so far this week is that one of our students, Madison, who has had difficulties raising support, has seen $2000 pledged in the last couple days and only has $2200 left to raise by next week so please continue to keep her in your prayers.

More updates to come!...

Walking Everyday...

2008-01-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

So, I am going to be perfectly honest with you all... lately my walk with God has been up and down on my part. One week I am really dedicated to spending time everyday with Him and the next it is hit or miss. Each time I do spend quality time with Him it is so rich and makes me think a lot and I would think that this would want me to spend more time with Him. But instead of allowing Him to come first and dictate my day I have been putting everything else first and telling myself oh once I get this task done I will spend time in the Word-- and as we all know then it never happens or I push it back to right before I go to bed and then I know I am not giving God the quality time He deserves. I am seeking people (Malissa my discipler and coach pictured above) to hold me accountable to scheduling time with God into my day (having a schedule if very important to me:)) . And I have been studying and reading the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. And there is such good stuff in there. God has definitely been teaching me a lot about my attitude and the way I view myself and others. I am just so thankful that God is always faithful to me even when I am unfaithful to Him.

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is a daily choice. I can see how my walk and time with the Lord definitely reflects on walking the the power of the Spirit. When I am not spending regular time with God my flesh comes out instead of the Spirit. And sometimes it is a struggle. I find that I need to ask everyday for the Holy Spirit to be my guide and my light, otherwise I find myself getting frustrated or angry with little things like someone not using their turn signal in front of me when I am driving. And how am I to lead others if I am not being lead by Jesus and the Holy Spirit? I know it is a choice I must make each day to not be ruled by my flesh and fleshly desires but to surrender to the Lord and to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I would love your prayers and please feel free to add your comments.

Lovin' Him
Hope

WooHoo WrightCru!!

2008-01-23T16:18:00.000-08:00

This week I took the initiative to share the gospel at Wright College, leaving the results to God, and I had the opportunity to dialog with two students, Jen and Joy about God, Christianity and their school. They both said they grew up in Christian homes and went to church growing up. Jen doesn't go to church anymore but would consider herself to be spiritual. Joy still attends church with her family each week. Jen doesn't believe God is relevant to the students at Wright College or the school. She doesn't see God as being a priority but believes He exists. Joy said that she thinks it depends on which god you are talking about and the person you are talking to. She said each religion has their own god and that is ok. Neither of them wanted to know how to have a relationship with God because they consider themselves to already know how to but they did express genuine interest in coming to the Bible Study and Weekly Meeting of Campus Crusade at Wright College. I hope that I will see these girls again and am praying that they would come and experience fellowship with us at WrightCru sometime. Please join me in praying for them and that they would know God through Jesus in a real way this semester.

Leaning on Him,
Hope

Looking Forward

2008-01-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

This semester I am praying that God will use me as His servant by speaking to students hearts through meeting their felt need and their spiritual need. To serve them and share the message of Christ through the gospel. I am praying for IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology pictured above) to be used in the sorority by showering them with love and being available to talk and pray with the women who are living in Kappa. For Jenny and Delaina as they reach out to the women as well. I am also praying to be used in reaching out to international student at IIT. To become their friend and share my life with Ying, Yiran, Esther, LinLin, and Yolanda. I am praying for Daley College to be used in reaching women through a Bible Study with a student, Tamara. And I am praying for Wright College to be the hands and feet of Christ to the students and for Carlos to know the true love of God and Christ. Please join me in praying for these schools and students.

Love,
Hope

Camping

2007-08-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hiya! It has been a bit since our last update, but we have been without internet the past three weeks and still don’t have internet at our home yet. However we are hopeful to have internet by the end of the month. So right now I am sitting in our Chicago office and thinking over the past few weeks since we last updated you.

After we finished our time at Colorado State University with the Staff Conference we went camping in the Rocky Mountains with some of our friends. We camped for two days and two nights and had a blast. 5 friends, one large tent, two sets of tent poles, beautiful surroundings, and lots of rain! Here is a picture of all of us: Steve, Michael, Vanessa, Hope, and Bridget.

The first day of camping began with us packing our car to the brim with food, bags, the tent and people. Some how we managed to fit all we needed into one car-- it was amazing! After we packed we bought some food for the trip and to cook on the fire that evening. We then began the hour ride up the foothills and into the mountains to find a campsite. This was actually quite a task since we didn’t know we needed to call in advance to reserve a spot. Due to bad weather, we were able to locate a campsite and attempt to get it set up for the night.

When we arrived at our campsite we began to unload and pull out the tent. As we laid out the tent and one set of poles we realized we had no idea how it was supposed to go together. So we tried a few different ways before getting it right. It took us about an hour to set up the tent.
By the end of putting up the tent this is what we were left with:

And this is what our tent looked like:

It looks a bit sad and it leaked a bit when it rained, however we were very proud of our efforts. And come to find out the second night we put the tent up we used the second set of poles which turned out to be the correct set and our tent looked much better and didn’t leak as badly.

After completing the task of putting our tent up we decided we would go for a hike. So we drove up the mountain a bit farther and parked. We hiked around Bear Lake which was absolutely beautiful. We had a great time just goofing around too.

We spent about an hour at Bear Lake and then decided we should head back to camp to cook our food and start the fire. The fire was a process all in its self. It took some effort but with a little love and perseverance the guys got it going really well to their surprise.

Dinner was really good. We had hot dogs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and of course smores! After our great meal it started to rain and so we all climbed into the tent and prepared to sleep. Little did we know that our tent would begin to leak and create a large puddle at the door of our tent. This was ok seeing as how we were sleeping on a slope and the door of our tent was down the slope from our sleeping bags. However this was interesting for sleeping purposes. WE all did sleep and awoke to sunshine and a gorgeous day.

Day two of camping we packed up our tent and belongings and drove off to find a new campground. We attempted at a couple of places but had no luck but we finally found a place called Meeker Park.. First thing we did was set up our tent which only took us ten minutes!!! Well this time we used the other set of poles which were the correct ones and we knew how they were supposed to go. After setting up our tent we headed out to lunch back in Fort Collins and then to Michaels Aunt and Uncles house for some fun on the water. We swam a little and visited with them for a few hours and then headed back up the mountain. We attempted to start a fire again for dinner but failed multiple times. So we ate a few smores for dinner and then gave up the fire and played some games inside our tent before bed.

It rained again this night but with the proper poles and flat ground we kept much drier and slept better. It was a blast and we are all looking forward to doing it again. And we are looking forward to doing a better job next time knowing that we can learn from our mistakes!

What Are We Learning?

2007-07-25T12:44:00.001-07:00

Campus Ministry Days
The focus of these first few days was to reflect on who we are in Christ and remember that we are God's masterpiece. ("For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.- Eph 2:10")

Many of our staff came here drained physically, emotionally, and spiritually and it was refreshing to be reminded that God is still with us. That in our brokenness, the Holy Spirit will comfort and empower us to accomplish the purposes the Lord has called us to. And that He still relishes in us regardless of our struggles.

The Condition of Our Hearts Coming Here
So where were we mentally coming into this conference? Hope and I are so grateful for men and women like you that are partnering with us in the gospel to fulfill God's purposes. We have been praising God that our monthly support has reached the point where we can be working with students on campus full time. We rejoice in how faithful He has been to us even in our unfaithfulness. But I have to tell you, these last 18 months of our lives have brought us many times to our knees. Often we found ourselves asking God, when will You meet our financial need. It was a struggle to continue to find joy in Him considering our circumstances. And you know, we learned that it is not our business to know His timing as much as it was simply trusting in Him and not in ourselves. Too often our prayers reflect an outcry for a blessing rather than the Blesser. And the time we have had out here has helped us draw near to Him.

U.S. Staff Conference
The theme of this event was focused on how we can equip people to truly be life-long laborers for Christ. It was based off of our goal as an organization: To build spiritual movements everywhere so that everyone will know someone who truly follows Jesus. Often in Cru we talk about this strategy: Win folks to the Lord, Build them up in their faith, and Send them out equipped for God's purposes for their lives. Unfortunately, many of our students graduate and get consumed with the American Dream and ultimately end up serving a god of position and power. The answer? To "send" 100% of our students into their vocations equipped means we have to "build" into them 100%. This is the challenge before us as we hit campus in a few weeks and we are eager for the Lord to use us to touch the lives of these students.

Life on the Road:

2007-07-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

As many of you may know we are out in Fort Collins, Colorado at Colorado State University (CSU). We are out here with Campus Crusade for Ministry Days and Staff Conference. The journey out here was fun and a bit crazy at times. Here are some of the fun things we did on our way to Colorado.

We took our time driving out and enjoyed the scenery, states, and each other. The first day we drove through Illinois and Iowa and into Nebraska. We made a number of stops along the way. Our first stop was just inside Iowa at a restaurant called "The Shed" We were hoping to get some cinnamon rolls but they were out by the time we rolled in :). So we ordered a club sandwich to go, used the bathroom and bought some Dang Root beer and Butterscotch Root beer. The sandwich was well nothing to write home about but the Dang was amazing! We continued on our way after that and made a few small stops before dinner in Des Moines. We ate at an Italian restaurant called "Tumea and Sons" We ordered pesto ravioli and chicken fettuccine alfredo and shared both. We could see the courthouse from where we ate dinner and it looked so beautiful that we took a short jaunt by it to admire. (We have pictures up of all these sites and events- so check em out). After dinner we drove on toward Nebraska in hopes of staying there for the night. God painted a beautiful sunset for us to enjoy and it wasnt long before it got dark. As we approached Nebraska we decided to see a movie and then find a place to sleep for the night, which ended up being in the back of our Aztek at a rest stop- it was fun!

On day two of our travel to Colorado we awoke early and headed toward Lincoln, NE for breakfast at a diner- it was just ok. And continued the seemingly endless drive across the state. We decided that the speedlimit in Nebraska is so high because no one wants to stay very long- they want to get through it as fast as possible! Our next stop was for lunch at a little gem we came across called "Come and Get It BBQ" It was fabulous! We werent far from Wyoming at this point and so we drove on until it was dinner time and we stopped at a ChopHouse and then continued our drive now into Colorado to see our friend Johanna. Johanna is a wrangler in Clark, CO at a ranch called Vista Verde. We had a great time visiting her and enjoying the awesome scenery. It is one of the top places to stay. We camped out in our car again this night but we actually did stay at a camp site.

Day three started out with saying goodbyes to Jo and heading down Hwy 14 through the mountains and into Fort Collins. The drive was absolutely amazing!! This road follows the Poudre River through the mountains and out into the foothills. We soaked up every second of it. When we finally arrived in Fort Collins, we checked into our dorm room and then went to spend the evening with Michaels Aunt Jan, Uncle Ken, and cousin Sara. They live in Loveland, CO (ten minutes from where we are staying). We spent the day with them enjoying their boat on the lake behind their house, going to a festival in Loveland for dinner, walking through the brass sculpture park, and finishing the evening with doing some serious porch sitting and talking.

We were finally here and the following day we would begin the Ministry Days conference.