From Taylor Edmonds in Rome!

Hello from Rome, Prayer Partners!!

I hope that this email finds you all well and rejoicing in our Lord! Let me just start by apologizing for falling behind on updates. I've definitely let too much time slip by...I can't believe it's already been 7 months that I've lived in Rome!

These have been some busy months, and a lot of great things are happening here. The cool, wet days of winter and spring have passed and Rome has welcomed weeks and weeks of sunshine (and 90+ degree weather!). Our school semester is drawing to a close, so working with students to improve their English has transitioned into "crunch time" before exams. Everyone seems like they want as much practice as possible before their oral exams, which are basically all that makes up their grade.

Some news: Two new team members joined us to reach out to university students in Italy! Josh and Amber are both also journeymen who will be here for 2-3 years working with Intercambio to do language exchanges and build relationships with young Italians. Josh will also be helping in the videography department at Roma 3 (our university in Rome) to make connections with media-minded students, while Amber (who lives in Milan) will use her photography skills to connect with the artistic community in her city.

Team Rome also recently had a group of pastors from about 10 different churches visit the city for about a week to see firsthand what ministry in Rome looks like and to see how they can get involved. It was such a blessing to meet leaders from churches back home who share a passion for Western Europe and Rome! We were able to brainstorm ideas on how to reach Italians and where volunteer teams can join in.

PRAISES/PRAYER REQUESTS:

Please pray for Florence, who just accepted Christ after hearing the gospel for the first time from a group of believers who were visiting Rome. She worked as a tour guide for the group (one of whom was a girl from my college in Wake Forest). My partner Heidi and I were able to meet her the day after she gave her life to Christ, and now we're hoping to help her with discipleship and growing in the faith.

Pray for Josh and Amber, who are currently in language school that they stay positive and encouraged through these challenging days of learning Italian.

Pray also for Josh, who is having some visa trouble and may need to return home in August to wait for them to be resolved.

Pray for our friends Francesco and Emanuele. Heidi and I have been able to have some really exciting spiritual conversations with them and we can see how the Lord is working in their lives to draw them nearer to Him.
Francesco is very open and curious about our faith, and he has expressed a desire to learn more about our beliefs. Pray for opportunities to share and that God will continue to open Francesco's eyes and heart to the joy of life in Him!
Emanuele is a professing atheist who says that his greatest fear is death because he is terrified of the thought that he'll simply cease existing if there's no God. He can see that there is something different about the hope Heidi and I share in Christ, but he is still at the very beginning of his journey to faith. Pray that he will diligently seek out the truth and hope that can only be found in Christ!

Thanks again so much for all your thoughts and prayers! I'd also love to hear from you guys how things are going in your lives and how I can pray for you too. Also, if you have any other questions or would like to hear more don't hesitate to drop a line!

Taylor

(Taylor is serving a two year missions term in Rome. She is the daughter of NHC partner Carol Edmonds.)