Update from Taylor

(Taylor is the daughter of one of our church partners. She's serving a two year term in Rome with the Journeyman program of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. For security reasons I've left out her last name.)

Hello from Rome, Prayer Partners!

I hope the warm summer months have been treating you all well! It's really been heating up in the city, with many days pushing 100 degrees. Surprisingly, it hasn't been as hard as I anticipated to enjoy the sunny summers here without air conditioning. I've been thankful that God's made the human body able to adapt well!

Things have been pretty quiet around here as far as time with friends goes. Romans often go on long vacations (as in nearly all of July and August!!!) to get away from the heat and spend some time with family. Last weekend, I decided to follow suit on the vacation idea, so I went with my coworkers Heidi, Stephanie and Amber on a short, 3-day trip to Cinque Terre in northern Italy. It's a beautiful area with 5 tiny villages dotting the coastline and a 9 kilometer hike up and down mountains connecting them. We really enjoyed the grueling hike, and especially some beach time afterwards! This short trip was a real blessing, because the next few weeks will be pretty busy.

The first week of August (the 1st till the 7th), I'll be joining all the company's workers in Bavaria, Germany for a conference. We'll be learning more about how to reach Western Europeans with the love of Christ, and we'll also have a rare opportunity to gather with other believers for a time of worship in our own language! Please pray for safety in traveling, and open eyes and ears eager to learn!

Two days after the conference, Heidi and I will leave for Spain (the 9th till the 23rd). We and 9 other Journeymen and Journeywomen from all over Western Europe will be taking part in a pilgrimage called the Camino de Santiago...basically for us a 350 kilometer walk across north-west Spain, finishing in the town of Santiago de Compostela (the last city visited by the Apostle James before his death). More than 100,000 people complete the pilgrimage each year, some just looking for a good hike, some searching for answers to spiritual questions, and some working through difficult times in their lives. Our small group will be going for two weeks, hoping to meet people from our current countries so we can walk alongside them in their journey of faith. Pray for opportunities to have Spirit-led encounters with pilgrims! This will be quite a challenging trip, both physically and spiritually. We'll be walking sometimes as much as 20 miles per day, relying completely on the Lord to sustain our strength by His grace. Pray for endurance and protection from injury, but especially for a deepened walk with Christ!

Thanks again for your prayers and support! I'll fill you in on how the pilgrimage goes once I get back (and recover the use of my legs!)

Blessings,
Taylor