“What’s next?”
You all want to
know, and it’s completely understandable. I’ve given little details here and
there, but it’s overwhelming for me to try and write it out. I’ve written a
support letter, asking for support, but I’m not sure how to write a blog about
it without it sounding awfully dry and boring.
What’s next? Well first, I should tell you that I
graduated in December 2013 with my BA in Psychology with a minor in creative
writing (poetry). I stayed in Bowling Green (Ohio) until the middle of June. (I
worked as the baker at Tim Horton’s.)
I am going to move
to Rome, Italy with International Teams for two years.
How did I pick International Teams and who
are they? In the summers of
2012 and 2013, I went to Hungary with a different organization to teach English
in refugee camps. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done and it fit my soul.
The summers were incredibly
different experiences, which showed me that I was actually interested in
refugee work, not just attached to one place.
I learned a lot about people, God, myself during those two summers. One
thing I noticed was that it seemed like the countries receiving refugees didn’t
seem to want to receive their stories. They’re invisible in a lot of places, or
at least, they’re not seen.
I was drawn to ITeams in part because of the value that no one is
invisible. Another thing I love about ITeams is the goal that everyone
would have access to food, freedom, and forgiveness. ITeams’ vision is
to see lives and communities transformed by the power of God, doing this
by bringing people together to help the oppressed.
Originally I talked with ITeams about writing for the organization, but
after going back to the refugee camp another summer, I realized I wanted to be
with the people. So after almost two years of talking, interviewing,
personality assessments, psychological assessments, skype calls, and an endless
amount of emailing, I was accepted to go to Rome for two years, to work with
refugees and whoever else God has us interacting with there.
I know a little bit about the ministry in Rome, but I don’t really know
what my day-to-day life will look like. I’m okay with this, because I am one
hundred percent sure God knows what He’s doing there, but it’s a bit
unsatisfying to have to say I don’t know whenever I’m asked.
What I do know is that social support for refugees in Italy is pretty
bad. I know that there is a refugee center that the ITeams team currently runs,
and that my team wants to fill as many needs in our community as we can.
Whatever the needs are there, that’s what we’ll focus on. I know that we want
to pass the ministry off to the Italian church, and that we don’t want to be an
umbrella organization, but rather working with and alongside our
neighbors in the community.
What does the
timeline look like? I need to learn Italian. ITeams has a program for
me to go through for that. I need to take a confirmation trip to Rome, to make
sure it’s where God wants me. I need to attend training, online and in real
life. And of course, I need to raise a lot of money. I’m aiming to leave next
summer, but it’s not a deadline and only God knows how long it will take.
I’ll need about 36,000 dollars a year, and I need to have all my money
for two years pledged before I can leave. It’s $3,000 a month, which is incredibly
reasonable for Europe. The total includes all the fun stuff like taxes and
insurance.
That’s what I’ve got for you right now. It definitely has not sunk in
that I will Rome will be home, at least for a season.
A few things:
I’ll be sending update emails- please let me know (and give me
your email address) if you want to receive those!
If you want to receive a packet of information I will gladly send you
one!
I need a prayer team. I’m thinking I’ll send special prayer email updates
to just the people who want to pray for me regularly. So let me know if you’re
interested in that as well!
Finally, if you feel led to support me financially here and now, that
would be a huge gift to me! You can donate online https://wwws.iteams.org/us/giving-form and stick my name (Phoebe Lawry) in the box.
I’d love to hear from you! What’s going on in your life? What are you
learning? How can I be praying for you? Please comment or email me!
Thanks for sticking with me through this long post, friends! (I promise
most of my blog posts will be more fun!)
