Josh Furnal

It took two hours to take the trash out this afternoon. The dumpster is just at the end of my street, but it just took that long to get back to my apartment. On my way to the dumpster, Orfeo and his girlfriend Alessia, stuck their heads out of their apartment window and said, “Hey Josh, you want some coffee?” I turned around and looked up and said, “Sure, I’ll be up in a second.”

After I threw the trash out, I went up to Orfeo and Alessia’s apartment. I had never been up there before; I had just known them from talking with them and Bruno in the piazza at night, this last summer. We have exchanged greetings in passing, but nothing beyond that in conversation. They left the door open so I would know which apartment was theirs, and I was greeted warmly into their house. We sat around their kitchen table and drank the typical after-lunch espresso, making friendly conversation. After we were done with our coffee, Orfeo left the kitchen for a second, and returned with a huge article that he plopped down in front of me on the table. The first thing I noticed about the article was that it was about ‘stomach worms’ and that it was in English. He told me that he and his girlfriend needed to understand this article for some research they were doing for their doctorates in veterinary parasitology. He asked if I would be willing to help them learn English and in return, they would help me with my Italian studies. I assured them that I was not up to date on my veterinarian terminology, but I would be glad to help them out. Orfeo said that would be no problem because they were familiar with the lingo.

Within the following TWO HOURS, I met their pet lovebird, Pedro—who was a pretty flighty character. They felt pretty open to discuss matters that I was always told were not polite to talk about: religion and politics. They had a lot of questions about what “my religion” believed in comparison to that of Catholicism. Their theological understanding went as far as Dan Brown (author of the Da Vinci Code) could take them and they had questions about Jesus’ relationship with Magdalene, the formation/authorship of the New Testament and its relationship to the “hidden gospels” of the apocrypha. I was quite surprised at their openness and such questions, but I felt comfortable to speak freely about Jesus’ love for people and willingness to be with people that weren’t valuable to society. I shared with them that I thought Magdalene may have been of ill-repute, but that they were friends and not lovers (as Dan Brown suggests the opposite). They asked if “my religion” was under the pope or if we had something like a pope. I got to explain a bit about our churches freedom to operate without papal authority and how I really liked John Paul II. On further topics of authority, they inquired about my feelings about Bush and the U.S. involvement in Iraq. I shared that I felt that war was not a good thing and that the American people are good people, but that the government tends to take a Machiavellian approach to its self-preservation. I shared how I felt that the philosophy of “the ends justifies the means” does not better humanity but often destroys it and that I have no hope in politics. The conversation slowly died down and they told me they had to get groceries before the store closed. Orfeo showed me out and contentedly said, “We agree with all you have said.” We scheduled a time at the end of January to get back together and practice English and Italian while saying our goodbyes.

Someone must have said a prayer for me this morning. Normally, I am not able to carry on a conversation in Italian for two hours straight, but we somehow managed to communicate. After living here for several months, today really showed me how far I have been able to come with the language, and how God uses us in everyday situations. I hope to share further with Orfeo and Alessia as I finish up my last few months here in Perugia. But I would really appreciate your prayers for guidance and for more opportunities like this. I still have to connect back up with Bruno, but he wasn’t home this afternoon. Who would have thought that taking out your trash could be so eventful?

I just got back from lunch with Bruno. He is one of my elderly neighbors and over my time here in Perugia, we have become good friends. His first words to me (which had to be translated) were: ‘I don’t like America, and I really don’t like Americans.’ the fact that I was a non-catholic and from a quasi-Irish decent, really didn’t sit well with him either. I thought this was for sure going to be a rough go at it. But over time, many nights spent this summer out in the garden listening to him speak really fast, catching a word or two here and there, through his cigarette smoke and laughter, I have been able to establish a good relationship with him.

Since winter has come, we haven’t gotten to hang out much. But during our conversations this summer, he had mentioned that he has always wanted some baseball gear. I filed that away, and this Christmas, had my mom ship over 2 baseball gloves, a bat, and a ball. Christmas eve, I took him the gloves and ball. Yesterday, I took him the bat, which finally showed up. This morning, he buzzed my door (rousting me outta bed) and invited me to lunch.

So, I went over there and his maid and wife joined us for a typical Umbrian lunch. It was great! I wasn’t sure of all the kinds of pastas/lasagna’s I ate, but it didn’t matter because they were delicious! Our conversations mostly centered on the differences between American and Italian culture, politics, and a little religious talk–mainly how the ‘god we trust’ is really the dollar and capitalism. We laughed and had a good time. I found out he used to work for the chocolate factory here in Perugia for 36 years. He told me that my Italian was way better since this summer. That meant a lot, because he isn’t one to dish out a ton of compliments. But I did feel comfortable enough to make a few jokes about some different things, and they laughed. It’s a real good feeling to have a handle on something just enough to tell jokes about it.

On my way out, Bruno told me to ring him in a few days and we would do it again. This looks like it is the beginning of a beautiful relationship…

Please keep praying for our team to keep developing our friendships to the glory of God.

I have been reading this great book, Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year by Robert E. Webber. It has helped me start to understand what the significance is behind the liturgical calendar and how it is used to form our spirituality. We are finishing up the Advent season where we, alongside the likes of Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Mary, await and long for the coming Messiah to bring deliverance. It is the season where we pray that God would break in on us and create us anew. Christmas is coming upon us in a few days, and if you are like me, you may still be rushing to get everything ready. But if you are able, step away from all the consumerism and festivities. Focus your heart toward the Christ that was born in Bethlehem, and pray that he might be birthed in you. Acknowledge that your life in God is a gift of union with Jesus Christ which is calling you to bring your life into his life.

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, and pray that you are filled with His presence, this holiday season. The glory of God which was so far off has been brought very near. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1.4-5 TNIV).

It’s almost 6pm here, and I am sitting on my couch with a feeling of contentment. Why? Because I just finished my language school class, and I don’t have to go back for a month! As I was headed out the door, my teachers were quick to remind me to practice over the break so I wouldn’t lose what I have learned. It does feel good to kick the shoes off and plop down on the couch just after your mind has been raked across the coals of Italian grammar. I really do feel good about where I am currently with the language, but it does feel good to take a break after about five and a half months of school. Anyway, I am not writing this email to tell you about school.

I am writing this email to you in order that you would fervently pray for our team this week from Sunday to Wednesday. We are taking time away from everything and going to a small area about an hour away from Perugia for solitude and prayer. Our team does this at least once a year and this is my first time to participate. We also do some planning and visioning for the coming year. I will be responsible for presenting some things in the realm of discipleship for our team. I would really ask that you pray about this.

Henri Nouwen offers this:

“… we have accepted the idea that ‘doing things’ is more important than prayer and have come to think of prayer as something for times when there is nothing urgent to do … our behavior often expresses the view that prayer is a waste of time … we will always want to do something else before we pray … Therefore, prayer is in many ways the criterion of the Christian life. Prayer requires that we stand in God’s presence with open hands, naked and vulnerable, proclaiming to ourselves and to others that without God we can do nothing … we have turned prayer into a last resort to be used only when all our own resources are depleted. Then even the Lord has become the victim of our impatience. Discipleship does not mean to use God when we can no longer function ourselves.”

Here are some things to pray about while we are in solitude:

• Pray that the enemy would be far from us and would not interfere with the affairs of the Kingdom
• Pray for us that we would have this time to seek God’s face and listen to what he desires for us to do here
• Pray that this time would be fruitful for us as we hash out logistics for the coming year.
• Pray that our team would come out of this a more intimate community which embodies the gospel here in Italy which will bring the Kingdom nearer
• that we would return to Ancona in the power of the Spirit, and news about [Jesus would] spread through the whole countryside (Lk 4.14 TNIV)

This battle is fought on our knees…

It is good to be back at my place in Perugia. This past week, I have been in Ancona for thanksgiving and for a few activities we have done at La Via. Thanksgiving was a great time. We had all the fixins: turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin/apple/pecan pies, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, okra, corn, homemade bread, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, and great friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Friday was our coffee house night at La Via and we had a great turn out. I got my hair cut and invited the lady cutting my hair, and I invited a waitress from a restaurant. Both of them showed up and had a good time practicing their English. I brought my guitar and gave my first live performance. They didn’t boo me off the stage, so I think it went alright. I played the 4 songs that I knew somewhat well. It was a good time to meet old friends from Ancona and make new ones.

My good friend Matt Hodges flew in for about a week and it was really a blessing to have him here. On Saturday, we went with one of our friends, who is in the navy, to the base here in Ancona for lunch. It was pretty cool to eat there, although we did miss out on putting up the Christmas tree at Matt and Angie’s. But we had a great time and had some good food. I start back up at school tomorrow and I am anxious to get it done. I have about another month or two left in their courses before I start doing independent studies. This week in Ancona really gave me a glimpse of what is to come for me. I was able to converse in Italian with some, and ask good questions, but still felt confined within certain limits. So it was a good booster to me to see that I am picking up things and I still have a long ways to go, but I feel good about that ‘long way.’

I hope you are doing well. I would love to hear what you have been up to. Here are some things you can be praying about for me and my team:

• Pray for our language skills, that we would continually engage our limitations, even when we don’t feel like it.
• Pray for our intimacy with God, that we would pursue Christ in the midst of the desert and experience breakthrough
• Pray for our team’s unity, that God would continually bring about a community to redemption that would be of some use to him in Ancona
• Pray for those we meet throughout the week, that we would be able to build relationships with them and make lasting friendships for the sake of the Gospel

I just returned from a Church of Christ convention which took place in Aprilia (a town just south of Rome and just north of Anzio). I hitched a ride with Harold and Enid Fowler and just before the convention began, we went down to Anzio. I learned that this small town was one of the critical campaigns for the Allies in World War II.

“In December 1943 the Allied line was reinforced by a French corps equipped with American arms. With this added strength at his disposal, General Clark used the U.S. VI Corps, with British and American troops, in an attempt to envelop the western flank of the German line, while he simultaneously tried to break through the Gustav Line. The VI Corps made an amphibious tending at Anzio, behind the German line about 30 miles south of Rome, on 22 January 1944. The landing was initially successful and additional forces came in while the landing force pushed inland against growing enemy resistance. After the first week, the Germans reacted with a strong counterattack that reached a peak of intensity on 17 February and threatened to wipe out the beachhead. But the VI Corps’ magnificent defense of the perimeter, supported by artillery, tanks, planes, and naval gunfire, brought the last of the major counterattacks to a halt on 2 March. While the Anzio maneuver failed either to turn the German defenses in the south around Cassino or to open a breakthrough north to Rome, the Anzio beachhead remained a thorn in the German side, engaging his tactical reserves. In May 1944 the Allied forces made a carefully planned assault on the Winter Line, synchronizing their thrusts with an attack from the Anzio beachhead. The drive carried all the way to Rome, which fell to the Allies on 4 June 1944, two days before the cross-Channel attack.” (http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/reference/eacmp.htm)

The Fowlers and I stood near Nero’s Villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea which is just beyond the Beach Head War Cemetery. While we were walking along, Harold mentioned a bit of history here and as we were going by the nameless little white slabs of stone, he posed this question to me: “How many lives will have to be given here in order to create beach heads of faith?” The Fowlers have been here in Italy for roughly 4 decades and I have just been here for about 5 months. For me, this moment was quite powerful and only reinforces why we are here struggling to plant a church which embodies a vivacious witness to the risen Christ. This task is a difficult one and I am beginning to see how badly the Enemy does not want us to be here. This last week, our team was notified that nearly all of our current members are leaving the church (one family of six and a new believer) because of a conflict which stems from a differing view of how our church should go about being the church in Ancona. Would you pray for us and for the people who left our church? As a team, this is very discouraging and I think we are doing well to keep our chin up, but we long to be receptive to the promptings of the Spirit as he motivates us to partner with the mission of God here in Italy. Like the battle waged at Anzio, we have a battle here, not of flesh and blood nor one fought between other believers, but a struggle which we fight against the evil one.

This month’s course at language school is 1/2 over. I am looking forward to continue climbing this mountain of language and leave the plateau feeling of stagnation behind. However, I think that this language acquisition moves like my growth in thinking: it comes in large, infrequent growth spurts. Some people grow tired of getting ‘whiney’ updates all the time and others grow tired of a seemingly ‘upbeat’ update with no sign of weariness. To give you a glimpse into my life a bit deeper, I am hesitantly including an excerpt from my journal:

“I find that I am very uncomfortable with silence in my apartment. When things are too quiet, I hear my neighbors living life, flushing toilets, kids playing, and neighbors’ conversation. I constantly have music playing, or find myself chatting online, or talking on the Vonage phone (which I highly recommend for overseas living). The striped couch cushions are wearing thinner everyday, from the countless hours of me sitting and reading or emailing. I check blogs & email constantly. I am moving quickly through books and I can’t help but wonder if my time would be better spent out among the Italians. But the chilly weather and rain make it easy to excuse my staying indoors. I dislike cooking, doing the dishes, and the constant reminder that I am alone in this room. I have journaled more consistently than ever and talk with God even less. I can’t occupy my time enough or make it pass faster. I zone out during class and glance at the clock in hopes that the break between class is coming soon. No matter how hard I try, or tell my teammates that things are going fine or how much I enjoy it here (this much is true), I cannot escape from the notion that I must confront myself. The truth of the matter is that I know I am not alone and that God is closer than ever in these moments of deafening silence. But my soul does not always sense this. Being somewhere else than here would not force me to deal with this stuff, so I am thankful to be “here”. I just hope that it doesn’t drive me to insanity.

It’s not recorded, but I often wonder what Christ did during these lonely moments in the desert. Being our High Priest, I know he can empathize with me here in this place, but I wonder what he would say to me. Maybe the silence is all I need, maybe he can’t put into words what I need to hear because it is in confronting this silence and embracing it that I am formed, that I am able to “be” in His presence without an agenda, learning to “be still and know that He is God”. It is like two elderly lovers being with one another, exchanging no words but expressing their love for one another in silence. Perhaps, it is through such silence that we learn that love, abides…”

Please be in prayer this next week about:

• Our team’s language ability. If we can’t speak, how will they hear?
• Our team’s protection. The enemy is seeking to take out anyone who decides to live in the way of Christ
• Our team’s love for Christ. That we would continue to grow in his love and extend grace to this world.

Thanks for being apart of this ministry. It really means a lot!

Friday, was the last day of class for level three. My teacher gave our class the freedom to talk about anything and ask questions of one another. The class of 5 spoke of many things from their hometown to their favorite books, and at the end of class, we exchanged emails and sang ‘friends are friends forever.’ Ok, well there was no singing, but we did exchange emails. My teacher gave his email to us and I kind of chuckled because, it wasn’t his name, rather it was ‘acrobat.’ I never really knew that my conversation teacher wanted to be in the circus, but he was confused at my amusement. He said, do you know what ‘acrobat’ is? I laughed, and said “of course! It is the guy that swings from…” He stopped me, and said “No, it is an amazing U2 song.” Once again, I felt pretty dumb, for not being up to par on one of the greatest bands of all time. Later that day, my teammate had that album on his computer, so I listened to the song ‘Acrobat.’ I got online and found the lyrics. I was blown away. It was a really great song, but particularly these lyrics hit me the hardest:

No, nothing makes sense
Nothing seems to fit
I know you’d hit out
If you only knew who to hit
And I’d join the movement
If there was one I could believe in
Yeah I’d break bread and wine
If there was a church I could receive in
’cause I need it now

To take a cup
To fill it up
To drink it slow
I can’t let you go
I must be an acrobat

U2 is a very popular band here in Italy, and I wonder if it is because they are able to capture in words the longings of their hearts. Lately, I have found myself fatigued at school and for no reason. I get enough sleep, and whatever. But it is moments like these that remind me of why I am here and motivate me to keep plugging away at this language thing, so that I might be able to help the ‘acrobats’ meet Christ as He truly is, and drink from the living water, slowly, but abundantly.

Saburo is an older Japanese man who is in my class, he just over 50. He has taught me many things through the way he encounters this language learning process. Where I find myself getting frustrated, I look across the table and see his smile and hear his chuckle. He has such a child-like approach to this process and it humbles me to meet a Buddhist indirectly living out Jesus’ teachings on humility and being child-like approach to life. I don’t know his entire story, but before we left class, he came up and gave me a big hug. This surprised me at first, because Japanese people aren’t very touchy-feely, but I knew that I had made some connection with Saburo, that he would miss me in the days to come. So, it is amazing to see where God takes you in your faith, and who he might use to teach you things. Keep your eyes open this week, because He may want to show you something special.

Thanks for praying, please keep praying for:

• for the missionary kids: Jacob, Haven, Lance, Chloe & Trey as they start school (for patience, ease with the language, patient teachers, friends)
• for our Ancona-based team as we continue building relationships and share Christ (for boldness, open doors, motivation with the language)
• for our Perugia-based team as they learn the language (patience, boldness & motivation to seek opportunities to practice and find people to speak with)
• for Marcus as he continues the frenetic furlough pace (rest, refreshment, new support)
• for our team’s finances (every family and individual on our team is in need of more financial support)
• that God would reclaim Ancona as his own and build his Church – for broken hearts and open eyes

Please remember me and my continual need for your monthly and one-time support. I depend on it to live and minister here and am so grateful for the sacrifices you make in your lives so that I can keep going. I trust that God is blessing your generosity many times over!

I hope things are going well for you. I really appreciate your prayers for myself and the team. I just got back this morning from our unofficial team retreat. We went camping for a few days at lake Trasimeno which is about 20 minutes from my apartment. It was a wet weekend! It rained for nearly 75% of our time there and all the other campers (people from the Netherlands, Germany, Austrailia..) headed home early, but our team rode out the storm. It was quite the adventure!

A few weeks ago, I was in Florence for the Church of Christ convention. It was a great opportunity to meet a lot of the other brothers and sisters and connect up with some people from Harding University. I had a lot of language practice, because nearly everyone spoke Italian, and all the sessions were in Italian. I got to help out with the teens and I got to lead one of the discussions one day (via a translator). Most of the kids at this convention had been in church all their life and their parents are leaders in the churches. We had a great time discussing: “If you were able to change one thing about the Church, what would you change?” Their answers were prefaced with apathy, “You know, this doesn’t really matter. The adults don’t really care what we have to say, that’s why they have you guys babysit us.” Then they proceeded to list out what the church needs:

1. the church needs to be more youth focused. Some of them had been to the states and had experienced churches with ‘youth ministers’ and the teens thought it would be neat to have something like that.
2. a desire for community. They liked ‘being together’ and they felt that the church should be more about creating an environment where people could experience real fellowship and friendship with other believers
3. to understand its identity. They said that the church needs to be more than just some ‘place’ where people have weddings or funerals and Sunday morning services. They felt that the church was being called to be someone more than this.
4. to serve outside their community. They felt that the church is far too inclusive and removed from the real world. They thought that engaging this culture as if we had something to offer was a great idea.

There were some other thoughts, but these were the primary concerns. We concluded our time together with the vision God has given me (and our team) for Italy coming to Christ, challenging them to be apart of this. They have been hearing that ‘they are the future of the church’ and that ‘one day their time will come to take the reigns.’ I told them that they were the church NOW and that their time was NOW! I asked them not to view their task here as futile, that this is what the Enemy desires. We tried to help them see a difference between the institution that they know of as ‘church’ and what Christ really desires for His bride. We really focused the end of our time trying to show them the importance of being an embodied witness to Jesus Christ, right where they are and hoping in the Spirit’s work in us (and others) which makes us aware of the Kingdom. The convention wrapped up nicely on Sunday. It was a great time to be together and fellowship. At the end of the gathering, Riccardo (one of the teens in our group) came forward to dedicate his life to Christ and be baptized! It was such a great day and an encouragement to me and the churches throughout Italy. The Spirit is alive and at work in our churches!

Please keep praying for the work here in Italy! Your prayers matter, and God is using YOU to bring others to Him! Be praying this week for:

• for the missionary kids: Jacob, Haven, Lance, Chloe & Trey as they start school (for patience, ease with the language, patient teachers, friends)
• for our Ancona-based team as we continue building relationships and share Christ (for boldness, open doors, motivation with the language)
• for our Perugia-based team as they learn the language (patience, boldness & motivation to seek opportunities to practice and find people to speak with)
• for Marcus as he continues the frenetic furlough pace (rest, refreshment, new support)
• for our team’s finances (every family and individual on our team is in need of more financial support)
• for Brandy Henson (our team’s intern who is serving in Perugia as the Rotert’s nanny, for financial support)
• that God would reclaim Ancona as his own and build his Church – for broken hearts and open eyes

Please remember me and my continual need for your monthly and one-time support. I depend on it to live and minister here and am so grateful for the sacrifices you make in your lives so that I can keep going. I trust that God is blessing your generosity many times over!

I can’t believe how fast August has gone! My second month of class is winding up and I am moving into the third level of my language learning. This month, I haven’t made as many friends as I did last month, but I have had some great conversations with some people in this class. Recently, I had coffee with a German girl during the pausa (the break between grammar class and conversation class) and I asked her if she knew many people our age who were in the ministry. She replied, “No. Religion isn’t as popular in Germany as it is in the U.S.” I inquired further as to why this was the case and she told me that the church in Germany (both Protestant and Catholic) is like a club that charges you a monthly membership fee even though you do not receive their services. I had heard the cliché in the states about the church being just a social club, however, the way she talked about this seemed much more severe. She said that when Germans (and possibly most Europeans) receive their paychecks from their employers, their income has been garnished by a ‘Church tax’ along with the other state taxes. She also said that the state will not recognize your marriage if it is not performed in the Church. The dilemma is that the church will not perform your wedding if you are not a member. So, to circumvent this problem, she said some Germans come to Las Vegas to those drive-thru chapels to receive a document that they can present to the state in order to have a legitimate marriage. This struck me as just another portrait of the church being an oppressive presence here in Europe and another reason for the culture to reject what it offers. It seems like the church has chosen cling to its ‘power’ through the state by taxing the masses. As we were paying for our coffee and walking back to class, I couldn’t help but think if there was some way to introduce people to Jesus without the church getting in the way.

On Wednesday, I am leaving for Florence to meet up with a bunch of other Restoration Movement pastors for a conference at the satellite campus of Harding University. I am excited to meet up with other brothers and sisters who labor in the same field and struggle with the same kinds of struggles we face here. I don’t know how I will do speaking the language, but this should be great practice for me to get out of an English context and test the waters of fluency. Please continue to pray for me and my team as we try to faithfully embody the witness of Jesus Christ in a culture that desperately needs Him. You are on this journey with me and your prayers are the most vital part of this ministry. R.A. Torrey says that “The neglect of prayer on the part of the people at home has much to do with the comparative failure of many of the missionaries on the field…. The man or woman at home who prays, often has as much to do with the effectiveness of the missionary on the field … as the missionary himself.” I am deeply encouraged to know that you are interceding on our behalf and on behalf of the believers here.

Please be in prayer this next week for:

• Our team’s intimacy with Christ; that our hearts will be made more like His and we would embody a Christ-like witness here in Italy
• Our team’s language ability; that God would loosen our tongues and give us confidence to speak to Italians (when we know we aren’t grammatically correct!)
• Our team to be sensitive to the divine appointments that God gives us to share the good news
• My travel/experience in Florence, that I may be an encouragement to the believers there and that a larger awareness of the Kingdom can be known
• Angese, our newest believer as she embraces more fully the love of Christ and teaches us how to live life together

If you have any prayer requests that we could lift up, please let me know! It is a blessing to know that we are not in this alone.