This is a perfect avenue for people to hear about Emily's adventures in Italy.

Here are some final thoughts from my long day yesterday. Technically one of the longest days of my entire life.

Notes from the flight from Zurich to Dusseldorf:
I should’ve bought an emergency exit row seat. There is only an inch from my knee cap to the seat in front of me. Both of my carry-ons had to be stowed above me amongst a sea of  airline pillows. The couple next to me is pretty much making out. So far I have counted six mullets- including one married mullet… I bet their kids have mullets too. -Perfect candidates for the “awkward family photos” website. Mama Mia.- Way too early in the morning to be swimming in a sea of “business in the front, party in the back” haircuts. Zurich has not treated me well so far. Every time someone tries to talk to me, they spit on me. Plus everything costs a freaking butt-load of money.

(I had to RUN the entire length of the Dusseldorf airport to make my connecting flight. Got through customs, man I am out of shape. I had to fully rely on God (FROG people) for strength. Barely made it, but I made it)

Notes from the airplane traveling from Dusseldorf to Miami:
Holy poop a loop I think the circus is in town. It is National Fly With Every Child In Your Family Day apparently. I type this as they are running up and down the aisles slapping everyone they pass on the back of the arm and screaming at the top of their lungs. Someone needs to invest in a good switch. Just saying. Either that or some high-powered drugs. Why spend 9.75 hours on a plane during the day? Why not fly at night? It is obvious they do NOT believe in nap time.
Everyone speaks German on this plane. Stop assuming I am German, Miss Stewardess. You would figure by the fifteenth blank stare I have given her she would get the hint to speak English to me the first time. Nope. Repete dopo me. Next international flight home I am wearing a shirt that says “I only speak English, Welcome to America!” Sheesh!
There are two lesbian lovers in front of me. Awkward Monkey.
I have read Matthew in it’s entirety  and listened to a two hour sermon on spiritual warfare for my church experience today. I have also napped while the kiddies were snacking. Played text twist and watched part of the new shrek movie.
I have NO clue why God loves me so much, but for some reason he knew that I would need an empty seat next to me, Hallelujah, the Lord deserves the glory! That and I had some cutie patootie non-married mid-twenties man sitting by me at first… But I scared him away with my anti-bacterial wipes and cough drops in the seat pocket in front of me. He quickly found another empty seat. Hygiene will always come between me and a hottie. Priorities.

This has been the longest flight of my entire life. If I have my druthers, I will never fly a transatlantic flight during the  day again. Eternity of a trip for sure.

[SHUT IT KID… Someone put a cork in this 6 year old that is screaming. I can tell the long flight is getting to me. Next time they run up and down the aisles screaming I am going to stick out my foot at the last second. Eat carpet you tyrant that needs a whooping.]

While I am plotting my demise of the terrors, I figured I would share with you some of the awesome notes from the sermon that I listened to. It pretty much describes the life that I have known for the past three months…

[Jesus doesn’t desire to improve me, he desires to transform me.
Christianity is nothing less than the outliving of the indwelling of Christ.
We are here to exalted to his name and to penetrate the nations.
Responsibility to pray and a debt to pay.
We owe the gospel.
NOTHING can shame us, and NOTHING can stop us.
Spiritual warfare is grounded in a holistic  understanding of what it means to be saved.]

Church on a plane I suppose. I am constantly thinking about what I left behind in Italy- more than half of my heart at the very least. It really made me realize my love for God’s children, teaching, and evangelism. I will do my best to focus on serving the Lord like I did for the past three months for the rest of my life.

*I do not want to be lukewarm and I am so tired of sitting back and letting my life be used for pointless follies.*

In closing:
I have fallen in love with God’s Word more than ever before. I cannot get enough.
I have a new perspective on Evangelism.
I have a better grasp of grace.
I better understand man’s imperfections.
I yearn to be awakened each and every moment of every day to the things of the Lord.
I refuse to be naive anymore- to be satisfied with anything ordinary.
I feel broken- a wounded soldier on the battlefield of Christ- I am shot down, but not destroyed.
Satan tries to stop me, but he will never win.
It is my time to learn more about Christ. To equip myself. I will never evacuate the battle because the God that lives in me has the victory.
I pray with all of my heart that God never gives up on me.
I am too deep into this to give up.
I will chase after this passion God has given me for the rest of my life.
I will never forget the things I have learned in Italy.
All authority is Christ’s and He gets all of me.

I am starting to descend into the states so I better wrap this sucker up.

To you:
Thank you for being a great group of people to ramble to these past few months. It really has been a roller-coaster, but your prayers and support have literally kept my head up some days. God bless you and please never forget about praying for Italy. I know I won’t.

Until the next trip, this is Emily signing off.

I love you all.
Emily (who left her heart) in Italy
emilyhardin@me.com

An update on ministry…
If I were to explain everything that has happened since I have blogged in-depth, I think I would have carpal tunnel, so… to save the future health of my wrists, I will give you a brief synopsis of everything that has been going down.
Let’s start with Franca:
I only have two more weeks with her one-on-one and it seems that she was right on the edge until she told me yesterday that she is a firm believer that people can become God. I almost gagged on the prune cake she baked for me. I told her that it is a believer’s job to become more like Christ, but we can never amount to anything even close to the greatness and perfection of God.
At least she is honest with her uncertainty. We are close enough now where we can be raw with each other- which is incredible considering the time table God has had to work with… I suppose time isn’t even a variable with God though, He is the one who gives it to us and makes it in the first place. I am the one who worries about it so much, which is terrible on my part.
I have two more sessions with her. Please pray that somehow, only by God’s infinite supremacy, a light bulb goes off in her head. I’ve given her the salvation plan every way I know how… so we will see what surprises God has up his Holy sleeve.
[I finally told her that I think the pope is a crock and only makes up that there is a “middle” so that people continue to come to him with their gossip and problems… she laughed and told me I was probably right.]
Next- Classes:
We are wrapping up our children’s classes this week and next. We have a graduation party planned for Wednesday where we will be making s’mores, singing Christmas carols in English, and just having a little bit of fun! ☺ I am definitely stealing a few kids and loading them up in my suitcase to bring home. They are way too cute to leave here.
Adult classes are going so well. I am making more and more friends as time goes on and building more contacts to be reached. In Base 1, I have been teaching in small groups form the entire semester with the same four students. First you have LUIGI: tall, dark hair, pretty much like the super Mario brother’s character- short of the ‘stache. He is on some sort of political advisory board for the mayor of Valvasone- which is cool because now I know someone high up on the food chain. Booyah. Then you have ALDO: grey hair, owns the local bed and breakfast, pretty much my ancient boyfriend. He loves me and calls me beautiful all the time. Kinda creepy, but I know he means nothing by it… I hope. Another mentionable note, he has a comb over. Yep. The last two students, MILENNA and ROSEANNA are a daughter/mother combo. Milenna (the daughter) is super advanced in English and the only reason why she is in Base 1 is because her mom needs as much help as she can get. Roseanna walked into the first class speaking no English at all… now she knows a lot! Definitely most improved in the entire class! These four people have truly stolen my heart. I love them almost as much as they love me. Haha!
Base 2 and Intermediate have definitely learned the most this semester. They are so willing to learn, it is incredible! Franca is in intermediate, just FYI. Advanced class is just a party 24/7. It is a conversational class so we play a lot of games to get them to practice their English. It is fun. We even played big booty last night to help them practice their numbers. SO FUN.
[I stink at big booty… but it does bring back some special memories of Czech Republic!]
Graduation for the adults is during my last week here in Italy and it is going to be a lot of fun! We hand out diplomas, sing Christmas carols, I get to share my testimony, eat yummy desserts, and fellowship with our beloved students. I am really looking forward to a lovely wrap up and seeing everyone in a relaxed setting!
Next topic- Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving is our biggest outreach and we are already preparing for it! We have 30 students coming so far. I am getting really excited about it because we get to eat good food! The Lord has provided many resources for us this year and it will truly be a thanksgiving I will never forget!
Last, but not least… me:
Thank you for so many emails, packages, letters, and messages on facebook these past two weeks! It has been a rough couple of weeks physically and emotionally, but the Lord has definitely provided the right people in my life just at the right time and that mixed with his never ending consistency, grace, love, and faithfulness- I am truly blessed to have what I have and who I have.
I am shocked that after this weekend, I only have two full weeks left here in Italy. It blows my mind to think that three months have gone by just like that- but it reminds me of the verse in Psalms that says my life is like a vapor. I am so glad I have given up my sheltered little life in Florida for three months to experience a taste of what God will have me doing my entire life- doing whatever it takes to tell everyone I know about the love of Christ and His life-changing message for everyone.
Memaw and Pepaw get here on Tuesday and I see them on Wednesday! I am super excited to show them everything I have been doing, where I have been living, etc. What a wonderful way to end my trip… with some family that I love! I am super pumped that they get to see me teach, be a part of kids graduation, eat at our thanksgiving outreach, etc! It is going to be so cool having them meet Franca too. I am really blessed that they get to come and see me. ☺
Some things you can be praying for in my life:
1. My health. Very shortly after I get back to the states I have a couple of vital doctor’s appointments… I am hoping we can get everything settled down.
2. Franca and my relationship with her. She needs Jesus and I am blessed to be the messenger.
3. For me to finish strong.
4. My roommates, Sarah and Ania. That everything we do- whether together or individually- will be glorifying to Christ.
5. I have a huge decision to make as far as Spring 2011 and my mind has to be made up very soon. The Lord always provides in the eleventh hour, but please pray that I do not jump the gun because I get too impatient or unfaithful to God’s will in my life. It regards my living situation, job, and school to be more specific.
6. My family. This has been a request from the beginning of my trip. Satan knows that my love for my family surpasses almost everything in this world- so he has definitely used that to discourage me this trip. Luckily, the King of Kings has not given up on us and since we have remained faithful to Him, we are trusting that He is not a liar and will pull us out of the pit and mire to set us on the only promises firm foundation- His rock in His perfect timing.
7. My grandparents traveling here!
Ok, I think I will wrap this puppy up by sharing a verse that I read this morning, right before I started typing this novel.
Titus 2:7-8 NIV
“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show them integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”
I have made TONS of mistakes in the past. I am a gossiper, slanderer, and just down right ugly person. But coming out of this trip, I am praying that God will allow me to do just what this verse says. I am also praying that you will not judge me and my past, but rather look at my intentions now and the person I strive to be only with Christ’s help.
So. That is it for now. Thank you for being an encouragement to me. Your encouraging words mean more to me than you will ever know.
Em in It

This week for Trendy Turdsday I am not describing one particular style, but rather- one particular person. She will be left nameless, but she is in one of our English classes. UNFORTUNATELY- I didn’t get a photo… I hate it when I leave my cell phone at the dorm…this is why God created camera phones and I didn’t even take full advantage of the opportunity. Poop on my face.

Tonight, my eyes feasted on bouncing back and forth amongst her wardrobe choices. Let’s start with the hair.

Curly. Frizzy. 247 Glittery butterfly clips.

It takes a lot of hair to provide enough leverage to hold up that many clips… so you can imagine the mane/weave that stood before us.

Moving down we have a denim button up shirt (Lord, please let me refrain from making obnoxious comments towards the “Tim the Tool Man” look. Amen.). Over the denim shirt was a fully lined VEST covered in GRAPE SHADE of purple fur. Lord, have mercy on my retinas. (Kasey, vest with the fur (WITH THE FUR!)) It was splendid. I TRULY wish I had enough personality and self esteem to shave a purple gorilla and make a vest out of it. Indeed a role model.

Underneath the vest and tucked in denim button up, you had the classic mom jeans- BUT WAIT- they were bedazzled with sparkley iron-ons, jewels, and pink embroidered flowers. The jeans we about two sizes too big, so this poor chum had to hold them up with a rhinestone covered butterfly belt. Blinding to Helen Keller even.

Holy Cannolly.

This is PROOF that even the nicest of people make poor fashion choices. Take Aunt Bessy for example… I don’t have an Aunt Bessy- but you will get my point. She is spunky, witty, great personality, and super at feeding orphans in Canada- truly a wonderful soul… but for some reason, she is not blessed in the art of matching… or even purchasing proper clothing in general for that matter. That is the problem with this student. Sweet as sugar- but blind as a church mouse.

Since I FAILED in providing a real life photo of this wonderful lady, I decided that drawing one would have to do… so take a gander at the bottom of this page.

I hope the image helps you… NO drawing could ever do this lady justice. Wow.

I feel like I have completely ignored the blogging world for a while due to the fact that for some reason, time has sped up incredibly. I am so terrible about prioritizing my communication with the internet world!

So, enough lamenting.

Tonight is the night I think you all deserve to be updated on what God is doing here in Italy.

Some highlights from recent activities:
– I saw this awesome spikey mullet at the train station today.
– I am still meeting with Franca… things are getting down to the nitty-gritty with our relationship. You know that point… there is only so much “fluff” you can talk about before you find out the dirt about someone. I am at that point with her and fortunately we still have a few weeks left to meet. I am hoping that I get to really dig in and show her what a relationship with God is all about. She GETS religion. She GETS how to be a good person- she is STILL lost as a goose. I am hoping to show her something as old as time itself- but new to her- and that is the love of Christ and how his death and resurrection intercedes with the “old” way. I hope you are hearing my heart- no one can save her but God:

“What can wash away my sin?
What can make me clean again?
Nothing but the blood,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

But I want to show her the difference between relationship and religion. Please be praying for Franca and her heart to be open to the truth of the simple Gospel.
-I found out that Memaw and Pepaw are coming and staying for six days here in Italy. I am really excite to show them where God has me serving.
-God has been really molding and shaping my heart through missions, family circumstances, health, and other things- but I am still searching as to what He wants my next step to be. It is stressful sometimes because I try to take control of the situation- but as long as I let God be God I should not be discouraged when my timing doesn’t work out. As long as I keep my head up, serve the Lord, and do what He tells me I think I will be on the right track.
-I went to choir practice today for a local gospel choir. They sing English, Christian, gospel songs and perform multiple times a year in concert type settings. The IRONIC thing about this whole situation is only one of the people (out of 50?) there is Christian. Everyone else is just singing to sing. Talk about a mission field in itself! I encouraged the loan Christian (who also goes to our local church) to not be ashamed to share his faith with the rest of the choir.
-Classes have been going well! We have had two dinner parties so far outside of class and both times have been successful ministry events. Sarah and I have continued to bond and become closer. She is such an awesome lady and I appreciate her being a good friend for me over here! We have taught our classes the days of the week, months of the year, numbers, letters, professions, adjectives, present simple tense, and present continuous. (Plus many life words… like booyah… who wouldn’t need to know that?!)

I don’t know what the heck is wrong with the weather here in San Lorenzo. It has been overcast and yucky outside all week… not so good for me and my hair do- I’m just sayin’. I need a hairs cut also. It will have to wait until I get back to the States though… I don’t want to leave my hair in the hands of an italian… they love the mullet over here. Lord, help me.

Still looking for a job- if anyone of you has heard anything please let me know and I will send my resume over.

I attached a few photos to the bottom of this blog that show some of class.

Today it hit me- in less than a month I will be home. Such a weird thought to think after spending most of 2010  preparing for this journey and yet it is so close to being over.

A few things to be praying about:
Classes, for Sarah and I to finish out strong here in Italy; that God would direct my steps and give me the direction He would have me go… and that I wouldn’t be tempted to take my own route; for my mom and that the Lord would give her wisdom; Franca- that the Lord would continue to soften her heart; my health, I am definitely struggling in this area this week.

That’s it for tonight! Feel free to write: emilyhardin@me.com… please do not mail any more letters or packages here to me in Italy… there is not enough time for it to arrive!

Ciao for now,
Em in It

This week’s topic is close to my heart.
Fine people of the internet, please allow me to discuss the ever flowing:
Fashion Mullet.

Google Images was good to me this week:

Of course, this photo was not the only winner that pulled up, but it definitely was the most flattering. This gentlemen is a prime candidate for the “Business in the front, party in the back” Men of America Club. He has probably (93% likely) to have been on or is currently featured on the stocking stuffer commercial of all time- no friends, I am not talking about the SHAMWOW- I am speaking of rogaine, hair growth for men. Men with mullets (who have used rogaine) obviously have bad hand eye coordination and I would HIGHLY recommend you to challenge them in Super Mario Cart because you would definitely win.

Be aware: If he loses at the video game, you might get a “toss toss” in your face. Please, do not sniff the ‘do.

Many people associate the word mullet with the following words/phrases:
– “Wally World”.
– 1980’s Era.
– Family photos in the “never to be opened again” duct taped closed box.
– Bean stashes.
– Mistreated children.***
***PLease note, not all kids who are denied their rights and given the mullet cut are mistreated… in an abusive way. They just get stuck with a sucky hair cut noted by photos for all time. Take poor Henry for example:

[Poor kid will never get a date to Kindergarten prom with an updo like that.]

CONTINUING ON WITH LIST:
– Beastie boys
– Tom Jones
– Mullet Head

There are even websites dedicated to this one particular phenomenon. Mullet Junky. Mullet Chaser. Mullets Galore. Flocks of Mullets. People eat this stuff up!

Thanks to Mullet Junkies, I have now- in my posession- a Diagram of legal mullet length. Take a gander:

Also, if you sport this growing trend, please be prepared to be called the following nicknames: Ani”mull”, “Mull”agra Falls, Fa”mull”y Man, etc. Don’t take offense, you OWN that ‘do. You work it my friend.

There is just so much I could say about this beloved topic. I have seen my fair share of mullets here in Italy, so I thought this would be a wonderful “trendy” topic to chat about.

Mullets… don’t grow ’em, don’t braid ’em, don’t tease ’em, don’t grease ’em.

❤ Em in It