Trinity's Road to Rome

January Prayer Letter (in blog form)

Who knew that my work as a missionary would begin before I ever set foot on Roman soil? God did. He knew that in me telling people about my new road ahead that I would have the opportunity to engage in dialogues about Him and what He has called me to. Along with that I have the chance to transition well. This means that I can leave one ministry running well, with a new found interest in missions and I can get to Rome excited and prepared to fully enter into my new ministry there!

My first month as a member of the Rome City Team has had some great moments. I thankfully got the opportunity to meet Mike Davis who is my new Europe Director. We met over coffee with a group of people and then got to share lunch together. It was an encouragement to me to hear him share about the great need for Gospel, because I am already facing some opposition as to why go to Rome instead of a place like Africa; now I have the assurance that I am going where the need is greater than it has ever been. Along the same note, I had a great conversation with my team leaders that bolstered my faith in what we are going to be doing there.

{I borrowed this picture from Brian and Sarah's Blog,
they snapped it New Years Eve in Rome. I just Love it!}

My favorite story this month is that of God starting to supply my needs in a surprising way! I went out for what I thought was a simple lunch, before I even ordered the owner and I got to talking and in the midst of our conversation she asked about my missionary journey. I filled her in on the fact that I cannot leave until I have raised 100% of my support. She kindly responded with an offer of money towards my trip, and before I finished my lunch she handed me a gift of money. It was such a God thing! She was an answer to my prayers that I had prayed earlier that morning.

In March I will be attending two training events; the first is a vision trip to Rome, to meet Brian and Sarah and get a lay of the land and then I will fly directly to Colorado to attend a support team building seminar at Glen Erie. I am really looking forward to this combined trip, because I will really get a chance to fully engage with the ministry and the people God is calling me to serve.

Please be praying with me for:

• Gods continued provision not just for me but for my whole team.

• Brian and Sarah as they have dinner with their Landlord and his wife that they may continue to build that relationship!

• The transition for me as I continue to work at Felton Bible Church with the youth full- time and have started work with ReachGlobal.

• My students and my volunteers as they go through this change with me.

• My upcoming training and travel.

• My teammate Craig as he too is preparing to go to Rome.

Included in with this letter you will also find a copy of last month’s letter, in case you did not receive it. You will also find my prayer card to help you remember to pray for me often. As always if you would like more information please get in touch with me, or check out my blog or both!

Thank you for joining me on my Road to Rome!

Trinity

Ps. If you did not receive this via email it means I do not have a working email address for you. If you would like to get my monthly Prayer letter via email, send me your email!!!

Would you like some cash with those fries?

I seriously cannot get over just how abundantly great God is. I wrote my last post this morning about needing money coming in. I had not even had time to post it yet, but God does not need to wait for me to get around to posting it. I like to think He was reading over my shoulder, because today my Dad took me to lunch. Nothing out of the ordinary there. We went to Wendy's his favorite local joint, due to the fantastic staff. He has been building a relationship with the owner for some time now, so every time we go in she greets us with a hug, and even surprises us with goodies now and again. Today we talked to her about her husband who is going in for surgery, told her that we would of course be praying for him. (please join us in our prayers for Howard.) Then being the amazing lady she is she recalled that I was going to be going to Rome as a missionary, and asked how that was going.

I told her what I just shared with you in my last post, and you know what? She walked out and got a check from her husband who was waiting in the car right then and there. I know that I am praying for her and her hubby, but what she does not realize is that she was an answer to my prayers today!

I just cannot get over how funny and surprising and all knowing our God is! I had to share with you this story because it brought such joy to my heart, and because I would love if you will join me in praying for Patty and Howard this week.

Thanks!

First things First

One of the first steps in moving into full time ministry in Rome, is taking a two week Vision Trip to meet my new team, and check out the area where I will be living and serving. ReachGlobal has really encouraged me to get this trip done before I do too much else as it is key to getting my head and heart fully wrapped around what God has called me to.

Normally they have the missionary pay for this trip upfront if possible, by putting it on a credit card. I however do not own a credit card! I have been trying to live as debt free as possible. This means that I need to have support coming in, before ReachGlobal will give me the go ahead to purchase my ticket for the Vision Trip. If I can get the support before March tickets will be almost half as much as if I need to wait till tourist season in May-Aug. As I am sure you can imagine. What you may not realize is that I have found tickets online round trip for less than $700!

Many of you have mentioned supporting me which is so fantastic! Thank you! You may be waiting until it is closer to my departure date, but the thing is I cannot go until money is actually coming in. I appreciate any and all gifts, monthy donations are what I will need the most of, but even one time gifts will help get me underway in the training and start up costs. Really every little bit helps. Thanks to those of you who have already given, your support and involvement means the world to me!

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you need more information on how to go about joining my support team. But here are the two eaisest ways to give:

1. By Check:
Please mark the check with the #1671 and my name (Trinity Kay) in the memo line.

Please make all checks payable to EFCA and you can mail them to:

EFCA, 901 East 78th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55420

2. By Credit Card:
Go to www.efca.org/giving and be sure to include the #1671 in the Designation field.

All gifts are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible!!!

Thank you so much!

I really want to share with you

Hello Friends! Thanks for checking in on me and my Road to Rome! It really means a lot to have your support. I have been trying for days to find a way to post my monthly news letter to the blog, a task I thought would be easy as pie. So what I have so far is that if you click on this link...Trinity's Road to Rome
it should take you to a new window where it will say preparing preview forever, but if you click save as up in the corner it will download my newsletter instantly to your computer for your viewing pleasure.

Please let me know if you know a better way to do this.

Also if you would like to be on my mailing list and you think I do not have your information please email it to me trinity.kay@efca.org

I would love to hear from you, get updated on your life, and what you and God are up to.

It's setting in

For Christmas I received some gift cards for Macy's so I was able to use them to purchase my own very classic yet completely functional. I absolutely love it, not only because it is a beautiful piece of luggage, but because it has helped it set in that I am actually going away.
See I told you it was sweet! It is hard to tell from this picture, but it has wheels and a pop up handle as well. It will work well on planes, trains and automobiles so I am set.

Just thought I would share my little exciting moment.

I also got some other fun travel stuff for Christmas as well. Funny luggage tags and the like.

Flooding in Rome Please Pray

I was checking in on Brian and Sarah's Blog and discovered that Rome is flooding please join me in praying! Thanks!!! Below are some news reports.

Italy: Flooding Paralyzes Rome

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
Published: December 12, 2008

New York Times

Two days of nonstop rain swelled the Tiber River, putting Rome on flood alert on Friday. With waters running at least 15 feet above normal, bridges were shut down and Mayor Gianni Alemanno invited residents to stay home from work and remain indoors. Boats broke from their moorings and jammed under bridges, and homes and business in some areas of the city were flooded. A woman drowned Thursday after her car got stuck in a flooded underpass. The storm has also caused two deaths in the south.

Police search for Irish tourist in Tiber river

Washington Post
The Associated PressSaturday, December 13, 2008; 1:43 PM
ROME -- Police divers in Rome searched the swollen Tiber river Saturday for an Irish tourist who fell in while watching the waters rise from days of heavy rains that have thrashed much of Italy.
The rains stopped for a few hours Saturday but started again in the afternoon, and more rain was expected Sunday. Nevertheless, civil protection officials said the threat that the Tiber might burst its banks appeared to have receded.
The storms have claimed at least four lives and prompted the capital to declare a state of emergency.
Mayor Gianni Alemanno said Saturday the situation appeared under control, but he said the city had to be prepared for Sunday's expected storms.
On Saturday, Romans and tourists alike lined up along bridges to watch police divers and other rescue workers search the roiling currents for the Irish tourist identified by Carabinieri police as Vincent Thomas Wall, 27.
Police said he fell in overnight while watching the muddy river rise.
Italian farm lobby Coldiretti said the storms had caused millions of euros (dollars) in lost crops and damage, primarily in the south.
In Rome alone, one of the capital's most heavily trafficked pedestrian bridges _ the Ponte Sant'Angelo near the Vatican _ was closed as civil protection teams tried to free a barge that became unmoored and slammed into the bridge.
Despite the drama nearby, the traditional lighting of the Vatican's Christmas tree got under way as scheduled Saturday, albeit in a downpour.
© 2008 The Associated Press

So Excited

I am so excited to finally be able to share with everyone that I will be following God's call on my life to serve as a full time missionary in Rome, Italy! I hope you can take the time to read the full story, but if not, then just know that for the past 6 months I have been in an application process with ReachGlobal to join their brand new Rome City Team, and as of last week I was offered a full time, long term position!

I am aiming to leave for Rome in a year from now, but before that can happen I will be attending lots of training, and I need to raise 100% of my financial support. I am looking forward to this process almost as much as I am looking forward to my new life in Rome. First up is a 2 week vision trip, where I will get to go to Rome to meet with my new team. Brian and Sarah Bennetch have already moved to Rome into a neighborhood near the Vatican, so I will get to go and stay with them. Craig the other member of my team I got the opportunity to know when I went to Minnesota in November for our Readiness Event. He is great you will love him.

Along with 2 weeks in Italy I will also get to travel about the country training, and support raising, so that means I may actually get to see some of you whom I have not seen in ages! I will likely be in Colorado for either my support raising training or for language training school. This language school is not to teach me Italian, but to teach me tips for learning a new language. I will attend Italian Language School in Italy.

There is so much more, to tell you but that is why I have a blog right? So keep checking back!

If you want to join me on this road to Rome, by joining my financial team and by praying with me email me and I will happily add you to my supporters list! trinity.kay@efca.org

Thanks for joining me on the Road to Rome!