The joys and trials of week one

+JMJ+


I have made it to Roma! Although I have been here a few days, this is the first time I am able to sit down and process everything that has taken place over the past week.

If I am being honest, I had several moments/days where I was completely overwhelmed with the move I had just made. The first morning I woke my, my first thought was, "what in the world did I just do!?"

I felt completely out of my comfort zone, I had no idea where anything was, and oh yea...I don't speak italian. The reality of the situation became very daunting and if it were not for some very awesome and  wonderful people, I would probably still be stuck at the airport.

Moving to Rome on my own has been a challenge, but it has also made so beautifully clear how much the Lord is taking care of everything. When I need help with something, there always seems to be another 'friend of a friend' that is willing to help out or a native english or spanish speaker near by that can tell me how to activate my phone, find the grocery, give me directions, etc. I have started to actually  understand what abandonment to the Lord's will and providence actually is. There have been several times I have realized I am totally dependent on Him for very practical things, and that I am not capable of much when left to my own devices.

There is a great community of American students here who I had dinner with the other night, and it was great to get the inside scoop on what going to a pontifical university as a lay student really is. There are favorite seminaries among the lay students, important things to avoid, and an endless supply of embarrassing mis-translated italian experiences.  The number one piece of advice I have taken from them is to not freak out when everything is hard, because it will be tough for awhile.

I have also been blessed to see so many things in such a short amount of time! I am slowly figuring out the public transportation, how to skillfully cross the street, and my favorite gelato flavor.

All in all, the transition has been smooth, but not lacking its challenges. I have enjoyed keeping in touch with family and friends at home, and hopefully that will only become more frequent as I find better internet connection.

I will eventually upload pictures and have more stories/posts, but this whole moving to a new country thing is a tad time consuming.

Know of my prayers for you, and please keep praying for me...I must lug about 100 lbs of luggage around tomorrow to my new place...thankfully yet again, the Lord has provided some friends to help me!