"The cattle on a thousand hills..."

Psalm 50:10 has come up in conversation and prayer time and time again over the last several months. Never before has this passage about God's character been so relevant to my everyday life. God is truly the owner of every material thing on this planet--He provides and withholds resources as He pleases.

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.

 Psalm 50:10-11

In the last several days, God has once again abundantly blessed me in terms of financial resources. Again, I do not want to focus too much on this aspect of serving in Italy, but I want those of you praying to be encouraged and to know how those prayers are working. This week, God has provided the equivalent of about $600 in monthly support and filled all of my one-time needs (and much more!). With less than four weeks remaining until August 1, I can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I am already so grateful for the people God has brought into my life and chosen to come alongside me for the next year. Last night, I was skimming over the list of people who have committed to joining my support team, and that list is really just amazing to me...

God is so specific--He knew exactly who He would use before time began. He ordained every one of those conversations--some with friends I've known since I was born, others with people I hardly know at all. He brought specific people across my path at so many different times, knowing they would eventually play a role in this season of my life. I firmly believe--I know--He has assembled and is still assembling this team with a purpose in mind.

On another note, His timing is so perfect. Most of the amounts listed above literally came in in the span of several hours, which is mind-boggling to me. His timing is teaching me so much about trust.

Trevi Fountain
Rome, Italy
Fall 2010

Here are a few prayer requests...

• Praise God for provision! He has been so gracious in answering prayers for financial support.
• Continue to pray for new believers in Bologna. Also pray that God would go ahead of my STINT team and staff on the University of Bologna campus.
• Pray for safety as my STINT team and I travel to Houston next week to get our Italian visas. Pray that that whole process would go smoothly.
• Continue to pray for God's provision in these final weeks for me and my team. Please pray that God would raise up committed monthly supporters or the equivalent amount in one-time gifts.