Today has been a great day. We went to the outdoor market in the town next door, Crespano, and it was really awesome! I bought a Pashmina for about 3 euro, so now I look like a local, hahaha. But yeah, it was really cool because I felt really immersed in the culture, and it was great to get out of town and see something different.

I also just had an amazing conversation with Heidi. We talked for the past 3 hours about her life, God, and everything in between. I really do believe that you learn so much more about a person and who they are when you hear about their family and their childhood. And let me tell you, Heidi has had it rough. Long story short, but she is one of the strongest individuals that I have ever met in my life, and I am so happy to have met her.

At the beginning of my trip I was a little skeptical and nervous about how the people I would interact with would react when they learned about the importance of my faith. This was especially nerve-wrecking because the people that I am usually attracted to as friends are really outgoing and a pretty outspoken, and they dont usually have strong faiths. I was really worried about being away from my support group, and really wondering how I was going to continue to grow.

After meeting Heidi and getting to know her, I realized that all my fears were gone. She told me that she really fell out of her faith this past year, and that the last thing on her mind when coming to Italy was growing closer to God. She couldnt believe that in reality this was the first thing that happened when she got here. She said she met me, and right away she had felt like she was right back into it. She said it was as if God knew all along that we would meet, and that I would help her in her journey. And I gotta tell ya, I felt the same way. I knew as soon as she said that what my purpose was for coming here on the spiritual level. I can't even express how happy I am. I needed that realization, and I needed that reassurance. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to experience someone else's growth and happiness. God is using me, and I couldn't be more excited about it. It's just so crazy that he works even when I'm all the way in Italy!!! hahaha. I think we are even gonna start a bible study here...even if it is only with like 2 or 3 people...haha.

So basically, God is great, and so is Italy. I'm feeling FABULOUS!!