Hello friends and family!

As of a week ago, I officially wrapped up ministry in Jamaica and have now been in Rome, Italy, for about a week!

As we finished up ministry in Jamaica and began transitioning into a new country, I experienced such a shift in culture, ministry opportunities, and even the pace of everyday life. During our last full week in Jamaica, we spent our time roofing and simply being present with the community. It was truly bittersweet. After spending a little over a month building relationships and friendships, leaving those people behind was hard, but what a blessing it was to have experienced that community and the people in it!

Since arriving in Italy, we have had some crazy adventures and have spent a lot of time doing ATL (Ask the Lord) ministry, allowing Him to guide our days and direct our steps. While this has been exciting, it has also challenged me in ways I wasn't expecting.

It has made me ask myself: Am I truly living an interruptible life, or am I just going through the motions of my everyday life?

As I have experienced these different cultures, I have become increasingly aware of how much we, as Americans, live at a pace of rush rather than peace. We get so caught up in where we are going, what we are doing, and what comes next that sometimes we forget to slow down and recognize the opportunities the Lord places right in front of us. And when we aren't willing to be interrupted, it can directly affect our ministry.

Our desire is to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and follow where the Lord leads, even when it means stepping outside of our comfort zones.

For example, this past week, while walking around with my team during ATL, the Lord placed a woman who appeared to be experiencing homelessness right in front of us. At first, we simply walked past her. But almost immediately, we were hit with regret. We knew we had missed an opportunity to stop, serve, and love someone right in front of us. Even though we had already gotten some distance away, we turned around, hoping to find her, but unfortunately, she was gone.

We had an opportunity to be obedient, and we let our quick pace get in the way.

But how good and gracious is our God!

Later that same day, as we continued walking around, we came across a man experiencing homelessness who was asking for food. We knew we wanted to help, so we decided to get him something to eat.

As I was ordering from a little pizza shop in one of the metro stations, something funny happened. This wasn't the first time I had bought food for someone, but it was the second time. And for whatever reason, the worker asked me if I wanted the pizza cut in half. In my head, I thought this was such an odd question because I had just ordered pizza there before, and they hadn't asked me that!

So what did I do? I said yes, go ahead and cut it in half.

The second I said it, I wanted to take it back because it made absolutely no sense to me. We were getting pizza for one person, so why would we need it cut in half?

But the Lord had other plans.

As we walked out of the metro station, one of my teammates looked to her right and said, "Wait, wasn't that the lady from earlier who we missed?"

And she was right! We immediately recognized the opportunity in front of us and were able to give her the other half of the pizza. After missing the opportunity earlier, we were given another chance to respond, and this time we didn't hesitate.

How incredible is our God? He cares so deeply for the people He created, and He is gracious enough to work through us even when we stumble. He knew exactly what was going to happen before we did. What initially seemed like such a random question about cutting a pizza in half became an opportunity to bless not one, but TWO people!

And all because we were willing to step outside of our comfort zones, slow down, and be obedient.

We must live an interruptible life because we never know what opportunity we might miss, or even WHO we might miss, when we are too busy rushing through our days.

I think sometimes we get so caught up in looking for the big ways God wants to use us that we overlook the small, everyday opportunities He puts right in front of us. But ministry doesn't always have to look like something extraordinary. Sometimes it looks like stopping, listening, buying someone a meal, or simply taking the time to see someone.

As we wrap up our week here in Rome, we will slowly begin transitioning into debrief in Sorrento! Please be praying for our team during this time, that we would have a meaningful debrief and that the Lord would continue preparing our hearts as we get ready to jump into ministry in Nepal!

I love you all, and I pray this encourages you as much as it has encouraged me. Let's be people who are willing to slow down, pay attention, and allow the Lord to interrupt our plans for His purposes

Keep staying tuned in!

Love, Ayslee