Im Alive And Well, I Promise

Hello! So it's been about 2 months since my last blog. So I want to start with, I'm sorry. I'm sorry because first of it has been SO LONG and secondly SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED. I’ve traveled all throughout Italy, and now I am in Mexico. So, there is A LOT to catch up on. Which means this may be VERY LONG so buckle up because God has been moving in so many crazy, Hard, challenging, incredible ways. And I am very excited to share with you all how it has been these past 2 months.

ISERNIA/Sorrento, ITALY

We left Albania on November 1st, at 3 am, for a small city in Italy named Isernia. Our Ministry there consisted of going into different public schools in groups of 4 or 5, and sharing our testimonies,stories, and about the love of Jesus in the schools religion classes. At first, like right before we started this kind of ministry, I was TERRIFIED. I have gone to public school my entire life, so I know how kids can be. BUT, God had different plans.

Day one, we got to Italy and went to this church in a smaller village type town named Machia D Isernia. And from there, we were all assigned host homes to live at with one other person for the next 2 weeks. Then the next day we started, and let me just tell you, the next two weeks of that ministry was AMAZING. Literally from the moment every different group of us walked into those schools, the Holy Spirit was MOVING! Everyone almost everyday had an amazing story of how they connected to someone, or kids asked amazing questions, and it was so evident that seeds were being planted so many lives could be changed, all through the Glory of God. It was so amazing to see how all our different stories and experiences allowed us to connect to SO MANY different kinds of teenagers. It really showed me how important every person's testimony is so important even if you don't think it is, because you never know where someone is in their life, and they could be exactly where you were at one point in your life. It really changed my perspective on my story, how God timing is perfect in every way, and how everything happens for a reason.

We also made so many amazing relationships in Isernia, and a lot of the kids I connected with I still talk to today over the phone! At this point of the trip I was really realizing how important community is, and how community is Essential for the body of Christ.

After that 2 weeks, we sadly packed our bags, and had to leave. We left for a City Along the West coast of Italy Named Sorrento. There, we stayed in a Glamping spot for about 3 weeks. The first week everyone was there, then half of our group went home for the holidays because the trip we all signed up for gave us the option to stay over christmas and continue self led ministry opportunities, go home for the holidays, or not come back. Sadly, about 6 people decided to go home and not return. Then we all had a week of rest, where we had sabbath, and spent time in community. The next week came around,it was December, and a lot of parents came to the PVT.

DECEMBER-NEW YEARS

The PVT (Parent Vision trip) is an opportunity where our family can come and witness what it has been like to live on the field and experience the ministry we are doing. Although we didn't do any ministry, because what they had planned didn't work out, me and my Mom got to travel ALOT down the West coast of Italy, all the way to Sicily. Once we got to Palermo, a city located in Sicily, the PVT was over, and everyone's parents went home. And im going to be honest, the rest of the month of December was very hard for me. I had a lot going on mentally, emotionally, I always felt physically exhausted, and I was at an all time spiritual low. Since the trip we signed up for had nothing really planned for the holiday time, we didn't do much, and it was FREEZING. I spent a lot of that time in isolation away from everyone, hiding what I felt because I was scared. I would try to pray about these things,and take it to others, but after I would be back on focusing on it, getting overwhelmed, and it overall felt like God just wasn't there, but he was. During that time it really helped me learn what it is really like to seek help, and truly surrender how I feel and how things are going to the Lord. I had a talk with one of my Leaders Tammy, where we talked a lot about these things, and she told me something I will hold forever. And that is that everything has an “Exchange”. And while i was isolating, and trying to hide from what i felt, i was exchanging that for time of growth with the lord, and the community of believers i have been blessed with. After that conversation, everything got so much better. 

During Italy, we basically went everywhere. I went to Rome and got to see St Peter's Basilica, we got to go to the Amalfi coast, and so many other coastal cities on both the east and west coast. I got to go to Milan, and Venice, and all these places were so beautiful don't get me wrong, but something so much more important sticks out. And that is the HOLY SPIRIT WAS MOVIN!! Looking back on our time in Italy, it was filled with so much growth, and change, Spiritually, Mentally, Physically, and Emotionally, and it is so beautiful to be able to look back and see that, not just in my life, but in my group of Racers that I now call my Family.

Our last location we stayed in was another small glamping spot in Rome, then, on January 2nd we flew out on our way to CHIAPAS MEXICO!!!!

CHIAPAS MEXICO

Our travel day to Chiapas was COOKED. We woke up at 3 am, drove to the airport, waited a couple hours, then boarded our first flight that took us to our layover in Madrid Spain which was cool! Then we waited another few hours, and then we got on our Ten and a half hour flight. The whole flight I was in and out of watching the second lord of the rings, and walking around the plane. I didn't sleep a single MINUTE on that flight, it was so great! THEN we finally landed in Cancun Mexico, where we had another layover, which was 15 HOURS!!! We all found a spot on the floor to get “comfy” and we all tried to sleep. I probably slept about an hour and a half. Then at 11 am the next day, we flew to Chiapas! After we landed we got picked by our host Jaime, and drove to the Orphanage that we will be living and doing ministry in until March 1st! The next day, everyone that decided to return for the second semester came back and it was so awesome. Seeing everyone was SO good and I missed them so much. Also we got 6 new people on our trip! Now, this past week we did a new Training camp, where we got taught about team dynamics, learned about spiritual warfare, and just worked well together as in the body of Christ. 

SO, that is everything that has been going on, lol. Again sorry it took me so long to make an update. I have truly been praying and thinking about you all every single day, and I miss everyone at home so much. I can't wait for when I come home to share in depth all of the amazing things I have experienced, all the amazing people I've met, and all the amazing ways I've experienced God. 

Philippians 4:17 and 23 say “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” 23 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” Thank you all for your support, I miss, love, and appreciate you all more than you know. God Bless! 

-Ethan Sausen