The End of a Chapter and the Beginning of a New - Part 2
Before becoming Vincenzo’s wife, I had many roles: a daughter, a sister, an aunt in my family life, a youth group leader, a member of the choir in the church, and a teacher of the Latin and Hungarian literature and grammar—a profession that I did with passion. In all these roles, I wanted to serve the Lord faithfully.
I was always interested in missions. Ever since I spent a semester in Milan, I started to pray for God’s people in Italy. But at the same time, I had never really thought that I should go far from my home in Hungary to bring the gospel: I considered my local church in Budapest and especially the high school as my main mission fields. I enjoyed teaching, and I never thought I should give it up.
When I met Vincenzo, I realized that marrying him would mean leaving my job, country, and family. At first, it didn’t seem easy, although it wasn’t hard to love Vincenzo. But God prepared my heart during our two years of engagement and made my calling clear.
When we got married, a beautiful chapter of my life ended, and another even more beautiful one started.
Looking back at our first year of marriage, I’m amazed by God’s providence: how He gave us this time to grow as a couple and as individuals. The last year was a transition between my busy life before as a teacher and my new life as a missionary. After getting married and moving to the US, I had to slow down suddenly, having a very different schedule than I had before. I wasn’t overwhelmed anymore with the regular duties of getting up every day at 5-6 am to arrive at the school, teaching, preparing for the classes, correcting papers, which I enjoyed, and I felt that God was using me in all this among my students. It took some time until I adjusted to the changes, but the new life served my spiritual growth. I had the opportunity to attend classes at Westminster Seminary California, and to get involved in the congregational life of New Life Presbyterian Church in Escondido. I had more time dwelling in Christ and His Word. Not having a full-time job, I could organize my schedule according to Vincenzo’s tasks, and I could dedicate myself to discovering what it means to be his wife, and how we can best work together as a team. We both learned a lot about our priorities. Especially during the quarantine, we grew as a couple and prepared for our roles not just as missionaries, but also as parents.
Our first daughter, Abigail, was born on August 25, after a beautiful pregnancy which was one of the most lovely moments of my life. With this new life that God entrusted to us, we have already experienced so much joy, and we pray that, by God’s grace, we can raise Abigail in the will of our Heavenly Father.
As we prepare to move back to Italy and start the church plant in Lecce, I look forward to building new relationships, hosting people, and experiencing the power of the gospel in the Salento peninsula, that amazing place, which is about to become my new home!
