Erica Morton stopped abruptly outside the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, lined with stone statues of Michelangelo, Galileo and other geniuses of the Renaissance. "Did that statue just move?" Erica exclaimed, pointing to a gold, spray-painted figure (at left).

The 14 other American students crowded around. After a moment, the statue tilted its head ever so slightly. "See that!" Erika blurted. Jaws dropped as they gazed at the 7-foot-tall, shiny figure.

Then a child ran up to the statue stretching her neck to make eye contact. The figure bent at the waist, lowered its head toward the girl and smiled for a second, then returned to its former pose. The child giggled. Her mother pitched some lira into a hat on the ground. Erica laughed, drinking in this fantastic place.

For three years the senior at Lake Brantley High School near Orlando, Fla., had watched friends involved in Student Venture—Campus Crusade for Christ's high-school and junior-high ministry—go to Florence to build relationships with Italian youth. Now she stood in the cradle of the Renaissance herself.

"We marvel at the statues we saw," says Summer Crawford, a college student and chaperone for the 14-day trip. "And people got paid for posing like statues and coming to life for just a moment. When we looked in the mirror today, we probably missed the miracle—God has breathed life into us, and we have come to bring His life [to others]."

And bring it they did. As the American teenagers hung out with their Italian peers at Salesiano Institute, they showed them that Christ is more than a statue nailed on the wall. They spoke in 23 classrooms, walked the city together and played sports. As a result, 59 Italian students saw faith come to life.

In one classroom, Beth McGregor showed photos of her close-knit family. "But the most important relationship in my life is my relationship with Jesus," she added.

A hand shot up in the back of the room: "How did you come to realize your relationship with Christ?" Amazed that someone would ask that in front of the whole class, Beth looked around the room for Haswell Beni—Campus Crusade's national director of student ministry in Italy—to see if she could present the gospel right then and there. "Answer the question," he said, smiling.

	Bearing Fruit | Brett Bradley and Keva Harrison use the Italian Four Spiritual Laws booklet to explain the gospel to a small group of students in a classroom. In all, 59 Italian students indicated decisions to receive Christ.

On another occasion, sophomore Brett Bradley spoke on four choices he had made:

"1. To come here, which meant I would miss a week of school and get behind in my grades.

2. To not go drinking with friends.

3. To not have sex with my girlfriend before marriage.

4. To start a personal relationship with Christ."

As Brett gave his reasons for making all those decisions, Gabriol Cinelli sat dumbfounded. "Brett is a wise student," he said. "He told things that are very important and difficult to do. When I hear Brett, I think he's 21."

But one group of older students sat stone-faced. The Americans prayed about the situation, then tried to get to know the Italians by breaking into small groups. Upon finding out that a classmate had recently died in a scooter accident, the visitors listened, sympathized, and chatted about soccer and friendships. When the Americans returned the next day, the Italian students let down their guard.

"Last year my class thought they were better than the Americans," said Francesco Bernardini. "This time I opened my heart [to Jesus]. This is the best week of the year. Even if I win the prize of a million [the lottery] this would still be the best week."

Outside the classroom, the Americans invited the Italians to spend more time with them. Frida Tripoli saw faith come alive as she met Erica for lunch several afternoons. One day over pizza, Erica read through the booklet Would You Like to Know God Personally? with Frida. The next day they met again after her piano lesson.

"I took the book home," said Frida, "and I prayed the prayer."

"March 13th is your spiritual birthday," said Erica.

"Che bello (beautiful)," said Frida.

"We're sisters!" Erica exclaimed.

Object Lesson | The American women left the Italian students with an unfogettable picture of their new relationship with Christ. By dressing them up as His bride, they talked about how He will pursue them, love then and never leave them.

Two days later the American girls organized a mock bridal shower to illustrate how a relationship with Christ is like a marriage relationship. Frida and her friend, Franchesca Peruzzi, volunteered as brides. The group divided into two teams, winding and draping toilet paper to form bridal gowns. Both groups giggled as they created costumes, trains and flowers for the brides.

Then Debbie Muscarella, assistant director of the project, read from Isaiah 54 in the Bible and told how deciding to follow Christ made them His brides. "Though we leave in a few days," said Debbie, "God will always be with you like a husband, pursuing and loving you."

Two young women who had met Debbie the previous year showed up. "Last year Debbie showed me completely her love and friendship, her life," said 19-year-old Julia Spagnesi. "She came to me and my friends and started talking about something that's not so shallow. Before that, no one talked about things relating to the heart. She left us seeds and tried to make them bloom, but had to go back to America. This year she came to Italy again and found someone had received her words. The seed has become a flower."

Julia wasn't the only one glad to see the Americans come back. Don Vittorio Nannicini, the school's English-literature teacher, saw how last year's group helped him promote discussion about God after the group left. "Communicating experience and lives is better than a lot of preaching," says Vittorio. "I am convicted I need to change the way I communicate with the students. I haven't done a good job of explaining my experience."

In Italy, only 12 percent of Italian youth attend church. Although 95 percent of Italians are baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, less than 30 percent practice their religion in a country with more Jehovah's Witnesses than Protestant evangelical Christians.

"Italy is a cemetery for missionaries," says Haswell. "Most missionaries don't return for a second term." He and his wife, Maria, lead all ministry to students in the entire country. "We are alone in this ministry," says Maria. "Student Venture is key." Haswell recruits others from around the world to help. "Italy is seen as a vacation spot, not a mission field," he says. "Behind the tourism and art, there are people who need Christ."

Half a million people live in Florence, including about 50,000 Americans. "Life in Florence consists of two big characteristics," says Don Luigi Allegri, director of Salesiano Institute. "Art is fundamental, and people are open and friendly."

	Spiritual Life | Today, Frida Tripoli (left) encounters new life in Christ through friendship with American student Erica Morton (right).

"To have a good ministry with Italians," says Maria, "is to have a good friendship." That's why the Italian students responded to their American peers. They saw similarities in their lives, yet realized the Americans had a spiritual reference point that affected their everyday lives.

The trip also caused growth in the Americans' lives. Near the end of the time, Erica squeezed onto a crowded bus after some sightseeing. She felt someone tug her bag, so she clutched it tighter to her chest. But after she got off the bus, her wallet was gone.

When the group pitched in to replace the cash, Erica said she wouldn't take it. People insisted. She swallowed her pride and learned to receive. "No matter what I feel or what was taken," she said, "I always have eternal arms to fall back on. That person doesn't." She then led the group in prayer for the thief: "God, this is a world of lost people. Are we gonna care enough for the people who steal things from You? Make Yourself real to that person, just as You have to us and to the Italian students."

Katie Wallace came away from the trip eager to tell her American classmates about her relationship with Christ: "We flew all the way here and we sit with 180 kids each day, and I'm afraid to share with them."

"It's kind of ironic," says Brian Certo, who came back for a second time. "One of my favorite memories from last year was getting hopelessly lost in Florence. This year it was reaching a kid who was hopelessly lost."

Before Brian left Florence, Lorenzo came to say goodbye. "Now I know that God is not just in the church," he said. "He's with me now. I know there's nothing I can do to earn [a relationship with Him]."

After the Americans left, Haswell began a monthly Bible study at the school to help the students grow in their new relationship with Christ. But he yearns for people to join him full time. "Those who respond to 27 [students]," he says, "cannot be followed up by one [person]. That breaks my heart."

Many of the American students already talk about returning to Florence next spring break, and some correspond with their new Italian friends. It sounds a lot like the early days of the church and the apostle Paul's letters to his new brothers and sisters in Christ. "The whole New Testament tells of people going to foreign places and telling the gospel," says Haswell. "This is how Christianity spread."

And that's how it's spreading today, as American high-school students like Erica and her friends help bring faith to life.

For information about future Student Venture mission projects, visit www.ccci.org/student_venture/gps/index.html.