I’m Signora Sheila
American-born, Italian at heart. I’m a mom, nonna, and wife to my very own personal superhero–Super Mario! Above all, I’m a follower of Jesus and have been serving, with my husband, as a missionary in Italy since 1989.
My passions in life are my faith in Jesus, my family, simple slow living, and my dolce vita in Italy. I write about these things, as well as the challenges of expat/missionary life and living on a shoestring budget.
As an aging empty-nester with all my family far away, I also talk about navigating the challenges of growing older, facing loneliness, and missing loved ones—with the help of God.
I hope you’ll join me on this journey, as together we pursue the true dolce vita that God has in store for each of us!
Walking through life with Jesus—this is the true dolce vita, and the journey gets sweeter every day!
Signora Sheila
Meet the Signori
We’ve lived in Italy since 1989. We live in a small hillside town in the Abruzzo region.
I was born and raised on a farm in Michigan, surrounded by woods and fields. Mario was born in a tiny mountain village in southern Italy. He grew up in the Bronx with parents who spoke only an Italian dialect.
Our Story
We got married just one month after we met! Yes, we are both impulsive, but with the Lord’s help, we’ve now been happily married for 49 years!
In 1989, we embarked for Italy with very little. We only had eight suitcases that also had to hold homeschooling books and eight teddy bears! We had no support network, income or property, and little money. But we knew God was with us and that He would take care of us — and He has! (Visit Mission Italia to learn more.)
We’ve moved over 50 times, always going wherever help was needed. We’ve “enjoyed” some pretty strange dwellings. A tent, a tarantula-infested camper *shudder* and a remodelled chicken coop that was so cozy the chickens kept returning!
Missionary Lessons
We’ve experienced times of need and times of abundant blessings, and we’ve learned countless valuable lessons. Most importantly, we’ve learned that God is gracious, good, and faithful every step of the way!
Missionary life has taught us that life’s most valuable lessons often come from our toughest challenges and hardest trials. Those times in life when joy and peace seem to vanish, and hope starts fading away.
But it is in those moments that we come to know God more deeply. We discover that He is a tender and faithful Father who can turn our mourning into dancing. He can transform our shattered dreams into abundant blessings—even in the midst of deep pain and sorrow.
Thank you for visiting! It is a privilege for me to share this space with you, and am honored by your presence here. I hope you’ll follow me and visit often!
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Psalm 126:3
📷 Image credits: featured image was generated by AI on Canva for my blog post I Asked AI; others are mine.