The Nigros in California

Saluti da SoCal

Del Mar Beach, San Diego Country

It is difficult to believe both that our last update was in March and that this update comes to you from Southern California. The whirlwind of wrapping up life and ministry in Italy coupled with setting up the same here has kept us in a dust cloud and spinning for the last four months since we touched down in LAX.

Thrown into the mix of that was a two week blitz trip to the east coast to see family in North Carolina and Virginia, and then visits to our supporting churches in New Jersey.

It seems that all the good will in the world just wasn’t enough to plant myself down, gather my thoughts and write. And it is likely that many of you have not been caught up with our last update and therefore didn’t realize that we were turning over Calvary Chapel Treviso and moving to America. If that is you, please accept my apologies for the gap in communication.

Calvary Chapel Bible College

My Gospel of Mark class - 83 students.

We are now quasi settled into our new home and, although we painfully miss Italy, Calvary Chapel Treviso and all our loved ones there, we rejoice with certainty that we are precisely where God wants us. And very blessed to be!

More than six weeks into this Fall semester have given me a rather thorough immersion into my new function serving as the Dean of Men. To say that my hair has been on fire wouldn’t be appropriate since you know I shave my head, but truly I can’t recall the last time I was this busy and challenged in such a good way.

Being the authority figure and disciplinarian of the male students provides a tremendous amount of discipleship opportunities and allows what I miss about pastoring to carry over in fatherly oversight of roughly 200 young men. What more could I ask for? Teaching in the classroom every Monday and Wednesday is a pleasure as we go through the Gospel of Mark (my favorite gospel but not for its name).

Every Wednesday afternoon six interns and I meet together to pray and talk about the meat of practical ministry and leading others with the heart of the Good Shepherd. Friday mornings I meet with 34 men who serve their rooms as Dorm Stewards, taking oversight and responsibility for the care of the room and their roommates. This is a class for which they receive credit, and which allows us to brief one another on campus issues both practical and spiritual, pray together, problem solve and go through principles of ministry. The rest of the days of the week are peppered with appointments, emergencies, administrative tasks and, when possible, study preparation.

In the Home

At the pumpkin patch in Temecula

One colossal prayer request of ours (ever since our call to California came) has been for our children’s adjustment to the move. Their school had been in Italian since the beginning but now there is a vast difference in the way things are done. Vocabulary for specialized subjects would be foreign to them, and spelling in English was all but a mystery to them. I’m blessed to say they have been adjusting excellently and even excelling in their school work. Two days ago Matea received an award for her behavior as a model student, and Luka for excellence in Language Arts, scoring 100% on his work.

All this doesn’t mean they are not struggling. A day doesn’t go by that they don’t speak of their longing for Italy, their friends, the church, their school and…the pizza! But as we pray through it all and remember why we are here, God gives grace for the time of need. I think it’s only right that we all have this struggle with the move. Italy was for twelve years our entire life. Our kids were born there, the church over which we loved and labored for years, and countless precious memories.

Renata keeps busy volunteering at the elementary school in Matea’s class, keeping things in order at home, and by helping our children with their frequent homework. We’re seeking the Lord about a church to call home and believe we may have found one. This is a big priority for us and we look forward to plugging in soon.

In all, we are (and we mean it with all our hearts) so very thankful. Thankful for you, who have prayed and supported us through the years. Thankful for the unforgettably blessed time we served in Italy. And finally, thankful for where we are now.

Please continue to pray for us as the Lord leads and when you remember. Ministry is ministry and we still need the Lord to empower and guide us. From time to time, I’ll come on here and update the blog. But it wont be more than twice per year. We hope you’ll still want to hear from us, as we do from you.

Every blessing,
Mark, Renata, Luka and Matea

March Update

A Season of Growth

Taken on the Sunday of our Christmas Lunch

This has been the most fruitful year in our ministry at Calvary Chapel Treviso, from the new souls God has added, to the maturing of lives who have been with us for a time. We are so blessed for the commitments made to Christ in the last several months by Frances, Nathan, Luana and most recently, Davide who came forward at our Sunday service just a month ago. We can honestly say these new believers with their tender hearts and excitement for the Lord are the highlight of our year! But CC Treviso has also grown exponentially with the addition of new families looking for a church. Our most recent problem is being full nearly every Sunday and needing more space. What a blessed "problem" to have.

A Season of Change

Us at Juliette's House in Verona, Italy - Romantic, eh?

Perhaps the most startling news for most of you is that the Lord is moving us into a new ministry direction, and it means we are going to leave Italy. Although the Lord has brought it all together quickly and divinely, He has not done it suddenly. The preparation in our hearts and lives has been going on for over 3 years and through a lot of prayer.

In 2009 Renata and I both, but independently of one another, began sensing a big change was coming and the Lord was whispering "Get ready!" We didn't know what that meant, when it would come or what it would look like. Revival in the church? A third child? A tragedy? A geographical move in our ministry? The more we prayed the more it seemed like the latter, but for many months nothing was certain.

In late Spring of 2012, after I had become frustrated with the ambiguity and distraction of it all, I cried out for clarity from the Lord. And clarity came! The problem was me. All the while we were praying, I was giving the Lord options that appealed most to me and returning to ministry in the USA was not one of them. I simply did not want to leave Europe, our home and place of ministry for 14 of the 18 years of our marriage. And through the years here, we have certainly had our times of severe discouragement, financial struggles and ministry burnout. But this was not one of those times. On the contrary, we've never been in a better place as far as all of that is concerned. So a move to America felt like walking backwards. But if America was God's next step for us, then it was a move forward and not backwards at all.

A Season of Obedience

Main entrance to CC Conference Center and Bible College

Everything began coming together one year ago, on the day I ceased giving God choices. He spoke clearly that we needed to pray for the church to be turned over. That was a very difficult thing to do as it is extremely painful to leave the church and this place. But as we obeyed, three days later Renata and I (independently of one another) had "California" pass through our minds. No specific ministry or reason. So when we both discovered that the other had heard the same thing, we thought God was up to something but we kept it quiet before the Lord until He gave more clarity. That was roughly the month of April. In July, I dialogued with a friend and fellow pastor from our home church in Old Bridge. It was no coincidence to hear he was moving to Murrieta that same month to serve at the Bible College. As I shared with him what the Lord had been stirring in our hearts, we wondered if God may be moving us in that direction. Just one month later, on August 6, I received the invitation to serve as the dean of men there.

We were flabbergasted by the phone call and although it seemed like the right thing to do, it did not seem possible. The time we had to give our answer was brief. Extremely brief. And we needed to be there this past January. Truly we thought we would have to decline, for not only did it seem too soon for such a change, we could not commit until the Lord proved who was to be the next pastor at CC Treviso. We had someone on our hearts, but needed time for it to unfold. Until then, we weren't moving anywhere. Then by the first week of this past November, that same family we prayed for committed to take over the church. They are Brian and Maria Cambra, missionaries with CC Montebelluna for five years and currently directing the Bible College there.

Brian Cambra teaching at our recent men's meeting

The amount of details the Lord has put in place to make everything happen so perfectly, covering every need and so timely for everyone involved in this, are too many to list. And I'm burning a lot of diesel right now trying to consolidate a flood of thoughts and facts into a readable update. But I hope this gives enough background for you, our co-laborers, to see God's hand at work here. Please continue to pray with us and for us as we face what is perhaps the hardest decision we've ever made, and a colossal yet exciting change.

Pray also for CC Treviso as this transition unfolds. We believe great things are in store and the church has only just begun enjoying the fruit that is to come. We've recently begun bringing in pastor Brian to teach twice per month on Sundays and every other Wednesday evening. The Cambras are a blessing and key part of God's plan for this season of change. They truly love the fellowship at CC Treviso and the church has truly embraced them. Brian's family plan to move to the Treviso area by June. Please pray for them also as they obey God's calling in this new venture of faith.

Our ETA for America is late June. We plan to visit our friends and family on the East Coast, then start full time in Murrieta by July 1, Lord willing.

Well, that's quite a mouthful for this overdue update. If you have questions, a word of encouragement or anything, please leave it in the comment section below so that everyone who reads can benefit and no one will have to repeat the same questions privately.

Prayer and Praise

1. Thankful for this most fruitful year at CC Treviso, the new lives God has touched and those He is raising up
2. Thankful for His faithfulness to guide and provide and bless beyond our imagination
3. Thankful for the exciting plans before us and for the favor He continues to show us
4. Prayerful for the new direction, its challenges and changes
5. Prayerful for effectiveness in touching lives at CCBC Murrieta, hopeful for many disciples to be raised up in ministry with a global perspective of God's kingdom
6. Prayerful for grace in adjusting through the culture shock of this colossal change for our family
7. Prayerful for favor on our children as they change schools and learn in English for the first time

October Update

Luka holding his icepack after arriving at the hospital

Accidents Happen

Parenting young ones is never dull, never boring and almost always keeps a good amount of surprises. During our Wednesday morning staff meeting last week, Renata’s cell phone rang and it was Luka’s elementary school. Typically when the school calls it’s not for a good reason. The teacher requested Renata come in to see Luka immediately. He had been in an accident with his friend Edoardo, both of which had been running in the backyard of the school during morning recreation break. Amidst the crowd neither of them saw the other coming and they collided headfirst.

Luka and Matea visiting Edoardo in hospital

When Renata arrived at the school it was not a comforting scene. There was an ambulance parked out front with the lights flashing. The doctors were attending to the children. Edoardo had a neck brace on and was being carried away on a stretcher. He was losing consciousness and was much more seriously injured than Luka, but it was recommended that both children be brought to the hospital. Luka was kept in for observation until late afternoon while his friend Edoardo needed a CAT scan. The results of which were serious enough to warrant reconstructive surgery on the orbital floor of his eye socket. When Luka’s forehead smashed the upper part of Edoardo’s cheekbone it caused a fracture into which one of the eye muscles fell and from which it could not free itself, rendering uncoordinated eye movements.

As I write this, Edoardo has been out of surgery for some hours and is doing fine. He does, however, have double vision in his eye. We pray that returns quickly to normal. Please join us in praying for little Edoardo, and that the Lord might use this for good in the life of his family and even the school. We can’t wait for him to come out of the hospital and return to school as the happy, playful 2^nd grader that he is.

RIP! My beloved MacBookPro.

Dead MBP

Just a couple of weeks ago my beloved MacBook Pro perished with the defective Nvidia chipset that had been installed in that particular model of early 2008. I was hoping to make it to the five-year mark (or more) before upgrading, but I only made roughly 4 ½ years. I guess that’s kind of old in computer years, eh? T'was a bit of an unexpected snag in our day to day ministry and life activity as missionaries, so I felt it was newsworthy. We're almost over that hump now and thankful to be so. 

Retreat

It's tradition to snap a pic on the last day before departing.

We held our 5^th annual retreat September 7-9 and had a pretty good turn out. As always, it was a wonderful time. Pastor Brian Cambra from Calvary Chapel Montebelluna spoke, teaching four sessions on the sufficiency of God for our lives. His wife Maria led us in worship and ran the children’s ministry. We could not have asked for better weather. The pictures we took seem like they are out of a travel magazine (friends on FaceBook can see them here CC Treviso Retreat 2012). The downtime in fellowship one with another was the icing on the cake. We were even able to swim in the lake it was so warm. Our prayer is that the fruit of the Word and work of the Spirit in us all will yield abundant, lasting results. 

Everyone is Significant

As you know, Nathan has been coming to church regularly for some months now and is blown away at how God speaks to him, week after week. Our Lord is indeed good and personally interested in our lives. Recently he brought his 13-year-old daughter, Isabel, for the first time. I was so encouraged to see her come back every week since then, sitting attentively in service. Yesterday Nathan shared that Isabel really enjoys coming and plans to continue. What a joy! Please pray that God would stir up or send over a youth leader with a heart and vision to shepherd these young people. This is one ministry area we really hope to see get established soon. Our youth are few in number but slowly multiplying and their needs are many. I firmly believe a strong youth ministry here would have a great impact in the city of Treviso.

The Lord has also brought a few other new families these days as well. Some of them are wounded sheep from abusive shepherds. We pray the Lord will heal these folks with the balsam of his grace. Pray these families settle into their new church home, experience God’s love in and among his people, and get radically blessed by Him to "Grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ" (2 Pet 3:18).

Bob and Lori Scata

Seasonal Change

Just as the landscape changes all around us with the shifting of the seasons, so it seems with all of life and ministry. As we welcome in new and friendly faces to the fellowship, we find ourselves also sending off our missionary co-laborers, Bob and Lori Scata. After four years of faithful service their time has come to an end and they must return to the states this coming January to begin the next chapter God has for their lives. They will be sorely missed but we’re thankful for the time we have had together and the fruit of their labors here will remain behind them. Please pray for their transition. Pray also for the church as our leadership adjusts itself to this change in our team.

Ministry Needs

I felt it would be good to include in this newsletter some of the basic ministry needs we currently have or expect to have in the very near future. Please pray for the following requests.

1. Worship/Sound
2. Youth ministry
3. Website and IT service
4. Sunday school teacher/Caregiver
5. Administration

Burek, Boxers and Baptisms: August 2012

Sharing in John 4 at CC Subotica

Burek (Serbia)

Our visit to Serbia in July was busy but blessed. We try to go once per year to see family but a large part of our time is always spent ministering in those churches with whom we have a longstanding relationship, as well as visiting friends. 

I (Mark) was blessed to teach in two different churches on the same Sunday for two weeks in a row (the Brethren Church of Subotica and Calvary Chapel). 

Sandwiched between, we shared at the leadership/servants ministry meeting Tuesday to encourage those serving in Calvary. On Saturday, we had a brief visit in Backa Topola during a joint conference and baptisms with a few of the other Calvary Chapels in the area.

Protestantska Hrišćanska Zajednica, Novi Sad

On Wednesday, we headed south to the amazing city of Novi Sad to minister to the men from Duga (Rainbow), the drug rehabilitation center run as a ministry of the church pastored by our longtime friend Danijel Kuranji and his wife Vera. The Lord is doing a great work there but they do need help to keep up with the growth. Pray for that. 

Enjoying some of the finer things in life :)

It just would NOT be a legitimate visit to the Balkans without Burek. So we ended our time in Serbia with some of Subotica's best at our last breakfast with Renata’s family. 

Boxers

We are thrilled to say that the Lord is continuing to reach new people and draw them into the fold. Many of you will recall our mentioning last time the variety of individuals that come through our doors, one of them being a boxer. Nathan has been coming faithfully and made a commitment to the Lord some weeks ago.

Since then, he seems genuinely to be a changed man. We just love witnessing such transformation the Lord makes in people’s lives. People who know Nathan can see something is different and often ask him what’s up. He speaks about his experience and others are now asking if they can "come along" with him to church service. How great is that!

Camila and Frances glowing after the baptism!

Baptisms

Frances who made a commitment to Christ some months back, has grown in giant leaps and bounds. The Lord is using her to reach others also, and one of those people is Nathan. 

But we are excited to say that last Sunday, we had the pleasure of baptizing both her and Camila for their public profession of faith. We held the joint baptism at the Piave River with others from CC Montebelluna and Feltre. It was a wonderful day. Scroll down for pics of Camila and Frances in the water.

A Few Odds and Ends

Quickly for those who are wondering the latest, my father is doing well. Still fragile, but stable to the amazement of the whole family!

The earthquakes have also stopped for now, we had become so used to the tremors that things seem a little flat these days. But we’re not complaining.  

Next week we head to Austria for the annual missions conference at Schloss Heroldeck. Looking forward to the refreshment of fellowship with many missionaries from all over Europe. 

September 7-9 we will be holding our annual church retreat for CC Treviso. This year, we are excited to have pastor Brian Cambra (director of CC Bible College, Italy) as our guest speaker and his wife Maria who will be overseeing the children’s ministry and leading us in a time of worship.

So excited for Camila. We baptized her mom two years ago!

God is doing great things in Frances!

Thanks for reading our news and praying as the Lord leads you.

June Update

Piazza dei Signori

Earthquakes
Many have heard about the recent quakes in Italy. On May 20 a 6.0 rocked Emilia Romagna. Then on May 29 another 5.8 came about 9:00 AM, followed by another 5.2 then 5.1 in the early afternoon. We have thankfully not had any serious damage in our area, although some minor cracks and openings have appeared in older buildings, one here in the center at Piazza dei Signori (see picture on right) is partially blocked off for a safety assessment. But the greatest concern are the children’s schools. In fact, officials are discussing the need to prepare for more earthquakes, and first up are the modifications that need to be made to the schools and hospitals. And we concur. Case in point, Luka’s school is concrete poured 100 years ago, and was quickly and wisely evacuated during the quake last Monday, May 29. For the rest of the day and over the week, teachers of all schools in the area have tried to keep the kids busy outdoors as much as possible. Old concrete buildings like these cannot withstand being shaken, so you can never be too cautious. And some now are reacting with a panic in our area due to a fault line under the Montello in Giavera, about 20 minutes from us. They say when, not if that fault shifts, the quake will be severe!

To answer the questions that many will surely have, the epicenter of these previous quakes is about 90 miles south of us, in the region of Emilia Romagna. Sadly, they have not faired as well as we have, and we ask that you pray for the many dispersed who cannot return to their risky homes until deemed safe by inspection, and those who have lost loved ones. Pray also for any open doors the Lord might give us to reach out and help in practical ways. We've asked to be informed about needs. In addition, Italy is facing the now-apparent problem of other imminent earthquakes. Geologists continue reporting extensive seismic activity due to a new break in the fault line. Tectonic plate movement has not taken many lunch breaks these days. Just the other night alone 60 smaller quakes were recorded, ranging from the 2.0s to 3.0s on the richter, all between the hours of midnight and 8:30 AM. We do not want anyone to panic, but we do ask you to keep this all in prayer. Thankfully, the school year is coming to end this week, so the children will be out of those aged buildings for the summer.

New skirt and belt (on head) made by Mama!

Matea 
Thank you everyone for the notes, calls and concern for Matea. Our prayers were answered for her surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids. Everything that didn’t go so well with Luka’s procedure (for which we were prepared this time around and praying) went really smoothly. We were called in to pre-surgery prep immediately upon our arrival at the hospital. Matea drank down the calming liquid without blinking. She had no adverse reaction to the anesthesia. No sudden post-surgery hemorrhaging to require another emergency admittance into the hospital. Precisely everything that we prayed for, but was contrary to our experience with Luka. Matea did, however, take a REALLY long time to recover and had a lot of ear pain that plagued her at all hours of the day, especially waking her during the night. She also refused to eat, lost a lot of weight and started looking like a bag of skin and bones. Now she’s back to her old self and won't STOP eating! Matea returned to school yesterday, after a three week absence. Thanks for praying and thank you Lord!

Perside
She’s home and recovering well from her hip surgery. We thank you for praying for our dear sister. The whole procedure went smoothly and her first attempt to walk was exhilarating because she felt no pain. All that remains is the rehabilitation over the coming weeks. She’s also anxious to have the tingly feeling in her foot pass, but doctors say this is normal and will take some time.

Ministry Mix
The Lord has been bringing a diversity of visitors on recent Sundays. From a duchess to an ex-pro boxer from England, He never ceases to surprise us. We just really are thankful for how hearts are being touched and pray this continues in all of us.

This summer we've got an overflowing plate. In July we'll be heading to Serbia for our annual visit to family, friends and the various churches. This trip always entails a good amount of visitation and speaking commitments, all of which we look forward to! Shortly after Serbia I'll be off again to Austria to speak at a joint church retreat with CC Herborn, Germany and another fellowship from the area. We've also got a baptism for two precious sisters from CC Treviso who recently have committed their lives to Christ (Frances and Camila), which date we have not slated yet. Hoping to do this together with our brothers and sisters from CC Montebelluna.

A few other things are converging at the same time, making this a season of much stretching for me. Papers for two Seminary courses (Biblical Hebrew and African Christian Ethics) are due and exams are pending. Being that this is my last year and I'll be completing my BTh with the South African Theological Seminary in December, things are a bit more intense than usual. I welcome prayer for grace and clarity of thought to get through all the study prep, writing, speaking, travel and the usual ministry of pastoring the fellowship in Treviso and working part time. May the Lord be lifted up in it all, and use it for his purposes.

Every blessing to you, and thanks for reading and praying!

April and May Update

Piran, Slovenija for May 1st holiday.

Somehow April managed to get by us without an update, but we'll sneak it into this one for May! Don't forget to click-the-piks to enlarge.

What better way to start off this update than by mentioning our 17th anniversary just passed on April 29. We can hardly believe it's been this long already that I stole away my little Serbian lady from her home town of Subotica! We're so blessed and thankful for each other and for our two children, both of which are outright miracles! And on that note, please pray for Matea as we'll explain below.

May is Matea's Month

Ice Cream in Piran.

From taking off training wheels to taking out tonsils, we have big news for Matea these days. She learned to ride her bike a little over a week ago, and now she's scheduled to have surgery on next Monday, May 14. Her adenoids and tonsils need to come out. We have long suspected that she might need this procedure because of her great difficulty breathing. She often goes into apnea and it is unnerving to hear her gag, choke and cough at all hours of the night. Poor little thing must not be getting quality rest with that kind of broken sleep. 

Her visit with the specialist over a month ago confirmed the problem, but we've had to await a call from the hospital to give us the appointment. Since it was getting down to crunch time (the procedure must be done within two months of being seen), we prayed this morning specifically that they'd call TODAY. And...they did! We're really looking forward to having this behind us all. 

You might recall that when Luka had the same operation, he hemmoraged badly after being released and it was rather scary to find him asleep on the couch with blood coming out of his mouth. It turned out to be an emergency re-admittance for another 3 days. We pray for a smoother recovery and that she will not have the adverse reaction to the anesthesia the way Luka did, which was really violent upon waking up. Please join us in praying for Matea's surgery this coming Monday, and that she'll stay healthy from now until then, otherwise we'll lose her slot.

Perside watching the kids perform.

Perside

Pray also for Perside who has long suffered with arthritis and hip problems. By the way, Perside oversees our children's ministry and is the wife of Nino, one of the elders at CC Treviso, and a mother of three young girls. She'll be getting a hip replacement done and as you can imagine, she's pretty apprehensive about it all. 

We trust that this will be a great blessing to her in the end though, bringing relief from the constant pain and limitations of movement that she has endured for years. Pray for peace for her, a smooth surgery, and for Nino and the girls while Mommy is down for her recovery period.

The Scatas

Bob and Lori Scata

Bob (one of the elders at CC Treviso) and Lori Scata will be departing for the USA on Tuesday, May 15, for a long visit. They have much to do while there, including prepping their house to become a weekly rental unit during the Summer break. 

They've had some trouble with previous longterm tenants abdicating their contract, thus leaving them with a lot of unpaid costs to cover. It's vital that this house be finished on time and, we pray, booked by vacationers. Without this, Bob and Lori would be forced to remain in the states to sort out the situation, being unable to return to serve with CC Trevso. We certainly pray they can return, and that during their absence this summer God would stir others in the fellowship to step up into any needs with gladness. 

Sunday School Show and Lunch

All the kids were up front doing their demo with the teachers.

This past Sunday we had our end-of-the-Sunday-school-year show, followed by a lunch together. Each teacher had the group demonstrate something specific they had learned. 

Lori covered the ten commandments with a technique that makes memorizing them in order very easy! Emma did the lampstand from the tabernacle, sang the song "This little light of mine," and talked about good deeds. 

Stop, pensa (think), prega (pray). Steps to avoid angry outbursts!

Perside did a theme on the giants we face, in particular, the giant of anger. Luka narrated it (his first time) and did great reading in Italian.  They closed out with a cute dance. 

We couldn't help being warmed by these little faces. We love them with all their simplicity, enthusiasm and innocent transparency. Not to mention how thankful we are for the wonderful teachers who pour into them every Sunday, month after month.