March Madness

Just a quick update and a few things to pray for.

We leave for the castle in Austria today. I've been asked to come share with the discipleship group over the next few days. We look forward to the fellowship of the saints there and some time away with Renata and the kids. Especially after 3 months of non-stop sicknesses in the house. Please pray for our travels and for my words to be from the Lord's heart to ours.

Services in the new space have been a real blessing. One of the most important but missing elements to ministry in our old building was the opportunity for fellowship after services. But here, the congregation just flows into the fellowship hall and starts enjoying koinonia! This brings me great joy and I pray that it flourishes into stronger, healthier relationships centered on Jesus.

The English Club has been going wonderfully on Wednesday evenings. The penultimate meeting we had about 30 attendees with great conversations about the Lord afterwards. But the real treat is what we're starting to see beyond the Wednesday; the start of new friendships between believers and non-believers which lead to greater opportunities in a natural and simple way.

A few days ago we responded to an invitation to dinner at Emanuela's house. She wanted all the teachers from The English Club to join her family and a friend for homemade pizza. What an amazing evening we had talking about the Lord. Please pray for her, her friend Daniela, her partner Adolfo and their children Andrea, Mattia and Marco.

Last Saturday Pastor Jim Stewart from the CC Padova church plant came to share with our men's group. A great time in the Word! Not to mention an awesome breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh toast and fresh Italian pastries! We burned off those 2,000 calories playing ping pong! Great time. Pray other men will catch the bug and join our small group.

**Prayer!

This morning we found out that our little nephew Kaleb, the son of Renata's brother, is in the hospital. He is being tested after a few strange symptoms, such as a high fever, tremors, and one hand turning blue. So far he's tested positive to a bacterial infection but more tests are being done to identify what the infection is from.

Just after hearing about Kaleb, we received a call from Helen about 30 minutes ago. She had given birth on Saturday to a beautiful little girl named Milena and we're thankful for a smooth and safe delivery. But please pray for Milena. She is already quite small and underweight and now is in the neonatal intensive care unit because she is not keeping down her feedings.

Love and blessings to you!
Mark

FIrst Service in New Building/Dad Update

Thank you for praying! We're blessed to share with you that our first service took place without too much difficulty. There are always a few unexpected snags, but the Lord was faithful and we look forward to refining and working out all the kinks.

We were blessed to see two of Bob and Lori's former neighbors join us, Sergio and Maria. Pray for them as we believe the Lord was speaking in a direct way to their lives.

There is a real sense of "welcome" for guests and refreshment for us just being in the new space with the bright and happy environment it offers, not to mention the room for fellowship and growth. We thank the Lord for this great open door and pray for continued grace as we learn to navigate these new waters.

Pray for me as I seek the Lord about what to teach in this season. I've had on my heart for a few weeks now to take a break from Revelation and come back to it later on to finish off the remaining 7 chapters. But what to do now I'm not certain.

Many of you have been asking about and praying for my father. Thank you so much for sharing our heart's burden in this time. I was, amazingly, able to speak with him on the phone for his 86th birthday this last Sunday.

Usually he cannot hear well enough to have a conversation in person let alone by phone. But we were graced with the opportunity to share our hearts a little and he wanted me to thank you all for praying too. He's still a little confused but, all things considered, doing incredibly well.

This picture of him is from Sunday in fact, only days after returning home from the hospital. I think he looks pretty good!!


Please also continue to pray for our faithful co-laborers Bob and Lord Scata as they seek the Lord for their future ministry. They will be going to the US this June and hope to have a clear answer from the Lord before their stateside trip is over. Should the Lord move them on, we ask you also to pray for the Lord to raise up other faithful helpers to cover them. Like the Apostle Paul said of Timothy, "I have no one like minded who will sincerely care for the state of the flock" (Phil 2:19).

Ok, that's enough for today's update. I'll be back in a few days with more to share. Please enjoy the pics below from our first Sunday in our new building, ranging from set up before service, to during and afterward in the fellowship area.

English Outreach and Building Pictures

The main room where we'll hold service  - Seats 65 Comfortably.

We thank the Lord for the great place he has provided us with. Here are some pictures to give you a quick look at some recently finished rooms in our new meeting place, as well as a few pictures from The English Club.


Last night was our first of six free encounters we're providing for anyone who wants to come and speak English. We had a good turn out with about 20 attendees.

One comment I keep hearing from students is "Why is this free?" And I keep emphasizing that our church just wants to do this to bless people.

During our small group at the English Club,  Cristina (the woman I mentioned before who invited me to speak at her catechism class), when she realized that several of us present were from our church she repeated to the group that she must come to our service.

We had lots of laughs at The English Club, and I believe the Lord will bring some fruit from it towards his glory. Next week we expect a few more, so please keep it and those of us leading it, in prayer for guidance in the planning, and especially for the relationships through which we hope to make Christ known.

Pray also for our first service in the new space this Sunday. We've got a lot of "newness" to take in, from people finding the location, to setting up the sound system in a completely different way, and lots of exits in the building for kids to "escape" from.

I hope you enjoy the pictures below, and don't forget that you can enlarge them with a click.

Lord bless you, and thanks for praying!

Mark

Fellowship Area

Fellowship Area

Conference Room also for one of the Sunday School Classes

One of four other rooms/spaces we have available

More Fellowship Room

 

Fellowship Area