Just want to let everyone know that Renata's mother, Mirjana, has had her surgery and is doing very, very well! She'll be in for another week and a half roughly, but there's been minimal pain with a quick recovery! Thank you so much for praying and caring. Bless you all!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Growing Pains
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| Group shot on last day before departure |
Yesterday evening we returned from our fourth annual, Calvary Chapel Treviso retreat. Our weekend was blessed with absolutely PERFECT weather, wonderful food cooked by the Castle’s loving kitchen staff, good teachings by pastors Jim Stewart (CC Padova church plant) and Robin Turner (CC Spittall and Castle Director). A big thank you to Jim (and Margie for blessing the kids so much) and Robin for bringing us the Word.
The primary purpose of these retreats, at least as I envision them, is to bring together our local body of believers for a window of undistracted free time in fellowship, as well as rest and recreation. The breathtaking surroundings only put the cherry on top.
The primary purpose of these retreats, at least as I envision them, is to bring together our local body of believers for a window of undistracted free time in fellowship, as well as rest and recreation. The breathtaking surroundings only put the cherry on top.
Youth Needs
We have come to realize, and in particular during our weekend retreat, that we now have a group of teenagers and several soon-to-be’s. This is a growing pain in that we do not currently have a ministry in place to effectively meet the needs of these precious and blossoming youths. Please pray that the Lord will raise up a youth leader from within or send us one whose heart bears a passion and vision for this age group among us.
We have come to realize, and in particular during our weekend retreat, that we now have a group of teenagers and several soon-to-be’s. This is a growing pain in that we do not currently have a ministry in place to effectively meet the needs of these precious and blossoming youths. Please pray that the Lord will raise up a youth leader from within or send us one whose heart bears a passion and vision for this age group among us.
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| Luka (middle) with Alessandro (left) and Damiano (right) |
Schools and Hospitals
Today is a big day for our family and growing pains are all over us! The two little munchkins are off to another year of School, which always brings a wave of emotion if not also a splash of relief! After the summer months the kids start bouncing off the walls, and I mean that literally. They NEEDED to go back to school, or maybe it is more accurate to say WE needed them to go.
But 1st grade, already? This was Luka’s big day, his start to prima elementare (the first grade). And for Renata and myself this brings a whole new season. Not only are Luka and Matea now in separate schools, but homework (in Italian) will soon begin appearing on our dining room table, demanding our attentive help.
As we watch our little ones age and feel the growing pains that accompany the inevitable changes of life, we also want to mention Renata’s mother who, around the same time we were dropping off our kids for school, was being admitted into the hospital this morning with growing pains of her own. Mirjana's pre-surgery preparation is for her hip replacement scheduled to happen tomorrow. Personally, I can only imagine her anxious anticipation and pray for a calm from the Lord for what must be a shock to anyone’s body. Praying also for skillful and divinely-guided hands as the doctors operate.
As we watch our little ones age and feel the growing pains that accompany the inevitable changes of life, we also want to mention Renata’s mother who, around the same time we were dropping off our kids for school, was being admitted into the hospital this morning with growing pains of her own. Mirjana's pre-surgery preparation is for her hip replacement scheduled to happen tomorrow. Personally, I can only imagine her anxious anticipation and pray for a calm from the Lord for what must be a shock to anyone’s body. Praying also for skillful and divinely-guided hands as the doctors operate.
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| On our street heading to school |
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| In class waiting for tear-wrecked moms to leave |
Saturday, September 3, 2011
September Update
We know, we know. We created this blog to provide more frequent snippets of the happenings in our lives and ministries here in Treviso. And while we have been giving updates, they have not been very frequent. So be gracious and please have a quick look at our brief recap (a real challenge for my meticulously detailed mind that wants to tell you everything!) of our most recent and most significantly encouraging events the Lord has been working through. Truly, God is doing great things in our midst!
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| Nino, Perside, Ruth, Esther and Sharon Converso |
Ordination of Nino Converso, September 18
We are so excited to share with you the news of our first, soon-to-be ordained elder at CC Treviso. Nino and his family are Italian and have been with us for six years now. This is a very special occasion indeed when a local is raised up.
Please pray for Nino as we simply acknowledge publicly what the Lord has already made clear for Nino’s life and ministry. Pray also for his family’s health. He has had kidney trouble lately while his wife, Perside, continues to live with severe arthritis and a pending hip replacement.
CC Treviso Annual Retreat, September 9-11
Please pray for our team and those attending our annual retreat at the Calvary Chapel Conference Center in Millstatt, Austria. Pastor Jim Stewart and his wife Margie from CC Padova will be ministering the Word and serving the children’s group. Pastor Robin Turner from CC Spitall, Austria, who also is directer of the Castle, will be teaching for one of the main sessions on Saturday. We look forward to a blessed and refreshing time together.
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| Frank and Renata. Pizzeria Da Pino in Centro Storico |
Sunday Service with Pastor Frank Ippolito and other Special guests
We had the distinct pleasure of hosting Pastor Frank from CC Vineland, NJ for our Sunday service on August 14. Though many were still away for summer vacation as is typical in Italy this time of year, the Lord brought whom he wanted, and one family in particular was the highlight of our day. Pray for Andrea, Marta and their son Riccardo, friends from our children’s school.
At a run-in encounter at the local park recently, I had the chance to talk with Andrea about Jesus and our life as Christians. They showed up the very next Sunday for service and afterwards commented repeatedly how touched they were by the message and music.
Wow, what an encouragement this and various other similar occasions have been! Pray for Andrea, Marta and Riccardo with us! By the way, Luka and Riccardo are friends.
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| Foto taken by Frank Ippolito at the pulpit Sunday morning |
A Season of Fresh Fruit
What is usually a discouraging lull in the Summer months has actually turned out to be the most encouraging season we can recall in all the years of our ministry here. Although most of our regular families and several individuals are absent during the summer months, as the picture to the left will show, God has been stirring the hearts of various unsaved local people and bringing them into our doors to hear the Scriptures and message of Salvation by Grace.
On this particular Sunday service in the picture to the left, we realized we had 7 unbelievers happily listening to the Word of God.
What is more, these precious people keep coming back with hungry hearts for more Truth! Pray for commitments to Jesus in the lives of Valter, Veronica, Franco, Sabrina, Rosanna, Debora (and Andrea and Marta mentioned above).
That’s all folks! There’s actually a lot more but I’ve omitted it because space and time will not allow for it. My penalty for letting too much good stuff pile up between updates :)
Thank you for reading, a double thank you for praying, and may the Lord bless you greatly!
We love you,
Mark and family
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