March Update, 2012

A walk through the woods of Raleigh, NC.

First, a big "Thank you!" 

We want to give a sincere "Thank you!" to all who pray for us, and give to support our ministry. Please know that your prayers are answered and your giving really makes a difference in our lives and service here. (2 Corinthians 9:8-12)

Visit to Dad
Last you heard from us we were heading to the USA to visit family due to my (Mark) father's declining health. We thank you all for your prayer and care towards the family during that time and since then. Dad's health continues to hold everyone in suspense, and he has surprised us with his 87th birthday! He's been in and out of the hospital and each time it is serious enough to be his last. During our visit in Raleigh, he had another episode of congestive heart failure with complications and it wasn't clear if he'd make it. He was released a week later, on the eve before returning to Italy. A few weeks ago, we nearly lost him again. So here we are, just leaning on the Lord and trusting He knows what is best.

Mark and Dad. Christmas lunch 2011, Raleigh NC,

We're thankful we got to see Dad because, although only the Lord knows, with each reoccurrence his condition worsens and it becomes less likely that he'd still be here this coming June/July, which is when we had initially thought to visit the states. With the cost of travel, we are not planning to walk on US soil again in 2012, unless the Lord through circumstances and his provision shouts loud and clear that we need to go. Our disappointment though is that we were unable to make it up north to visit friends and supporting churches in New Jersey. Lord willing, we'll see you all in 2013.

Maintaining our sanity is important to us!

Back in the Saddle
The four of us have been knocked off our horses more than once since we returned to Italian pavement in January. This season has brought some resilient viruses that seem to have made our family their preferred place of residence. In fact, I've been sick since December. But we're thankful to be back in the saddle again, albeit only for a slow trot.

Admittedly, we've been running pretty hard and the Lord has probably chosen to get our attention by decreasing our pace in this way. Plus as most of you know, Matea just got over Scarlet Fever, which was in addition to the usual seasonal gunk that is customary to pass around to one another. Looking forward to sunshine hot enough to kill these lingering germs and revive our weakened winter metabolism.

Church In-house News

Bob's Ordination, Jan 15, 2012

On January 15, we were blessed to publicly acknowledge Bob Scata as one of our elders. The Lord has been building up our leadership team as He sees fit, and it's a joy to watch.

Continue to pray for Bob, and Nino, as they help feed, tend and shepherd God's flock with me. Their service in this area is vital and I'm so thankful to have likeminded men who love, fear and serve God so faithfully.

Fighting for food...I mean courteously serving one another.  

Yesterday we ended our service with a potluck lunch (Agape as they call them here), followed by our Annual Association Meeting, which we are required by law to hold for the purpose of informing the congregation about various aspects of the church's current status.

Although we missed some of our usual faces from Calvary Chapel Treviso, it was a joy to gather with most of the fellowship for a meal (a feast, really), and then some amazing desserts. We closed out the day with lots of laughs during the "pillow game."

December Update

Dad after his stroke this time last year.

Urgent Update – USA Trip to see Dad December 13

By now many of you know that my (Mark’s) father has been ill, and nearly died on the day after Thanksgiving. After a week of recovery in hospital he was released to live out his remaining days at home with family, where he longed to be.

We do not know how much time he has left, could be months, weeks or only days. For this reason, Renata and I felt we should visit the family while we have the chance to see my father again and say “goodbye.”

We are flying to the USA tomorrow (December 13) and will be with the family through Christmas and New Year, the first time together for these holidays in about 11 years. This will be a special time in many ways.

Please keep us in prayer as we have 16 hours of travel tomorrow with three layovers. The kids usually do pretty well, but we’d ask for extra grace. 

The bride and groom right after the ceremony

Wedding October 29

Here is a picture from the wedding of our beloved Daniel and Eleonora, where we had the distinct pleasure to participate in worship and in the Word of God. Many will wonder how this came about and neither time nor blog space will allow a full explanation. But in short, at the request of the bride and her family, the ceremony was held at the church of Santa Maria del Rovere, and Don Adelino granted me the freedom to share from the Scriptures as the Lord led. I spoke on God’s design for marriage, the union and the mystery of marriage as a picture for the Lord's heart and desire for us.

Renata, Bob and I were also the choir and band, and while this was a very unique experience singing in a large cathedral, the sound was beautiful and it seemed as though the Lord lifted our voices to every corner. What a joy to hear the voice of others join us from the seats.

The day was special, as are the bride and groom. But the way we all sensed God move in hearts during and after the ceremony was special too. God used the day to open doors into still more lives, and we were so blessed to have had the chance to minister in this unique opportunity. Pray for Daniel and Eleonora as they embark on their journey of two-become-one!

Bob and Lori Scata

Ordination of Bob Scata, January 15

I am personally very excited to share that we’ll be recognizing God’s call on yet another dear and faithful brother, and good friend, Bob Scata. He and his wife Lori have been serving diligently with us since the summer of 2008, and we have seen God prove their calling to both the ministry in general, and their service to the body of Christ at CC Treviso in particular. We look forward to publicly acknowledging this call at our Sunday service, January 15. Pray for Bob and Lori as they continue to seek the Lord and serve His people with us. It is special to see God forming his team of leaders here; so essential to the continued growth of this fellowship.

Continued Growth

We’ve seen a slow but steady influx of new and precious people at Calvary Chapel Treviso these last two months. Giovanni, Francesca, Isabella, Frances, Debora and Dorota. But we’re blessed beyond measure to share that a few weeks ago, Frances and Rosana prayed to receive the Lord. We’ve seen some neat growth already in Frances and we pray God continues to shower her with the special touch that has transformed her countenance before our eyes. Pray with us, also for Rosana’s desire to follow Jesus faithfully. Lift up Andrea who is new but has been working and therefore missing the Sunday fellowship. Pray for Giovanni who’s come out for his third Sunday service now. Isabella and Francesca are both believers but Isabella has now made our fellowship her new home and Francesca has just come for the first time this past Sunday. We hope the Lord blesses them both greatly here. Pray for Dorota and Debora to open up to Christ. Many good things are happening and challenges are of course accompanying these high times. Pray the outpouring of God’s Spirit on this beautiful little flock.

October Update

Nino asking for prayer as he serves the body of CCT.

Ordination, September 18
On this particular Sunday, we held the ordination service for Nino Converso to recognize him as an elder in the body. Although we have a few men serving faithfully in leadership, as well as a few very faithful women, this is the first time for CC Treviso to welcome a brother into the eldership of the church. I’m blessed to see how the Lord is raising up, and working through, imperfect vessels such as us. In particular for pastoral ministry. None of us are in the ministry because we deserve it, or because we have ‘arrived.’ It is by God’s grace and sovereign choice. As the Apostle Paul said, “I am what I am by the grace of God” (1 Cor 15:10).


Wedding, October 29
Keeping in line with this theme of ‘firsts’ for CC Treviso, we have our first wedding fast approaching. Our brother Daniel Santos will be taking the hand of Eleonora Franceschi in less than two weeks from now. We’re looking forward to celebrating with them and to having the opportunity to share the Word with the many guests that will be present.

School Mayhem (all the time)
Next but not less important, our little Matea’s class became the center of attention for two big news papers, Il Gazzettino and La Tribuna. I would need more time and pages of text than are available to me at the moment to explain all the drama and the history of trouble in the poorly structured educational system here.

Suffice it to say that after many short term substitutes came and went, adding to the confusing experience of these kids, a ‘permanent’ assistant teacher was brought into Matea’s class to help maestra Maria who has been waiting for aid several weeks now. However, this new teacher has a long and less-than-assuring track record of problems with other schools, teachers, and parents whose children have experienced her tutelage.

Our class representative, Nadia, speaking on behalf of all the parents from Matea’s class, made our concerns known to the director of education in our jurisdiction. This resulted in a chain reaction and flurry of calls to and from the director, the teacher, and finally the news papers. Before we knew it, journalists were calling Nadia and showing up at our school to interview us parents. Renata was asked to comment by one journalist but she (wisely) declined. Please pray for the quickest and best solution for all our kids in this class, and for their safety as emotions are escalating.

Luka doing his homework!

Elementary Opportunities 
I’ve been given the opportunity to volunteer at Luka’s elementary school. His English teacher tries each year to bring in a mother-tongue speaker that will expose the class to the native pronunciation of the language. However, it’s difficult to find someone who will come in for free. So I (Mark) have made myself available to help prepare the class for a Christmas presentation, but I’m limiting it to four visits from me as I really don’t have much time to commit. The school is very thankful and I believe this will be yet another open door to meet new people and make the Lord known in a practical way. Pray for this, please.

First grade! It's a big adjustment both for Luka and for us. We were encouraged to hear the good report that Luka is doing really well, and to our surprise is one of the few in his class that knows how to read in Italian. Go Luka, we’re proud of you!

Just a random officer walking down the street.

Carabinieri and Motorcycles
Recently I met Enrico, the father of Luka’s classmate, Edoardo. Enrico runs a motorcycle club in Treviso, to which he has invited me. Those who know me will remember that I am a motorcycle fan and have been riding them since my youth. Here in Italy I’ve chosen not to own a motorcycle yet, but I do have the next best thing which I use for commuting to work etc., a large “Scooterone.” The interesting thing about Enrico’s motorcycle club is that it is primarily comprised of Carabinieri. For which, incidentally, Enrico works as an undercover officer. When he found out my diversified and somewhat adventurous history, he asked me to come share my ‘stories‘ with the other members of the club. Not to mention join them for a ride! Here is yet another great opportunity to pray for.

Sid and I at lunch some time ago.

Lastly, here is a picture to remember and honor my beloved friend and brother in Christ, Sid Mace. Sid went on to glory with his Lord August 8, 2011. We miss him very much!

Mirjana, Renata's Mother

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!

Growing Pains

Group shot on last day before departure

Retreat

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. 

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.

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.

On our street heading to school

In class waiting for tear-wrecked moms to leave

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!

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. 

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.

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

Update - June 17

Renata and Keely on the road to the bungalows

Beware of covetousness, but we have been greatly blessed with two wonderful weeks of ministry. First in Tuscany for the CCs of Italy retreat, June 1-4 with Pastor Ken Ortiz.

The sessions were packed with down-to-earth, practical teaching for married life. But even singles came away so blessed, as God's truth is universal and applicable to all.

Shockingly, during the last session Keely's son Kyler (age 10) fractured two vertebrae in a freak accident. What was a peaceful time quickly turned into a chaotic rush to the hospital where the family had to remain for three days until he was released to Treviso.

The doctor wanted to transport Kyler home by ambulance to keep his posture in the right position. Thankfully, that didn't need to happen and the long story is coming to an end. Their joy from the weekend of blessings has not been robbed though, and Kyler is healing up quickly. We'll be visiting him tomorrow, please do continue to pray for his recovery and grace for the family as they adjust.

Sweet time of worship Sunday morning - led by Alex and the team.

Just after coming back from Tuscany, it was crunch time to gear up for the second retreat. This one was with the saints from Calvary Chapel in Spittal, Klagenfurt, Vienna and Salzburg, June 10-13.

One special dynamic is how the weekend started off planned to be a CC Spittal retreat only, but then slowly expanded into the first-ever, Austria-wide CC conference. Something they've been praying for but has never happened until now, and without actually planning it.

We're thankful for the privilege to be there for this special time. God is cooking in Austria and I get the impression we're only seeing the beginning of what is to come!

Renata and friend Laura - part of the castle team with husband Alex.

I taught through the book of Ephesians and personally both Renata and I came away enriched from our time in fellowship with the saints. So thank you Robin, Alison, Castle staff and all those who attended. You made the weekend special.


We returned home to the local battlefield of Treviso on Monday night. Matea was sick the next day with a high fever but we're all healthy again for the moment :)

Kids show at the preschool followed by parental involvement!

In between the retreats we had meetings for Luka's school where he begins 1st grade next year, and an end-of-year party for all the kids in the current preschool.

After the children did their show, we parents were asked to get involved. Initially the announcement seemed we would have to dance with choreography like the kids did, and I was determined I would not be part of that!

But then we realized we just needed to go into the class rooms and join the children in making the arts and crafts that will be put on display for the school. Once I saw a glue gun, I was a happy participant.

The teachers would not let me leave until I painted it!

Luka and I built an airplane with a plastic bottle, a cork, and a few clothes pins. Just when I thought I was done, the teacher told me I had to paint it. I actually got into it and almost fought with another child over the color I needed to use :) Only joking.

But it's not over! We've got another school dinner to attend this Saturday evening. Can you guess what's on the menu? That's right, Pizza!

This season is full of wonderful opportunities to share a meal and the gospel with others who are not from the body of Christ, so please pray.

We have come to really appreciate the importance and value God places on such activities wherein we can be salt and light in the simple day-to-day life. So often we relegate ministry to inside the church walls or preaching on street corners. Yet the greatest harvests are quietly reaped through the precious individual relationships that God brings our way behind the scenes.

Mom with her gifted artists :)

**We ask you to please pray for Renata's father who will have surgery this Monday to have a pace maker installed. He has had heart trouble on and off for some years but with the latest tests done on him, it was discovered that his heart was stopping during his sleep for up to 4 seconds, and then it would beat irregularly and repeat.