Building Update and More....

Well, we're really excited to say that we had our last Sunday service in our current building just yesterday. This week we will gradually move our chairs, sound equipment etc., over to the new space.

Last week was rather busy trying to get the construction finished in time. The brother from our church whose business will be renting us the space, had scheduled an open house for potential clients on Saturday, so the new walls and rooms needed to be up in time to show the place. Also, so that we could get in and start making use of them for this coming weekend.

Please pray for our move and first service in the new space. There's still a good amount of setting up to do on the church side of things. Posted here are a few pics of the before, as walls were going up. More pics to come of the finished product with furniture etc.

This Wednesday we begin a six-week English club as an outreach to the community and especially to the English students of teachers in our church, such as Bob, Tracey and myself. We look forward to bringing everyone together for more opportunity in making the Lord's presence known. Please pray for this event.

One final request is the continued prayer for my father and mother. He was scheduled to come home from the rehabilitation / nursing home today, but he's having kidney trouble, so that is on hold. We're just praying for the Lord's will to be done and, strength and grace for my mother.

More updates to come soon...bless you all!

Prayer for my Father

Please continue to pray for my family and for God's will to be done regarding my father who has been in hospital again for some days. He has had another stroke, is battling pneumonia and, from his fall in an incoherent state, leg and hip pain. He needs to be admitted into a rehab to regain his ability to walk. Currently, this last stroke has left him with short-term memory loss and confusion about time and place for him. Thank you for praying!

New Building, New Challenges, Same Faithful Lord!

Main entrance and reception area

Much has been happening here in Treviso to keep us on our toes. We've got news on the church, family and more, so I'll be brief to bring you up to speed quickly. Please pray as you are led in these following areas:

Church
Our day has come for the church to move into the much-prayed-for building. One that is better suited for ministry. It is a rather unique scenario in that we will not be holding a contract but instead renting the space in a pay-by-use type of deal. This enables us to have double the square meters in an environment that really is much more conducive to ministry.

The place is beautiful and in a great location with plenty of parking. Before we start meeting there we need to put up a couple of dividing walls to close off a few rooms and run some wiring. Lord willing, this wont be more than two weeks from now. We'll keep you posted. The picture up top is at the entrance/reception area of the space. The following picture is a semi-side view from the middle of the main seating room. More pics will be put up later as work progresses.

Home
On the home-front, we're battling sicknesses. Matea is finishing up her antibiotics and hopefully will return to school on Monday after her second round with bronchitis. Luka had it too but got over it much more quickly. Now daddy is sick and mommy must stay healthy to care for everyone else :-)

Living in Italy means we need to teach our children our mother-tongues of English and Serbian. Even though they both are able to speak our native languages, they need to learn reading and writing. Pray for them, and for us in this area. Luka has begun lessons with a sister from the church in exchange for me giving guitar lessons to her son. I am also teaching Luka classical guitar, and he's doing amazingly well. Here's a little video from our lesson where he is covering half and whole notes, and counting through a measure while doing an i-m exchange in his right hand (you classical guitar players understand). Enjoy!

Family
Just got sad news today that my (Mark) parents are not well, especially my father who is now in the hospital with pneumonia and injuries from a fall yesterday. He was found on the floor of his bedroom incoherent and unable to get up from a contorted position that may have caused a break in the leg. Xrays will be done to determine what happened on the inside. Please pray for both my mom and dad, age is definitely showing. It's hard watching it from such a distance....

Men, Food, Traffic and Prayer

Nino is happy to have make-believe maple syrup

This past Saturday we kicked off our first of the monthly men's meetings  scheduled for 2011.

I was so blessed to see a few of the brothers that don't typically make it out.

We've got some great plans for this year, things that men like to do. Paintball in Venice, indoor Cart racing near Treviso, Bowling, Pingpong and Billiards! Looking foward to it and hoping others will be able to join us.
 

This first meeting was held at our church building. I'm learning that if you want men to fellowship, you need to feed them.


Notice how happy they are in the pictures where they are eating or at least NEAR food. Then notice their faces during Nino's bible study without food. I rest my case! 

Jonathan is hungry and happy to have that pancake!

Next Sunday, January 30, we have our church members' meeting planned, as required by law for legal associations such as Calvary Chapel Treviso.

But there is one thing that may stand in our way. The blocco traffico totale. Translation "Total Traffic Block" set for 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM.

They always do this on a Sunday, and it's to cut down on air pollution. In the past the municipality's website offered a PDF form you could print, fill out and then take with you as an explanation and self declaration for why you MUST travel somewhere. In our case, church service.

But they aren't offering that on their site this time round. Will need to see what our options are, otherwise no Sunday service :-(

Daniel demonstrating the disappearing quiche

Pray along with us as we step into 2011 asking the Lord for clear and fresh vision, to hear his voice clearly and to love him supremely in all we think, say and do.

Pray also for Luka whose elementary school we've just chosen. He starts 1st grade this coming September and we've of course got some apprehensions about the company he'll have there, but also without getting into details I'll just say that the whole school system is a challenge here in every way, for parents and students alike. It's a political issue, the boredom of which I will spare you.

Please pray for me/us in this members' meeting to be clear and concise in those things we need to communicate to the body, such as vision, financial status etc. etc.

Lastly, we've been going through Revelation on Sunday mornings and the heaviness of the book is felt by some more than others, which is causing those few (because they are resisting the Lord) to dislike what they are hearing.
 

Despite the faces, Nino's message in Galatians 5:22 was great!

Knowing this is a battle for me but I know I must remain faithful to the Word. Pray for the whole body, as there seems to be stagnancy and some staleness in personal lives. We need a shot in the arm from the Lord. Moreover, we continue to battle with the building situation. There is always something that blocks us. We're wanting to trust and REST in the Lord through it all, but I sometimes wonder....

Christmas/New Year's Update

Bob, Renata and Lorenzo leading worship

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve service. With visitors from Padova and Montebelluna added to the mix we were quite full and that was a nice surprise.The worship was sweet and God spoke through His Word as He is always faithful to do!

Our text for the service was John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth"

Following are a couple more pics from the service. Click to enlarge them.

Edney translated for Mark

Saturday we had a great day with friends over for lunch and through out the day. Renata and I cooked (I handled the meats, sauces and sides and Renata made two killer dips, artichoke and crab in addition to the array of cookies and pies!) while our guests brought other delectables. I wont tell you all the trimmings lest you become overly jealous and stop praying for us =) I confess we ate entirely too much but loved the full day of fellowship with great company. Thankful for a sweet Christmas even though we're so distant from our families in the USA and Serbia.

Delightful cookies made with the kids' help. Renata was BUSY!

Spider-Luka and Matea on their new scooters

One of our favorite times of year is the break between Christmas and New Year. The kids have off from school, I have a big decrease in my work teaching English, and I'm off from teaching at the Bible College. Not to mention I am BETWEEN seminary courses at the moment, so the family time together has been truly awesome. We have had a little extra opportunity to slow down, cuddle and play with the kids. We're so thankful for these two sweet little faces that bring us immense joy.

Other than that, we're trying to catch up on repairing our home, rearranging furniture, correspondence with you all and a few visits with church friends. I (Mark) am even getting a chance to play some classical guitar. What a treat!

Well, we'll stop it here. More updates soon to come. Stay tuned and have a blessed New Year!

Walking into the New Year

The cutest little faces on this merry-go-round!

Our day is nearly over here and soon we'll be celebrating the New Year with our Treviso church family. Before that starts and our time escapes us, we'd like to wish you a truly blessed 2011.

As you walk into the months ahead, consider the Psalm below this note where we find God's counsel for a truly blessed (HAPPY) New Year.

We'll have another little update on the latest here by Monday evening, so once you've recovered from all the feasting with your loved-ones nearby, I hope you'll check back for the news from Treviso. Until then, enjoy God's blessings as you meditate on his truth and walk with him into 2011!

Psalm 1:1          Blessed is the man
    Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
        Nor stands in the path of sinners,
        Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2     But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
        And in His law he meditates day and night.
3     He shall be like a tree
        Planted by the rivers of water,
        That brings forth its fruit in its season,
        Whose leaf also shall not wither;
    And whatever he does shall prosper.
4     The ungodly are not so,
    But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5     Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
    Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6     For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
    But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

This Week at CC Treviso

We were blessed to have Frank and Suzie Gonzalez with us over the weekend. They are preparing for a move to Athens, Greece sometime after the New Year. Frank spoke for us at CC Treviso this past Sunday morning, teaching from Colossians 1:9-11, a good exhortation to prayer. The day ended with fellowship at our home and too many laughs for sane people!

This Friday, December 24th, we will be holding a Christmas Eve service at 5:30 for all who are not traveling to distant places during the holiday season. That means only a small percentage of us will be together, but we're looking forward to it just the same. And, we're expecting some brothers and sisters to be joining us from the Calvary Chapels in Montebelluna and Padova, so this will be a very special time indeed!

Please pray for our upcoming services on Friday, December 24 and Sunday, December 26.