As Winter Fades
It’s a gray morning here in Friuli Venezia Giulia. A light, misty rain falls and I’m sitting in the studio with the heater on. The cats are curled up in here too since it’s cozier than the rest of the house. The kids are off to school and Andrea is on a zoom call with the rest of the PI Europe South AL team. Usually, on Tuesday, I’m meeting with Valentina to read the Bible and drink tea. Today she wasn’t able, so we should meet on Friday. She’s really been opening up to the scriptures and we just keep praying for her in this journey of discovering Jesus. This past week the kids seemed to be coming down with fevers and colds, which we’ve been battling all winter, but thankfully they were well enough to face our busy weekend. Adrien had a game Saturday and got knocked in the head so hard that we think he may have had a mild concussion. This is after breaking his front tooth at home, getting it repaired, getting elbowed in the mouth at practice, breaking it again and getting it repaired again! Thankfully, it didn’t get broken this time. He’s tough though so, he’s most likely going back to practice today. Sunday we drove to Bologna where I was invited as a guest artist for a Gospel outreach event. I exhibited my paintings and shared a bit of our story. I think about 80 people came and heard the Gospel shared through, music, art and testimony. The kids all helped in unloading, setting up and loading the paintings back in the van. Adrien and Rinat helped hang some paintings from a balcony plus Rinat liked using is hands by helping me make a frame. Ruzanna was the natural baby-sitter to many of the little children running around and Sitora was so proud, because some of the paintings were portraits of the them and she had to find the perfect spot to set hers up. It was sweet to have them with me and have them participate in sharing the light of Christ in a creative way. Andrea was at a celebration/miniconference near Bologna with an Impatto (Acts 29 Italy) church. They celebrated their 10th year anniversary and talked about church planting in rural areas. He hopes to apply what he learned to the ministry we serve here at home. He was close enough to be able to join us at the outreach event shortly after. So, the weekend ended well and now we are back into the weekly routine. I’m encouraged that spring is around the corner. It always brings me inspiration and joy. I’m encouraged by God’s attention to details and His way of whispering to us when we need it.
Please take a minute to view the rest of the photos and read about what else we’ve been involved in. Don’t forget to take a moment to pray for the details as you go. God is attentive to them. Thank you!
Sharing about how my paintings are inspired by God’s creation and his Word. Pray that God would continue to inspire me and use my artwork to share His gospel and bring Him Glory!
Below is a creative ornament making workshop for our kids and their friends. It was a great way for them to share their faith with their friends and serve others. We sold the ornaments at a Christrmas market and gave the proceeds to a ministry for women recovering from difficult human trafficking situations.
Andrea and I went to Kenya in January for a PI leadership conference. We were filled to the brim with knowledge, encouragement, inspiration and a desire to get back to Italy and put it all into practice in the ministry God has called us to. We were reminded that “we” the church, God’s people, are called into mission not “I”. Therefore, as leaders we are to be abiding in Christ as we align with the body (His church) in order to walk in the way He desires for us in the steps He’s planned for us. So, we need to be attentive to His voice. You are called with us in this mission to reach those in Italy who do not know Jesus yet. So, please pray for us as God leads us to lead our PI Italy missionaries, the missionaries we hope will be called to Slovenia and Malta and the future teams we pray He provides for these areas.
Our church, Il Granaio, needs your prayer. We have been praying for God to open doors for us to be more connected with the people and the community of Opicina where we meet. So far, God has led us to an American family that is now working very hard to prepare, raise funds and make a transition out of their full time job to come and serve with PI in our area! We are so thankful for this answer to prayer and hopeful for what God has in store. In the mean time please be praying for the Persson family as they take these steps of faith. We also ask that you pray for ways for Il Granaio to be known in Opicina. It seems that God hasn’t really led us to an answer for that yet, but we are asking for wisdom, direction and resources. For example: our own location that could even be used for gatherings and events. The costs in Opicina are quite elevated and there is not much to choose from when it comes to rental space. So, please keep all this in your prayers!
Please remember to pray for Vito. He has been much more open lately to recognising that “someone” is watching over him. I still meet with him every other week when Adrien has piano lessons. This time I got to take my mom with me. It’s pretty cool that even if my parents live so far away and they only see Vito maybe once a year He holds them dearly in his heart as do they.
We got to take a day trip to the mountains in Austria. The kids had fun brushing up on their skiing skills and the best part was seeing them working so hard and enjoying it! We were really grateful for a little family fun time. Please keep praying for our family. We are always learning and growing. Sometimes that is painful and sometimes it’s joyful. In it all though we are blessed and need your prayers.
Thank you for being with us, pausing to lift a prayer up and aligning with us as God leads! May you be blessed today as you seek Him in what He has for you and please don’t hesitate to connect with us so we can pray for you too!
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