June 2016

June 18, 2016

Buon giorno! Thanks for all your prayers! This time the Prayer Blog is going to be a bit longer then usual. This past two months have been pretty busy. Lots of good opprtunities to share God's love in word and deed. We are excited to share with you what happened so that you can keep praying for all this relationships.

In May our team was for the first time all together on the ground. The Carmicahels are all set up and moving forward in cultural and language acquisition. The Edwardes came back from home assignment and successfully renew their visas. Pray that we will be strong in working together to proclaim God's love to the people here in Italy.

Our Pioneers Team minus Sarah taking the pic

Then at the end of May, our community group and other people from our Church organized a Ladies Tea Party for the women in our neighborhood. It was meant to be a time for community and to get to know each other. It turned out to be a great success and the women invited were really surprised that our group cared to do something for them. At the same time we also started taking care of the lawn around our neighborhood that the town cuts only once a year. People were amazed why we care about doing this and it was a great way to share that we would like to bless others as Jesus have blessed us. Pray that this relationships with these women can grow.

Right after the party we went for a 5 day conference in central Italy. This was the one of first times about 1500 people gathered to worship together in Italy. We had the privilege to have John Piper come and speak to us about "The Passion of God for Mission". It was a wonderful time of learning and spending time with other believers around Italy. Pray that the Church in Italy will grasp the importance of being passionate about God's mission of reaching people with the Gospel.

The group from our Church that went to the conference

A copule of days after we came back from the conference we had 5 days of theological training with Gregg Allison from Sojourn Church in Kentucky. It spoke about "Passion for God's Word". Pray that the people in our Church that were present and the different guest will embrace what we learned.

Two days ago we finished a project we started 3 years ago. In 2014 we begun help painting an elementary school in our Church neighborhood. This year we completed the last floor. It was an incredible journey for our Church to be involved in blessing the city and for the people in the school that were amazed why we would do such a thing for them. Last night at the final party our church had the opportunity to share what we did this and also thank them to help us serve them. They were astonished that we were thanking them and that we served them because of Jesus and his love for his people. Pray that we can keep in touch with this new friends and that God's love will speak to their hearts.

Last but not least we had some great opprtunities to buil relationships and help out in Adrien school. We just want to thank God for so many opportunities he gave us to meet people and try to be a blessing for them. Pray that we will find open doors and hearts!

Thanks for praying with us!

God Bless,

Andrea

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March 2016

March 16, 2016

Buon Giorno! Thanks for all your prayers! Things are moving forward in our church in Trieste. We had a good church meeting this past month. People were comfortable to freely share their doubts and suggestions about the church vision and strategy! It was a good time of prayer and being a community that works things out together! This month you can pray for:

The Carmichaels got their visas! And also the support the need to leave. They will be arriving March 30th. Please pray for final packings, family good bays, smooth travel and adjustment to the Italian culture.
This weekend we will be going to the Pioneers area retreat. Robert one of our church worship leaders will have the opportunity to lead worship at the retreat. We are thankful for this opportunity he has and we are asking prayer that God will use him and the rest of the team to guide us in worshiping our great God during this weekend! God has been growing and developing him in the past year in leading the church in worship in spirit and truth.

Millstatt Lake, Austria - Conference location

We are also asking prayer for our adoption in Nicaragua. We are in the waiting zone. All of our documentation is in Nicaragua since this past October but we are still waiting for the Nicaragua's adoption authority to get together and approve our papers. It seemed like it was going to be a quicker process to get to the next step. Pray for patience on our side and favour from God that the papers will be approved.

After 7 years we had to get the 2nd car. McKenzie's pick!

Thanks. God Bless,

Andrea

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February 2016

February 1, 2016

Ciao! Thanks for praying with us! Our trip back to Italy was better that we expected. Adrien was tired and slept much of the way back. If you have missed our presentation you could watch our short video by clicking on the link https://vimeo.com/146505033. When we arrived we were right back into ministry life. In this past 3 weeks we had several meetings and retreats. It was a bit hard in the beginning trying to catch up sleep and with the jet lag being tired and going to different important meetings 2 days after we landed but it was good to be back and see how God is moving. Adrien went right back happily to school after being off for 6 weeks! This was a blessing! This below are a few things you can pray with us:

Pray for direction as we are exploring possibilities for a new meeting place for the church. There are lots of things that have to fall in place. We are currently asking for wisdom and seeking God if this is the right move.
Pray for our new teammates the Carmichaels! They still need about 20% of their support before they can leave for Italy. We are praying that the support will come in before March 28th which is their potential departure date.

From left to right: Amy, Lydia, Margo and Gary.

Pray for our church unity. Our Pioneers team has been working alongside the church leaders to develop a culture in which the believers live out the gospel in their lives everyday and not just on Sunday. We've seen much growth and good fruit, but also some push back. Our hope is that God would use the members who have caught the vision to be examples for the others and that He would use it all in order to grow this community and plant new churches.

God Bless,

Andrea

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January 2016

January 2, 2016

Buon anno! Thanks for praying with us! We are getting to the end of our time in the US. We really loved every minute and it was great to spend time with family and friends! It was also a great privilege for me to baptize my brother-in-law Nate. We are excited to go back to Italy to start the new year and see how God will continue leading our Pioneers team alongside the church in Trieste. This below are a few things you can pray with us:

Pray for our trip back to Italy. We will be leaving Jan. 5th and traveling with Adrien especially for long flights is not always easy. Pray that he could rest and we will have patience with him. Pray also for family goodbyes which are hard.
Pray for when we get back in Italy. We have several meetings and conferences already lined up as soon as we get back. Pray that these times can be real blessings for us and the ministry in Trieste.
During one of our meetings, we will be praying and asking God for direction on what to do next regarding our church meeting place. We are growing and also we would like to see if God his directing us to a different area in the city with a different demographic. Thank you so much for joining us in praying for all these things!

God Bless,

Andrea

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November 2015

November 2, 2015

Buongiorno! Thanks for praying with us! Since the last prayer blog updates we have been very encouraged to see Ambra growing in her walk with God. She is eager to be part of the christian community and is actively seeking to go deeper in her understanding of God's Word. As we've cast vision for inward and outward growth and multiplication for our community groups we've seen some positive responses. Our group (gruppo carso) just evaluated itself in the areas of being a family, disciples, missionaries and servants. It was a really good time to see what happened in the past year and to ask God to lead us in this next season in these four areas of focus. We are excited to see what He will do. This month we would really appreciate if you could pray with us about:

Our trip to the US at the end of November. Last time we came back to the States was about 3 years ago. We are getting ready to come and there are several things we are preparing to share during our trip. We will be in the US for 6 weeks and will be traveling in 4 different states. Please pray with us as we prepare for the trip and have also many other things going on here at the moment. Also please pray for me, because I will be preaching in English at a church in Texas. I am praying for confidence in Christ, clear thoughts and communication and for the Holy Spirit's leading.
Pray for Elio and Nicoletta and their 2 children, Christopher and Gabriel. Elio is one of the Italian elders in our church and he will be taking a great leap of faith, leaving his secular job and going full time in ministry starting in January 2016. This is a big deal in Italy, because there are very few national, full-time evangelical pastors due to lack of available resources and financial help that local Italian churches are able to give. Italy is in need of pastors who are able to dedicate this kind of time to their churches so this is very exciting. This will also free up time for Elio to work with our Pioneers Team in developing future ministries for church planting. He and his family will be supported financially by different churches and individuals outside of Italy which calls for a lot prayer. Please pray for wisdom and direction as they take this next step.

From left to right: Christopher, Elio, Nicoletta and Gabriel

Our team is growing! God willing in January another couple from Wilmington will join us here in Italy. Gary and Amy and their 2 daughters, Lydia and Margo are currently raising support and preparing for this next chapter of their lives. Please pray for them as this time can be quite trying and stressful. Also please pray that we are able to help them in this time of final preparation and departure.

Thanks to stand with us in prayer!

God bless,

Andrea

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September 2015

August 28, 2015

Ciao a tutti! Thanks for keep praying for us and the ministry here in Italy! August slipped by very quickly and summer vacations are getting to an end. "Normal" life is coming back together. We had lots of good ministry occasions during the summer and we were very blessed by them. The "Action Team", I mentioned last month, continues to grow together and we are planning for next year's ministry. Valentina and Montse are still studying God's word and their interest in discovering more is growing. Keep them in your prayers.

Ambra is a new believer in our church. She gave her life to Christ in the past few months and now she wants to get baptised. I'm going to have the privilege to baptise her in the sea, weather permitting, September 12th. Pray for her as she matures in knowing Christ every day.
A new season for our gospel communities (small groups) is starting. We hope the people in church will catch the vision for the groups to be people living life-on-life together on mission.
We would like the small groups to have a common identity with a commitment to pastoring one another, applying the Gospel to each other’s lives, and working together to witness Christ in the various spheres of their lives. These groups are the core unit of church life, the place where evangelism, pastoral care, discipleship and life take place.
We will be traveling to a conference in the next week. A group of church leaders is getting together to worship, learn, discuss and pray together. We are united in wanting to see churches that plant churches that will plant other churches. A network of like minded people is growing in Italy. We can see some movement and we are praying that God will bust the door open in this country for the Gospel to be proclaimed and God glorified.

Thanks for standing in prayer with us! God Bless!

Andrea

Stefano and Valentina and their son Nicolò!

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August 2015

July 28, 2015

Ciao a tutti! Thanks for keep praying for us and the ministry here in Italy! We had a good and refreshing time away, and we were able to reenergise and relax. July has been extremely hot here, temperature ranged between 95 and 110 for about the whole month. Things slow down as lots of people during July and August are away for vacation, but this will give us time to organise and plan for September through next June.

We together with a couple of other members in church started a group called A-Team (action team) to help the church in reaching the community, using business as missions and have a vision for planting churches. Pray that we will communicate and plan well while listening to God's lead as we move forward with the church.
The Discovery Bible Study with Valentina and Montse are continuing very well. We are asking you prayers specifically for Montse. She is searching in her everyday life for signs that God is leading her. She is counting life events and situation no more like coincidences, but she is starting to look at them as God is directing her life. Pray that her heart can continue to be soften and that she will finally surrender her life to Jesus.
I'm personally leading the church in a 4 week series about being a church founded in the Gospel. We are looking at 4 elements of a biblical church: being a loving family, making disciples that will disciple other, sharing the Good News boldly and being a Christ-centered gathering that meets regularly to worship God. Please pray that this truths can be received and put in practice from all of us.

Thanks for praying and God Bless!

Andrea

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July 2015

July 1, 2015

Greetings from Italy! Thanks for your prayers! The school project turned out pretty well. The work was a success and got done in time. We had a group from our church to come and help! We were able to help to paint and stucco the 2nd floor of the school and we had also the opportunity to have some good conversation and make connections with people. McKenzie's Discovery Bible Study is continuing great and Valentina and Montse are more open and desiring each time to know more about God! Praise Him! The art show had a pretty good turn out. Many people were impressed upon by the messages of God that were expressed in several art pieces.

SCHOOL PROJECT

ART PROJECT

WATCH THIS SHORT VIDEO THAT WAS PART OF THE ART PROJECT (if you have trouble getting the video to play CLICK HERE to watch it)

Pray for me as I'm now officially an elder at church. Pray that I will be keeping my eyes on Jesus and I will always look at Him for direction. Pray that I can help this body to be missional and to move forward in planting churches.

Pray for Valentina and Montse husbands (Stefano and Luca). V & M expressed their desire for S & L to have interest in knowing God and taking steps forward in that process.
Adrien has officiali finished pre-school for the year. We will be taking a week off to rest and reflect and spend time as a family. Please pray that it would be a time of refreshment and refocusing for us.

Thanks so much for praying with us. God Bless!

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June 2015

June 11, 2015

Thanks so much for your prayers last month. Elisabetta the lady that fell last month woke up from her coma and she is doing better. She will be going through rehab. McKenzie was able to spend some good time with her children and share the hope of the Gospel. Keep her in your prayers. Keep praying also for Valentina and Montse. They started the Discovery Bible study with McKenzie and went really well. They were excited and want to continue. Pray that God will continue opening their heart.

This Friday the 12th, we will be continuing a project we started last year about helping renovating a local elementary school in the neighbourhood. Many kid's parents will volunteer to help. Please pray for good connections and conversations. Our church will be helping too. Please pray that people in our church will come and serve along side us. We pray for them to catch the vision to be a blessing in our city. Below a picture before and after some of the work we did last year.

Saturday the 13th, we will be hosting in our church space the gallery art show for the art initiative that McKenzie facilitated since January. Pray for good connections and conversations about the artwork and God.
One of the pastors of the church is an American married with an Italian (Matt and Barbara). They are both working as teachers but would like to be full time in ministry. After 15 years in Italy they will be going back to the USA for a few years to raise support to come back as full time in ministry. Please pray for them as they will be leaving next month. They will be going to the US Embassy next week as his wife needs to get a visa. This time will be pretty stressful has they have a lot of things to do before they leave. If you want to know more about them and their passion for the Italian church, take a look at this VIDEO.

Thanks so much for praying with us God Bless!

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May 2015

June 11, 2015

There a few thing this month we are asking you to pray for. We just come back from a Pioneers conference which was very encouraging and challenging at the same time. We are pilgrims in progress called to serve our great God. One thing that really struck me was the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. There is more rejoicing in heaven for one sinners who repents then for 99 just who don't need repentance. This is driving me back to Matthew 28 and the great commission where Jesus is calling us to go and make disciples that will obey him, and this means that they will go and make more disciples. I see this as an honour to be sent by Him and to be used for His plan. Each one of us who believes in Jesus is called to go and make disciples and this doesn't just means oversea but it could really be in your own city, in your own family, at your work place, in your school, etc. He wants to use you wherever you are.

When I met McKenzie 12 years ago in Italy, she was living with a family as she was helping their 5 children to learn english. In this years we build a good relationship with this family. Recently Elisabetta (the mother) slipped coming down from the stairs and smacked her head on the floor. She is currently hospitalised and was operated immediately and now she is in intensive care on a pharmaceutical coma. We have been praying for Elisabetta and her family for years that they would come to know Christ. We pray that God can save her physical life and use this time to capture her and her family's hearts.
We are going to start a "Discovery Bible Study" approach to study the Bible with people that are interested in understanding more about God. We want people to understand who God is not from what we tell them but we want them to read His word and let God speak directly to them as we are helping them in this journey. McKenzie will be starting this study with two girls in the next couple of weeks. Please pray for Valentina and Montse. Pray that God will call them to Himself and that they will be eager to read and learn from His word.
Recently we have been discussing a lot the direction of our church. We put down a 10 years vision and we will be setting some goals during the summer that will help us move forward in the next year. Pray that the people involved in this process will be graceful toward one another, that we will be able to be good listeners and not just talkers and that we will be taking time to listen to God's direction and leading.

Thanks so much for praying with us for this subjects. God Bless!

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