18 And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work. (Nehemiah 2:18 NKJV)
Nehemiah’s words are a great reminder of why we do what we do. As we embark on the journey of parenthood, we realize how important it is to leave a lasting legacy to our son. More than anything, we want him to experience with us the blessings of serving God where we are called and to capture the significance of a life lived for God, just as our parents taught us.
You probably felt the same way when you committed your family or church family to join us on this journey in reaching the Italian people with the Gospel message through your financial sacrifice and prayers. We praise God that the fruit of the investment of many is reaping dividends we could not have imagined only ten years ago.
A Vision for the Future…short term opportunities, long term goals
1. Baptisms
When Tanya shared Christ with her classmate Eleonora just a few years ago, who would have imagined the impact? Eleonora was baptized last year.
On February 20th, 2011, Eleonora’s mother Daniela and younger sister Beatrice will be baptized with two other people!
2. Outreach Events
- In mid-January we celebrated 30 years of broadcasting Radio Luce. People came out from the community and heard the presentation of the Gospel.
- For the third time, our youth and singles will be hosting a Valentine’s Banquet on February 11th where couples can bring their unbelieving friends. This year we had to limit it to fifty couples because the demand has become so great!
- We also will be hosting our third soccer tournament outreach in mid-June.
3. Church Planting
Many of you may remember the church planting vision we’ve been casting since 2003 when we first started our deputation. Our desire is to equip a generation of church planters to reach Umbria with the Gospel. This vision is far from dead.
In our first pastor’s retreat with our first Italian pastor we laid the foundation for where to go from here. Having a radio station and a daily television program for over thirty years has sown a seed that we pray will soon be harvested.
Pray for us as my parents’ dream since 1973 starts to become a reality!
As you can see, the vision moves forward! We can only give credit to God for what He is doing and thank Him for allowing us to be a part of it.