Sorry it has been so long since an update. We have been in transition ever since we
returned and finally now we are able to take the time to share with you what is
next for us.
Our time in Italy was absolutely awesome! The country of Italy and the Italian people
are beautiful. Seeing the ancient towns and ruins, the countryside, the spectacular
views of the sea, the food, the mountains, vineyards and orchards, art and
music….we loved it all. But especially
the people. They are for the most part
warm, friendly, laid back and fun-loving. This was especially true in the
south.
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| Corniglia...on the west coast in the Cinque Terra |
Because we are not able to renew our visa for ministry in
England, the main purpose of this trip was to meet Steve’s family, pursue
citizenship and also see if the Lord would use us to minister in Italy when we
leave here. We absolutely loved the
family!! They opened their arms to us
and welcomed us as family who hadn’t seen each other for years! Only one out of the 30 or so there could
speak much English. And she was very
busy translating for all of us trying to communicate excitedly to one another! Thankfully,
some of us had Google Translate on our phones and we had lots of fun and laughs
using it…and also our hands and gestures to make ourselves understood. It was a wonderful visit and we are anxious to
see them again.
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| A few of the Tessitore clan! |
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| cousins! |
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| using Google Translate! |
We loved Rome…the ancient ruins, fountains, piazzas,
magnificent buildings and art..and of course the food. Since the cheapest thing on the menu was
usually pizza, we ate A LOT of pizza!
And you haven’t had pizza until you have had it the way they make
it. Incredible.
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| coloseum |
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| fountain in Piazza Navona Rome |
We spent a week in the north near Venice where there are 4
Calvary Chapels. On Sunday, we went to
the one in Padova and then on Wednesday we spent the day with the pastor and
his family in Treviso and also went to the home fellowship that evening. The people are wonderful and love the Lord
and learning the Word. It was a moving
experience to be worshiping with people who were singing the same songs we know
but in a different language. The Spirit
is the same all over the world.
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| Venice |
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| Treviso |
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| Bible study in Treviso |
From there, we went up into Germany and were blessed to stay
a few days with long-time, dear friends in Ansbach. That was a special, sweet time to catch up
and hang out with the Barrows. We ended
our trip with a conference in Siegen where we had some wonderful teaching and
encouragement. A very lovely family from the church graciously opened their
home to us for 4 days and made us feel like such special guests.
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| Gary and Tina |
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| Ansbach |
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| 2016 Germany conference |
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| Toby , Danielle and kids |
In everything, the Lord directed and blessed us more then we
could have imagined. Our eyes were
opened to more of the world and how many people there are who have lost their
way and seem to be without hope and without God in their lives. We were thankful for the several
opportunities we had to share the hope we have in Christ even with those who
had limited understanding of English.
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| Andrea in Casola |
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| John in Rome |
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| Emiliano in Naples |
When we returned to England, we had to immediately move out
of the ministry house…which was very exhausting. But all went well, and we are now staying in
the guest house of friends from church.
They are trying to get it on the market to sell, so Steve has been
helping out around here to get things looking good for them.
Next chapter
There are so many needs and so many areas that we could step
into for ministry, but we want to be sure that is where the Lord is leading. After a lot of prayer and waiting for direction,
we have decided that the priority for us is to pursue Italian citizenship. Having EU passports will help tremendously in
the future since we will no longer have to worry about visa issues anywhere in
Europe, including the UK. It seems the
best way to get this done is to actually live in Caiazzo, the town where Steve’s
family is. They have been there for
generations and know just about everyone.
That should be a huge help in getting the proper documents and paperwork
done.
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| Caiazzo northeast of Naples |
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| Caiazzo |
Also, our desire is to see if the Lord would use us to help
open doors for ministry in the south where there is a very great need. Finding a Bible teaching church south of Rome
is almost impossible and we are praying that the Lord will help us meet up with
someone else who has a vision to reach that area with the truth of God’s grace…and
also speaks the language.
We are spending our last few weeks here getting together
with people we have been ministering to and also working on learning the
Italian language.
We don’t have final plans yet as to exactly when we will be
leaving here but we will let you know when we do. We are so thankful for all your prayers,
love, encouragement and support. This is
another huge step of faith and we are excited to see what the Lord will do. Our
faith is in our Lord and we are confident that, as in the past, we are in His
hands and He will continue to lead us one step at a time.
Isa 30:21 Quando andrete a destra o quando andrete a sinistra, le tue orecchie udranno dietro a te una voce che dirà: "Questa è la via; camminate per essa!"
Isa 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
