Hey everyone,
September was a month of personal highs and lows! Abigail and I got engaged and so we are planning to do a wedding next year in Italy with a reception (Lord willing) in Minnesota. I have been very thankful to the Lord for bringing us together. We have the same passions in life in which we want to live for the Lord and serve him with our lives. We are excited to see where God will bring us in the future.
However, we also found out that my dad has cancer. My mom took him to the emergency room late one night because he had a sharp pain in his side. They did some X-rays and found that the reason for the pain was a kidney stone. However, they also found a tumor on his kidney and the tests came back positive that it is cancerous. We are waiting to see more results from the doctors in the coming days.
The ministry in Italy has been getting back to normalcy. Bible college has started up once again and we have six students this semester. This is the smallest semester I have ever been a part of, but they have been a blessing and a blast to serve and teach. The student body is quite diverse this semester. We have a young man from Morocco whose parents are missionaries there. We have a Canadian, two Italians, an English student, and an American.
My responsibilities this semester are identical to the last semester. I am organizing the outreach class in which we do five weeks of in-class study and five weeks of service in the local Calvary Chapels in Italy. This semester we are going on a week long missions trip to Rome from October 26 - November 2. As well, I teach and lead a class called Men’s Discipleship. A lot of that time is wrapped up in the week getting to know the guys and serving them in whatever way the Lord leads.
We have done two local outreaches so far. The first one we went to was Calvary Chapel Feltre. The church purchased a property last year and we had the opportunity to help out with construction. The second one we went to was Calvary Chapel Treviso. We helped the church get software downloaded and running for live-streaming their services. We also deep cleaned the church. Then, to close the night we spent some time evangelizing in the area. I enjoy going on these outreaches serving the local churches because it gives the students the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing in Italy in a very practical way.
The college group that I have been leading now for about a year and a half has been going wonderful. We are studying the book of Proverbs and we have been putting to use our volleyball court at the church. It has been exciting because we have eight to ten new people coming and so the Lord is doing a powerful work right now in bringing people to himself through our ministry.
Pray for:
My dad’s health: that there would be healing, and that he can be a light to the doctors and nurses.
Abigail and I’s future together and wedding preparations (especially that COVID would be gone by next summer).
Continued discipleship of the new young people coming to the college group / and the Bible college students and their time here in Italy.
For safety in our mission trip to Rome and for it to be an effective time of service.
Financial support as me and my wonderful fiancée are starting a new life together.
Thank you for reading, praying, and giving. May the Lord richly bless you!