May and June

The past month was the last month of school and so we were busy with recitals of all kinds and it was for us a good opportunity to meet with parents of Hannah's friends and get to know them better. We have to say that for being new in the area we have made ourselves known and we are having opportunities to establish friendships with some of them. Mostly all of them know of our faith and people have watched us and now they are not scared of our diversity. After spending time even just sitting at a birthday party waiting for the kids to be done, I personally was able to talk with some moms and I was very encouraged when the other day a mom told me that next time she comes over to my house she wants to know more of my faith. Another mom told me that we look like the MULINO BIANCO family... that will be like saying we are like The Little House on the Prairie family... we know people are watching us and examining us so pray that we can witness first with our life to the point that they are going to want to know more about what makes our lives different from theirs.

In the pictures below you can see two dads with their kids that Josh is getting to know closely. They play soccer together, we have had dinners together. At times it is hard because our focus is to bring the gospel to non-believers but the fear is that you never know what kind of people are going to come into your home (will they have clean or dirty language around your kids). It is physiologically challenging because you want them to be comfortable and enjoy being together yet you know that they are examining you up and down trying to figure you out at the same time! But God is good. So pray for strength that is needed often, both physical and mental. We are blessed by seeing these people wanting to spend time with us and calling us good people, pray that we can see changed life in them!

Please pray also for Valentina, one of our English students, she is very open to the Gospel and wants to know more. She wants to some to church but is very busy with work and study.

Pray also for Maria Pia.

The last day of Hannah's school was a game day with one of your parents, Hannah chose Josh ( she said because he plays soccer and he would make her win!!!) and he had to sing the Italian national himn!!! It was funny and I had to put the picture up!

Our little girl had also another sport day, she had to do some games and at the end got a medal with her friends.

In May we enjoyed the visit of my sister and brother-in-law, we spent almost a week together and we went up on Mount Etna but it was soooo cold! When we left Acireale it was a decently warm day but when we got to the top we were freezing! It seemed it was snowing but had a lot of fun! Carlo got saved 2 years ago while visiting us in Sacile and this coming October he is going to be baptized. We are so proud of him and hopefully we will be able to be up in northern Italy when he gets baptized.

This is a video of Benedetta dancing in the city square. Valentina's dad played and sang in the square that day and he really wanted us to go see him. He came to church one day while we were having class with Valentina and told Josh that he had been under a christian evangelical tent many years ago and he still remembered a song. He and josh spent time playing the guitar and singing christian songs.

Cannot help but putting video up of my little dancer...she has an innate talent!!!!

Keep us in your prayer for health, a few weeks ago Josh almost passed out in church we think it was a consequence of some medications he was taking but I also noticed that we are not really adjusted to the weather. Also now is the hot season here in Sicily and he can get really hot and energy zapping!

All things God orchestrates for the good of those who love Him

This was a way a friend of mine paraphrased Romans 8:28, reminding me that God doesn't just make things work for our interest but he makes them be for it, he orchestrates them! I was reminded by this lately because one of Josh's friend from college was here with a team from his church to help us evangelize Acireale.

Ben Kreelof went to college with Josh and at one point both Josh and Ben had to lead evangelistic team outside of the US. among the choices where Italy and Jamaica. Now I don't know all the details of the story, what I know from Josh is that he gave Ben the choice and he picked Jamaica, Josh then came to Italy... and it was that the year we met.

Obviously God had planned everything and 3 years later we were engaged and then married. It is amazing to see all the pieces of the puzzle coming together, sometimes in life there may be thing that we don't understand or thing that we don't necessarily like but God has not forgotten us and He is still and indeed in control. especially in the mission field we have to remember this often because of the many trials and attacks from the enemy.

But I praise God for making Ben chose jamaica because I was able to meet my husband and I am glad God put him next to me to guide me and my family in his steps.

As I mentioned before we had a team from Lakeside Community Chapel in Florida that came to do some physical work at the Academy and to do some evangelism in the streets of Acireale. The first of May we had a picnic, before lunch the team had prepared an evangelistic program for the kids, they did puppets, told stories and sang songs. after lunch instead we had a time to share the Gospel. The team did a mime and gave a couple of testimonies and then David Standridge, the director of the missionaries, gave a Gospel message from the word of God.

we also did ministry in the streets of Acireale, we had a program for kids at the park, we were able to tell a couple of stories with the Gospel message and leave some literature.

the kids program at the picnic on the 1st of May

a moment from the mime on the 1st of May

evening mime in the main street of Acireale, there was a good size crowd and good conversations about the Gospel. Pray for all of those that listed and talked after the mime, that the word of God can continue its work in their hearts.

kids ministry at a primary school

In the evening instead they did mimes in the main roads of Acireale. there is a place where people just walk back and forth and the mime stopped them and they were able to watch and then have some conversation with the people of our church. I wasn't there because it was late in the evening so I stayed at home with the kids, but Josh told me that there were many people and you can see it also from the pictures.

Lakeside team

Benedetta and Hannah really enjoyed having American speaking friends and that helped a little their English since they are loosing a bit of it. They also enjoyed the mime that they learned some of the parts and played doing the mime at home. I think this for me is the nicer part: to see your own kids be involved and wanting to be involved in what you do.

Last month we had a couple from Perugia. They were here with us and since they have been church planting in Perugia for many years they have been able to encourage our team and the believers on the subject.

During those days we were also hit by another car, we were able to fix it sooner than last time, but it is hard with one car, a friend let us borrow his scooter for the days that our car was at the mechanic but Josh had to do a million trips to bring the kids to school and then get up to the Academy to be with the team....

(Hannah with the elmet ready for Josh to bring her to school on a friend's scooter)

Pray that the Lord provides for another small car or scooter or something... besides a bicycle:)

Pray for our health, Josh's surgery from last year didn't go very well and now they have told him he should get a new surgery...

The kids are doing fine and as time goes by we are able to make more friends with their friends parents, so pray that the Lord would also gave us opportunity to share the Gospel to them and to see people coming to Christ.

Pasquetta

The day after Easter we had a picnic up at the Academy, there were people from church along with friends and contacts from the book table.

Josh took many pictures and put them together in a video.

As I said in my other note, we had a program for kids and lots of food!!!

Enjoy the many faces that are part of our ministry :)

Easter holidays

family picture

Hannah and Benedetta getting ready for the kids program

my dad playing soccer with Hannah

Hello friends,

we were so blessed to have my family here last week. My mom, dad, brother and sister all came down to spend Easter us, it was a good visit even if short. We had a blessed time. They arrived Saturday morning and we were invited by some people of the church for lunch. My dad had met this couple last time he was here and he kind of liked them. So we went over there and towards the end Maria, the hostess shared her testimony.

On Sunday morning we all got ready to go to church and I was supposed to ask my dad to come with us but before I could talk he was ready to come with us...it was sooo amazing!!! and because it was easter Sunday the message was about the necessity of the cross and the resurrection.

On Monday we had a picnic with people of the church, my dad helped grilling and as somebody said he felt comfortable. They were here only for these three days but I am sure my dad had many opportunity to hear the Gospel message and to feel the love of the bride of Christ. So please pray for him and his salvation, that the Lord may open his eyes and his heart.

During the picnic we also had a program for kids and I loved working with the kids and teaching them a bible story and songs... I have to say that my body is growing old but I am still a kid inside and so it's a wonderful thing to work with kids and jump and run with them!!!

the kids ready to listen to the story

singing a song

The English school is going and right when I was discouraged from the results, the Lord seems to have given us a new insight...university students!! Follow us more and you'll know as we develop more practical ideas and outreach in this area.

In the meantime you could be praying for the evangelism that we will have at the end of this month with the help of a team from the states.

more family pictures

My sister with Hannah and Benedetta

This is a video of Benedetta singing a song that she learned at school. It is actually so cute the way she pronounces some words. We took it during the Easter Holidays while my family was here for a visit.

our girls in a love moment

Hello everybody,

I am back! This month was kind of interesting since Josh was in the USA for a week attending the Shepherd's Conference. It was a blessing for us considering that the trip was completely paid, a supporter paid for Josh to be there :)

It was a good time for Josh to study and learn from MacArthur, S.Lawson Jerry Wragg and others, a time to marvel and grow. On the other side of the Ocean I was taking care of our girls, driving around Acireale (my biggest phobia) bringing the girls to school and other activities. We thank the Lord because He took care of us during this time, towards the end of the week the stomach bug hit our house, so I was stuck home with Hannah that wasn't feeling well. Even in this situation the Lord blessed us with a sister in Christ that just moved near our house and was able to get some medicine for us.

Josh and Phil Johnson

Josh and Giuseppe, a coworker here in Acireale, both at the Conference

A choir at Grace Community Church

So Josh is back now but the sickness is moving around our family, so please pray for our health.

Last week we had a group from Agrigento, a town near here, they helped us doing distribution and going at the exit of high schools to distribute invitation for an evening program at the church, the movie showed was the one on Jim Elliot's life. I couldn't go because Hannah was not feeling well.

The group from Agrigento with their special blue t-shirts, on them it is written "saved to serve"

the team sang some songs for the church

The team also performed a mime on Sunday after the potluck

The past months were spent trying to become friends to the parents of some of Hannah's friend in order the share the Gospel to them. We have also tried to be active in their school life. We are gonna be able to teach English in another district of Hannah's school up in Pennisi, the town where the Academy is. Also a private school has me teach there once a week. I teach 21 little kids and at times it is so crazy but it is good to get to know some of the teachers, to show them first we are different and then letting them know why. One of the ladies at this school, a Montessori school, is a little older than I am, has two kids and is divorced. In her eyes I can see sadness and I pray that God opens the door to share the Gospel. Her name is Grazia.

Pray also for the English school, we are suppose to start this coming week, but for some reason there is something that doesn't work, we don't have as many students as we normally do.We teach at the church building and it seems like an hindrance to the people, so please pray for wisdom and that we can just find ways to get to know people and have opportunity to share the Gospel.

Thank you for all your prayers.

December

This year was for us a very interesting year...It started with a very important change in our life, after 7 years serving in the Northern Italy God moved us to the other end of the boot...Sicily. Many times I had to remember the example of Abraham when God called him to sacrifice his son. For sure it was not easy for him to give up the son so long waited and in whom he probably poured out his father's love. But he obeyed, he stepped up, took his son and left. Once on the mountain he was still ready to obey, he trusted God and feared Him. For us leaving a place well known and that we loved wasn't easy. But I had to remind myself to be obedient even if the command at time can feel strange.

We did experience the goodness of God in these months, many difficulties entered into our lives, but He helped us make it through. We had two surgeries in the family before our move.

Josh had to be in the States for almost three months while we were here in Italy, our car was hit and unuseble for several months...but in September we finally made it here to Sicily and God did show us grace in letting us be all together,and giving us a new nice house, our car back and new friends. The most beautiful gift was just to be reunited as a family, to be with my mate, my other half.

This month we had another outreach, we had a Christmas party. We made lots of food and invited believers and friends to spend time with us. There was a game at the beginning and then before the dessert Johnny preached a gospel message. We had a good numbers of non believers and we are glad that they were able to hear the Word of God.

(Josh with some of our English students that came to the Christmas party)

(Carmela and Teti in the middle with on the far right Nanni and Sara on the left)

This month was a blessing for us in fact besides the visit of my family early in December we had the opportunity to spend Christmas time with Josh's dad. The girls were super excited to play with grandpa and show him their new room and house.

(At our home with our Christmas tree...not a real one)

(Hannah giving grandpa her christmas present)

(The kids with Josh's dad in one of the main square here in Acireale)

Then for New Year's Eve Josh's mom came. We celebrated the new year at the Academy with people from the church, with games, food and fireworks. After that mostly we spent time with family and preparation for Hannah's birthday on the 5th of January. It was a blessing to have mom and dad here to help. Hannah wanted to have a tea party and so we did, and it was special. Josh was the waiter and some of the kids really had a lot of fun in making him work hard!

Among all other blessings we were able to go on base here on Sigonella and do things that we weren't able to do in a while. We watched two movies at the theatre, ate some burgers and American pizza. The kids played in the big playground on base, made snickerdoodle cookies with grandma and ate most of the dough!

Some things to pray for are:

- finishing up the work on the church building so that we can have an extra room for a 6-8 year old sunday school class. We take turns teaching the younger kids but Hannah has not a class yet and she can't wait for her class to start.

- team, that we can work well together even being four different families

- health

- ministry, as we get ready for a new season of outreaches

- for our family that we can grow more all together in the Lord, as a couple and that as parents we can be good steward of God's treasures towards our kids.