New Foundations in an Ancient Land

The title was the motto for raising funds for this trip. As we are in the home stretch of our time here it is obvious that this was God's plan for our work here. The team of young leaders and the mission team that we have been working with have all sensed that this is what God has done these last few weeks.

As a result of our work here, two churches have been given a new understanding prayer and the role it should play in the lives of themselves as individuals, in the lives of their families and in the life of the Church.

Three couples from the Church at Francavilla have been taught about spiritual leadership. They've been provided with tools to lead their church to becoming a praying church. They are anxious to put into practice, the things they have learned.

The statement, "Laying new foundations" is so true because there really is no current foundation for spiritual growth. There is a lot of religion but little personal application. We are amazed that so many in America do not understand what a vast mission field Italy is.

The mission team of "Italy for Christ" now has a very clear mission statement. Jeff spent several days working with them to help them focus their energy into creating a very defined statement. They understand that their role here now is to raise up Italian spiritual leaders. They have also defined their major areas of emphasis for the next year and set clear goals and objectives. We are so excited about this because with this clear purpose in mind they can lay a foundation that will result in the development of many strong churches, lead by spiritual leaders who are native Italian and understand the culture intimately.

In addition to all of this work, we have come to love the people here and have developed friendships with several of the people in these churches. We are praying that the Lord opens the door for us to return in a couple of years and to build on the foundations we have helped start.

Ciao for now!