Reconnecting

As we begin to pick up our lives here in Italy, we have found that much has changed in our absence. Some very exciting things to report. One of the greatest blessings being a baptismal service at church this past Sunday. Six people were baptized! The place was packed out with standing room only which meant there were well over 200 people in attendance. One thing that we find so cool here is that when there is a baptismal service at a church people from surrounding churches (up to an hour away) come to celebrate too. It is a huge time of encouragement for all and always so emotional. We praise God for His working in the lives of these individuals.

Every inch of space was filled!

Danilo, who was saved last year and attends our core group was baptized. He also got married two weeks ago to Ivana, bought a house in Caselle and bought a bar (cafeteria if you prefer) in Torino. He continues to grow in the Lord and we were thrilled to witness his public demonstration of following Christ.

Cesare and Danilo

Marco, the son of Giancarlo and Antoinetta, was also baptized. It was a big day of great emotion for the Farina family as Giancarlo was instrumental in Danilo's journey, his son's life and also for the girlfriend of another son to be baptized as well. Her name is Carina. She is from Equador and lived for a time with our co-worker, Catherine. Carina recently accepted Christ as well. It's at times like these that we can see that the work being done is not through us, but solely through the power of Christ. It's just exciting to bear witness of His saving power and work of transformation in lives.

Marco giving his testimony

Carina

This past weekend we also had the chance to spend some quality time with our neighbors, Germano & Gessica, who live on the other side of our house. They invited us over and showered our kids with gifts. Thankfully they do not speak English because it was rather embarrassing when Emma opened up a box of Barbie dolls and said she didn't want them. Later Gessica made note that Emma wasn't really in to dolls and we told her that she prefers frogs. Her reaction was one of great shock and I thought I said the wrong word for frogs, but then realized that her expression was of great excitement for she too is a frog lover. She then took Emma on a tour of her house showing her the enormous frog collection she has. They are also big game players but don't have a lot of friends to play with since their lives are consumed with work. We will be arranging a game night soon. We are excited about this reconnection with this couple and that even after our absence they are even more open with us than before.

Jonathan spoke last week at our Thursday night Bible study. We continue meeting with this group in addition to exploring other outreaches. He has been asked to teach a group of 7 kids guitar lessons at a sister church in Lanzo. Since we have not begun English classes and don't know when that will come to fruition, he is considering taking up this challenge. The kickboxing school moved and he has yet to hunt down their new location and get back in to that. I will have to take a refresher course in Italian and in an effort to specifically concentrate on the two parts of the language exam that I have yet to pass. So I will hopefully soon be able to reconnect with Alessandra as well.

Okay, that's a lot to report for now. There is more but this is just a small glimpse in to what has been going on in and around our lives as of late.