Summer Fun.

It has been hot here this week! We finally got the pool out of the garage and blown up, thanks to Mamma's big set of lungs. Us kids have been thrilled to "swim" the past few days! Here is just a brief clip of us playing.

Camp Recap

There is no way I can recount everything that happened during our 10 days at camp. However, I will do my very best to give you some highlights and fill you in on how God answered your prayers for the specific requests given to you in our last post.

1. Jonathan did an excellent job with each of his seven sessions. It was no coincidence that the subject matter and study points were issues that many kids were dealing with prior to camp. Each morning the counselors got together for a meeting to discuss the campers reactions to the previous day, questions that arose and then of course to have a time of prayer. These meetings were so beneficial for Jonathan as he was then able to adapt and emphasize certain points in his next study based on questions and thought processes that were being communicated by the campers. More often than not his response was I will be covering those exact questions in the studies. As the director saw how inquisitive the campers were and the questions they were asking he decided to make our Sunday morning worship time a Q&A by Jonathan. He received the questions on Saturday at 11pm and then was up to 1am trying to write out his thoughts and provide scripture to answer some good/tough questions. For example: predestination, end times, the trinity, what does it mean to be in God's will and how do you know, why God does not perform miracles like the parting of the Red Sea anymore etc. It was an unexpected additional hour of teaching he was not planning on. The director, Marco, also said this was the first year he really saw so many kids take a serious interest in the studies. Linguistically Jonathan did a phenomenal job although his brain was extremely shot afterward.
2. We were encouraged as well to see many believers challenged spiritually. There were many who came away doing some deep evaluations of their lives. Some expressed this was the first time they really understood some "basic" concepts regarding the Gospel and Jesus Christ. There were other professing believers who had a pharisee attitude thinking that their lives were fine and that they had it all together.
3. There were a number of unsaved kids there as well. One that we know of trusted in Christ at the end of camp. Ricardo came to camp very much angered and embittered towards God, but through the course of the camp we saw God working in his heart. The final full day he said “For the first time I understand what the gospel means.” Despite his own family difficulties and sufferings he saw that Jesus Christ suffered far greater than he and that Christ died to save him. It was such a blessing to see this young man trust in Christ! Pray for Ricardo, his growth in Christ and for his unsaved family. Another young boy, Davide, also comes from a horrible family situation and is in desperate need of Christ. His heart was very open and tender towards the gospel but did not come to a point of trusting in Christ. We ask you to pray for him and that he would continue to meditate on the things he heard this past week.
4. Luca, Luca, Luca...what to do with Luca? He did not touch one thing that was served the entire time, apart from bread. He even turned his nose up at the desserts. He ate very little and managed to get by with his yogurt, PB&J, raisins and fruit. He won't even try things, just automatically refuses just about everything. We have stopped making meal time a battle over food and figure he won't starve himself and will eat or try something if he is hungry enough. Still waiting to add new foods (or old foods that he once ate) to his list of "likes." As a side note: the camp food was Incredible! No cutting corners working with pre-made sauces or food. Everything was prepared from scratch. We ate like kings!
   
5. I survived with my part in caring for the kids in a camp environment. It was a bit lonely at times having the campers gone all day and the kitchen staff busy with their responsibilities, not allowing much interaction with people apart from the kids. I was happy to have my husband back when we were done and the kids were happy to spend more time with their dad. All three kids slept together in one room so that always is a most challenging experience in trying to get them to settle down and sleep. I started to keep them up later at night but that really didn't help too much and their usual falling asleep time was between 10:30-11pm. I was exhausted but am thankful we went as a family.
6. The weather was amazing with one or two days of light rain. It was awesome to have such a lengthy break from the heat and yet still get plenty of intense sun. There was a 10 degree difference between the city and the mountains. The kids came home with countless bruises and scrapes. Thankfully, there were no major injuries. Although, Luca gave us plenty of scares and is now starting to chip is other front tooth.

Okay, so here is our time at camp in pictures with captions if you click to view it in a larger format.

Off to Camp...

Tomorrow morning we depart for our 10-day venture with the teens at camp. We will be traveling 90 minutes from here to the city of Oulx, which is near the French border up in the mountains. We are ready (at least we hope so) for an exhausting 10 days, but are very excited about this wonderful opportunity to minister to this special age group. There will be roughly 40-45 campers from the ages of 13-18.

I needed to take a few minutes break from house cleaning, packing, mowing the lawn, baking cookies etc. I feel like I am packing the entire house! Seriously, I have more packed for 10 days than we did for going back to the states for 5 months. Anyways, we wanted to give you some key points of prayer for the upcoming days...

• Pray for Jonathan as he teaches God's word each night from Friday-Thursday. Pray for the Spirit to speak through him. Pray for physical and mental strength to communicate clearly and effectively in Italian. He will be using his 7 teaching opportunities to highlight passages from the Gospel of Mark.
• Pray for those kids who are saved to be strengthened, challenged and encouraged in their faith.
• Pray for those kids who are unsaved to clearly see their need for a Savior.
• Pray for Luca and that he will eat the camp food. He is very skeptical about trying foods and all the more when he is taken out of his comfort zone of home.
  
• Pray for Noella's strength to care for the kids while Jonathan participates in the events of each day with the youth.
• Pray for safety, health and good weather.

We look forward to sharing with you all that God will accomplish for His glory during camp. Thank you for your prayers on our behalf!

Random Pictures

Pictures taken a month ago. All except for the birthday picture were taken by Mike.

"Spaghetti & Meatballs" Birthday cupcakes. (Luca would NOT even take a bite as it too closely resembled pasta!)

The Weekend

Last week our van was at the mechanic's for four days which left us house-bound and a little stir crazy by the end of the week. Thus, it was all the more appreciated when we were able to get away this past weekend. On Friday we had our field council over to our house for an early Independence Day celebration. We enjoyed grilling and had a wonderful afternoon of fellowship together. Our kids lit some sparklers before bedtime and that pretty much concluded our July 4th celebrations on this side of the pond, apart from touching basis with family back in the States on Saturday.

Mike & Prisca (+ baby)

Over the past month we have had the great joy of reconnecting in person with Mike and Prisca Eberly on two occasions. A month ago they came to Torino and stayed with us for a night before heading up to France. We met each other back in the fall of 2006, while living in Perugia. It had been two years since we last saw each other. They are an amazing godly couple and we have been so blessed through their friendship over the years. The Lord moved them to Mantova shortly after we left Perugia. This past Sunday we drove the 3 1/2 hours to visit them. The kids were thrilled for the road trip and managed the trip quite well even without a working air conditioner in the van.

We arrived in time for lunch, and then the guys headed out to a music festival in Parma which was about an hour away. One of Jonathan's favorite UK bands was one of the six featured bands at the festival and with it being free it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The guys had a great time together as it was something they both could appreciate being musicians themselves.

Jonathan discovered Pineapple Thief when we arrived in Italy and has been a part of their forum for several years now. He has developed friendships with many fans and band members alike through this on-line venue. Needless to say he was thrilled to finally see them play live, meet the band and also several forum members who made the trip from the UK. He was so excited to tell me that when he struck up a conversation with the guy at the merchandise table and introduced himself, the guy said, "Oh, Bruce [lead singer] wanted me to come get him when you arrived because he wants to meet you." Rarely do you find an artist that interested in meeting a fan, but according to Jonathan's interactions with them they were all very much down to earth and genuinely interested in his life. They even gave him a free t-shirt! It made Jonathan's day to attend a concert and I was just as excited for him to have this experience. However, his itch and longings to be a in band again were rekindled. It definitely brought his memories back to his Semblance days. Ah, well! The weather even held up despite the forecast predicting an 80% chance of rain for the entire day.

Pineapple Thief + Jonathan

While the guys enjoyed their afternoon/night out, the kids and us women had a very active and more exhausting time. We decided to walk to a "nearby" park so the kids could play. However, it was a much longer walk than anticipated especially with three little ones and no stroller. It took us 45 minutes to walk there in the heat but the kids managed it pretty well. When we arrived Prisca (5 months pregnant) and I crashed on a bench while the kids somehow still had enough energy to play for over an hour. We stayed as long as possible hoping it would cool down a bit and be more shady for our walk home. The park was amazing, it felt as though we were in America with the beautiful lush, well kept lawn and open space.

There was a small pond with ducks, chickens and geese that kept the kids' attention as well.


On the way we stopped at a smaller park to refill bottles of water and catch a bit of rest in the shade. When we finally arrived at the bigger park, Emma revealed to us two huge blisters on her heels, one of which had already popped. Thankfully, I had my first-aid kit with me and enough band-aids to replace them several times on the way home. Emma was wearing shoes that were too small and we ended up having to switch her shoes with Luca. I told Luca I would not take a picture that would later come back to haunt him of him sporting Emma's purple flowered shoes. Luca's sandals were bigger and the exchange worked out enough so that I did not have to carry Emma back the entire way. However, piggyback rides were given the majority of the way home for Luca and Emma. I was exhausted and am still suffering from hip and back soreness today. The kids were asking to go to bed the entire way home, but go figure when they finally put their heads on their pillows it took them nearly two hours to settled down enough to go to sleep!

We drove home Monday morning and our overnighter really felt much longer than that. It was a great weekend though and we're so glad we made the quick trip!

Exciting Ministry Update

We are so excited to share with you that today officially marks the first day of the lease of our new locale in Caselle! We as a group are thrilled to see this first step come to fruition as we move forward in the church plant in Caselle. The Lord has provided for us a location that is central, visible and affordable. The small storefront rental was formerly Antoinetta's shoe store. She opened her store 6 years ago with the thought that one day it might serve as a good place to start a church. Over the years she has not only invested in her community but has made wonderful relationships with so many. The business was never profitable for her, but she kept at it and ministered to many who would just stop by to talk with her on a regular basis. She began the work of relationship building and establishing trust that we now hope to continue through our center. We have many thoughts and ideas of how to use this property and we pray for God's wisdom in each decision as we look to open our doors in September for ESL classes, Bible studies, a ladies group, guitar lessons, church services etc.

Our new location is the store with the pink flyers on the window. There is a parking lot a couple of doors down (another huge plus for a city center location).

Thankfully, the place is in good shape and we will only have to make minimal upgrades to get it ready. The biggest expense we are looking at is buying chairs. There are 8 families in our group that make up 27 people, including kids. To maintain the regular expenses it is a sufficient sized group, but the start-up costs will be more difficult for us. However, we are moving forward in faith as we are confident that this is the Lord's timing to open up our center/church. Pray with us as we anticipate how the Lord will provide for this larger expense.

Our group in January 2008

We are excited to see the group take ownership and responsibility in this endeavor. With our group being small in number each needs to help carry the load. The group is varied in gifts and talents and we are all seeking how to best use each person to effectively function as one body. We are excited needless to say!

We'll post some more pictures of the interior when it is all cleared out. And we'll need to take an updated group picture at some point, so hang in there for more updates. Here are some key points of prayer to keep in mind in regards to the locale:

• Choosing a name for the center.
• Marketing for the classes we want to offer in the fall. We hope to have enough interest to start 2 levels of English classes at this point.
  
• Our start-up expenses (purchasing of a min. of 30 chairs) to be met prior to September.
• That this neutral location would bring new contacts to our Bible studies. Samuel's teacher, Nenny, asked if she could come to one of our services sometime.
  
• Pray that we will be an effective blessing and light to our community.