Our Vision

Did you know that in Italy a town or village has as its center a piazza?  It is what we would call in America a town square or large courtyard.  Typically there is a fountain or well in the center where one draws water to drink.  La piazza is where friends encounter friends, relationships are formed, and meetings take place.  It is where one goes to shop, hear a concert, or relax after a hard day’s work.  It is the center of activity.  If you were to visit a city, town or village in Italy you would find a multitude of piazzas.  If you went to a piazza it would be easy to meet new friends as the Italians are a friendly, outgoing people.  However, if you went to the piazza in search of Christian fellowship, you would have difficulty finding a brother or sister in Christ.  The piazzas, and Italy as a whole, have very few evangelical Christians.  Our vision is to see that change.  Our vision is to fill the piazzas with evangelical Christians.  Would you be willing to share in that vision with us?

Current Happenings

August 9, 2006 

This past weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to go back to Jacksonville, Fl and visit our old church, Sunrise Community Evangelical Free Church.  It was so good to be with old friends.  Sunrise is where Tom and I grew up in our Christian walk.  We were fairly new Christians when we moved to Jacksonville in 1995.  God blessed us with this wonderful church body who took us under their wing and encouraged us to serve.  During our time at Sunrise we taught high school and college and career Sunday school, served on the missions committee, and took numerous mission trips to Haiti.  As we look back on those years, it is clear that God was preparing us for our current mission field in Italy.

Last weekend we were able to share with the church body about what God was doing in our life and how He is preparing us for the mission field in Italy.  We are happy to report that many friends have chosen to become prayer partners with us and several have also decided to be part of our financial support team.  PTL!

Preparations

We have been studying the Italian language for several months now.  Language comes easy to Maureen who is conversationally fluent in Spanish and Haitian Creole. Tom has never studied a foreign language before, so it is a lot more difficult for him.  Maureen is finishing up with Italian I and will start Italian II in a few weeks.

We are investigating attending a preparatory missionary class in Colorado.  There we will learn about how to deal with culture shock, how to learn a foreign language, and many other topics that will prepare us for the mission field .

Between now and February when we leave for Italy our schedule is very hectic.  We both have jobs that require extensive travel and we are always going in two different directions.  In spite of this, we must find time to meet with churches and friends to share are financial and prayer support needs.   

August Schedule

Tom            

    August 3-6         Jacksonville, FL

    August 7-15        Ft. Myers, Fl

    August 17-21      Quakertown, Pa

    August 22-31       Ft. Myers, FL

  Maureen    

     August 2-6         Jacksonville, FL

     August 7-8          Ft. Myers, FL

     August 9-10        New York, NY

     August 11-31      Quakertown, Pa

Praises and Prayers

Praises

• We have learned the technology to update our website.
• Our website is now operational.
• The Lord has provided an Oral Surgeon for Maureen's dental work at an affordable price.

Prayers

• The Lord will help Tom and Maureen learn the Italian language quickly.
• God would raise up sufficient donors in order to arrive on the field by 2/07.
• Maureen has numerous medical procedures coming up.  Pray for positive outcomes and the finances to cover the expenses.

Support Update

We are at 48% of our outgoing expense and 23% of our monthly expense.  God has been so gracious in his dealings with us.  The Lord has lifted up supporters that have just blessed our socks off.  We are so thankful for his love and faithfulness.  When we began this journey we had no idea of how God was going to supply our need and he continues to amaze us with his blessings.  We want to share a short story of how God has abundantly blessed us.

A few Sundays ago we gave a presentation on Italy to a Sunday school class.  At the end of the presentation, a couple handed us a donor card pledging to support us monthly.  We felt very blessed by this quick response to our presentation.  However, after church we were even more blessed!  We ran into this couple in the church parking lot and thanked them for their gift.  Their response was amazing.  They said that God had put Italy on their hearts a couple months ago and they didn't know exactly why.  Then, we showed up in their Sunday school class and it became clear to them what God was up to.  Isn't that just like God?  He always prepares the way for us in advance.  We just have to be faithful and show up and He provides the blessing!  Too God be the glory!