Saying Good Bye

Well, we have come to end of the journey for this summer. It has been a good one. I can't believe that it is over, but the Lord has blessed in a great way. I was able to be with the Homans for the weekend, and it is always a blessing to be with them. We went to the meeting down in Naples. It was great to see the people of the church again. We had a great time of fellowship. Bro. Tony Spicer, who is the preacher for the revival meetings, was only able to preach a short message, due to health, but did well. The Lord gave him enough strength to finish. Please pray for him as he will be preaching all month in the church. I was able to go to one of the Catacombs on Saturday. It was great to see something that is a part of my heritage, and it made me thankful at the same time for the sacrifices that have been made. Afterwards, Bro. Homan and I went and passed out tracts at one of the metro stations. We then went to the church where the apostle Paul is supposedly burried. It was sad to see people kneeling at his tomb, and praying to him hoping to get his prayers answered. Afterwards, Bro. Homan showed me a building, that they would like to purchase in the future, to hold their church services. It is in a great spot, right by the metro, where there would be a lot of people. Please pray for them and this matter. We then went back to the house and printed and folded tracts, which is quit a process (I have video showing this at the bottom of this page). Sunday morning, Bro. Homan and I left the house early to go pass out tracts at a market down town. It went well, and the Lord allowed us to pass out 600 Gospel tracts. We had the morning service and Bro. Homan gave me the opportunity to preach, for which I am thankful. I left Monday morning for the states and I have arrived safely. Thank you for your prayers. It was a great summer! Some of the highlights include: being able to pass out over 6,000 pieces of Gospel literature to the people of Italy, being able to preach nine times, learning much from the missionaries that are there, being with the people, and knowing how to pray more intelligently for the people of Italy, the missionaries, and the churches. The Lord caused me to have a deeper appreciation for prayer and for God's Word. I can honestly say I have never appreciated prayer in my life as much as I have this summer. Please keep praying for the people of Italy, that God would break through; for Kelly Childers and the children (this is Bro. Childers wife and family) as they try to get their visa; for Brandon Cook and Josh Ornsby, as they will begin to raise support to go to Italy; for national pastors, to take these churches; that God would soften the hearts of the Italian people, that they would be won to Christ. Thank you for your prayers this summer. I ask that you would continue to pray for me as I go to finish my senior year of college. God bless you all for your prayers.



"Arise therefore, and be doing and the LORD be with thee." I Chronicles 16:22b


Printing



Cutting



Folding

Traveling and Preaching - Exciting things Happened!

Hello to all of you! Thank you for your faithful prayers. It has been a busy week traveling. This past week, Bro. Childers had me preach in the church. It went very well. We then had a fellowship afterwards with all the church. I left on Saturday to go to Naples. The Lord gave the opportunity to teach Sunday School, and to preach on Sunday Morning and Sunday Evening. The Lord used it to encourage the people. I preached Sunday morning on Psalm 103:15 "As for Man" and Sunday Evening on II Corinthians 2:12 "To Preach Christ's Gospel." I arrived back in Grosseto on Tuesday. I have some very exciting news about my train ride back to Grosseto!! From Rome to Grosseto, I had three young men from England in the train compartment with me. When I asked them where in England they were from , they said, "Birmingham". I couldn't believe it! The Lord gave me the opportunity to talk to them about what I was doing in Italy, about Crown UK over in Birmingham, and how the castle was purchased. They didn't know of the castle, but I told them where it was located and one of the young men said that he lived about fourteen minutes from where that would be. I couldn't believe how the Lord works, but I am thankful that He works the way He does. Though it was good, it was also heart breaking to talk to them. They explained to me how they didn't have anything to do with religion, but they confessed to me that England use to be very religious and how they have fallen away from that. I was able to tell them just a little bit about my Christian heritage and how it comes from Europe, and a lot of it comes from England. I asked them to go to Crown's website and look at the castle, see exactly where it is, and go visit it someday. Please pray for them. Their names are Joey, Charlie, and David, and they are all eighteen. Something else happened on Tuesday! While I was waiting for my train in Naples, I was doing some praying, and an elderly lady sat next to me. I noticed as soon as she sat down that she was holding her prayer beads in her hand. As I was sitting there, it hit me that I was talking to my Father, because of Jesus Christ. I can go to the throne of grace at any time I want or need. This lady was just trying to get her morning prayers in, probably through Mary, and of course, she needed her beads. I was able to give her a tract. The Lord has caused me to be so thankful for prayer. I don't think I have ever been as thankful for prayer as I have been this summer.

This Friday, Bro. Childers and I will be traveling to Naples again. The church down there will be starting Revival meetings on Friday. Please pray that during these meetings, man military men and women will be reached. After the meeting, I will be traveling as far as Rome, and I will be in Rome until Monday. Please pray for me: Sunday will be my last day in Italy. I will be flying out of Rome on Monday at 8am est. It has been a great summer!! I can't believe that it is over already. Thank you for all of your prayers this summer. They have been appreciated, and I know that they have been used by the Lord. Thank you for following my blog this summer as well. Please continue to pray for the missionaries in Italy as they continue to work for the Lord, for the Italian people, that they will open up to the Gospel, and that a great awakening will happen in this country. God bless you all. I will post my last blog on Tuesday, letting you all know that I have made it to the states, and letting you know how Friday night's meeting went.

Florence

City of Florence

Thank you all for your prayers this summer. It has been going very well. I just got back from Florence, the one time capital of Italy, and pretty much the place where the Renaissance started. It was amazing to be in a city with such history. Of course, it was no different then any other city in Italy with the fact that there is no gospel influence there at all. They have two Catholic Church buildings dedicated to Mary, and one of those buildings has the world's largest dome attached to it. Yesterday Bro. Childers and I went back into the mountains to help a church member with his house and yard. We weed whacked the whole yard and there was a lot of grass!! It was good hard work and at the end of the day we sat around and sang some hymns in Italian. Sunday was very encouraging. We had lady, that works at the Pizzeria owned by one of the members, come to the service. She has a lot of questions and she is very interested. Please pray for her; her name is Julia. Also, I talked with Bro. Bloyd, the missionary I was with in Terni. Bro. Bloyd allowed me to preach when I was there. There was an Italian lady, who is an English teacher at one of the schools. One of the points that the Lord led me to mention was compassion, that we must have compassion, the Holy Spirit has been convicting her about that, Bro. Bloyd said that she is asking a lot of questions, she also is unsaved. Please pray for her, I apologize, I was told her name, but it was one those deals where I can't pronounce it, and I can't spell it. Its amazing to me how God works through vessels like us. It is humbling to know that God chooses to use us, and wants and desires to use us. I only hope that I please Him and that my testimony this summer is that I pleased Him. Please keep praying! This is my last week in Grosseto, and I know that it will be hard to leave. I then will be going to Rome or Naples on Saturday: I am not sure exactly where I am going first. I then will be leaving on August 3rd, which is two weeks from today. Please keep praying for God's power and God's presence here, and please pray for me that I will please the Lord. Also, I am preaching again on Thursday. Lord willing I will be bringing a message from I Chronicles 22:16 which says, "...Arise therefore, and be doing and the LORD be with thee." God bless you all. Again, thank you for your prayers.

Singing, "In my Heart There Rings a Melody"

Part of the Yard we Weed Whacked

Church Dedicated to Mary, built in the 13th Century

Deruta, Mountains, Rome, and Building

Well, hello everyone! I know that it has been a while since you heard from me last and I apologize about that. Let me just tell you what has been going on the last two weeks. I have been busy handing out tracts and traveling and have been involved in a building project with Bro. Childers. On Sunday July 5th, Bro. Childers and I went to Deruta where Bro. Childers worked the first couple of years he was in Italy. The missionaries there, the DiBagnos, who have been missionaries in Italy for about twenty years, have just moved their church to a new building, and invited Bro. Childers to come sing for the opening of this new building. It went very well and the Lord blessed in a great way. There were about forty people in attendance and a lot of them are without Christ. The Monday following we went with some church members into the mountains that surround Grosseto. We enjoyed a nice picnic and even went to the very top of the mountain which is at 5500 feet above sea level.Needless to say it was an amazing view! We have also been busy building a portable wall for the spiral staircase that is in the auditorium. The children have Sunday School down stairs while the morning service is going on and they get loud, so we are trying to solve that problem with this wall. We went to Rome on Saturday to help Bro. Homan pass out tracts, and praise the Lord we were able to distribute 1200 tracts. We then ate lunch with the Homans, and were suppose to get back to Grosseto around five. Well, the train we were suppose to get on changed schedules and we didn't end up leaving Rome till 7 in the evening and got back to Grosseto around 9:30. On Sunday, we went back to Deruta to hear the Bob Jones choir sing. They are travelling throughout Europe this summer in countries such as Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. They did a great job and I know the Lord was honored in it. The man who preached did an excellent job on preaching the gospel. Yesterday, went and helped a church member go do some work around his house in the mountains. It was good physical labor, and I even got to use a cycle for the first time in my life to trim the weeds! We returned last night exhausted. God is still working in my own life personally. I have seen how a shepherd has to take care of his flock working with Bro. Childers and the different things that he has to take care of with the people and with building projects. To see that these people don't know anything about the truth, but these missionaries are going to keep trying and keep praying until they do. I have seen first hand how that any work with out the Spirit's power will not work. It has been a wonderful time in Italy, and I can't believe how quick it has gone! I will be in Grosseto for two more weeks, and then Lord willing I will be in Rome the last week I am here, and take a quick trip back down to Naples the last weekend I am here. Please keep praying also for the Childers that the paper work for Mrs. Childers will go through very soon, so that she and the kids can come on a permanent basis. It is very hard to get into Italy, but we know that with God all things are possible. Thank you for your continued prayers. I need them. God bless you.

Bob Jones Choir in Deruta

Bro. Childers Working on the wall

Preaching, Witnessing, and Sight Seeing

Well, it has been an exciting and busy couple of weeks. Everything is going well, and I am learning much about the differences in culture, what a missionary has to do, and what he goes through on a week to week basis. Last weekend(19th-21st), I had the opportunity to travel to Terni and work just for the weekend with Keith and Linda Bloyd. They are great folks and have been working in Italy for over twenty years now. Bro. Bloyd teaches English at a school giving him great opportunity to talk about the Gospel with people. On Saturday we went to the town center of Terni and set up a book table. While Mrs. Boyd managed that, Mr. Bloyd and I would walk around the center handing out Gospel literature. At the same time we were doing this, the Jehovah's Witnesses were doing the same thing. Not only that, but the Mormons were out as well. Please pray for the Bloyds as they try to minister to the people of their church. It was a real blessing to be with them, and to see their love for the Lord and their burden for these people. On Sunday Bro. Bloyd let me preach. It was the first time I have ever preached through an interpreter. It went well, and the Lord blessed. I preached from Lamentations 4 on "Our end is come." I then came back to Grosseto, on Monday. It is sad to see the condition of the people of Italy and just how much they are in darkness. On Tuesday, Bro. Childers and I went and stuffed mailboxes, and passed out tracts to those we passed by on the street. Usually people just take the tract and keep going, but one lady that Bro. Childers gave a tract to, started a conversation with him. She was telling him that we cannot know absolute truth, and towards the end she said that her faith was in Mary. Bro. Childers explained to her that Mary didn't die for her. The lady's response would have been funny had it not been so heart breaking. She told Bro. Childers that she didn't die on the cross, but her faith was in Mary because she cried at the cross. How sad to think that she is so close to the cross, but yet, she denies the saving power. Please keep praying. The Lord is working. We know that the only way that these people can come to the truth, is that the Holy Spirit does a work in their life, and our Father draws them to Himself. On Thursday, Bro. Childers gave me the opportunity to preach, again through an interpreter, and again it went well. The Lord used it to encourage the people. I preached on the man Epaphras and his example for us. Last night, Bro. Childers and I went and saw something that I didn't even know existed in Europe, we went and watched a baseball game. It wasn't exactly the Major Leagues or anything, but it was still enjoyable. I just got back from doing some sight seeing in Pisa, not Pizza, and yes the tower really is leaning.I was also able to see the university that Galileo attended.Please keep praying for the work going on in Italy. We need Italian men to be called to preach, and it won't happen unless we are praying for it. I believe prayer moves the heart, that moves the hand, that moves the world, and that Hand also moves men's hearts as well. Thank you for your continued prayers. The Lord is using this trip to teach me many things that I need to work on, that I need to strengthen in my walk with the Lord. These four weeks that I have been here have truly been a great learning experience, and I can't wait for the next four. God bless.

It has been a great couple of days working with Paul Childers in Grosseto. Grosseto is a city of about 80,000 people. It is located pretty much on the Mediterranean Sea, and about two hours north of Rome. I have been stuffing mailboxes with tracts, and on Thursdays Bro. Childers and I go to an open air market that they have and pass out tracts to people, there. We have also been doing some projects at the church building as well. The people of Bible Baptist Church in Grosseto are great people, and very kind and friendly. Bro. Childers is pretty busy as he is the second man at the church but the pastor is gone on furlough. Please pray for the work going on in Grosseto. It is just like any where else in Italy, the people will say they are Catholic, but an actuality, there is a very small percent that actually practice their religion. Every one in Italy pretty much do not care about what happens in the future. I was talking to a missionary recently and she was telling me that, she was talking with this man about salvation, and it took them forever to get him to realize that salvation is not of works, but of grace and experiencing the new birth, and when he realized there was nothing he could do to earn it, he didn't want any thing to do with it. Please keep praying, I know God is working. Also, please pray for the Childer's, Bro. Paul's family is back in the states right now, because the visa has not come through for Mrs. Childers and the children and they are just waiting for that to go through. Thank you for all of your prayers, please keep praying.

The City of Napoli

It has been a great week in Italy! God is blessing in such a great way. I spent four days in Naples, and it was great! Naples is the second largest city in Italy, and one of the largest Metrapolitan areas in all of Western Europe. I spent Thursday and Friday in down town Naples, and that was definitely a new experience. Their culture is completely different then what we as Americans are use to. There are pretty much no laws concerning driving. They are big on seafood, including squid and octopus, and everything is fresh. Naples is made up of 21 neighborhoods, and there are 5,000 people per spuare mile. In the entire Metroplex of Naples there are 4 million people.

94% of the people do not attend a church of any kind (that is about 3, 800,00). There are about 1,000 catholic churches in the entire city. The people are very friendly, but they are still lost. Please keep praying for the city of Naples. There is a missionary team working there, but the work is slow because the people do not want to get saved. It is not that they are cold to the gospel, but that family is superior to faith, and they do not want to lose their family or offend them in any way. The Lord is starting to work, though. The people here are starting to grow tired of the Catholic church, and I believe that they can be won, with much prayer.

I also had the opportunity to preach on Sunday at the Bible Baptist Church, in both the am and pm services, at a military church. The Lord blessed in a great way! Please pray for the Bible Baptist Church of Casal de

Principe. They are without a pastor right now, and they are praying that the Lord will bring them one. They are great people, and are seeking to do what is right. It was very encouraging to be with them for a couple days. Thank you to all who were such a blessing in Napoli.

I arrived safely in Grosseto on Monday and I will be working with Paul Childers for about six weeks, so please keep praying. Thank you to all of you who are praying, because your prayers are getting through. Lord willing I will have pictures later this week for you to see. God bless