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.