Our First Summer in Italy Brings New Relationships

Buon giorno! We hope all is well with you since our last post...Summer has come and gone extremely fast! I (Jeannette) wanted to give you an update on our family and ministry and just fill you in on all the goings on here! We have been so blessed to have met so many new friends this summer and become closer to our team here in Italy. As we often tell God, we want to tell you also...thank you so much for our constant prayers and support, it means so much to us and we are so very privileged to be here serving the Lord. Of course, without you, it would not even be possible for us to be in Italy reaching the 99% unbelievers of Italy.

I love pictures so here are some with a little description below of the pictures you see above!
1. Elijah and I (Jeannette) with our sweet neighbor, Tecla. She, her husband (Sandro, who Lee gets a kick from cuz he's fun) and family live across the street and we love them!
2. "Anguria" (watermelon) with many of the friends from our church plant in Udine...they are so good here and the fellowship is just as sweet for us!
3. Haircut time for Elijah...Beth is a fellow missionary on our team. Thank you Beth!
4. Our family with our new/used car after two months without one...thank you Lord and thank you supporters who made it possible!!!
5. Lee and Elijah go grocery shopping on their bike (before getting our car).
6. Abby at the river to celebrate Beth's birthday...we had an Argentinian grill out!
7. Beth and Hannah in coordinating black and red outfits.
8. More fun at the river!
9. Elijah buried in the rocks.
10. Lee and Jeannette talking to Emanuele, a new friend, about the Lord.
11. Ramatullah, our friend from Afghanistan...he has an incredible story of how he escaped the Taliban even though his whole family were killed in front of him!

We hope you enjoyed seeing a little glimpse of some of our friends and co-laborers...

Well, our new school year begins in a few short weeks, so we wanted to fill you in on what the Lord has been up to in our lives this summer.

We started our summer, as we shared last time, with the summer teams coming to Udine and Jake and Hannah going down south. It was definitely a little lonely after all the teams left, and we really cherished the time...but then it was back to life as "normal"! Without a car, we were forced to take public transportation and though initially a little disappointing, it turned out to be such a blessing! I actually miss it now! Both Lee and I woke up this morning saying that we miss taking the bus and riding our bikes, so we decided that we are going to try and not take the car every time we have to go somewhere.

Well, God had a plan on the bus...every night after the teams went evangelizing in the parks and piazzas, the kids and I would take the bus home (Lee was helping drive the teams back and forth to the bible school where are teams stay). But every night we would see the same people, and have great conversations. Elijah is a great people meeter and evangelist!

One evening we were talking to our new friend Emanuele and he had expressed an interest in the Lord. Elijah would sing him songs and the entire bus would listen to our conversations. One night, he asked Elijah if he had a song, and he said no. But then Abby piped up and said that she did! So, Abby sang him a song. It was like a party on the bus, and we had a captive audience. Emanuele is from Nigeria here on a student visa to the University of Udine. He is a proclaimed Catholic and also an educated man who is jobless now, but he has come to church several times and he and Lee have had some really great conversations. Because Emanuele is without work and has to ask people for money in store parking lots, he is searching for more to life. He is also intrigued about a relationship with God that is not based on works but on grace. My heart breaks for him in this situation, but its so cool that he is wanting to know more about a relationship with Christ. He is beginning to meet weekly with Lee for a bible study so please pray that he is either able to work or continue his education, but more so that he comes to know the Lord.

Another relationship that God has given us is with a sweet Italian woman named Sabrina and her husband, Maurizio. She has been a believer for a long time and has actually helped lead many Italians to the Lord, but has consistently struggled with depression and paranoia. Lee and I have spent time encouraging her and praying for her. During this time, it seems like God has been changing her, and through Lee encouraging her to put off wrong thoughts and replace them with truth from the scriptures, she has been doing much better. It is sad how we as Christians allow the lies of the devil and of our own self-condemnation to overwhelm us. Please pray that she would be free from the depression and completely rely on the Lord. We are seeing such a change in her countenance and attitude and her husband is so thankful.

Lastly, pray for Ramat, another new friend of ours. He told us the amazing story about his family killed before his eyes by the Taliban (parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, sisters and brothers). He was the only one to survive (they thought he was dead). At 16, he walked by foot through Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey taking fields and only late at night, crossing streets. He then used a discarded blow-up raft and paddled to Greece (didn't know that was the land ahead. Then he was told by the man who owned it to stow in his truck on a boat heading to Italy but the truck did not stop for hours (the man must have forgot). I think my life is difficult! Talk about being convicted. The details are unreal but one amazing part is while paddling to Greece (8pm until 4pm the next day), he heard God tell him over and over, "Jesus is God." Pray for Ramat...He's depressed and was thinking about returning to Afghanistan. But he gave us his word he'll stay and, to him, that's a big deal. And it seems like God has begun to turn his spirits. Please pray he comes to experience the love of Jesus.

Actually, we are so thankful for being here, reaching new friends and growing our relationships with the team. When we lived in the U.S., I was hard-pressed to think of one nonbelieving friend, but here that is all we have. Our neighbors have been a huge support and encouragement and as we look back on this year, we are not sure we would have made it without them! They helped us navigate car repairs, school homework, buying a used car, insurance issues, loneliness, gifts of food when they didn't even know we needed it...we've been humbled by their constant kindness. We pray we will in some way be able to return the kindness. Our greatest desire is they would come to know the Lord. He has given us so many opportunities to talk about Him! We have people over for dinner, American breakfast, coffee, and whatever and God always seems to allow us to talk about a relationship with Him!

Well, summer is nearly gone, but we pray we will be able to continue our conversations and build these relationships that these friends might come to know Jesus. August is a month when all of Italy seems to head to the beach...yet with the economic crisis, it seems like this year many people have just spent their time at home. Many are without work and desire something more in life. Our prayer is that God will fill that void in their lives with His Son.

Thank you for taking the time to catch up with us....We would love to catch up with you! If you have a moment, can you please write us a little note on what you have been up to? We would love to hear all about you and your summer! And how we can pray! Much love to you! And please know, we are so, so, so thankful for your prayers and support.

Tanti Baci (many kisses!)

jeannette for all the Waltinos!