Over 4,725 miles in Italy, over a dozen churches, ministries, conferences and evangelical events...

Busy About Seeking God's Will

We sure hope you have had a wonderful summer and have seen and experienced many blessings of our Lord.  We are SO grateful for you and your continued loving support, prayers and just even taking time to remember our family over here.

It’s hard to believe it has been over a month since we last wrote as so much has happened.  This summer, by the time it is all over, we will have traveled over 4,725 miles, covered nearly all of Italy to visit over 12 churches, ministries, conferences and evangelical events. Tired yet? And that doesn’t really describe the flights, miles, gas, tolls, car problems, cabins, motels, borrowed homes, etc. that was part of the experience or the local churches within an hour’s reach. Yet we are so grateful for all the great churches we have visited, all the amazing Italian Christians we have met, and the wonderful and encouraging experiences we have had.  And we’re grateful to you for helping make it possible.  This summer, we've been seeking to know God's will for how He wants us to reach Italians for Christ.

God graciously enabled us to travel 4,725 miles all over Italy this summer.

We’ve learned so many things during our numerous travels (see map above to see all the places God has brought us this summer; each pink marker represents a church or ministry we visited).  One thing that's been refreshing to learn is how God is at work in the evangelical church and the different expressions of this work in Italy, whether it be worship, evangelism, discipleship, etc. Before leaving S.E.E., we knew little about other churches or ministries in Italy. Yet, because of our association now with Italian Ministries and their commitment to work with evangelical churches and ministries all throughout Italy, we’ve learned there are many Italian churches and ministries out there doing great work for God’s glory and for the furtherance of the gospel.  And we’ve really made some wonderful connections and friendships that will clearly serve us in the years ahead. Psalms 133:1 says, "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!"

Lee preached in nearly every church (in Italian!) we visited this summer and was very warmly greeted and thanked for his messages, including our needing to be light and salt to a dying world that is heading to hell apart from the gospel of grace.  Here is just a small excerpt from his most recent sermon (translated into English):

Jesus says to Christians, “You are the light of the world.” He’s saying at the very minimum, “You are to be like Christ.” If you are a Christian, you are a little Christ. In fact, that’s what Christian really means: “little Christ.” Jesus is the “Light,” you are to be the little light. Jesus is the “Sun,” you are to be the little sun. Jesus is the brilliancy of God; you are to be the little brilliant one. Christians are called to be bright lights for the gospel in their homes, in their jobs, in their cities, with their friends, with their neighbors, and even with their enemies. Do the people who know you, know that you are a Christian? Have you taken the time with them to share the best news in life, the news that will spare them from hell? And what about your life? Do they see a difference in you? That you have a love that is beyond all other loves, a joy that is your strength, and a peace that surpasses understanding?

Think for a moment: why don’t you share the love of Christ? Why don’t you go to your neighbor and introduce yourself or offer your help in some way if they need it? Because you fear man. Why don’t you share the love of Jesus with the baker, butcher or shop owner; the people you see every week? Because your pride makes you fear rejection. You do not want to be seen as strange.  Why do you not take every opportunity you have to share the love of Christ?  Because your love has grown dull for Christ and His gospel.  So you keep the best news in life to yourself.  But you are the LIGHT!!! Your nature is to bring light into darkness. To not share God’s love, joy and peace is to hide who you are!  And as a result, you keep hidden the key to eternal life!

We also were able in many cases, to work alongside the churches we visited to do evangelism and discipleship ministry.  In several cases, we saw Italians move one step closer to becoming saved by God’s grace.  We even did witnessing to Muslims for the very first time in the port of Genova.  We’ve placed a number of pictures above (in a slide-show) for you to get an idea of what God has been doing (“a picture is worth a thousand words” right?).

At this point, we are praying about starting something new in the Liguria region which is a place and area that God continues to seem to lead us back to in our thinking.  This is quite a large region that has very few evangelical churches.  And the few cities that do have one, in most cases, have an extremely liberal church present.  As well, though American missionaries are often quick to go to big cities like Genova (500k), few go to the surrounding cities like Chiavari (27k) or Rapallo (35k) which are only 30  and 20 minutes away respectively.  As a result, there is very little evangelical witness.

There are two couples that are praying about going with us to start an evangelistic movement in the area.  Please pray that God would give us and them clarity.  Our dream is to have not only a church but an evangelism and discipleship training center which would also serve as a way to do outreach into the community.  We also hope at some point to have the ability to hold camps (summer, Christmas and spring break camps) to train Italians and others on how to reach Italians for Christ.  However, this is a big dream and we know we cannot do it alone.  We will need a good team and the other resources to make it happen.  Please pray for us and about how God might lead you to be involved in giving toward our ministry. We will continue to share more details and needs as we become aware of them. 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  We are so grateful to you for standing by us.  Living in a foreign country is incredibly challenging...the honeymoon lasts about 2 weeks...in fact, one of the greatest hurdles to reaching Italy is the misguided thinking of many in America that think Italy is just a vacation land for the rich and famous; in fact, it is a lonely place and it is the hardest existence we have ever had as a family.  Yet, having you standing beside us, encouraging us, praying for us, making it possible for us to continue in ministry to Italians through your giving is so wonderful and such a blessing for us as we seek to sacrifice our lives for the Lord and for the gospel.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  We love you dearly,

The Walti Family

Some Updates on Some of Our Italian Friends:

We are excited to share that several of our contacts continue to move toward faith.  Ramat will be baptized on September 12!  So please pray for him.  He is very excited and on fire for the Lord now.  Also, a friend of Ramat’s (Hakim) that we have been sharing with and who has been accompanying us to church is now ready to receive Christ.  By God’s grace, he may be getting baptized soon as well.

Our friend, Loredana continues to move toward faith but she is distracted by a romantic interest who is probably not a good influence for her.  Pray that she would fall in love with Jesus first before all else.  Pray that God would give us wisdom on how to make His grace clear to her (burdened by guilt).

Today, we had a wonderful conversation with MaryAnn, our friend who owns a bed and breakfast here.  We have been friends for about a year now and today, we shared more clearly then ever before the gospel of grace (she is Roman Catholic).  And she listened very closely.  She loves us dearly (as we do her) but she normally has not been willing to talk about religion.  But today, God stilled her heart and her voice and we believe she was moved.  Pray for MaryAnn, that God would make Himself real to her like never before and she would see the difference in a gospel of grace versus a gospel of works. 

One of the most amazing relationships that has occurred recently are our new friends, Paulo and Marina.  They have been here 10 years (Paulo is from Ukraine, Marina is from Russia).  We have now met three times, the last two times for bible study and they have so many questions, it’s wonderful. and the questions are extremely profound! It is so encouraging to see God working the work of grace in a couple’s heart.  Though Paulo believes he is saved (and we believe also), we will continue to try to help him work through the issues related to his faith.  And he will most likely get baptized this fall.  But pray for Marina and for their daughter, Elena, who is Abigail’s age (they’re already great friends).  Marina still holds on to many ideas of the Russian Orthodox faith, does not seem as motivated by the issues of faith as Paulo and is really, just now, understanding that salvation is by grace alone.  And Elena, like Abby, needs to still come to a place of understanding, demonstrating repentance and faith.

Thank you for your prayers!  Thank you for your support!  Thank you for your faith!!!  We love you!