walti world: "Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to Him. Let this ambition fire your soul!" ~ Spurgeon

"Save us, O God of our salvation,
and gather and deliver us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise." 1 Chronicles 16:35

O God of our Salvation! The fire in the heart of bringing God glory...what a great and glorious motive! It's the only motivation that matters according to Spurgeon. And for that matter, to God.

"To glorify God and enjoy Him forever" is the first catechism for Baptists, Presbyterians and nearly all other Protestants. Author pastor, John Piper, says it this way..."God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." But Piper's point is to so lose ourselves (and our lives) in being motivated and satisfied by His glory for His glory!

Save us, gather us, deliver us from among the nations. Italians desperately need the gospel. Like others in nations where the gospel is not going forward, God must do a divine work to deliver them! The difference here is that over 99% have never heard even a presentation of the gospel. And the hearts are very hard and cold, contrary to the romantic notions of Italy, especially after the lies and corruption and great disillusionment with the R. Catholic Church.

Yet God is working...we are seeing people even in Chiavari drawn to the gospel of grace. We just really need your prayers and support. As we have been setting about the challenging work of planting a new evangelism/discipleship ministry and church movement, here in Chiavari, Italy, we've found it is a very lonely work. There are no visible rewards, no "atta-boys," no friends close by to talk things out, and we do not have a team or a church or others to fellowship with, yet. And these days, the emails, letters and calls from afar are fewer and further in-between.

Please don't take us wrong...we know you are praying for us. In fact, we greatly sense your prayers on our behalf and appreciate them greatly. And though we feel less connected to family, friends and loved ones due to the distance and time that has gone by since we arrived (we are now beginning our 3rd year) and we're tempted to long for the relative ease and comfort of the states, we know God is with us here and the intensity of this task forces our weak, stumbling souls to turn to Him in everything. We have to remember daily that His promise to us is clear in the great commission mandate given by Jesus Himself (Matt 28:19-20:

Literally...

"As you go, making disciples of all nations...I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

That we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise! Because we know God has called us to this work and because He promises to be with us always, we are filled with thanksgiving and praise unto the glory of God. We know difficulty, trials and even suffering bring about faith and greater reliance upon Him...and as we do, God does great things.

And in fact, God is truly blessing beyond our expectations, doing some very exciting things:

We've completed our Strategic Planning document, a lengthy process for a successful future that we have been working through with help from others!
We're putting together an advisory board along with the help of our director, Jonathan Gilmore.
We were pleased to host Ricky and Michele Simpson here in Italy for the last week who are considering God's call on their lives and if the Lord may be leading them to come join us here!
We just received notice that Rachel and Joanna Knowles will be coming this Feb to May to join us teaching English as a 2nd language, something that allows us to usually get about 100-150 Italians out, attending our classes, and enabling us to develop relationships in the community!
We also have heard that a good friend of ours from Orlando, Marco Fiorentino, may bring a team of his marital arts students to Chiavari to do exhibitions in the piazzas, on the seafront and possibly at some of the local schools! Please pray that God would work out all the details.
We have been asked by a church in the Piemonte region to partner with them to have a youth camp next summer! We will be visiting them the weekend of Dec 11-12 to do some planning and Lee has been invited to preach for the congregation.
We just recently heard from another college age student who is looking at the possibility of bringing a mission team in Summer of 2011 from her bible college.
There is a possibility that we could host an evangelism and discipleship training conference here in Chiavari in the year ahead, coordinating and administrating it for several churches in the area.
And a small thing for you but an incredible blessing for us, we have some supporters visiting us, arriving this weekend!!! Praise God.

Please pray for us in the following areas:

For wisdom, discernment and insight on God's will for our future here in Chiavari; that God would give us clarity on His plans for this city and region
For faith when we are tempted to doubt, to be depressed or to be lonely
For our support situation...we need a minimum of $1,000 in new monthly support for our family and then, we must begin raising investment for our church and evangelism ministry here
For continued adjustment to Chiavari, schools, apartment (1,300 sq ft, one bathroom), etc
For our walks with Christ, for our marriage and parenting; that God would help us to be holy and content in Christ
For all the future possibilities of ministry and for those who are considering joining us
For Lee's health; much better in Chiavari but still on steroids for his lungs / asthma; pray for great doctors and for other, healthier options
For a strong year-end financial giving response as this often sets us up for a successful year of ministry in the year ahead; we will need to pay for a number of ministry expenses including the promotion of spring ESL classes (5,000 printed flyers, curriculum and other materials, etc).

THANK YOU so much for your kindness in praying for us and supporting our ministry.

If you would like to give a special gift now to help us, please go to www.italianministriesusa.org and click "Donate" and then click our name from the drop down box. Thank you ahead of time...you are greatly appreciated. You are our lifeline and we cannot continue without you.

We know that like us, your lives are anything but easy and you too face incredible challenges. It is for this reason we are so incredibly grateful that you choose to stand with us month after month to reach those less fortunate than us...those who have not yet even had the opportunity to hear the true gospel of grace!!!

The challenge for all of us is finding our motivation in glorifying God. Will it be the fire in our bellies? The thing that keeps us going when everything else, including Satan, is seeking to get us down? Can we find, in the midst of trials and suffering, the hope that we are called to? Will we remember that there is no greater goal, no greater purpose, than displaying God's glory and love to others that they too may glorify and give thanks to His name?

Let us "give thanks to [HIS] holy name, and glory in [HIS] praise!!!" (1 Chron 16:35)

We hope you enjoy the pictures below from our ministry experiences this last month or so!

LOVE YOU!!!