As Lights in a Dark World

"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life." Phil 2:14-16

Three days and counting. We've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off...the number of details, the amount of work, paperwork, patience (or lack of) etc., reminds us that we are but dust! It's really nothing short of amazing when God chooses to use any of us for anything good let alone to have the privilege of glorifying Him by bringing the gospel to a lost or hurting world.

It does seem that with all we've been through over the last several months that two things are true. One, God clearly wants us to go to Italy...we are in awe of the things God has been doing to pave the way for us to go, opening door after door, to the point that we would be clearly sinning if we didn't go. Two, Satan definitely does not want us to go to Italy. He has tried to do everything he can to discourage us, dissuade us and tempt us to sin, doubt and depression.
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I found this old picture of Jeannettte holding up the leaning tower of Pisa (she's strong but not that strong) because it reminded me of what it has sometimes felt like. People don't do this because it is really hard! But we are so grateful that we have a great God Who has gone before us each step of the way. And though sometimes we don't like the way He provides (or delays in providing), He always provides just in time. He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider! I am ashamed to admit how often I doubt, am driven by our circumstances, and sometimes, not a very good example of faith. It reminds me of one of my most favorite verses: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful for He cannot deny His own nature."
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The last few weeks have been tough but God's way of preparing us. After moving out of our home on August 16th, we lived in a 650sq foot mobile home in my parents' RV HousePort park (see my mom and dad in pic). Though the kids weren't excited about living on top of each other, we encouraged them that there was a pool, shuffle boards, bocce ball, tennis, and a 9-hole golf course. The one salvation with a small place is the kids can go outside! But the day we moved in, Hurricane Fay came across the state and we were stuck inside for 5 days of very heavy rain and winds and wondering if we would be okay. Thankfully, Fay finally passed and we had a day where the sun actually peeked through the sky for like a half hour.
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(One hightlight of our time in the mobile home was Grandfather cooking Micky Mouse pancakes!)

Then that afternoon (the day before the presentation of our ministry at church), Jeannette got very sick, vomiting continually. It seemed like a 24 hour thing because, the next morning, though she felt weak, she felt much better. So we all went to church (we had 150 people coming to hear about our ministry and say goodbye to our family). Then on the way, Jacob vomited. We were on a street having a ton of construction so there was no place to pull over. But we were 2/3rds of the way there and we had some 150 people coming to say goodbye. So on we went. Jacob sat on the couch during the service, warning all to stay away. We'd survive somehow we thought and we prayed for Jacob. Then the service ended and our party began. But not without more fun. While Jacob was in one bathroom, Hannah was in the other...yes, you got it, vomiting! God blessed in spite of all the malaise but for the next 4 days (yes, we were still in the mobile home), our family was sick. If it wasn't so sad (including the others, our friends, that got sick), it would be comical. Believe it or not, we did finally recover! But it's clear now that God must have wanted our family to have some time stuck together under less than best conditions...probably His way of preparing us for some of the tough times we have to look forward to in Italy!

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(Three Generations of Walti's!)
It truly has been amazing though to see God's provision in this journey. From getting our religious visa to leasing our house to some godly young men to seeing God raise up funds for us to go (please keep praying, we are still short in both our monthly support and our settling-in expenses) to the most recent little miracle and blessing.
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For Jeannette and all the kids, we had to get a long-form version of their birth certificates and then, our marriage certificate (all which takes time and money). Then we had to send them back to the states where they were born and get what they call "apostiles" which verify the signature on the certificates (which takes more time and money). Then, when you finally get everything back (which we did about a week ago), then you must get them translated (more time and money) and then get the translations verified or legalized by the Italian Consulate in Miami (more time and money). Well, the first quote for just the translation was $420! Then, we got a quote for $350. Then a quote for $245 (we found out we didn't need to translate the apostiles!). But it was Thursday of last week and we were quickly running out of time. On top of it, it was increasingly looking like I (Lee) would have to go back down to Miami to walk the translated certificates through the consulate. Regardless of whether we like it or not, the Italian government loves documents and stamps!

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(All the girls including "Nana" Walti)

Then, by God's grace, we found a translator who would not only do all of the certicates for $140 but for $10 for gas, she would bring them to the consulate a half hour away from her and get them verified/legalized for us! As I sent away all of our certicates and the cashiers checks (one for $150 to her and one for $91 for the consulate), I thought, I don't even know this woman but this is the way God works! Just yesterday, we received everything back, all completed and verified by the consulate (all of this is critical to Jeannette and the kids staying in Italy, getting the kids in school, getting our marriage recognized by Italy and getting our permesso di soggiorno...translated "permit to stay") and all in less than 4 days. Simply amazing!
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Well, now the last 4 days have been spent finishing all the last minute details (we've been staying in Wycliffe apartments, cheap for missionaries...praise God for 3-bedroom apartments!). Just to give you an idea of what our days look like...this is what we have worked on in the last 4 days...

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Getting a power of attorney for my mom, getting international drivers licenses, packing and repacking, getting an ATM card that won't charge fees for overseas transactions, getting 3 months of prescriptions fulfilled, getting bike boxes (free for bikes on British Air!), packing and repacking, getting Euro AE Travelers Checks, meeting with 2 different people interested in buying our van (please pray! We still haven't sold it and we have a $106 monthly payment on it that we can't afford), locating our immunization records for the kids, buying a bunch of electric adaptors and converters, buying books for Bethany's semester at SBI, (did I mention packing and repacking 25 suitcases, 14 carry-ons, 4 bikes and 3 guitars?), changing the address on all our bills, cards, etc., buying hot pink duct tape to help us know which suitcases are ours (I think we can only rightly identify about 10 of them!), cancel our BJ's and Costco memberships, send out envelopes to those who want to give us a gift and asked us to send them, and packing all our towels and sheets for our temporary lodging...the first night being next Monday night! (are you tired of just reading this yet?!).
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One special treat tonight was getting to meet with a pastor and his wife who lived and ministered in Udine for 10 years (Dave & Beverly Bassett). What a delight! And how wonderful to hear their stories of changed lives and to get their insight on how to transition as a family into such a different culture. We plan on keeping in touch and having them mentor us a bit during our time in Udine. Our only regret is that we didn't meet them some 7-8 months ago!

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Here is a little about what we will be doing the next three days...

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Tomorrow night, we go to "Portofino Bay" where we will be meeting a couple dozen couples and singles friends to say goodbye and have an Italian evening and pizza together. They even have Italian singers come out to sing to you on a balcony!
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Sunday morning, we go to our beloved church for the last time for a long time. Oh how we will be shedding a ton of tears!!!
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And Sunday night at a little after 8pm, we depart for Udine, Italy. All seven of us. Along with our 24 suitcases, 14 carry-ons, 4 bikes and 3 guitars (it's going to take a small army of vans to just get us to the airport!!!). We'll have to get to the airport about 5pm just to get us and all our stuff on!

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Well, suffice it to say that we couldn't go without you. And your prayers. And your support. And your love. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Your partnership for the gospel has made it possible! We love you and are SO grateful for your love and generosity of spirit toward us as a family. And now on to the Great Adventure! For the sake of the GOSPEL!!!! May God be glorified (may we decrease so that He may increase).

Our temporary address in Udine: Via San Pietro 11, Apt. 4
33100 Udine (UD) - probably for about a month (until Oct 1).

I'll be Found in You, Still Standing.

Most of us as Christians can relate to the fact that when life is the toughest, this is when we feel closest to the Lord. That would certainly be true of the Walti family in this time. Our lives have never felt more in an upheaval yet there is a certain peace that surpasses understanding. If the world were to evaluate all that is going on in our lives, they would say we are literally crazy. Yet, as God's Word makes clear...the world's wisdom is foolishness to God BUT the foolishness of God confounds the wise. We are so thankful that when all of our life around us seems to feel like it is literally disappearing before our eyes, we are found in Him, still standing. As the newer Christian music artist from New Zealand, Brooke Fraser, sings:

When the world has fallen out from under me...I'll be found in you, still standing.

When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees, when time and space are through...

I'll be found in you, still standing.

Well, it turns out that the connection with Julia M. turned out to be a divine connection afterall with one of her friends, Adam H., a missionary who has spent 2 years recently in Italy on a mission, will be leasing our house with 3 of his roommates. What a blessing. The only HUGE challenge is we have to be out of the house in a week! AND, we don't yet know where we will be staying so PLEASE PRAY! We were able to secure housing at Wycliffe's Missionary apartments from Aug 25 through Sept 7, our departure. But from the 16th until the 25th, at this point, we hav no place to stay :-) No big problem for God!!! After all that we have been through and seen God provide for, this is one of our smallest challenges. We also do not have housing yet in Udine, Italy but it may be we'll have to stay temporarily with friends over there until we find permanent housing (the place we put an offer on for lease was not accepted by the owner).

Thank you for your loving e-mails, prayers, financial support and general encouragement. We could not do it without you. We never realized how hard it is for international misisonaries to reach their assignments. We see the devil's schemes at every turn. And our flesh rails against this self-sacrificial journey. Daily, we question why we are doing something so uncomfortable. I (Lee) especially have been challenged by this last leg of our journey. When the move and the transition was further off, I was full of faith. But as I've had to say goodbye to people and things, my heartstrings have gotten the best of me and I've seen how I'm emotionally attached to things and comfort and ease more than I like to sometimes admit. And sometimes discouragement comes from well-intentioned Christians who like us at times, lack faith. This is a foreign country which for most Americans is simply that...a foreign world. And many Americans cannot simply get their minds around why anyone would want to GO. But I'll never forget what Keith Green once said... "We shouldn't be asking whether we should go. We should be asking why we would consider staying."

Well, we don't know how we are going to get it all done and we could still use quite a bit more support, especially for settling-in expenses (we need at least another $15k), but we know God will be faithful just like He has been thus far.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your prayers. We can sense that you are praying and we know that we could not do this without you and your prayers.

Coram Deo,

Lee & Jeannette

God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise!

If Joshua didn't think the instructions were odd and unusual, surely the Israelites questioned the very specific directions given by God...

The LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times , and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead." Joshua 6:2-5

When our new friend, Julia, informed us that she actually wanted our place and didn't want to call because she thought she would cry, we knew the news would not be good. It turned out that the ruling was split between the girls and we lost the majority decision. It would be an understatement to say that we were disappointed. Why does God seemingly give such hope only to seemingly remove it? Well, Joshua might have asked, "Why does God lead us for 40 years in the desert only to have us win the promised land this way?" I mean, come on! March around the walls seven times and on the seventh day, we're just going to blow some trumpets and You say the walls are going to just fall down? Oh come on Lord. And You want me to have faith? It's not as if we haven't been struggling a bit out here in this desert wasteland.

But God's ways are above our ways. His thoughts above our thoughts. And He uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. In fact, that's one of the precious verses God used to make it clear that He could call even "us" to a life of full-time ministry. We couldn't see how He could use us but just as it wasn't about our ability, it isn't about us. It's about His glory. And once again, I think of how Jesus didn't go to Lazarus right away and the reason why. He was with Mary and Martha. Jesus knew that Lazarus, their brother and his good friend, was sick unto death. He knew that Lazarus' sisters were deeply concerned. But the Scripture says, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was" (John 11:5-6). What?

"When He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was!"

Why would Jesus do such a thing? The Lord reveals why in the verse just before this one (v4)...

"This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it"

We don't really know completely why God didn't make this situation work out with the girls. It seemed, from our perspective, as if God had perfectly working out His will in such a way that it would greatly glorify Him. The connections with Julia were amazing. However, apparently, He wanted to wait a few days longer, at the very least, so that He will receive greater glory!

And though in times like this, we're perplexed, we're never despairing...weighed down in our spirits, but never destroyed...hurt but never crushed. Why? Because though we clearly do not know what the future holds, we do know WHO holds the future in His hands.

JEHOVAH JIREH, OUR PROVIDER!

Please praise God with us that if even when we lack faith, God remains faithful for He cannot deny His nature (2 Tim 2:13).

A Quick Post: Please Pray!

Right now, we are praising God! We had an incredible divine connection tonight with a young lady, Julia M., who teaches at UCF for multilingual studies, has 4 Christian roommates and they’re all in the Campus Crusade for Christ on-campus group at UCF and they need a place right away! I say divine connection because the so-called "coincidences" were incredible (of course, we all know God directs all our steps!). Julia not only knows the Wells family (the father/husband, Ken Wells is who I report to with S.E.E. and they’re the family that we’ll be working closely with in Udine, IT), but she also knows my old boss at FamilyLife, David Sims and his family, attends a great church in town that we have attended (Orlando Grace), she is a totally strong Christian and loves the Lord, has a heart for missions and wants to go overseas someday to do missions work! To top it off, the girls all need a place in a week (ahhhhh....Julia thinks they might be able to work out two weeks). The girls could even use some of our furniture, bikes, etc. so we might not have to store much of anything.

We’re like blown away! God is so good. Julia said she was really beginning to doubt God's provision as the girls have to be in a new place in a week and they have been looking non-stop. We must confess that we too have also struggled some with our faith as this is the biggest issue we have been up against that is holding us back and just the desire has been to get focused on the finish line (final support-raising, locating a new place in Udine, saying "see you later" NOT goodbye! :-) and finalizing details of government paperwork & requirements).

Please, please, please pray for when the 5 girls come over to see the house tomorrow at 12:15pm. This sure seems like it may be God’s perfect provision!

Confirmation Often Comes When You Step Out in Faith

Faith is a somewhat elusive thing sometimes. It is the only thing God honors but He is the only One who can provide it. We are to have faith in God and His providence in our lives (and not unbelief) but we are made of dust, here today and gone tomorrow. As Christians, let alone as humans, we often are easily persuaded or dissuaded by our circumstances...sometimes reading into the events of our lives too much and other times, not seeing the hand of God clearly leading us. Why is faith so challenging? Why does it stretch us so? Why is it sometimes so elusive?

Jeannette and I think one of the biggest reasons is because of fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of man...fear. We forget that Perfect Love (Jesus Christ) casts out fear. We are assured by Scripture that no one can separate us from the love of God. God clearly tells us that all things work together for good for those who love God and are the called according to His purpose. And yet...we still fear and doubt. I think it is because we have such a tendency to base our faith on ourselves. God will or will not be faithful because I do or do not deserve it...today, yesterday, tomorrow. However, I think God bestows faith and honors faith for two reasons alone. Primarily for His glory and secondarily to display His love for His children.

We had the most amazing time attending the S.E.E. staff conference in Udine, Italy. We really didn't think we could go (too much money, bad timing, etc). And then, we were thinking that if anyone went, it would just be me. But, after a supporter friend offered to give funds to provide for one of the tickets, we stepped out in faith only to end up booking tickets out of Miami. What, my wife said? I did it to save $300 on each ticket. Then for 24 hours afterwards, we tried everything we could do to change them and get a reasonable price. A couple of days later, it hit us...we need to get our long-term visa and the only place we Floridians can do this is at the Italian Consulate in Miami! Amazing how God blesses and guides us in spite of ourselves.

The week of staff training was filled with lots of prayer, worship, team-building events (some fun games, time at a local river swimming, etc) and lots of updates about God's faithfulness to Himself and to His will as we heard of all the Italians who are being reached for Christ through the church in Udine, mimes, skits, concerts, the ESL classes (over 200 Italians last year) and the most successful year to date for the bible institute along with accreditation by Liberty.

We also got to go with an evangelism team from McGregor Baptist once to the park and 2-3 nights out on the piazza with great success (mimes, skits, puppet shows, preaching)...God worked mightily. Many people were asking questions, wanting to know how they could learn more about God and Jesus and the Bible (most Italians have a great respect for the Bible but almost none read it or know what it says).

I also had the privilege of witnessing, along with a neat pastor from McGregor, Russell, for about a half hour to an Italian from Romania. It was amazing as this young man went from having just decided to become a Jehovah’s Witness after much study and consideration to thanking us and telling me that we had made his day. Russell, apparently quite a good study on Jehovah's Witnesses, was able to, by memory, give him each and every year that JW’s had predicted Christ’s return with no success).

It was clear that, despite what you might expect, showing him the error of the JW’s had made him very happy. And then helping him to learn that in fact, the Bible proclaims Jesus is truly the Messiah and God, one and the same. It was a glorious experience as we hugged and he thanked us and acted as if his whole life had changed.

Then, Saturday, we had a day to look around Udine and outlying areas to see a lay of the land, praying about where God might have us live. Here we were looking to find a place to live for our family of seven and we don't even yet have someone to lease or take our house in Orlando! I felt like God was saying, "This is what My wisdom looks like...it looks like foolishness to the world...but when I call my people to leave everything for Me, this is what faith looks like."

A sweet girl, JJ from Metro Life is going through some of the same things we are as she heads for England to help with a Sovereign Grace church there. We had such a sweet time of praying together at the Miami church just before we left for Italy. We shared together how God's timing is always perfect. Maybe not exactly when we want it (too early, too late) but always perfect. And like when Jesus did not go to raise Lazarus right away, it was so that God would be glorified (we just recently found out that despite any fears or doubts, JJ now has all her money and leaves for England in 5 weeks...please pray for this young fireball for the Lord!)

So after looking for 1 days (Monday), we put a pre-contract down on Tuesday on a 2nd floor apt in a small town called Colugna (a little challenging when all is written in Italian!) Thank God for Ken and Ruthann Wells who were like angels to us throughout all of this. It's not big...about1300 sq feet for a family of 7 but there's a partially-finished attic (about 500 sq feet) where we figure, we'll put the boys and lock it for time alone (just to have some quiet...we promise we'll let them out periodically). It is a very "bible-study" friendly place with a nice sized living room and a 2nd floor deck outside that would be fun for afternooon get-togethers with believers or unbelievers alike.

Well, we stepped out in faith and it will be a small miracle if we get this place. There was already an offer on it...they offered 50 more Euros a month than us, 3 months down versus our 2, and they are willing to take it starting August 1 versus our arrival in early September. The one thing we have going for us is that the lady downstairs seemed to like us (and Americans in general) and the other couple has a dog, which she does not like.

Please pray...this would be an amazing opportunity, especially given that Colugna is a somewhat small town just minutes outside of Udine with tons of opportunities to develop relationships, evangelize unbelievers and God willing, disciple brand new believers! We are so unworthy but so very thankful to have this incredible opportunity to reach lost Italians. Thank you for all your prayers. We did not really think we'd leave Udine on this trip with a possible home but God always seems to do above and beyond what we can think or imagine. La Donna (the lady) has one week to accept our offer (next Saturday, the 19th is the final day). Please pray.

We returned to Miami after a two-hour delay in Atlanta at 2:30 in the morning. Thankfully, the kids got down to Miami along with two godly friends of the girls (Bethany's friend, Kelley from the Lord of Life Church in Indiana, PA and Hannah's friend, Clarice Chin) with our sweet new friends Nando and Cindy to greet them. But it gave us a little concern to think of our eldest, Bethany, picking us up at Miami Int'l at 2:38 in the morning (instead of the original arrival time of 11:30) but Jacob and her arrived right on time despite our concerns. But to suffice it to say, we were all very tired! And we had to go in less than 6 hours to the Italian consulate in Miami! So sleep we did and the next morning, nearly 2 hours early, the entire family (minus 2 friends) went to the consulate and sat and waited for the doors to open. We'd heard about lines in New York where you had to get there by midnight the night before to get in as the first 100 which were the only ones guaranteed to be seen or considered. We had heard that Miami was a little different but we really didn't really know what to expect.

The preparation had been incredible...it felt like it must for some who do an international adoption. The paperwork was voluminous...invites from Italy to come, translations of documents, notorized documents, proof of our status as missionaries, proof of identity, proof of Jeannette's married name, proof of our children's and our citizenship, birth certificates, passports for all, etc., etc, etc. We had been told that many of the SEE team members had been rejected 2-3 times. So we knew this would be a huge step forward. By God's grace, both Jeannette and I were full of faith that we were going to walk in there and come away with our visa for religious purposes. Not that we are always that way...we too are tempted by unbelief. However, God had placed it in our hearts to have great faith.

Still, it was to our shock and amazement when 13 minutes into our time and having looked at only about 5% of our documents, we were told by the consulate rep that all looked good and it was "only an informality at this point" and we could pick up the visa the next morning (Friday, which we'd allowed for just in case). We walked out in seeming disbelief. Could it really be this easy? Could God really do this this way? The next morning we walked in, this time just Jeannette and I. The rep, Fabio, immediately saw us, held up his finger as if just a moment, and less than 3 minutes later, we had our visa!!! We walked out in amazement. It was as if God was saying, "You may think that all your effort is necessary but the bottom line is that I will show you that I will glorify Myself in spite of your great effort." What an awesome God we have...and what a neat confirmation of God's continued leading. All day, about every 10 minutes, I was exclaiming, "I can't believe it! We have our visa! God is so good!" We called and e-mailed friends and supporters to proclaim God's goodness...He is so worthy to be praised!! And He commands us to praise His name.

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.” Ps 97:6

“Give thanks to the LORD,

call upon his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples,

proclaim that his name is exalted.” Is 12:4

Thank you so much for all your prayers. We are so grateful for those of you who have stood so faithfully with us as we have sought God's will and to fulfill God's calling on our lives. Often, it has been incredibly challenging but to have to standing with us as often made the difference. Jeannette commented so many times while we were away, "Lee, I know people are praying for us! I know it!" And obviously God has answered our prayers. Thank you Lord. Thank you Jesus. Worthy to be praised is the Lord God Almighty!

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:5-7

Incredibile! Quante benedizioni per comprendere misura sovrana del dio nelle nostre vite!

(Translation: Incredible! How many blessings as we comprehend the sovereign provision of God in our lives!)
God is so good! We arrived safely in Udine, Italy after a six hour Amtrak train trip to Miami (usually five hours) and an incredibly wonderful time with our sweet brother and sister in the Lord, Nando and Cindy! The Spirit of God met us as we fellowshipped and ministered to each other that evening and the next day...I know this is why God's Word says, "How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together!" This is the sweet couple from the SG church in Miami who are housing us when we return from Italy even though they will be in Puerto Rico for a big family reunion. And they say to us, "You are blessing us by coming!" What an amazing time. We have truly made special, life-long friends. And oh what a blessing their church (Palm Vista) and pastor, Al Pino, is! We really enjoyed meeting him and being ministered to by his preaching. We also thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone else including the associate pastor and Al's daughter, Vanessa, and her husband, Fernando! God willing, we may even be able to get Fernando and Vanessa to come over and visit Italy and do some short term ministry! Who knows! God works in mysterious ways!

Though the plane trip to Atlanta from Miami went without delay, we sat on the tarmac for over an hour and 10 minutes in Atlanta wondering if we would be able to take off for our final destination. Just as we had got in line behind 10 other planes waiting to take off, a storm seemingly came out of nowhere and we saw some of the most amazing lightning storms we have ever seen. As we saw the awesome display of God's power, it reminded us of Psalm 57 which in the very beginning says,

"In you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me. [You] will send from heaven and save me!"

Well, we ended up taking off as the worst of the storm had passed by and as we pulled up off the ground, the sky cleared, the sun came through the clouds and we saw the horizon filled with light. It was really beautiful. So true that the storms of life often bring us the greatest blessings...most greatest of which is intimacy with our Lord Jesus! If we'll only trust Him! We actually arrived only a half hour late in Italy but 19 hours later for the entire trip! In case you're curious, 11am Italy time is 5am our time but praise God both Jeannette and I got about 3-4 hours of sleep which is a record for us! And we are actually feeling rested (and we haven't had our first cappuccino yet!).

We are now preparing for the staff conference which starts in about an hour) the riposa (like a midday siesta) is part of the preparation (but we are choosing not to rest because they say it's better for avoiding jetlag). But we want to share that it was so sweet that the entire team of Saints Equipped to Evangelize waited around for us after they had finished lunch to arrive and saved us two big plates of Maria's famous lasagna (Maria is the cook for Saints Bible Institute and a very good cook at that!) and all of the team greeted us with hugs and kisses (you might not know this but Italians kiss and hug...much like our brothers and sisters in Miami...I even got a couple smackers from Mierco who is one of the 3 or 4 Italian missionaries with our team). Hey, we're told to greet each other with a holy kiss...praise the Lord! So we had a sweet greeting to arrive to...and what a blessing to see the joy of the Lord in the faces of those who share the grace and mercy of the cross.

Thank you for all your prayers. We are excited about what God is doing but none of it would be possible without your faithful and loving support and encouragement!!! More updates later but for now...

Ciao and arriverderci!!

Jeannette posing at Italy airport

and Lee at bible center window in dorm room where we're staying

God is in Control

Wow! What an exciting journey we are on! It's been amazing and exciting to see God guide and provide as we are in the preparation process to move to Italy as a family and serve with Saints Equipped to Evangelize.

One quick story of God's faithfulness has been in relation to our trip to Udine, Italy for our S.E.E. Staff Conference (June 30 - July 4) and our need to get our National (long-stay) VISA for our eventual move (currently scheduled for September 7).

About a month ago, we got our tickets to attend the staff conference...challenging with all that is going on to move only in a few months...but important. Of course, the tickets are double the price what they normally are in the off-months. But we trusted God and stepped out in faith. Well, not only did God provide the funds necessary through a couple of supporters for these two tickets (only Jeannette and I are going) but we also experienced some very neat things in God's providence in relation to this.

First, we actually bought tickets that were out of Miami to save $300 per ticket (compared to flying out of Orlando). At the time, we were kind of remiss in doing so (getting down there, etc) and even tried to change them a couple of times (seeing if we could get cheaper fares out of Orlando) within the allowed time limit but to no avail so we trusted God that this was His will. So then, a few days passed and it dawns on us...we have to get our VISA at the Italian Consulate and the one that handles Florida residents is in Miami!

Well, if anyone has ever tried to get a VISA and all that is involved, you know that the documents, the copies, the notarizing, etc., can drive even a detailed-person crazy let alone two people that sometimes show weaknesses in this area ;-) So anyhew...

First we needed a way down...so, we looked into car, bus, and train (the only thing we didn't check was a boat but because Orlando is land-locked, that wouldn't work!). Seriously, we were so blessed to come across an Amtrak fare that normally was over $75 for only $56 (for the two of us!). Given we had saved $600 on our airline tickets by flying out of Miami, this was a drop in the bucket! And we don't have to drive or find a place for our car, parking, etc.

Next, we knew we flew back to Miami about midnight on July 9 so we really needed a place to stay if we hoped to go to the consulate the next day (Thursday, July 10...pray!). So about 2 1/2 weeks ago, I asked a good buddy of mine, George, if he knew anyone in Miami that could help us (knowing they have many friends there, have attended our sister church there in Miami, and his father lives not too far away). The first person he mentions is a gentleman by the name of Nando, who plays bongo drums, etc., for the worship band in the church in Miami. He says, "Nando is a great brother and I'll get you in touch with him."

Not more than what seemed like 3 minutes later, he walks up and introduces Nando! I was like, "What?" It turns out that he was in town for business-related work and attending our church even though he lives in Miami! Of all weekends! So right away, this sweet brother asks us if we can come stay with them the night before we depart so we can have a meal with them, attend church the next morning (our plane leaves that Sunday night, June 29) and though his wife and him and his family will all be in Puerto Rico that weekend, he can then give us the keys to his home so we can stay at their house during the days after we return from Italy!

Both Jeannette and I were so blessed and blown away by God's goodness. Then out of curiosity, I got on line and checked where his home was in relation to everything. They are 9 miles from the Amtrak, 11 miles from the airport and 15.6 miles from the consulate, all three in different directions, and their home is right in the middle! Praise God for His goodness to the children of men.

Then yesterday, after many days of preparing to get all our documents together, the Lord graciously provided everything we need including a lady, Emily, at our church who notarized everything....and for free! We have everything we need and we had just wondered if we would ever get everything together...What a blessing.

Another neat thing related to this, which we'd also ask you to please pray for, is that the kids have to appear with us the consulate. About a month ago, a good friend of Bethany's started making plans to come visit her. So here we are making our plans and realizing that we had to somehow get the kids down safely when we realized that Bethany's friend, Kelly, would arrive the day before (the 9th) and would be able to drive with Bethany and Hannah the kids down to Miami during the day together...what a blessing. They will also have the ability to go straight to Nando's home and get settled early afternoon so that Bethany and Kelly can come pick us up from the airport that evening on our return to Miami while Hannah watches the kids back at Nando's home.

Obviously, we would really ask you to pray for all of this, especially for protection and safety in travels for us but especially for the children. And we'd ask you to please pray for the time we will have over in Udine with our new team members, an important time to get more vision, get a better handle on future plans of the leadership, and just bond in the fellowship of our Lord. We will also have opportunity to spy out the land for an apartment. Though it's possible, we could actually secure a place, we are most desirous of just sensing God's lead on where, what, by who (neighbors the Lord wants us to reach, encourage), when, how, etc, He wants us to live. This is a very exciting but scary time for us. Exciting as we trust the Lord and scary when we don't :-)

But GOD IS IN CONTROL as Twila Paris sings in her song of the same name (I've added it to the playlist of songs on this page so you can hear it...it's a great one).

There is so much more we could share about God's wonderful sovereign providence in all of this. We are just so grateful for you and for your prayers. The three biggest prayer requests we would ask you to pray for include:

1) That God will provide the settling-in expenses and any additional monthly support we need, especially with the Euro exchange in mind. Things are going well but we just sent out a financial list of all our needs. Pray that it would be GOD that would move people to help. We don't anyone to give out of a sense of obligation. We know God will provide...we're just looking for who He wants to provide through. Yet it will require faith...this is no small task or journey. So we really desire that those who support us catch a vision for the 6 million people in Italy who need the Gospel...the seat of where the most powerful but most "dead" church resides, reigns and rules over the ideas and concepts of Italians let alone RC's all over the world...and of course, greatly influenced the theology and Christian thought of the entire world...what they think about Jesus, God, the Gospel, grace, forgiveness, justification, etc. We just continue to be amazed that with over 44,000 towns and villages, 42,000 have no evangelical witness whatsoever (no Bible study, no prayer group, no Bible bookstore, no support group, no church, no nothing). The town where we will be living (Udine) has 98,000 people and as far as we know, has only one evangelical church of 38 people that our ministry helped plant. So pray, and IF God leads, give. Give to the Walti's"

2) Pray that God would rent/lease/sell our house. Whatever He wants to do. If God wants us to, we'd give the house away for free and walk away. We are more than willing to lose every bit of equity we'd built up to follow God's will for our lives.

3) Pray for our time in Miami at the Italian Consulate getting our VISA. Graciously by God, Jeannette and I have great faith for the consulate granting us our long-term VISA (for religious activity) the first time we go. We know that many have had to go 2, 3 or even 4 times before they are granted their VISA because of how tight or picky the Italian Government can be about these things. Pray that God would truly give us favor as we walk in that door on Thursday morning, July 10, with our entire family...right through each step and document and detail and with whoever God ordains to handle our case. God is in control!

4) Faith and growth in godliness as we walk through the details of all of what God is doing. Please pray for us individually, for us as a couple, for the children. They are excited but it can be scary at times for them too. And it can be stressful for them like it can be for us so please pray for each of them (Bethany, Hannah, Jacob, Elijah, and Abigail). God has given them faith for the journey and it is so very encouraging for us to know, He is calling them as well. Praise the Lord.

Well that's it for now. We love you and appreciate you and are so thankful for all your prayers and encouragement. We're having fun but holding on to His grace and sweet love as God moves us to another country for His glory (Soli Deo Gloria...His glory alone). Please drop us an e-mail or a post here and let us know how we can be praying for you!

The Walti's with our sweet friends, the Romanacce's and Hannah's good friend, Claire.

Bethany's Graduation

Faith for the Journey Comes One Step at a Time

Roll with the Changes

If there is one thing that is true about moving overseas to reach Italy for Christ, it is that you have to be ready to roll with the changes. And there are so many!

We are sorry we haven't posted sooner since our last blog entry. We have, of course, sent our prayer letter out to all our supporters just a few weeks back but some of you are not yet on our prayer letter list so if you'd like to be added, just post here and let us know and we'll add you to our list (at least for sending letters while we're still stateside).

Lots of things have been going on...some great, some so-so and some less so. But of course, we are as some of said, "strangely called" as we sense God's call and confirmation with every step we take toward our expected launch date. We had spoke early of mid-August but we are now thinking more likely it will be early, the 1st week of September, God willing.

Some of the great things that have been happening include Jeannette and Lee completing Italian 1 at a local community college, finding 2 couples desirous of renting our house, getting all our passports done and returned for the entire family, VISA invite letter from one of the officially approved 7 churces in Italy on its way (should be here this weekend), selling Lee's motorcycle before the bill was even due (we had a 5 months no interest, no payments) for the same price he bought it for (he rode it like a dozen times but bought it so Bethany could have his car for going to work and school and originally had hoped to save money on gas back when he was driving to work). Other great stuff includes completely re-doing our yard with sod (Jacob had accidentally sprayed the yard in 3 spots hoping to kill weeds and we ended up with three very big spots of dead grass). But after Lee, Mike Moran and all our boys and their boys got out there and worked it, we now have one of the nicest looking yards in the neighborhood and the association is happy! :-)

Some of the so-so stuff is just realizing that though we will probably lose $30,000 to sell our house, given the current market where values are going down by 1% per month and with the very real possibility of it getting worse for some time, we are now starting to lean toward selling. We don't think we can cover enough of our expenses to make it all work with renting. One important thing that we'd ask you to pray for is that we'd be able to get out of our loan without a penalty (required to be in it 3 years and in July, it will be 2). We've learned that if you have to move out of the state for work reasons, you can be released sometimes. Well, maybe Italy will qualify! But all of this, the financial loss, is one of the things where we say, we did not become Christians to make money and we surely are not going to not do what God is calling us to do because we lose half of our equity in our home! God is in control and since He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, He could replace that it a heartbeat if He wants. So we trust God and His sovereign providence! Another so-so thing (good but challenging) are expenses from various things lke Jeannette's dental work that was badly needed ($2,300). Please pray for this though as it is beyond our means as well as the Italian immersion class that Lee would really like to take later in the summer ($2,500) to help him be prepared. If any feel led to help, please know we'd greatly appreciate it. As always, our supporters our our lifeline for ministry. It is a partnership and we could not even dream of doing any of this if it were not for you.

One not so great thing is that Lee's trips to Mayo have yet to prove to tell us anything different. However, we have our last trip in this series on the 28th where Lee will take a series of breathing tests that he already took but this time after being on steroids and antibiotics. He's feeling a ton better, has a ton of energy and has been working like a fiend to address all the issues coming at us in all directions but some of that is due to the drugs and we really would like this not to be the long-term treatment prognosis. So if Lee does very well (at least a 12% improvement...which we don't think will be a problem), then they will be willing to recommend some alternative treatments. They say for some, it's been amazing the response but there are some side-effects...don't know yet though what.

However, one of the big stories of our lives right now has been Bethany graduating! We know what they mean when they say, "More busy than a one-armed paper hanger." Together, Bethany and Jeannette did Bethany's invite, Jeannette designed the graduation program for entire school, Lee coordinated getting the pics for the PowerPoint style presentations and all of us have been getting really excited about the final day (June 1st). Bethany will be graduating with a 3.65 grade point average and has done all sorts of wonderful things during her high school tenure but the most wonderful of all is Bethany's love for the Lord! We thought you might enjoy seeing Bethany's life verse and other info from Bethany's graduation night.

God bless and we love you all. Thank you for all your prayers and please keep praying. And if any of you wants to e-mail us, we'd love it! Just post to this blog or e-mail us at abandoned2Jesus@gmail.com. And tell us how we can pray for you!! Love you tons!

Bethany Walti

Life Verse

1 Timothy 4:12

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.

High School Accomplishments

Bethany has excelled in her grades and extracurricular activities throughout her high school experience. She has played junior varsity volleyball with the Flames, been a top swimmer with the Otter Creek Otters, and has been a part of several missions trips including sharing the gospel at juvenile detention centers, working at two Christian camp summer programs with Native Indian children in New Mexico and North Carolina and working with a Sovereign Grace church in Bolivia last year. Bethany has loved sharing God’s love with those who need the Gospel, especially children. Bethany is grateful to have attended her last year of high school at Valencia Community College where she excelled academically. She has also thoroughly enjoyed being part of Deluge the last three years and serving on the leadership team her senior year.

Future Plans

By God’s grace, Bethany is excited to be moving to Italy with her family, and God willing, attending Saints Bible Institute in San Lorenzo, Italy in the Fall (www.saintsbibleinstitute.com). She earned the Bright Futures scholarship and will most likely return to Florida in a couple years to finish her degree in journalism. Please continue to pray for Bethany and her future….her relationship with the Lord and the plans He has for her.

Heading for Italy, Abandoned to Jesus!

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Who was and is and is to come!

We have exciting news to report. As of a week ago Thursday, we have been officially accepted to the ministry of Saints Equipped to Evangelize! Our heads are still spinning from God's amazing providence and from just watching Him lead us. We still can't believe it's true but God is sending us overseas to reach Europe for Christ...specifically Italy where less than 1% of people are evangelicals.

Believe it or not, we have prayed consistently that God would keep us from going if that was His will, "Lord, may your will be done. If you don't want this to happen, show us this is not Your will, don't let us get accepted to the ministry of S.E.E., close any and all doors, don't give us clarity and peace about issues dealing with everything from our finances/ministry support to Lee's health to our kids hearts about wanting to go, to not providing for all the various steps that need to take place, to giving us consistent counsel from godly leaders, friends and family not to go, etc., etc., However, instead of doing this...God has done exactly the opposite! At every turn, God is providing in amazing ways.

In spite of the fact that we think it would be a lot easier, more comfortable and much simpler to stay in Orlando (we had at least one job offer that would have allowed us to stay in Orlando indefinitely), God has been consistently showing us that He wants us to move. So who are we to argue? Actually, we are very excited about what God is doing. To give you just a few examples of how God has been leading...

"I urge you to not only to continue to support the Walti’s as they transition from Campus Crusade for Christ to their new ministry of Saints Equipped to Evangelize...but I’d also like to ask you to prayerfully consider increasing your support to make the allowance for the exchange rate. We hope you will join with us as we celebrate what God is doing in their lives as He leads them on to the next great adventure He has for them. Thank you." John Rogers

Our ministry 0f 16 years, Campus Crusade for Christ, is sending us off with full support of our new ministry, Saints Equipped to Evangelize, which Crusade considers a "partner ministry."

John Rogers (see pic above with wife, Dayle), Chief of Staff and Vice President, who reports directly to Steve Douglass, president of Campus Crusade, has written a very kind endorsement of us and our new ministry to all our supporters, strongly encouraging everyone to not only transfer their support of us to our new ministry but to increase it! Actually, John and his wife, Dayle, have literally been Christ to us in this transition. We are so thankful for their love, for their words of kindness in person, over the phone, and through e-mails, for John's constant attention to making sure this was a good transition for us, for our meetings over dinner or coffee, for their generous financial gift to our ministry to encourage us in this next season of our family's lives and more. As well, John has so represented the ministry of Crusade well. You should know that we also have been gifted everything from my work laptop to helping us financially in our transtition to S.E.E.! We don't deserve anything and yet God has been so good to us to provide for us through this time.

Really, God has been so incredibly gracious to grant us the incredible privilege of going as a family to reach Italy for Christ. Many times, Americans only think of Italy has a destination country...meaning only a place to go on vacation. However, that’s a big reason for the problem that we see in Europe...Americans go to visit or vacation but so few go to stay and reach the lost. The Church in Europe long ago had it’s heyday. Most believe that the evangelical church lost its relevance to the populace and was banished with the 18th-century Enlightenment. The result is that so few truly know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. However, regardless of what the wise men and scholars may say, the Lord has made it clear we are to go to the highways and byways and attempt to compel people to come to know Him.

The exciting thing is that God is making a come back in Europe. Increasingly in the discourse of the culture and what is happening (see the interesting Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118434936941966055.html?mod=googlenews_wsj), God desires to glorify Himself and make Christ known. Where intellectual assent is often the only thing that exists, our Lord wants to replace it with a saving faith that transforms people from the inside and out! And regardless of the fact that some in Europe think God is dead , evangelical churches are starting to make a comeback in some cities and towns. And most importantly, as people see God truly being glorified and worshipped and exalted and they see Christians who truly have love for others, people are coming to Christ!

We ask you please pray for us as we prepare for this journey to serve God overseas. We have so many things we must do to be faithful to the call that God has laid on our lives. This will probably be the hardest thing we ever do but it will also likely be the most life-changing thing we ever do.

We have many challenges ahead of us. It is going to require quite a bit of sacrifice on our part to get there. For example, we stand to lose a good amount of money in selling our home (due to current market-conditions). As well, we must raise nearly $40-50,000 needed in expenses to get to Udine and get settled (for passports for our family, visas, some shipping, air travel, three mos rent up front, a used van, furniture, and all the basics, etc., because it’s literally like starting over). However, we praise God that when people need the gospel, He still sends missionaries to go bring them that gospel even when homes don’t sell for much, missionaries must lose money and make great sacrifices to get there and it requires several cattle from the Lord's resources ("He owns the cattle on a thousand hills"). So with faith and dependence, we move forward knowing our God is a faithful God regardless of whether we sometimes lack faith (2 Tim 2:13).

Yet, please do pray that we would not be discouraged. That God would continue to lead and provide ("where He guides, He provides"). That what God has shown us and His faithfulness to lead us would keep us encouraged, passionate and faithful. Pray for all the details from our financial support to come in as hoped, for all our supporters to transfer from CCC to S.E.E., our new ministry, for all the passports/visas that our needed, for selling/leasing the house, etc., etc., etc. Our only desire is to serve Him with self-abandon. We care little for home, for material possessions, or for the things of this world. We want to be sold out to Jesus for His kingdom and His glory. Please pray for us! He is the vine and we are the vine-growers. If we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit!