Be Merciful to Me, the Sinner

Be Merciful to Me, the Sinner

There is something about overseas ministry that is very humbling. As missionaries in a different world culture with more changes than a new baby fresh out of the womb, the sin nature can find a way to rear it’s ugly head quick. Add that you are surrounded by other sinners whose sin always looks worse than yours, it is tempting to judge others more harshly than yourself. Instead of being like the tax collector, who humbled himself, unwilling to even lift his head because of his own sin, we can sometimes be more like the Pharisee, thanking God that we are not as bad as all the other sinners are!

Recently, I have been reading the book, The Prodigal God, by Tim Keller. Keller points out that in our reading of the prodigal son parable, we often miss the story of the elder brother… Christ was telling his story to the Pharisees… He heart was for them to hear the elder brother’s self-righteousness and be convicted by their own pride.

The elder brother was consumed with his brother’s sin and was unable to see his own. The elder brother could not fathom the grace of his father in light of his brother’s licentious and ungodly choices. He was so ready to judge others sin, he was unable to see the enormity of his pride. The result is he could not join his father in rejoicing over a sinner who’d turned from his sinful ways…his own brother.

Keller says, “Elder brother self-righteousness creates an unforgiving, judgmental spirit… If people wrong them, elder brothers feel their spotless record gives them the right to be highly offended and to perpetually remind the wrongdoer of his or her failure.” What can we learn from the elder brother’s poor example?

The gospel may be more grievously hindered by our own self-righteousness than it is by other’s blatant sin. As well, “It is the lovingkindness of God that leads us to repentance.” Mercy is equally sweet for all of us… and grace, well it’s good. Really good… amazingly good.

Where God leans, we lean… the famous town of Pisa

Recently, we got to travel to the Toscana region to pray and seek God about the possibility of a new church in this area. We looked at 6 or 7 cities both south and north of Pisa, the famous city where the leaning tower resides. Thousands of tourists travel to Pisa every year to see the funny looking tower and to position themselves in such a way that it seems they are literally holding it up!

In the last few months, God has offered us the possibility of going and being a part of starting a new church in this region. There are several towns of 60,000 and more in this area that have no evangelical church whatsoever! Imagine. Two of the cities we looked at were Grosetto (pop. 67,000), to the very south, about 2 1/2 hours north of Rome and to the far north end of Toscana, Massa, a town of about 69,000, about 2 1/2 hours south of Genova, Italy.

The important thing to note is that almost anywhere in this northern region, the number of evangelicals or evangelical churches is extremely small. There are only about .06% Christians...so in Massa, that means about 414 Christians (in a town of 69,000). Also, there is on average about 1 church for every 60,000 people. So in Massa, again, we found there is just one church (Brethren) and that's it...nothing else for the entire town.

Last week, we traveled to the area for a vision trip of sorts to see how God might lead. We, of course, were not sure how God would lead and we just want so much to be in the center of God's will, seeking His pleasure and at His disposal to reach Italians for Christ. There is a young couple, Andrea and McKenzie, with another ministry, Pioneers (who we already love) who went with us to research this opportunity. Andrea and McKenzie are the first couple with Pioneers in all of Italy.

Like S.E.E., Pioneers is committed to reaching Italians through evangelism and church planting. But unlike S.E.E., Pioneers has no established church or ongoing ministry in Italy. The positive aspect of this opportunity is that the possibilities are wide-open, the first team would be developing a country-wide strategy for the entire country and there are no “bad” ideas. The negative side is the challenge of a transition and the lack of experience of all of us involved! :-)

If we were to take advantage of this opportunity, it could be as quick as the end of February when we make a transition. From the beginning with S.E.E., the plan was not for us to stay in Udine but by summer of 2010, to move to Bologna and lead a church-planting effort there. But recent developments including the other couple who will be delayed in arriving in Italy until summer of 2011 has us considering other possibilities. This vision trip for 4 days in early February will be a huge factor. Please pray for God’s wisdom!!!

Teaching English as a Second Language

If you weren’t able to speak English, what would you do? Well, in Europe, the default language is quickly becoming English and Italy is being left behind. Because Italians get their movies dubbed, watch TV only in Italian and rarely read or hear any English, they are wanting to catch up with their European countrymen.

Jeannette and I had the privilege of teaching English as a second language this last semester, finishing in December. We started with about 57 students and finished with about 32 graduates (others attended less frequently).

What is really amazing is how, though slow at first, after learning English, the Italians want to share all about their lives, problems, relationship issues, etc. Though we are not to present the gospel during the classes, we had regular opportunities to share about a relationship with Jesus at various activities.

We started with an official “American Breakfast,” which went over well with our Italian friends. Afterwards, we went around and shared one thing that most everyone would know about them and one thing that hardly anyone knows about them. What a conversation starter! And when of our new converts began sharing the one thing that virtually no one knew yet, it turned into an opportunity for the Italians to ask about the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, why grace is different with Evangelicals and how it figures in to salvation.

We also had a great craft night for the ladies, a bowling night, a Christmas caroling night, and a wonderful Thanksgiving meal dinner (most Italians have never experienced this). Many conversations later about Jesus with our students, we ask you to pray along with us that God would harvest these many seeds.

A rare day trip as a family: a Film in English in Slovenia!

For most, watching a film in English is an everyday occurrence. Yet for our family, it’s impossible. You must go to a nearby country to be able to view a real film in a real theatre and all in English! (of course, there are Slovenian subtitles!)

So it was quite the treat for our family recently when we got to go to Slovenia (only an hour away) to see the Disney 3D movie, “The Christmas Carol.” We laughed, goofed off (esp. with those 3d glasses) and even got to let the kids ride some bumper cars afterwards (only 2 Euros each!). With Italian school for the kids six days a week, we thank God for times like this for our family to get away...and we’re thankful to you.

Happy New Year 2010 !!

Avoiding our death is avoiding God's plan for new life

Living in Italy provides us opportunity to die to self. We are definitely still adjusting.

Getting an insurance check takes 2 mos, getting a car fixed is 2 wks, and sending a letter, 2 days (when the post office is actually open!).

Yesterday, I went to 3 places to buy bus tickets...all were out. Why? It's Italy. Our money is 68% of its value. Why? Italy. The kids go to school 6 days a week so Sunday is our only day together and it's a work day. Why? This is the life. Or, you could say, this is death. We all have opportunities to die. But do you try to avoid your own death? We try. But maybe this isn't God's plan. Maybe by avoiding our death, we are avoiding God's plan for new life, both in and through us.

I was recently reading John 11 about how Jesus waited before going to help Lazarus. Have you ever read this? That Christ, though He had the opportunity and loved Lazarus deeply, He did not go to Bethany in time before Lazarus died, as Lazarus' sisters desired. Instead, after hearing Lazarus was dying, Jesus intentionally stayed for 2 days in the place where He was (He said, "so the Son of God may be glorified through it" - John 11:6). Mary says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (v.21). But isn't this what Christ had for Lazarus, for them, and, what He has for us? He is seeking our death. And there can't be new life until death occurs. There cannot be a lifting up of God in and through us until there is a dying to us. There can't be a spirit-empowered, grace-infused life apart from a divinely-ordained, Christ-directed death.

So He wants us to die. But we die so we may live. I forget about the "new life" all the time. I usually am focused on this life. And when I do remember the new life God has for me, I'd like to avoid experiencing any pain or discomfort or difficulty to get there. I don't want to even consider the death of my hopes, dreams, or desires that may be necessary in the process. But Scripture indicates it's my desires that are my problem ("Aren't [your problems] caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you?" James 4:1). Desire for comfort, ease, satisfaction. And more often than I like to admit, I don't mind if these desires are fulfilled apart from Him, His plan or His commandment for me to love others.

Maybe you don't satisfy them but at least satisfy me Lord. Okay, maybe you're trying to change me by not giving me ease but can I opt for plan B? And comfort...oh yea, I like comfort. I know, I know, many are heading to hell but not right now Lord...I've got lots going on with my family, my brother Lazarus is sick, I need to attend to my problems...wasn't it you that said everyday has enough problems of its own? You are not going right now? Lord, don't put me out. Don't require death!

Well son, the Father says, that's actually what I'm up to...your death. Because if you die, you'll receive the life I have for you that is so beyond your comprehension...one that can truly give me glory...and you'll experience all that I have for you. In Galatians 2:20, Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Christ also said if we try to find our life, we will lose it. But if we lose it for His sake, we will find it. We're not to live for self. Ouch. Can you imagine waking up every morning and saying, "Okay, I can't live for self today. It's all about God and others. Nothing for self. Not one thing." That's death. And I have to tell you, I don't like it. Not one bit.

It makes sense then that a vital focal point of our faith is the death of Christ and His victory over it. Spurgeon said we cannot think upon the death of Christ too much or too often. Living for others in your lives, like us trying to live for reaching Italians, requires accepting our sentence of death so that you can get to the really good stuff. To accept it means being willing to accept the death of everything important to me so that I can get everything important to God (that verse about the things of this life being worthless compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, is ringing in my ears). Spurgeon said, "When the sentence of death assumes the form of despair in regard to everything that is of our own selves, then it has thoroughly wrought the cure...If a man does not trust God then, when will he? And if this does not take him off from self-confidence, what is to do it? This treatment never fails when the Holy Spirit uses it."

We want to be willing to despair in regard to everything that is of our own selves. We want to be taken off from self-confidence. But it ain't easy. And it usually is not fun. Paul said, "The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." We feel weak. Helpless, in fact. We keep wiggling off death's table (notice, I didn't say the "surgeon's table"). In spite of this, God continues to do amazing things here in Italy through us, some un-amazing people (it's interesting God made man out of dust!...possibly, a way to keep us well-grounded in insignificance). We praise God for the relationships that are bringing fruit (we highlighted many of these in our recent letter to you).

As you pray for our death, please also pray for:

• 2010 and the ministry God has for us in Italy
• For Ramat and his growth in faith as a new believer
• For Edi and Maryann's marriage (we're trying to help)
• For Tatiana who is interested in becoming a Christian
• For Andrea who has great interest in Christ but is a strong Roman Catholic
• For Laura who thinks the cross is only a symbol of the burden we are to carry in life
• For Denis and Bernadetta, who are so open to the gospel but have not yet been challenged
  
• For our financial support (at about 85%) and especially a good year-end response in giving (by Dec 31st) so we will have a solid foundation for our family and ministry for 2010
• For where or what city God would have us go to plant a new church in Italy in the future
  
• For our relationships with God...that we would grow in Christlikeness in the midst of serious spiritual warfare and constant temptation to quit the race here
• For our children, for growth in the Lord, including Bethany working and attending school in Orlando and for Hannah, for encouragement for living in that she is here without her older sister and very few friends or activities
• For Jeannette and I to keep our relationship precious among the barrage of things constantly vying for our attention, time, and energy which sometimes takes away from our need to spend time together each week, praying, planning and enjoying each other

Thank you so much for your incredible kindness toward us here in Italy, thousands of miles away from our family, friends, church and all we know to be normal. Words cannot express how grateful we are to you. We often remember you with tears when we think of your steadfast love toward us. We pray for you often and love you dearly. Please let us know if there is anything at all that we can do to be a blessing to you and your family.

The Walti Family

[The pictures in order are: Jeannette and I for a 20th anniversary lunch; Michael and Adey, our friends from Malta; Ramat, a new believer, and I during a trip to the local mountains with the boys, Elijah and Jacob; Jeannette and our neighbor, Bernadetta, who is also an ESL student of ours; Denis, Bernadetta's boyfriend, the kids and I around the fire eating s'mores during a game/song night for ESL students at our house; the kids dressed up, having fun singing, at our Italian friends' house, Lele and Laura, who have been our friends here in Italy longer than any others; 3 pictures in a row of our ESL students during our ministry Thanksgiving meal for them...Italians don't know much about and most have never had a TG meal; Maurizio and Sabrina, Italian friends holding Abby at the ABC church; Hannah poses for a pic during a recent night out as a family; our own Thanksgiving with friends and Italian neighbors at our house; Ramat, who is now living with us while looking for a job, along with Jake, Elijah and Abby; Bethany, our eldest, dressed up for Christmas in Orlando where she is studying with 14 units at a local university and working 24 hrs a week at Crusade Headquarters]

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!

To Vasto to Make a Difference!

Dear friends,

These past two weeks my brother, Jacob and I (Hannah) had the opportunity to go to the south of Italy to a city named Vasto for a short term mission trip. Vasto is a city on the south-eastern coast of Italy. Usually, when most people think of Italy they think vacation, pasta, pizza, wine, scenery, architecture, and amazing people. I would like to give you something else to think about when you think of the country of Italy. There are approximately 36,000 cities in the country of Italy, out of those there are still 34,000 cities that have never been reached with the good news of the gospel. This is a big number and fairly hard to fathom because in the US over 75% claim to be practicing Christians. That is a substantial difference. The main religion in the country of Italy is Roman Catholicism with over 90% of the population claiming to be Catholics and to this day is so entwined with the culture that they are almost interchangeable. However, we know that less than 3% of these proclaimed Catholics actually practice their religion in any tangible way we’d recognize. Sadly, less than 1% of Italy are evangelicals. Most Italians don’t even know what a Christian is. Though America is filled with people claiming to be Christians, 99% of Italy is heading toward hell.

While in Vasto for our short mission trip, a few of the biggest questions Jacob and I got asked were “So what are the differences between Evangelical Christianity and Roman Catholicism?” and “So are you saying that you don’t pray to the Madonna?” We clearly tried to tell them that we don’t believe that the Madonna (Mary, mother of Jesus) is divine; we simply believe she is a special woman that God chose to use for a special work. We believe she had sin just like every one of us. This is a very hard thing for Italians to grasp along with the fact that we don’t pray to or believe in the saints. We were able to talk to many, many people about the gospel and we were able to get contact info for the evangelical church in Vasto to follow-up.

There are many exciting stories of how God has used the Vasto evangelical church in the lives of people in that city. Take for instance, Sara, who since birth has been recognized as a Catholic along with her family. Recently, she came into contact with the evangelical church members there and started coming to church and reading her bible regularly. She loves the members because of their gracious hearts and lively spirits. There is one problem: her family does not appreciate this at all. Her family despises this church and will show up at their functions to try to dissuade the minds of the people watching and listening. One day while we were in Vasto, we were doing a children’s ministry in the park. Sara showed up with her mother but her mother couldn’t take hearing the truth and started talking to others, telling everyone what a bad thing they had done to their daughter. The team kept their cool and the senior pastor was able to talk to her family and was gracious and relaxed. Please pray for the hearts of Sara’s family and for Sara as well. I can’t even begin to imagine how emotionally and physically exhausting it must be to try and combat your family every day so as to follow Christ. It would be easier to give up on Jesus but Jesus will not and has not given up on her. She is remaining strong and will continue to do so with the help of the members of the church there in Vasto. But she is a great example of why we do this work.

While in Vasto we did many exciting things, Vasto is actually a beach town so every morning we were able to do ministry out on the beach. We started with a small concert to draw crowds and then did mimes and skits pertaining to a relationship with Christ and we would then have conversations with the people. In the afternoon, we would then head for a local children’s park for a great program with the kids. We did puppets, songs, balloons, games, and give them small gifts. We taught the kids some great stories from the Bible. This was one of my favorite things as the kids were so cute and attentive…they loved hearing what we shared and didn’t want us to go when it came time to leave. In the evening, after a short rest, we would then go out to the Vasto Marina and do more mimes and have some great conversations with the audience members. We would normally get 50-70 people out each time. People were so attentive and I had never seen bigger groups of people watching our mimes before. Jacob even learned two of the mimes and did a great job though he was the youngest of the team at 14 years old. After each mime, our team leader, Kevin would give a short message telling people why we were there and presenting the Gospel to them as well. The people were very kind and respectful and seemed truly interested in what we had to say.

No one came to the Lord that we know of while we were there but I believe it is better this way. It is such a short time to make a decision that will forever change the rest of your life…I believe it is better that we planted the seeds in their lives and God will do the rest, harvesting the seeds in due time. He is so much more powerful than we are anyway and His ways are not only higher but also much better then our own. What is really cool is that we were able to get many contacts for the church in Vasto for them to follow-up on and we can’t wait to hear to see how things are going with their continued evangelism effort. We had amazing and powerful conversations with several different people during this time and you could truly tell that the people were longing and searching for something more, something meaningful in their lives, young and old alike. It didn’t matter if it was a 75-year old man in the piazza, a 16-year old girl on the beach; or a 10-year old at the park…they were all searching for something more…something that would give them peace and purpose. What they were needing was the precious truth of the Gospel.

Well, as you can imagine, it was so exciting for Jacob and I to participate on this missions team. We have never worked so hard in our lives! Starting at 7:30 in the morning and going until 1:20 or 2:30 in the morning of the following day sometimes. One reason you might not have heard about our trip is that we actually were not sure what city or team we would be on until shortly before we left so we couldn’t get the word out.

"So how can you help now?" you might ask. Please continue to pray for the hearts of the people in Vasto, Italy. That they would be open to the words that were spoken to them and God would enter into their hearts and lives and save them. These people are desperately lost and need the good news of the Gospel. They are like lost sheep without the Good Shepherd. Many who are even very religious (Roman Catholic) but with no concept of what a relationship with Jesus is. Please also pray for the church in Vasto…they have received constant attacks from other churches; not only Catholic churches but also other Evangelical churches as well who feel threatened. Some of these have even been telling others that they are doing the work of the devil and bringing souls to him when really they are doing just the opposite. So please pray for strength for their members and leaders. Some of you may not realize the kind of spiritual warfare we see over here that is not as visible in the states.

Lastly, we also went on this trip without raising the amount of money we needed for the trip. The total cost for both Jacob and I was $275 each or $550 total. My parents used our grocery money to help us get there upfront so we've already paid. But if you feel God leading you to give so we can reimburse them, we would greatly appreciate it. The amount doesn’t matter, but know that your gift has allowed us to plant seeds in the hearts of the Italian people; a nation that is lost and dying and going to hell without the amazing news of salvation.

Love, Hannah Walti (for Hannah and Jacob)

If you are interested in helping financially:

Mail your donation to:

Saints Equipped to Evangelize

Vasto Mission Trip for Hannah and Jacob Walti

P.O. Box 587

Bradenton, FL 34206-0587

ALSO:

*****Please remember to mark in the memo section of your check the following:*****

"Vasto Mission Trip for Hannah and Jacob Walti"

We've learned that any CHECKS that are NOT marked this way will NOT be donated to this purpose.

When life takes a turn...

We never know when life will take a turn but sometimes, when it does, we are less prepared than we thought.

Prov 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

As parents, we have had many plans in our minds about parenting and raising our children well but when that first one leaves and its necessary to release her, all those plans are really nothing. Only God's purpose will stand. Only what we've done for Him.

Yesterday was a very hard day for Jeannette and I as we released Bethany to go back to the United States to attend university (received the Bright Futures Scholarship...covers all but books). We talked, cried, hugged, cried some more and then, it was just time. And there was nothing more that could be said or done. We are tempted to have regrets...why didn't we take more walks, why didn't we have more dates together, why...

But what's most important is what we've sown in her of God, the Gospel and God's will and purpose for her life. The thing is that she is an absolutely beautiful, godly young lady and we have no idea how it happened. We know it wasn't us! In fact, if anything, it was in spite of us!! What an incredible picture of God's grace. He blesses us even when we don't deserve it.

Thankfully, we had a little vacation in Croatia (the border is only about 1 1/2 hours away) thanks to a sweet supporter couple who had a week timeshare they gave us. What a sweet gift to be altogether one last time before Bethany left to go to the states.





It was beautiful place surrounded by water...and the kids had lots of fun together!




The girls (Bethany and Hannah) had some special time together as did Jeannette and I.



It went way too fast and it seemed like we blinked and it was over. But we praise God that we had such a special time in this season of our lives. Before this, it had been well over 2 years since we'd had a vacation like this away from everything.



Just a few days before Bethany had to leave, we got our "Permesso di Sigiornos" which gives us the right and privilege to live in Italy permanently (well, it has to be renewed every year).



We had planned a couple days at a local river to just be together but as Lee (with Jacob and Elijah) was turning in to get train tickets for two of us (we have to always have two take a train or bus because our only car fits just five of us), going about 12 mph, a man who was looking down for his phone while driving, plowed into the back of our car at about 50 mph. Lee and the boys were slammed into a parked car and the front of a restaurant. Thankfully, though sore, no one was hurt.




Though we knew we needed to raise the money to find a new, used car with more seats, apparently God is wanting it to happen sooner than later.



However, we're all fine (a little house-bound) and we still do have the train and bus though it takes a bit longer. Jeannette, Hannah and I took Bethany to the airport by train. And though it's only an hour away, it took us 7 hours...we left at 4:30 (2 hour train ride), then a 30 minute bus ride to the airport, then a 30 minute bus ride back to the train station, then the 2 hour train ride to Udine, and then the bus from the station to home (home by 11:30pm).




We are so going to miss our eldest daughter. But, as a good friend recently said, "Today is the day you get to trust God more than maybe you ever have." Interestingly, the day after Bethany left, it suddenly got cold and rainy here so it's a good day (Saturday) to reflect on God's kindness to us to give us such a beautiful daughter who loves the Lord and the gospel with a passion.



Thank you for being a part of our lives. We love you dearly and are so thankful for your participation in the gospel to reach Europeans for Christ.

In Him,
the italian walti family

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." - Prov 13:12