Verona Report

This last quarter has seen a lot of changes for us here in Verona. You will remember that Gilda pulled out of Bible studies and left us searching for a new location for Bible studies. We have rented a room above a bar for a small fee and have been meeting there for the past few months. Attendance is sporadic with a few non-believers attending. We have a few new people coming, a woman Virginia and a young lady, Rebeca.
The reason Gilda cancelled Bible studies at her house has to do with the tensions between her and her daughter Maria. An unfortunate outcome of these tensions is that I have lost contact with some of the non-believers who attended the study at Gilda’s house. Please pray that I will be able to make contact with these people again. And pray that Gilda and Maria would forgive each other and build a new relationship together.
We are beginning to build more relationships with the people who live around us, something which is not easy in the Veneto area. People here tend to be quite suspicious of outsiders, especially if they are not RC. Last year Jessica was the class rep for Emeline and so a lot of the mothers have had interaction with her. There are some tensions in Emi’s class as two of the teachers have trouble keeping the class in line without yelling. Even though she is not the class rep this year, a lot of the mothers have been calling her asking what they should do in this situation. Jessica has been helping them deal with the conflict, has gone to speak to the teacher, and done a lot of listening. Please pray that the Lord will use these occasions to speak peace and bring the gospel to bear on the situation.
I have volunteered to be a parents’ rep in Nico’s school. Already this has given us the chance to interact with several of the parents in the area. Ana has started kindergarten, and this has also put us in contact with more people. Jessica is getting to know more of the mothers. Just last week one of them stopped her and asked what I did for a job. This led to a conversation about the differences between Protestants and Catholics, i.e. a discussion about Christ.
I have also had some good witnessing opportunities. Just the week before last, two different people asked me how I became “religious” and if I always felt about God the way I do now. One of the people who asked was Emanuele’s brother Alessandro. Alessandro has come off and on to our Bible studies. Pray that he will come to faith. Pray also for Emanuele’s father, Efisio. Efisio has a lot of Bible knowledge and has done Bible studies with just about every group you can imagine. Most of the other people with whom he has studied have given him the boot when he asked too many questions. We have a good relationship of mutual respect. When Efisio first came to our Bible studies he was indoctrinated with the doctrine of the JWs. He quickly accepted the truth of Christ’s deity. Since then he has struggled to see the personhood and deity of the Holy Spirit. Friday, 21st November I stopped by to see Emanuele and they asked me to stay for dinner. Afterwards Efisio and I had a long conversation about the Holy Spirit and other biblical topics. Emanuele also contributed. Efisio has heard the gospel several times and in several ways. At least part of it he believes, but I cannot tell if he has true faith. Please pray for him, that he would become a follower of Christ. The other person who asked about my faith was the owner of the vegetable shop in town. He has continued to ask more questions and repeatedly stated that he will come to services once we start.
Speaking of services, we have found a worship location. They have told us that we can begin renting from 1st January. It is not cheap, €900 per month. Please pray that we will get the money for this. Someone has given us the funds to fix the place up and the first few months of rent, but we need to find the funds for rental after that.
At this stage we really need some people who will come to bible studies regularly. Attendance with most is sporadic. We could also use a few mature Christians who would join with us in planting a church in Verona. Please pray that others will catch a vision for this work.