Today we were split up into three groups and visited
different churches in the area. We will now give you our accounts of the churches
we visited.
Amy: We went to a church with a casual setting of about 20
people. Following along with the passage in English, 1 Corinthians 6:1-20, we
listened to a brief message. There were times of prayer for the whole
congregation and multiple times of singing. The passion behind the music was
meaningful and powerful. There were similar songs from home that made us feel
comfortable in the Italian church setting.
Hank: Today my group stayed with our host missionary, Mark
Brucato, and visited his church of roughly 50 attendees. Similar to Amy, my group found the music
to be incredibly powerful and moving.
Singing the Italian rendition of Here
I am to Worship was incredible. We then listened to summary of the gospel given
by Mark’s father-in-law, first in English and then quickly translated into
Italian.
(Shelly finishing up here--the kids are suddenly very busy!) The third group visited another
small evangelical church on the other side of town. After church, all three
groups gathered together at the church Amy attended for lunch with the church
members. We really enjoyed our Italian pot luck—lots of good food!—and getting
to know some of the church members.
We spent the afternoon in training with Mark Brucato and
some of the other workers at the camp. They explained the schedule for the week
and some other details, but mostly prepared us spiritually for what we are
about to experience. We had a time of prayer before we headed to the camp site
to get an idea of where we will serve.
That evening we had a wonderful pizza dinner at a local
restaurant, then headed to Brucatos’ church to watch the European Cup soccer
championship: Italy vs. Spain. We had a great time with church members—enthusiastic
soccer supporters all!—even though the outcome wasn’t what they wanted. (Spain 4-Italy 0)
Today is our first day of camp, so we’ll let you know how it
goes. So far the kids are doing great, enthusiastically digging in and ready to
serve.
Visiting our camp site after church.
Jack
Our group getting ready to go to the Italy vs. Spain match.
Pastor of Brucatos' church. He loves his futbol!
Nata
Praying for you all. Find new ways to serve the Brucatos!
ReplyDeleteContinuing to pray for effective ministry. With regard to the music in church, the Italians invented singing, right? What a privilege to experience. We look forward to hearing how your days at camp go.
ReplyDelete