February 10, 2010
Dear fellow pilgrims,
We have been extremely busy in past weeks. Besides the regular ministry activities, which are many, our new English course has taken many, many hours. But we rejoice in how God is using it to give us wide open doors to proclaim Jesus Christ!
As I had mentioned in an earlier update, we are preparing this course from scratch. The students are very pleased and enthusiastic with the course, and continue to share this with us frequently. God has truly granted us favor in the eyes of the students, and this facilitates an atmosphere in which it is easy to talk about Jesus Christ with them.
We have had two lessons, each of which is repeated on both Monday and Tuesday night to accommodate the large number of students we have. At the end of each lesson, I close with a short talk in Italian about some spiritual issue, and then pray, thanking God for the refreshments were about to have. We also always have evangelistic literature available for the students. In the four sessions that we've had, God has given us excellent opportunities to talk about Jesus Christ with different students. In addition, many are taking evangelistic tracts.
On Monday, Andrea, 29, one of the Tuesday night students emailed me and asked if he could come to our Bible study. I immediately responded that he would be very welcome, and that it was Wednesday night. He wrote back that he had another appointment Wednesday.
Last night, after the lesson, he and I talked until almost 12:30 AM, over the open Bible. He comes from a very new age perspective, believes in reincarnation, and believes that truth is found everywhere. But after we had spent much time looking at truths in God's Word, it seems that some truths were beginning to strike him. He said that he had scheduled to go out with his friends to see a movie on Wednesday night, but then he decided he would rather come to the Bible study and so he canceled with them. So, he is due tonight, both for our supper and the Bible study. Please pray with us for Andrea.
During the refreshment time, Sherrie had a very good talk with a lady in her 50s, who asked many questions about our faith. I had had a very in-depth conversation with her and a few others on the introductory meeting on January 10. Please join us in praying for Angela.
There were good comments with several others. There were also some very good conversations with the Monday night group as well.
God has provided more open doors and wider doors through this course than we imagined, and sooner than we anticipated. Once again, He reminds us that our faith is so often very weak. Pray that we would have increasingly more faith, and pray that God would glorify himself in saving a number of the students that He has brought us.
In terms of the preparation of the course, Ashley is doing about 90% of the work. It would be absolutely impossible for me to add this workload to my other ministry responsibilities. Once she has prepared everything, we team teach the course, making a very effective lesson. This is in addition to her many other ministries.
As we consider how God is using this course, we see how He has coordinated all things in having provided Ashley's visa. The needs here are many, there are fields white unto harvest, and the workers are so few. So, God has indeed answered our prayer in bringing this fellow laborer into this field. Thank God with us for Ashley's partnership in the ministry. If you would, pray also that God would provide her with support, that she can continue ministering with us. And while you're praying, though we know not who, nor how, nor when, pray that God would bring more workers to the harvest fields here!
Mustafa
On another note, sadly, it seems that Mustafa has lost interest in the things of God. He's on very friendly terms with us, but simply seems uninterested in God. There is no question but that he has seen a lot of the light. God clearly opened his eyes to see truth. It now seems that he is uninterested in this truth. Pray with us that God would, in his time and way, convict his heart.
parenting
Recently, I became aware of a situation in which there is tension in the family because the child is not applying herself at school. The parents are putting pressure on her to do better, and this is creating some real tension in the family. God provided an excellent opportunity to share in-depth with the father about how to parent in these situations. If the child perceives, even wrongly, that the parent is putting pressure on the child because the parent wants their child to do things the way the parents desire, is very likely the child will resist, and there will be a likelihood of bitterness. I shared how it is important that the parent help the child to see that they do not want the child to do things their way, rather they want to see the child living in such a way that he or she can be blessed by God. Those blessings are not primarily earthly blessings. Therefore, in the light of eternity, school in and of itself is really not that important. Rather, character is important. When children recognize that the parents truly desire the best for the children, when children are helped to see that they themselves will reap the consequences, good or bad that they be, from their daily choices, it can drastically change how the children see the intervention of the parents. Please pray that our parents would grow in wisdom in influencing the lives of their children.
Daniele-Petra:
Just a word on the situation with Daniele and Petra. Daniele is tired, he is weak, and his main problem is his difficulty in concentrating and staying mentally focused. They have made very significant strides in parenting Manuel, but it is extremely difficult for Daniele. Pray for daily grace, and that Christ power would be manifest in Daniele's weakness. Pray the same thing for Petra, for she is carrying a very large load daily. And yet, in spite of their difficulties, they continue to have hearts which reflect the peace of God, and they continue to be committed to ministering in every way possible.
Many other things are going on. God is teaching us many good lessons, and both we as a family and the entire church are being richly fed from his Word. We thank God for his continued good work in us.
Thank you for praying with us! May all of our lives be used to bring glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Walking each day by grace,
Marco (and Sherrie) deFelice
marco.defelice (at sign) gmail.com
www.marcodefelice.org
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