Be a part, through serving
to: Believers with a heart for God's Work
from: Marco deFelice
Re: Short Term Ministry Opportunity in Italy for year 2013.
Dear fellow pilgrims,
I pray you are well, and knowing the grace of our Lord.
By grace, we are very well, and indeed, God's mercies are new every day, and his grace is abounding. (his grace is so rich!!)
This is to share of a opportunity for some short-term missions ministry opportunities in Italy.
English Course Project Description
We are preparing an English Course as video lessons, along with audio exercises. We have nine lessons completed, and about 20 more lessons to write and record to complete level one.
We have been using the first nine videos with live groups, and God has used this course to provided us with excellent opportunities to share the gospel in depth with these students. At the end of every class, we have a short evangelistic Bible study. We then have a time of refreshments to talk more in depth with individuals and small groups of students.
This course is designed such that the combination of course materials – videos, audio lessons, and handouts – allow even untrained people to offer an effective English course.
As such, it is ideal for missionaries who desire to use English classes as an outreach. We have received word that several missionaries are already using the lessons which have been done thus far. It is also ideal for churches in the USA which desire to use English Classes as a means of outreach.
We've taught the material with three different groups, which has allowed us to fine-tune it. We have received much positive feedback from the students.
Help Needed
There is the need for individuals who can come and help complete additional lesson of the course. The need is for one short-termer at a time.
The responsibilities of these individuals would be several:
– writing English exercises. These are very basic English exercises, which are used to reinforce the material being taught in each lesson.
– video editing: This primarily involves inserting photos into the video of the lesson. Watching an existing lesson would show what the final result is. One can do a Youtube search for “Marco Ashley English”, and watch one of the lessons. Training would be provided on the video editing program “Sony Vegas Pro”. This is similar to the program “Sony Movie Studio”. This is an easily learned skill. No prior experience is necessary, however, it would be helpful if the person had solid basic computer skills, and an ability to learn new computer skills.
In addition to work on the English Course, the person will be a part of the family, and help share the load of the daily household responsibilities. There will be various other practical ways to be involved in ministry, as needs arise day by day.
Desired Personal Traits:
We strongly desire that this be a time of spiritual benefit to those who come. Hence, it is vital that those who come have a desire to grow in Christ. There will be many hours discussing the Christian life and the things of God.
It is important that the person have a servant heart, and therefore a willingness to serve as needed. It is also important that the person be a team player, seeing himself or herself as a part of the team.
We pray that this experience would allow those who come to gain a great understanding of God's worldwide work, as they see his work in lives in another culture. We pray that this would produce a life-long burden for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
Recommendation by local church
We request that those who come be approved by their local church leadership. We ask that a church leader send a letter (email), confirming the spiritual maturity of the person and that he or she has the qualities needed, and that the church is in agreement of him or her coming.
Living Arrangements
The person would live with a family of the church. (probably missionaries Marco and Sherrie deFelice). There would be good opportunities to get to know and fellowship with the various church families. There could be opportunities for various ministries with the believers, for example, with youth, and with children, with wives (for women).
Time and Cost:
Considering the time needed to learn the skills, we believe that the trip should be at least three weeks long. A longer period would be even more productive, up to the three months. (which is the maximum length of a tourist visa).
As for cost, if possible, a contribution of $100 per week would help cover living expenses. Pocket money and trips would be in addition to that. Ideally, the sending church would provide this, and the airfare.
When: The need is immediate, and will probably continue through most of 2013. There would be availability for several people. So, if there is interest, it is very likely that dates could be arranged.
For more information, please contact missionary Marco deFelice at marco.defelice@gmail.com
Optional Project: Practical help
Ministry is full, that means that much upkeep on the home is neglected. If the right person were here, he or she could do much to help in a practical sense. This would save us precious time, which would allow us to work on other ministries directly related to church planting.
Length of Stay for practical help:
As for length of stay, anything from a short trip of 2-3 weeks, to a longer stay (2-3 months) would be helpful for this kind of pratical help. The best period would be from April through October.
A young single with good experience home maintenance and repair could be a good fit.
However, this could also be an ideal fit for the right retired couple. This couple could be adoptive "grandparents" for the children of the church, and your their years of experience to serve in many ways.
Whoever comes would get a very up close exposure to missions, and would, I pray, be spiritually stimulated. That has been our experience with others who have come. Ashley came on a short term trip, and is now a precious fellow laborer in the church planting ministry.
Clearly, this would need to be a person who was “proven”, in that, was clearly seen to be one who took to heart his involvement, and did it “as unto the Lord”. That is why approval from church leadership is vital.
Thank you for reading this. If you are interested in knowing more, or, know of someone who might be, please contact us.
Our prayer is that all we do be that which is excellent, and bring glory to God!
Marco deFelice
Pastor/missionary
Italy