 Scott & Sharon MacLean Serving with CrossWorld in the Ossola Valleys of Northern Italy |
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Children's club and
Open Air As people return form their summer vacations, we will be starting up the children's clubs in the park again. Kids have been asking when the next "spettacolo" (show) will be. :-) Scott is also hoping to have a few evenings of Open Air Evangelism in the coming weeks. Please be in prayer for these ministries.
Due to our recent (and surprising) adoption of a baby girl, we will not be coming on home ministry as planned. We are trusting the Lord to continue to provide for our needs, even though we will not have a full home ministry to "refresh" our financial and prayer support base. This means that without additional pledged or one time support, we are facing a significant shortfall (about $300/month). For details see the Support page. Replacement (mini) Home
Ministry Lord willing, Scott will be in the US for a "mini" Home Ministry from October 8 to 25. For details on his expected schedule, please see the Home Ministry page.
Encouragements It has been refreshing to have had numerous good, in depth conversations about the Gospel over the past few months. Chances to talk seriously and at length about the Gospel are rather rare here - mostly due to a lack of interest in the subject. So those of you who have been praying for encouragement for us - Thank you! And please, keep praying! A couple examples: - A couple good, in depth conversations at the ambulance house - including one a lengthy discussion on the doctrine of salvation. - Talking with a man who seems on the verge of making a decision for Christ. - Folks that have stopped by the book table several weeks in a row with questions about what we believe. - Good conversations with some local JWs. While they are open to talk (mostly talk and not listen), this kind of thing can often be a long process. Pray for God's work in their hearts. Fishing II Again this year we got to go fishing with the local ambulance house. Scott's involvement there has increased a bit as he has not only volunteered, but also taught "Emergency English" classes. One of his projects for this summer is to put together a book of translations to put on the ambulance and figure out how best to keep people up to date on their English skills. These involvements often open opportunities to speak of the Gospel, as well as to let our lives shine before others. Fishing I One of the things I try to do in warmer weather is go down to the town square and find folks to talk to about Jesus. I've noticed how much it is like fishing. In the sense that it is quite easy to scare folks away before even getting a chance to talk. The best conversations seem to come when, after exchanging pleasantries, they ask where I am from (they hear my accent) and then ask what in the world I am doing way up in Domodossola. (Boy, I'm glad you asked :-) ). That at least opens the door for the Gospel, and often a longer conversation. On the other hand, when I try to start talking about spiritual things directly, people seem almost afraid and seek to shut down the conversation and flee ASAP. Would you pray that the Lord would grant good conversations in the town square?
Church "Sala" For the moment, we are holding our services in Davide & Alida's apartment. While this is not an idea location (it not easily accessible, nor does it allow much room for growth), to date we have not found another option. While we know that the Lord is not bound to work by means of a good meeting place, we do want to do our part to make sure that our meeting place is one that enhances our outreach efforts. And as if our congregation was not small enough, Filippo & Sandra and their kids have left for a year. Filippo will be doing a required year abroad for his doctoral program. While we are looking forward to their return, we, as a church, also are praying specifically that the Lord would not only "fill their empty seats", but cause us to outgrow the house and force us to find another meeting place. A (humanly speaking) impossible request that would be no problem for an Almighty God! Prayer Support Prayer is vital to the work that is going on here in Domodossola. Thanks to a family out west who now is praying for us weekly, we are now up to 84% of our desired prayer support! Our target is an average of 100 people a day praying. If you pray for us, please let us know so that we can include you in our prayer supporters. WE NEED PRAYER SUPPORTERS!!! Financial Support Please continue to pray for the Lord's provision. We have 77.8% of full support. We will need a bare minimum of $300/month in additional support in order to be able to make it to our next time of home ministry. For more details please contact us.
Prayer Requests &
Praises ... |