An effective prayer (again)
Last newsletter I started with a prayer request for new students for the group at the university, a prayer that God has answered positively every year so far. About 10 days later I got an e-mail from an English Christian student, who will be coming to Trento next year. So thanks for praying, it worked once again! It is, though, really only half of an answer, as he will only be here in second semester, from April to June. So please keep praying for others, and especially for first semester.
At the university
As part of the search for other students interested in reading the Bible, at the beginning of the month we held what we hoped would be an evangelistic study at the university. Although the group did invite friends, do the general advertising that was needed and prayed, there were not any new people. I was happy that we did everything we could; the results we leave up to God. The next such event, and the last for the year at the university, is the stall I will have at the end of year festival on the 1st. Unfortunately Robyn leaves Trento the day before, but I might have some other help.
Nationally, the summer mission at Perugia was cancelled, as there were not enough people coming from overseas to help us this year. This has created a bit of a hole in my program, because for the first time since I have been in Italy I do not have a summer activity to go to (a mission or a camp) and am not on furlough in Australia. So I will be staying at Trento, enjoying the good weather (my first summer for 2 years!), working especially on the computer ministry as I will have less regular commitments, and for the first time be able to go to the events of the annual town festival in the last week of June. Which is particularly important for me, because I will go not only as a spectator, but as a performer – the band has three concerts in the first two days of the festival, including one of its two major concerts for the year, and then at the end of the week there is the wedding of my best friend in the band.
On the computer
With lots of trips away in the Spring as well as the usual studies to prepare and people to visit, I have not been creating much new material on the computer lately, just maintaining it through replying to e-mail enquiries. So I thought that I would add a couple of message that I received this week.
I am 79 years old, and even though I have some religious knowledge, I have never read in a systematic way the Sacred Scriptures. Especially in the Old Testament, I have never managed to continue past the first few pages, because the genealogies discourage me. What advice can you give me?
My name is Rolando and belong to a “new catechism” group [an adult Bible study in the Catholic church]. I have to prepare a paper on Aaronne to present for about 15 minutes. Help me!
Of course, the services provided on Internet are still there even if I am not actively doing much. Currently there are 300 visitors a day to my site on the Bible, but it is still growing (up 20% in the last 3 months) as it gets more well known.
Upcoming events
May 27: FEMI meeting for missionaries
June 1: End of year festival at the university, where I will have a GBU stall
June 2: Baptism of Claudio and Nicol - they arrived in the church in November, and since then I have visited them and done some studies with them fairly regularly
June 8: Literature distribution with Vincenzo, and hopefully others that we can get involved
June 20-23: ECM-Italy days together (with some organisational meetings in the days beforehand)
June 21-23: First ever church houseparty. This clash of dates has created some problems for me, but I will spend some time at both.