Sunday, November 6, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
September 2011
Over the past several months the Lord has begun to challenge us to take our ministry to another level virtually turning the tables and pointing us in new directions. Since we are moving into our year of new beginnings (8th year) it is only appropriate that the Lord began giving us clear directions which have required us to learn new skills that we are now attaining and utilizing to accomplish. Europe is vastly an untapped field. Once the greatest fields of His glory, they have been left short of workers to maintain them. The Lord is once again raising up and army to release the captives and blow new life into the nations of Europe.
The Lord has given us clear direction and vision and so as we are starting a new season where the doors of opportunity have begun to swing wide open for us to teach and impart what the Lord has given us for this nation. Some of those things are:
* Co-laboring with Florence Gospel International Fellowship with Ps. Maurizio & Tuula Secondi.
www.fgfint.blogspot.com. We will be helping them with every aspect of church function.
* Outreach to various communities and inviting other churches to join us.
* Bible study in our home
* Food bank to start meeting the needs of the poor and needy in our community.
* Working with the Catholic Church in their Soup Kitchen as another way to reach out to the poor
* Prayer walking in our surrounding communities with believers from local churches joining us.
* Continued work with 24/7 Tuscany www.preghieracontinua.blogspot.com,
* Continued work with local Pastors
* Building a prayer and financial base of partners
* Partnering with other organizations who have a desire to come and minister in this nation
With this new and exciting vision has also come the realization that tools that use to work don’t work here as well anymore. We have asked others who do outreach about the materials they use and they are all saying they need something fresh. The Lord is so patiently teaching us all some new things amen. The long standing desire of the Lord to disciple the Nations is beginning to be spoken throughout this Nation as well and we are all starting to join hands to that endeavor. Guido and I on Friday learned how to use the cube in outreach as we hit one of the Parks in Florence with our dear friend Stephen Critchlow from Ireland and Guido actually led two men to the Lord, amen.
We just had another 24/7 prayer gather this past a week ago. Guido was asked to share for the first time at this event. We have as a group made a great spiritual impact into this region with many testimonies from people who say they can actually feel the atmosphere has changed. Multicultural/denominational churches working together for the end time harvest. In fact In October we will be having our first ever multicultural/denominational outreach in Tuscany. Please check out the awesome flyer on the blog page of www.preghieracontinua.blogspot.com. This is so incredible and we are so excited for the opportunity to be a part of this work. We are expecting many to come to salvation, to receive healing and come away with more fire to reach this nation amen. Please keep this in prayer.
As agreed we have moved into another apartment and out of Guido’s mom place. It is important that we honor our mothers & fathers so we can have long days and the blessing and indeed it truly has felt like a weight lifted off of us. The contract is only for 3 months and can be extended to 7 if we want. We have almost all our things in storage and have begun selling some things to bridge the financial gap. We have dedicated our days to working totally and completely in the ministry filling our time with prayer, bible reading, studying, outreach, fellowship, etc. Still unable to find work and have come to the conclusion that this is obviously not the direction the Lord wants since no doors have opened to us. We have because of the move and being unemployed have fallen behind in our bills and have incurred some debt again but happy to report that we sold my desk and a small motorcycle all in a week and people are already making commitments to partner with us financially as well as praying amen.
It has become clear that God is taking us in a new direction of partnering and humbling ourselves before the Body of Christ. We don’t want to fall into the trap of begging for money or making anyone feel pressured to give but we must learn how to partner with others who have the same heart for this nation and do that in a manner that we all feel we are doing the Lord’s will amen.
We are asking now for you to prayerful consider becoming a monthly partner with us and helping us to continue in the direction the Lord is taking us. We are asking for 100 people to commit to $10.00 a month. We know that things have been financially tough all over the globe but we think this is a doable amount. Many won’t give because they think it is too small or an insignificant amount, just a drop in the bucket but have you seen how many Ronald McDonald houses have been built with just change and yet everyone can say they were a part, some more than others but everyone has a part. Others would rebuke us and say were not asking enough, go bigger in your asking, but the goal is not to get as much as we can while disqualifying those who don’t have much.
Prayer Points:
1. Strength as the work load continues to build, and that we would really rely on God for strength and wisdom because it’s so easy for us to look to ourselves and let it get to us, when in reality we can do nothing without Him.
2. Protection because we are traveling more and more at night.
3. We will be speaking with many youth saved and unsaved in the days to follow as well as teaching. Pray that the Lord prepare every heart in advance and that we are totally led by the Spirit for each situation, speaking the truth in love and boldness.
4. Pray for the leaders in this country that they may have their hearts united for the cause of seeing the gospel preached to every person possible. That they set aside their differences, offenses, traditions and religious legalism in all areas of their life to work with one another to present Christ and His freedom among the lost.
Finally, we would like to thank you again for your prayers and financial support for without it we would not still be here. We are truly honored. Our God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory….
Guido & Joyce Bassi
Montecatini Terme Italy
*************************************************************************************
If any of you would like to partner with us in prayer please send us an email.
If you want to partner with us financially and you don’t need or want a tax deduction hit the donate to the right and donate through paypal. If you need or want a tax deduction make checks payable to:
New Life Christian Church (Please put on a separate piece of paper or sticky note as follows: For the support of Italy Missionaries)
20394 San Miguel Ave.
Castro Valley, CA 94541
510-889-1304
Over the past several months the Lord has begun to challenge us to take our ministry to another level virtually turning the tables and pointing us in new directions. Since we are moving into our year of new beginnings (8th year) it is only appropriate that the Lord began giving us clear directions which have required us to learn new skills that we are now attaining and utilizing to accomplish. Europe is vastly an untapped field. Once the greatest fields of His glory, they have been left short of workers to maintain them. The Lord is once again raising up and army to release the captives and blow new life into the nations of Europe.
The Lord has given us clear direction and vision and so as we are starting a new season where the doors of opportunity have begun to swing wide open for us to teach and impart what the Lord has given us for this nation. Some of those things are:
* Co-laboring with Florence Gospel International Fellowship with Ps. Maurizio & Tuula Secondi.
www.fgfint.blogspot.com. We will be helping them with every aspect of church function.
* Outreach to various communities and inviting other churches to join us.
* Bible study in our home
* Food bank to start meeting the needs of the poor and needy in our community.
* Working with the Catholic Church in their Soup Kitchen as another way to reach out to the poor
* Prayer walking in our surrounding communities with believers from local churches joining us.
* Continued work with 24/7 Tuscany www.preghieracontinua.blogspot.com,
* Continued work with local Pastors
* Building a prayer and financial base of partners
* Partnering with other organizations who have a desire to come and minister in this nation
With this new and exciting vision has also come the realization that tools that use to work don’t work here as well anymore. We have asked others who do outreach about the materials they use and they are all saying they need something fresh. The Lord is so patiently teaching us all some new things amen. The long standing desire of the Lord to disciple the Nations is beginning to be spoken throughout this Nation as well and we are all starting to join hands to that endeavor. Guido and I on Friday learned how to use the cube in outreach as we hit one of the Parks in Florence with our dear friend Stephen Critchlow from Ireland and Guido actually led two men to the Lord, amen.
We just had another 24/7 prayer gather this past a week ago. Guido was asked to share for the first time at this event. We have as a group made a great spiritual impact into this region with many testimonies from people who say they can actually feel the atmosphere has changed. Multicultural/denominational churches working together for the end time harvest. In fact In October we will be having our first ever multicultural/denominational outreach in Tuscany. Please check out the awesome flyer on the blog page of www.preghieracontinua.blogspot.com. This is so incredible and we are so excited for the opportunity to be a part of this work. We are expecting many to come to salvation, to receive healing and come away with more fire to reach this nation amen. Please keep this in prayer. As agreed we have moved into another apartment and out of Guido’s mom place. It is important that we honor our mothers & fathers so we can have long days and the blessing and indeed it truly has felt like a weight lifted off of us. The contract is only for 3 months and can be extended to 7 if we want. We have almost all our things in storage and have begun selling some things to bridge the financial gap. We have dedicated our days to working totally and completely in the ministry filling our time with prayer, bible reading, studying, outreach, fellowship, etc. Still unable to find work and have come to the conclusion that this is obviously not the direction the Lord wants since no doors have opened to us. We have because of the move and being unemployed have fallen behind in our bills and have incurred some debt again but happy to report that we sold my desk and a small motorcycle all in a week and people are already making commitments to partner with us financially as well as praying amen.
It has become clear that God is taking us in a new direction of partnering and humbling ourselves before the Body of Christ. We don’t want to fall into the trap of begging for money or making anyone feel pressured to give but we must learn how to partner with others who have the same heart for this nation and do that in a manner that we all feel we are doing the Lord’s will amen.
We are asking now for you to prayerful consider becoming a monthly partner with us and helping us to continue in the direction the Lord is taking us. We are asking for 100 people to commit to $10.00 a month. We know that things have been financially tough all over the globe but we think this is a doable amount. Many won’t give because they think it is too small or an insignificant amount, just a drop in the bucket but have you seen how many Ronald McDonald houses have been built with just change and yet everyone can say they were a part, some more than others but everyone has a part. Others would rebuke us and say were not asking enough, go bigger in your asking, but the goal is not to get as much as we can while disqualifying those who don’t have much.
Prayer Points:
1. Strength as the work load continues to build, and that we would really rely on God for strength and wisdom because it’s so easy for us to look to ourselves and let it get to us, when in reality we can do nothing without Him.
2. Protection because we are traveling more and more at night.
3. We will be speaking with many youth saved and unsaved in the days to follow as well as teaching. Pray that the Lord prepare every heart in advance and that we are totally led by the Spirit for each situation, speaking the truth in love and boldness.
4. Pray for the leaders in this country that they may have their hearts united for the cause of seeing the gospel preached to every person possible. That they set aside their differences, offenses, traditions and religious legalism in all areas of their life to work with one another to present Christ and His freedom among the lost.
Finally, we would like to thank you again for your prayers and financial support for without it we would not still be here. We are truly honored. Our God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory….
Guido & Joyce Bassi
Montecatini Terme Italy
*************************************************************************************
If any of you would like to partner with us in prayer please send us an email.
If you want to partner with us financially and you don’t need or want a tax deduction hit the donate to the right and donate through paypal. If you need or want a tax deduction make checks payable to:
New Life Christian Church (Please put on a separate piece of paper or sticky note as follows: For the support of Italy Missionaries)
20394 San Miguel Ave.
Castro Valley, CA 94541
510-889-1304
Sunday, July 17, 2011
PRAISE REPORT
Well I just want to thank the 6 or so people who wrote us like immediately with the same theme of not giving up, moving forward, adjusting our faith talk and to start working with others more, partnering with them so to speak. So with that I would like to report aht we have bought our very first car in Italy. An Alpha Romeo to be exact. Extreme step of faith but the Lord has opened the door and we are walking through it. As it turns out the car will be in Anna's name, and for those of you who remember, she was the gal who lived with us for 10 months as an exchange student in California about 10 years ago. She has her fathers low rate of insurance and so that alone saves us about 700 euros a year in insurance. Her father has offered to pay the insurance up front and we can pay him in 2 payments, amen. They have agreed to this for 2 years and at that time we will switch the car into our name but because it will be considered a classic in Italy the insurance will only be 170 a year, which is a blessing since this is our first car in Italy (motorcycle doesn't count) and we would have to start at category 14, the highest and with this we by-pass that very large insurance payment. Yeah can you imagine 1400 a year for a car that is 18 years old and only covered at the bare minimums?
This afternoon we are going over to look at an apartment which has all the utilities included and is only rented for no more than 6 months at a time. No deposit is necessary, fully furnished and centrally located. Our stuff will stay in storage and this will allow us time to regroup. Guido has also gone to get the packet to take his truck license test as there are lots of driving jobs and it appears the young don't like to do it so mostly guys Guido's age are hired. In fact a woman from his last job called him with a driving job with her boyfriends company but without the license no job. We are looking for people to sow into that avenue of retraining, so please if you feel the Lord asking you to partner with us in that please let us know ASAP so he can reserve a spot in the class. It is a total of 950. Euro. Again Guido already has this license in the USA but the license isn't transfirable. He possible can save a little money since he won't have to do the school part, but the taxes and cost of the tests and the truck and the doctor exam and, and and, and, add up. Keeping Guido & I in jobs serves 2 purposes, it lessens the need for financial support and it keeps us in the work force where we have contact with the people of this nation, which we have always felt is the most important. Many pastors work and pastor so even if we were to become part of a new church plant we still would want to work and to be honest, it has been the best source of meeting people and learning the culture and keeps us in touch with what the people are going through. It is better to be a part of their lives in all aspects, not just on Sunday.
And last but not least, I just finished filing my taxes in the USA and even though we filed a 1099 for work we have done online in the States, we are getting a tax refund which covers the payment to Social Security but pays for the other 1/2 of the car. We bought in faith and found out the other 1/2 was covered. Again we are stepping out in faith with this apartment which become available 1st of September and praising the Lord for His provision to keep us in the land. We are called here and the circumstances are going to be like this up and down, everyone goes through it, we are not special, but our Lord is ALWAYS faithful, you just have to get out of the boat even if your dialog sounds a bit like this:
Jesus: Get out of the boat, walk over here
Us: Have you seen those waves, they have to be at least 20 ft. tall
Jesus: There not that tall, besides I said come over here
Us: I think that was the Lord telling us to come over there, obviously He didn't hear us say the waves were at least 30 ft.
Jesus: They aren't even waves, their boogie board waves and your being dramatic, yes your are overeacting and yes you heard me, get over here
Us: really, I'm sure He isn't talking to us, surely he see's the waves are well over 40 ft.
Jesus: get out of the boat and see what happens, don't you trust me?
Us: Aaagggh why does he always use the trust card? Ok, were getting out, even though these 50 ft. tall waves are going to kill us and we don't want to, we will trust you, you haven't failed us yet
Jesus: Finally! Quit making me resort to using the trust card, aaagghhh, testi duri (hard heads)
Us: hey, what happend to the waves? We put our feet down and the 100 ft wave flattened out like glass
Jesus: told you so, now in the future could you just do this first instead of having to go through all the drama, really, we have so many more important things to do than debate my faithfulness and love for you guys. Stop listening to the lies, your fears, the circumstances and above all the enemy. You know you can always tell the waves to be still.
Us: How come this always takes us so long to figure out? Geez, you'd think we would be pro's at walking on the water by now.
Thank you everyone who prayed for us, it was felt. Thank you for being patient and thank you to the ones who responded with the most encouraging and fun responses to date. We love you guys.
To Him be ALL the Glory
Guido and Joyce
P.S. We also are selling the motorcycle so pray that a buyer comes soon, again this is all money to put back into insurance & housing as well until Guido gets work. Once I settle I have a jobs already lined up for twice a week and hope to secure more days with more clients
This afternoon we are going over to look at an apartment which has all the utilities included and is only rented for no more than 6 months at a time. No deposit is necessary, fully furnished and centrally located. Our stuff will stay in storage and this will allow us time to regroup. Guido has also gone to get the packet to take his truck license test as there are lots of driving jobs and it appears the young don't like to do it so mostly guys Guido's age are hired. In fact a woman from his last job called him with a driving job with her boyfriends company but without the license no job. We are looking for people to sow into that avenue of retraining, so please if you feel the Lord asking you to partner with us in that please let us know ASAP so he can reserve a spot in the class. It is a total of 950. Euro. Again Guido already has this license in the USA but the license isn't transfirable. He possible can save a little money since he won't have to do the school part, but the taxes and cost of the tests and the truck and the doctor exam and, and and, and, add up. Keeping Guido & I in jobs serves 2 purposes, it lessens the need for financial support and it keeps us in the work force where we have contact with the people of this nation, which we have always felt is the most important. Many pastors work and pastor so even if we were to become part of a new church plant we still would want to work and to be honest, it has been the best source of meeting people and learning the culture and keeps us in touch with what the people are going through. It is better to be a part of their lives in all aspects, not just on Sunday.
And last but not least, I just finished filing my taxes in the USA and even though we filed a 1099 for work we have done online in the States, we are getting a tax refund which covers the payment to Social Security but pays for the other 1/2 of the car. We bought in faith and found out the other 1/2 was covered. Again we are stepping out in faith with this apartment which become available 1st of September and praising the Lord for His provision to keep us in the land. We are called here and the circumstances are going to be like this up and down, everyone goes through it, we are not special, but our Lord is ALWAYS faithful, you just have to get out of the boat even if your dialog sounds a bit like this:
Jesus: Get out of the boat, walk over here
Us: Have you seen those waves, they have to be at least 20 ft. tall
Jesus: There not that tall, besides I said come over here
Us: I think that was the Lord telling us to come over there, obviously He didn't hear us say the waves were at least 30 ft.
Jesus: They aren't even waves, their boogie board waves and your being dramatic, yes your are overeacting and yes you heard me, get over here
Us: really, I'm sure He isn't talking to us, surely he see's the waves are well over 40 ft.
Jesus: get out of the boat and see what happens, don't you trust me?
Us: Aaagggh why does he always use the trust card? Ok, were getting out, even though these 50 ft. tall waves are going to kill us and we don't want to, we will trust you, you haven't failed us yet
Jesus: Finally! Quit making me resort to using the trust card, aaagghhh, testi duri (hard heads)
Us: hey, what happend to the waves? We put our feet down and the 100 ft wave flattened out like glass
Jesus: told you so, now in the future could you just do this first instead of having to go through all the drama, really, we have so many more important things to do than debate my faithfulness and love for you guys. Stop listening to the lies, your fears, the circumstances and above all the enemy. You know you can always tell the waves to be still.
Us: How come this always takes us so long to figure out? Geez, you'd think we would be pro's at walking on the water by now.
Thank you everyone who prayed for us, it was felt. Thank you for being patient and thank you to the ones who responded with the most encouraging and fun responses to date. We love you guys.
To Him be ALL the Glory
Guido and Joyce
P.S. We also are selling the motorcycle so pray that a buyer comes soon, again this is all money to put back into insurance & housing as well until Guido gets work. Once I settle I have a jobs already lined up for twice a week and hope to secure more days with more clients
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
May - July
In everything give thanks unto the Lord. This would pretty much be all that we can do at this point as since March to now has been very intense for us. 2 of these months being in the Hotel in Verona. It was exciting, frustrating, awesome, tiring, exhilarating, challenging, joyful, & painful all in a short amount of time. It was never boring that is for sure, however after only a few months it was decided that we were not needed in the capacity that they needed us in, actually that they needed me in so we both returned to Montecatini. Although it was sad we believe that it served a purpose with eternal value and is not to us to question the ways of the Lord and His timing. It was a great experience and we were so blessed to be a part of it. We know the Lord has a great purpose for this family regarding Italy and can hardly wait for their kids to get back from Toronto.
The downside is Guido filed for Unemployment and found that the job he had worked at for the past 9 months didn’t pay into the unemployment fund so he is unable to collect anything. So the months of work are void. Who would have known? So in the next few months we have to find work, a house to live as Guido’s mom is arriving sometime in August and wants to come to a vacant apartment. We have found storage for our things with a friend and have started putting the stuff in his warehouse. I’m kind of leaning towards giving it all away as it is becoming a hassle toting everything around but some clothes and a blow up mattress, ha ha.
So with all this said you can see that we are in need of some things and are seeking God about them: 1) Jobs or more financial support or both 2) a car (for 1000 we can buy a car that uses Propane and gets about 300kg. for 20 euro's as good as the motorcycle but safer & better in the rain) 3) A place to live, doesn't have to be big, 4) or airline tickets back to the states, game over. Right now to get into a 360 sq. ft. apartment we need $1500. If we can find a private owner if not 2000 to go through an agency.
To top everything else off Guido could have sworn he heard the Lord tell him the other day it was time to open a church. Yeah for those of you who rolled your eyes or said "yeah right", I'm with you, however we certainly have the prophetic to support that but in our present condition it is almost like Sarah having a baby when she is old, I can see why she laughed, it seems so upsurd and so like God. We did a 4 day church planting course with DCPI (www.dcpi.org) from California and by their chart we have what it takes (all the characteristics including the call) to plant a church but just haven't done it yet.
Blain Pacini from California (www.blazingfire.org/ktssm.htm) was here at Vigna della Signore and taught for 4 nights on the Love of the Father, Knowing your Identity and looking at Italy with God’s eyes. We went up for prayer because we were feeling pretty beat up and discouraged and he started speaking prophetically into us. In fact he said it was if someone put a heave cloak on me made of lead and that I just needed to shake it off. He said I needed to swing my sword more & that the Lord was very proud of us. He confirmed a lot of our prophetic as did Trevor Baker back in March. He also had a men’s round table which Guido went to & helped with translation. When there were differences in opinions Blaine was able to bring them to a core agreement. This is vital here because many people (churches) won’t affiliate together because of these differences. He gave them building blocks for working together. The men were really encouraged and want to continue to meet together more often.
We went to a baptism last weekend which was held at a home church in the area. It was really nice to see a woman who Ps. Dennis lead to the Lord a few years ago getting baptized. It takes forever to get them to that point. In a culture where everyone is baptized at birth, it really is hard to convince them to do as Jesus did and do it while you’re an adult. While she was in the water I shared further on the message she had received about doing it out of obedience by giving her 2 more points to why she was doing it. I pointed out that it is the death of our old man and being resurrected into new life by the same power which God raised Jesus from the dead and that they would be free. This added truth pushed another woman who had been vacillating on the issue of baptism to go ahead and do it. She has been saved for many years and in fact attended the same DCPI training as us but had never been baptized. Well she wasn’t only baptized, she came out totally under the power of the Holy Spirit, crying, shaking and set free. It was totally awesome.
Tom & Monica from a church in Woodbridge Canada came for a vacation to Italy and were directed by our friend Bruno Iurello from TACF in Toronto to hook up with us. Can we just say they were a giant blessing to us? A cool drink of water for thirsty souls as us. They totally blessed us and we know that the Lord is going to be doing something with them and us in the future regarding Italy. All of their families are Italian and they are first generation Canadians like Guido so this was a really fun visit for us. They rented a car and after meeting them in Florence and walking around there we took them to San Gimignano, Venice & Pisa and back to Florence. They prayed for us and for this nation and just encouraged us to press on. If any of you are interested in their ministry you can find them at www.unveilinglife.ca
Today we found a car in just the price range we wanted. Runs on GPL gas so it costs like 18-20 euros for 300-350 km. And the previous owner is a Christian who we talked to about the condition of the car. Another brother from the church who is a mechanic met us at the dealership and said it was a great buy and his counsel was to buy the car. The price is only 700 and the cost to change it into our name is 300. We are seeking out the cost of insurance, etc. to see if this is something we really can handle buying. It seems strange to get a car without having a place to live, but with a car it opens up the possibility to find places to live outside of Montecatini which are less expensive. Also employment and ministry opportunities are expanded The train is great, but it only runs certain hours and no night time work as it stops at about 10:30. We also can take Chloe & Jami to church with us because for some reason they won’t let us put 4 people on a scooter, something about not living in Napoli or Sicily ha ha. Please keep this in prayer as we desperately need to have the Lords will in this stuff. We received ½ the money for the car but really this is like a dive off a cliff for us or as we always say a great leap of faith.
To be honest we are pretty done, the cycle continues like this every 9 months, we have work, we don’t have work, look for work, spend 6-9 months looking for work, limited by transportation. To top it off the law just changed that now Guido has to have a license to drive a forklift so he had to pay and take a course to get it. Now it seems the driving jobs take a special license to drive the delivery trucks which he has but they don’t recognize so that is another 1000 euro to get. Laws change and people have to take more courses and get more certifications. If your employed when it happens, the employer pays, if not you are out of pocket paying to be able to work in your own field of expertise. Now to pay rent, have a car and take more courses makes the need for increased faith even more. As I shared with my friend in Africa, so much effort for so little fruit, or at least fruit we can see. We have been told we connect people here and network and it blesses us to get an email thanking us for introducing them to someone that led them to go to school in Redding but maybe we could do this from the States with a fax and a phone.
We realize it isn’t the same as being here, building the relationships, praying in the land or being here to actually lay hands on people but for the amount of hardships that we go through personally were just not sure we should continue.So the questions is does Father God really want us to continue and push through and will He provide or is He saying time to come back, well done good and faithful servants. Many doors of ministry opportunity have opened for us however right now everything is hinged to each other and we must really hear the Lord clearly.
Thank you again for your continued support to us in all manners that we have needed it and at just the right times. Our gains certainly have been because of it. If any of you feel led to sow financially into this work please go to our hit the donate button or send your checks to:
New life Christian Church
20394 San Miguel Ave.
Castro Valley, CA 94546
We send you all our love and our sincere gratitude for standing alongside of us for these past 7 years. Yes July 8th was 7 years. Wow where has the time gone. May the Lord double bless you for all you have done for us and this Nation. Guido & Joyce
Acts 20:24 I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
The downside is Guido filed for Unemployment and found that the job he had worked at for the past 9 months didn’t pay into the unemployment fund so he is unable to collect anything. So the months of work are void. Who would have known? So in the next few months we have to find work, a house to live as Guido’s mom is arriving sometime in August and wants to come to a vacant apartment. We have found storage for our things with a friend and have started putting the stuff in his warehouse. I’m kind of leaning towards giving it all away as it is becoming a hassle toting everything around but some clothes and a blow up mattress, ha ha.
So with all this said you can see that we are in need of some things and are seeking God about them: 1) Jobs or more financial support or both 2) a car (for 1000 we can buy a car that uses Propane and gets about 300kg. for 20 euro's as good as the motorcycle but safer & better in the rain) 3) A place to live, doesn't have to be big, 4) or airline tickets back to the states, game over. Right now to get into a 360 sq. ft. apartment we need $1500. If we can find a private owner if not 2000 to go through an agency.
To top everything else off Guido could have sworn he heard the Lord tell him the other day it was time to open a church. Yeah for those of you who rolled your eyes or said "yeah right", I'm with you, however we certainly have the prophetic to support that but in our present condition it is almost like Sarah having a baby when she is old, I can see why she laughed, it seems so upsurd and so like God. We did a 4 day church planting course with DCPI (www.dcpi.org) from California and by their chart we have what it takes (all the characteristics including the call) to plant a church but just haven't done it yet.
Blain Pacini from California (www.blazingfire.org/ktssm.htm) was here at Vigna della Signore and taught for 4 nights on the Love of the Father, Knowing your Identity and looking at Italy with God’s eyes. We went up for prayer because we were feeling pretty beat up and discouraged and he started speaking prophetically into us. In fact he said it was if someone put a heave cloak on me made of lead and that I just needed to shake it off. He said I needed to swing my sword more & that the Lord was very proud of us. He confirmed a lot of our prophetic as did Trevor Baker back in March. He also had a men’s round table which Guido went to & helped with translation. When there were differences in opinions Blaine was able to bring them to a core agreement. This is vital here because many people (churches) won’t affiliate together because of these differences. He gave them building blocks for working together. The men were really encouraged and want to continue to meet together more often.
We went to a baptism last weekend which was held at a home church in the area. It was really nice to see a woman who Ps. Dennis lead to the Lord a few years ago getting baptized. It takes forever to get them to that point. In a culture where everyone is baptized at birth, it really is hard to convince them to do as Jesus did and do it while you’re an adult. While she was in the water I shared further on the message she had received about doing it out of obedience by giving her 2 more points to why she was doing it. I pointed out that it is the death of our old man and being resurrected into new life by the same power which God raised Jesus from the dead and that they would be free. This added truth pushed another woman who had been vacillating on the issue of baptism to go ahead and do it. She has been saved for many years and in fact attended the same DCPI training as us but had never been baptized. Well she wasn’t only baptized, she came out totally under the power of the Holy Spirit, crying, shaking and set free. It was totally awesome.
Tom & Monica from a church in Woodbridge Canada came for a vacation to Italy and were directed by our friend Bruno Iurello from TACF in Toronto to hook up with us. Can we just say they were a giant blessing to us? A cool drink of water for thirsty souls as us. They totally blessed us and we know that the Lord is going to be doing something with them and us in the future regarding Italy. All of their families are Italian and they are first generation Canadians like Guido so this was a really fun visit for us. They rented a car and after meeting them in Florence and walking around there we took them to San Gimignano, Venice & Pisa and back to Florence. They prayed for us and for this nation and just encouraged us to press on. If any of you are interested in their ministry you can find them at www.unveilinglife.ca
Today we found a car in just the price range we wanted. Runs on GPL gas so it costs like 18-20 euros for 300-350 km. And the previous owner is a Christian who we talked to about the condition of the car. Another brother from the church who is a mechanic met us at the dealership and said it was a great buy and his counsel was to buy the car. The price is only 700 and the cost to change it into our name is 300. We are seeking out the cost of insurance, etc. to see if this is something we really can handle buying. It seems strange to get a car without having a place to live, but with a car it opens up the possibility to find places to live outside of Montecatini which are less expensive. Also employment and ministry opportunities are expanded The train is great, but it only runs certain hours and no night time work as it stops at about 10:30. We also can take Chloe & Jami to church with us because for some reason they won’t let us put 4 people on a scooter, something about not living in Napoli or Sicily ha ha. Please keep this in prayer as we desperately need to have the Lords will in this stuff. We received ½ the money for the car but really this is like a dive off a cliff for us or as we always say a great leap of faith.
To be honest we are pretty done, the cycle continues like this every 9 months, we have work, we don’t have work, look for work, spend 6-9 months looking for work, limited by transportation. To top it off the law just changed that now Guido has to have a license to drive a forklift so he had to pay and take a course to get it. Now it seems the driving jobs take a special license to drive the delivery trucks which he has but they don’t recognize so that is another 1000 euro to get. Laws change and people have to take more courses and get more certifications. If your employed when it happens, the employer pays, if not you are out of pocket paying to be able to work in your own field of expertise. Now to pay rent, have a car and take more courses makes the need for increased faith even more. As I shared with my friend in Africa, so much effort for so little fruit, or at least fruit we can see. We have been told we connect people here and network and it blesses us to get an email thanking us for introducing them to someone that led them to go to school in Redding but maybe we could do this from the States with a fax and a phone.
We realize it isn’t the same as being here, building the relationships, praying in the land or being here to actually lay hands on people but for the amount of hardships that we go through personally were just not sure we should continue.So the questions is does Father God really want us to continue and push through and will He provide or is He saying time to come back, well done good and faithful servants. Many doors of ministry opportunity have opened for us however right now everything is hinged to each other and we must really hear the Lord clearly.
Thank you again for your continued support to us in all manners that we have needed it and at just the right times. Our gains certainly have been because of it. If any of you feel led to sow financially into this work please go to our hit the donate button or send your checks to:
New life Christian Church
20394 San Miguel Ave.
Castro Valley, CA 94546
We send you all our love and our sincere gratitude for standing alongside of us for these past 7 years. Yes July 8th was 7 years. Wow where has the time gone. May the Lord double bless you for all you have done for us and this Nation. Guido & Joyce
Acts 20:24 I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
January - April 2011
January-March 2011
Well we are off and running for the New Year with many new and exciting changes. We had a wonderful time with Ben and Bruno from Toronto in February who were here for a few weeks ministering at various churches. We were privileged to go with them to a few in our area and help them minister. As usual we are totally blown away at how receptive the Italians are becoming to being ministered to by the Holy Spirit and their desperation to know the Father and to push into our Saviour with their whole heart. It is so encouraging for us to see so many young people just hungry and with a go for broke attitude. What was really fun about this was that we met Ben in Toronto when he was 10 years old and actually spent Christmas with his family in 1995. He had no idea we were here in Italy and when he walked into the church and saw us here, it was cool. It is so fun to be part of the family of God and exciting to see these young men and women rise up and take their places in ministry and be able to be a part of it together. Wow.
I also came with Bruno up to Verona to join back up with the students from the School of Ministry from Toronto. I really felt that I should go, it was so spontaneous and not at all in my planned day, in fact I woke up with the thought in my mind but had to run off to work. I called Bruno and asked if they could wait for me and bring me up. I also asked if I could leave early and my employer said yes and joined me in cleaning her house. 3 hours later I’m stepping into our future. It is 4 days of unbelievable time in the Holy Spirit. The Lord showed up and ministered through these young adults in such a powerful way that lives will never be the same. Guido came up early Sunday (2:00am) and we had the most incredible time in prayer together, blessing one another and the nations. Being that there were so many European nations represented in the room there was time of repentance and reconciliation and releasing the chains that past events have put on them. Some were specially touched when we released them to have warrior Spirits, something which some felt they couldn’t have because of the war that took place over 60 years ago. Our fight is not against flesh and blood but is Spiritual and we are warriors.
We then went up to the centre of the small town they are in (San Pietro di Cariano) and prayed that the Lord would take possession of this town and establish his Kingdom. It was really powerful and the group was just in total sync with all of us having multiple visions and prophetic.
That evening for the service the group decided they wanted to speak prophetic words over everyone in attendance (about 60 people). They broke up into 3 groups and needed 3 interpreters so you guessed it; I had to do translation that really looked more like charades, pantomime and sign language all rolled into one. I have basic Italian but that was way over my ability but Holy Spirit showed up and everyone seemed to understand so in the end everyone was really ministered to and touched. You’ve read in the scripture where it talks about the times that the Word of the Lord was scarce in the land, well that is what it is like here for many so this was like a long cool drink of water. I love that the Lord ministered to them in such personal and intimate ways, giving just the right amount of encouragement and hope and confirmation in their hearts to things they already felt the Lord was directing them to do or commenting on things they’ve already been doing.
During this 3 days it became known to Guido and I that Brenno & Celeste (The children of Ps. Lorenzo & Mary) wanted to go to the next School of Ministry in Toronto which started in March but couldn’t really leave to go for 6 months because their family runs a hotel. Me and Guido volunteered our time and services to the family. They of course thought we were just saying it to be nice but they didn’t realise we were absolutely serious. They just really couldn’t believe that we would be willing to move up and live in the Hotel. Why not, it’s perfect and answers many prayers that we have had regarding our next steps in Italy. They have a wonderful fellowship that is in the basement of the Hotel www.senza-confini.it with many new believers and many very established and with the heart to see the Nation transformed and changed. We were excited to do this not just for them but also for us.
A week later Trevor & Sharon Baker from Dudley England came for a conference in Florence & Senza Confini Comunita Cristiana (Brenno & others) came to do the worship for the event. There was incredible time of worship, prophetic, releasing and equipping the Italians for what the Lord is preparing to do in the earth in these days. A youth group came up from the Amalfi Coast area that also did worship and wow did they ever do a good job translating Kim Walker and Jesus Culture into Italian. The anointing was incredible and they just were encouraged to
dance and dance they did. They said afterwards that they didn’t dance in their church but they were never going to stop after this day. Guido had a prophetic for them, just one word “Revolution”. When he told it to the group they all starting crying. It turns out that they had started going out into the streets in Sorrento and were evangelising and playing music and they wanted to name their band “Revolution” but were waiting on the Lord to be sure it was His desire and not just theirs. The Lord is just so loving on the Italians, being a Father to them, it is so tender and incredible to watch.
We had been praying that the Lord would remove all the barriers for Celeste & Brenno so they could go to School. So Brenno told Guido that after we left Verona (midnight Sunday) the very next day someone came to the Hotel and gave their parents €10,000 so they could go to school. The giver didn’t want the children to know who gave the money. In just a matter of a few days the Lord had laid in their heart a desire to go, and opened all the doors so miraculously that there was no way to deny that it was what the Lord wanted for them. Their parents also informed us that they would like us to come and help them and so it was decided that on March 19th a few days after we got back from Ireland we would arrive in the Hotel. In the interim there was much to be done.
Just so you know, this really does not happen very often. Money is an issue, parents can’t just go to the bank and take out a loan and raising funds like YWAMers do is pretty non existent. Vows of poverty are very ingrained in this culture and getting money out of people to support you in a school somewhere just doesn’t happen. There are less than 6 bible schools in this country Rhema & the Apostolic are the only ones I know of for sure. There are some small Churches that have started some Bible Training and courses on the Holy Spirit movement but usually if there is, you belong to the church. I know of only 6 young adults who have left here to go to Bible school in places like Toronto, Kansas City or even Redding and their stories are all miraculous in nature. Recently YWAM put a DTS in Milano but with the exception of a few Italians, mostly just Americans & Canadians have attended. This is a new thing and needs our prayers. We need to get the Italian kids up to speed with the youth movements that are happening around the world and we need to get them trained and establish more centres for them to train in here in their own country.
The day after the conference we went to Ps. Alessandro & Katias where Trevor spoke and after the service he called me and Guido up and gave a prophetic over us that basically had us completely in tears. He had no clue the events that were unfolding but spoke right into them as confirmation that we weren’t just being nice, but in fact were moving in the Lords direction. He said the Lord wanted us to keep doing what we have been doing, don’t change a thing. But like the apostles who fished all night and caught nothing, when Jesus told them to move the nets to the other side of the boat they did and there were so many fish that they had to call for help. So that is what this move is, a net moving time. There were other things but they all were about the future and the direction and
fulfilment of the things the Lord has sent us here to do.
In the midst of all this Jami transferred into a new location (again) closer to our apartment and in need of lots of work, so we were pretty occupied tearing out old ducting, hanging sheetrock, patching & preparing walls for painting, painting, cleaning and laying flooring. It was a very huge task but as usual we all pulled it off as if we were pro’s, although our aching bodies remind us that were not.
We spent about 3 weeks doing this and when we were almost finished we headed back up to the Hotel to be with Celeste & Brenno the last Sunday they were in their church together. We laid hands on them and as a church we sent them to go and to get filled up and to bring it back. We felt lead to open the mic. to have the people in the church speak into them and although they were a little shy at first, it gave each an opportunity to be a part of what the Lord is doing among them and here in Italy. This is true community and this is entirely the heart of this congregation, to be a family together amen.
Then Guido went down to Orvieto to help Yan & Millie put a foundation into another building they will be using for their ministry there while I stayed back and helped Jami with the finishing touches of the gym. So much was accomplished in just a month’s time it was so amazing. Almost shocking, but when the Lord has a mandate of things in place, they somehow get down really quickly, which is so exciting for us since we live in a country of the perpetually never finishing anything right away, ha ha.
Than it was off to Ireland. What a fantastic time we had, perfect timing as it turned out. You think you’re in control of your life and yet you see how the Lord has been orchestrating everything perfectly. Again thanks to all of you who made this possible, it was the best birthday present ever. We needed the time away to recoup and be refreshed and hang out with Ros & Stephen Critchlow who have since returned to Ireland. They in turned introduced us to a really incredible couple (Dawn & Rob) who are working in London Derry doing a fantastic work in the community and who took us along the Coast for some fantastic Ocean views and laughs were non stop. We’ll have to tell you the furry pony story sometime.
We have had our hearts stolen by this Nation. We think the Lord has something up his sleeve. Hey I think I remember someone at New Life speaking something about that prophetically now that I’m typing this letter, it makes total sense now. I thought when I did the prayer walk in 2008 that was it, but Guido was really smitten and his heart longs to go back so time will tell if Jehovah sneaky is at it again, tugging on our heart strings for yet another nation to settle in.
We got back to Italy on the 17th, packed and drove to Verona on the 20th to a beautiful apartment that they provided for us beside the hotel. We were all packed and ready for 6 months in a hotel room, so this was over and beyond and such an awesome surprise. There were a lot of heart desires that the Lord met in this apartment, sun, space, privacy, even a violet bed cover. He really is the lover of our souls and into the small details of our lives just as well as the great and grand miraculous.
Of course when we arrived the music playing in the Hotel is Irish right since were in Italy. They were having Irish night in a few weeks including Guinness on tap and Guido is like in Heaven. Than arrives a group of students from Ireland and just a few weeks after that a young girl travelling through Europe ends up stuck because of a huge Wine faire they are having in the area. All the hostels & hotels in Verona were booked solid. I have no clue how she found us as we are quite a ways away from Verona and she was taking buses. She came out and stayed the night but the next night we had no space so she stayed with us in the apartment. Yes I invited a total stranger from Ireland to stay in our house. As it turns out Antonia is a Christian and she has invited us to come and speak to their home group sometime. It was so fun hanging out and chatting.
I was able to share a testimony with her about my father and his dying and coming back to life that settled some issues in her heart about the Love of the Father and a God who would send so many people to hell. I showed her that Jesus even in death, came to my father in his moment of death when he realised he wasn’t going to heaven and cried out “Jesus help me”. That is how great the Love of the Father is that even in death he will take us at the very last second if we will just cry out. Really when you think about it who wouldn’t cry out when they are staring truth in the eyes? I know this will shake some of your theology but my dad was there, it was his story and I believe him, he came back to life and served the Lord for 5 years and than went home. I however recommend that people don’t wait till the last moment; life is too short to waste it being unsaved.
April 2nd they launched the 2nd year of 24/7 in Tuscany and we have finished our 1-year commitment and passed the baton to others in Ps. Marco’s church. It was such a blessing to be a part of this project and to see the Lord knit together so many different denominations, and groups. We weren’t sure if it would have enough steam to do another year but everyone wanted to continue again with very few dropping off the list of prayer and others stepping into the administration. So we know that it was truly the timing of the Lord and again we thank Stephen & Ros Critchlow for coming and spending a year and a half getting this thing up and running and building and knitting people together. People truly feel and see the difference it has made in the area spiritually and now churches are doing things together (outreaches, etc). Wow…
So now we have been here a little over a month and we went back to Montecatini for a few days for our 16th Anniversary and to see our Grand daughter who was very much in need of her grandparents and Jami in need of a little break. Off to the beach and even an Easter Egg hunt. Then it was back to more learning and growing.
We hope to be a blessing to the Ps. & his wife as they push forward in their vision for the church and to help them with the building up of this Hotel www.hotelvalpolicella.net. & Restaurant which they have been running for just over a year now. We are all in a large learning curve as no one here has ever done this before. However looking from the outside in, we can see things from a different vantagepoint. Guido with his years of restaurant experience has been able to share with them some helpful tips. Of course being brothers and sisters in Christ we can be a support and encouragement to them, hopefully give them some Godly advice as they press on in the visions and prophetic that the Lord has placed in their heart. It truly is great to be in the moments of the Lord and in His perfect timing.
Again we would like to thank those of you who have been praying for us and financially providing for us. We are not being paid to be here, this is truly a love offering, but since we have no rent, no utilities and eat in the restaurant we are able to actually maintain and provide for the personal extras that we need thanks to your continued faithfulness. We will be here for sure until August and after that we do not know, but are confident that the Lord will make it very clear regarding His desires for this nation and us.
Blessings & Love
Well we are off and running for the New Year with many new and exciting changes. We had a wonderful time with Ben and Bruno from Toronto in February who were here for a few weeks ministering at various churches. We were privileged to go with them to a few in our area and help them minister. As usual we are totally blown away at how receptive the Italians are becoming to being ministered to by the Holy Spirit and their desperation to know the Father and to push into our Saviour with their whole heart. It is so encouraging for us to see so many young people just hungry and with a go for broke attitude. What was really fun about this was that we met Ben in Toronto when he was 10 years old and actually spent Christmas with his family in 1995. He had no idea we were here in Italy and when he walked into the church and saw us here, it was cool. It is so fun to be part of the family of God and exciting to see these young men and women rise up and take their places in ministry and be able to be a part of it together. Wow.
I also came with Bruno up to Verona to join back up with the students from the School of Ministry from Toronto. I really felt that I should go, it was so spontaneous and not at all in my planned day, in fact I woke up with the thought in my mind but had to run off to work. I called Bruno and asked if they could wait for me and bring me up. I also asked if I could leave early and my employer said yes and joined me in cleaning her house. 3 hours later I’m stepping into our future. It is 4 days of unbelievable time in the Holy Spirit. The Lord showed up and ministered through these young adults in such a powerful way that lives will never be the same. Guido came up early Sunday (2:00am) and we had the most incredible time in prayer together, blessing one another and the nations. Being that there were so many European nations represented in the room there was time of repentance and reconciliation and releasing the chains that past events have put on them. Some were specially touched when we released them to have warrior Spirits, something which some felt they couldn’t have because of the war that took place over 60 years ago. Our fight is not against flesh and blood but is Spiritual and we are warriors.
We then went up to the centre of the small town they are in (San Pietro di Cariano) and prayed that the Lord would take possession of this town and establish his Kingdom. It was really powerful and the group was just in total sync with all of us having multiple visions and prophetic.
That evening for the service the group decided they wanted to speak prophetic words over everyone in attendance (about 60 people). They broke up into 3 groups and needed 3 interpreters so you guessed it; I had to do translation that really looked more like charades, pantomime and sign language all rolled into one. I have basic Italian but that was way over my ability but Holy Spirit showed up and everyone seemed to understand so in the end everyone was really ministered to and touched. You’ve read in the scripture where it talks about the times that the Word of the Lord was scarce in the land, well that is what it is like here for many so this was like a long cool drink of water. I love that the Lord ministered to them in such personal and intimate ways, giving just the right amount of encouragement and hope and confirmation in their hearts to things they already felt the Lord was directing them to do or commenting on things they’ve already been doing.
During this 3 days it became known to Guido and I that Brenno & Celeste (The children of Ps. Lorenzo & Mary) wanted to go to the next School of Ministry in Toronto which started in March but couldn’t really leave to go for 6 months because their family runs a hotel. Me and Guido volunteered our time and services to the family. They of course thought we were just saying it to be nice but they didn’t realise we were absolutely serious. They just really couldn’t believe that we would be willing to move up and live in the Hotel. Why not, it’s perfect and answers many prayers that we have had regarding our next steps in Italy. They have a wonderful fellowship that is in the basement of the Hotel www.senza-confini.it with many new believers and many very established and with the heart to see the Nation transformed and changed. We were excited to do this not just for them but also for us.
A week later Trevor & Sharon Baker from Dudley England came for a conference in Florence & Senza Confini Comunita Cristiana (Brenno & others) came to do the worship for the event. There was incredible time of worship, prophetic, releasing and equipping the Italians for what the Lord is preparing to do in the earth in these days. A youth group came up from the Amalfi Coast area that also did worship and wow did they ever do a good job translating Kim Walker and Jesus Culture into Italian. The anointing was incredible and they just were encouraged to
dance and dance they did. They said afterwards that they didn’t dance in their church but they were never going to stop after this day. Guido had a prophetic for them, just one word “Revolution”. When he told it to the group they all starting crying. It turns out that they had started going out into the streets in Sorrento and were evangelising and playing music and they wanted to name their band “Revolution” but were waiting on the Lord to be sure it was His desire and not just theirs. The Lord is just so loving on the Italians, being a Father to them, it is so tender and incredible to watch.
We had been praying that the Lord would remove all the barriers for Celeste & Brenno so they could go to School. So Brenno told Guido that after we left Verona (midnight Sunday) the very next day someone came to the Hotel and gave their parents €10,000 so they could go to school. The giver didn’t want the children to know who gave the money. In just a matter of a few days the Lord had laid in their heart a desire to go, and opened all the doors so miraculously that there was no way to deny that it was what the Lord wanted for them. Their parents also informed us that they would like us to come and help them and so it was decided that on March 19th a few days after we got back from Ireland we would arrive in the Hotel. In the interim there was much to be done.
Just so you know, this really does not happen very often. Money is an issue, parents can’t just go to the bank and take out a loan and raising funds like YWAMers do is pretty non existent. Vows of poverty are very ingrained in this culture and getting money out of people to support you in a school somewhere just doesn’t happen. There are less than 6 bible schools in this country Rhema & the Apostolic are the only ones I know of for sure. There are some small Churches that have started some Bible Training and courses on the Holy Spirit movement but usually if there is, you belong to the church. I know of only 6 young adults who have left here to go to Bible school in places like Toronto, Kansas City or even Redding and their stories are all miraculous in nature. Recently YWAM put a DTS in Milano but with the exception of a few Italians, mostly just Americans & Canadians have attended. This is a new thing and needs our prayers. We need to get the Italian kids up to speed with the youth movements that are happening around the world and we need to get them trained and establish more centres for them to train in here in their own country.
The day after the conference we went to Ps. Alessandro & Katias where Trevor spoke and after the service he called me and Guido up and gave a prophetic over us that basically had us completely in tears. He had no clue the events that were unfolding but spoke right into them as confirmation that we weren’t just being nice, but in fact were moving in the Lords direction. He said the Lord wanted us to keep doing what we have been doing, don’t change a thing. But like the apostles who fished all night and caught nothing, when Jesus told them to move the nets to the other side of the boat they did and there were so many fish that they had to call for help. So that is what this move is, a net moving time. There were other things but they all were about the future and the direction and
fulfilment of the things the Lord has sent us here to do.
In the midst of all this Jami transferred into a new location (again) closer to our apartment and in need of lots of work, so we were pretty occupied tearing out old ducting, hanging sheetrock, patching & preparing walls for painting, painting, cleaning and laying flooring. It was a very huge task but as usual we all pulled it off as if we were pro’s, although our aching bodies remind us that were not.
We spent about 3 weeks doing this and when we were almost finished we headed back up to the Hotel to be with Celeste & Brenno the last Sunday they were in their church together. We laid hands on them and as a church we sent them to go and to get filled up and to bring it back. We felt lead to open the mic. to have the people in the church speak into them and although they were a little shy at first, it gave each an opportunity to be a part of what the Lord is doing among them and here in Italy. This is true community and this is entirely the heart of this congregation, to be a family together amen.
Then Guido went down to Orvieto to help Yan & Millie put a foundation into another building they will be using for their ministry there while I stayed back and helped Jami with the finishing touches of the gym. So much was accomplished in just a month’s time it was so amazing. Almost shocking, but when the Lord has a mandate of things in place, they somehow get down really quickly, which is so exciting for us since we live in a country of the perpetually never finishing anything right away, ha ha.
Than it was off to Ireland. What a fantastic time we had, perfect timing as it turned out. You think you’re in control of your life and yet you see how the Lord has been orchestrating everything perfectly. Again thanks to all of you who made this possible, it was the best birthday present ever. We needed the time away to recoup and be refreshed and hang out with Ros & Stephen Critchlow who have since returned to Ireland. They in turned introduced us to a really incredible couple (Dawn & Rob) who are working in London Derry doing a fantastic work in the community and who took us along the Coast for some fantastic Ocean views and laughs were non stop. We’ll have to tell you the furry pony story sometime.
We have had our hearts stolen by this Nation. We think the Lord has something up his sleeve. Hey I think I remember someone at New Life speaking something about that prophetically now that I’m typing this letter, it makes total sense now. I thought when I did the prayer walk in 2008 that was it, but Guido was really smitten and his heart longs to go back so time will tell if Jehovah sneaky is at it again, tugging on our heart strings for yet another nation to settle in.
We got back to Italy on the 17th, packed and drove to Verona on the 20th to a beautiful apartment that they provided for us beside the hotel. We were all packed and ready for 6 months in a hotel room, so this was over and beyond and such an awesome surprise. There were a lot of heart desires that the Lord met in this apartment, sun, space, privacy, even a violet bed cover. He really is the lover of our souls and into the small details of our lives just as well as the great and grand miraculous.
Of course when we arrived the music playing in the Hotel is Irish right since were in Italy. They were having Irish night in a few weeks including Guinness on tap and Guido is like in Heaven. Than arrives a group of students from Ireland and just a few weeks after that a young girl travelling through Europe ends up stuck because of a huge Wine faire they are having in the area. All the hostels & hotels in Verona were booked solid. I have no clue how she found us as we are quite a ways away from Verona and she was taking buses. She came out and stayed the night but the next night we had no space so she stayed with us in the apartment. Yes I invited a total stranger from Ireland to stay in our house. As it turns out Antonia is a Christian and she has invited us to come and speak to their home group sometime. It was so fun hanging out and chatting.
I was able to share a testimony with her about my father and his dying and coming back to life that settled some issues in her heart about the Love of the Father and a God who would send so many people to hell. I showed her that Jesus even in death, came to my father in his moment of death when he realised he wasn’t going to heaven and cried out “Jesus help me”. That is how great the Love of the Father is that even in death he will take us at the very last second if we will just cry out. Really when you think about it who wouldn’t cry out when they are staring truth in the eyes? I know this will shake some of your theology but my dad was there, it was his story and I believe him, he came back to life and served the Lord for 5 years and than went home. I however recommend that people don’t wait till the last moment; life is too short to waste it being unsaved.
April 2nd they launched the 2nd year of 24/7 in Tuscany and we have finished our 1-year commitment and passed the baton to others in Ps. Marco’s church. It was such a blessing to be a part of this project and to see the Lord knit together so many different denominations, and groups. We weren’t sure if it would have enough steam to do another year but everyone wanted to continue again with very few dropping off the list of prayer and others stepping into the administration. So we know that it was truly the timing of the Lord and again we thank Stephen & Ros Critchlow for coming and spending a year and a half getting this thing up and running and building and knitting people together. People truly feel and see the difference it has made in the area spiritually and now churches are doing things together (outreaches, etc). Wow…
So now we have been here a little over a month and we went back to Montecatini for a few days for our 16th Anniversary and to see our Grand daughter who was very much in need of her grandparents and Jami in need of a little break. Off to the beach and even an Easter Egg hunt. Then it was back to more learning and growing.
We hope to be a blessing to the Ps. & his wife as they push forward in their vision for the church and to help them with the building up of this Hotel www.hotelvalpolicella.net. & Restaurant which they have been running for just over a year now. We are all in a large learning curve as no one here has ever done this before. However looking from the outside in, we can see things from a different vantagepoint. Guido with his years of restaurant experience has been able to share with them some helpful tips. Of course being brothers and sisters in Christ we can be a support and encouragement to them, hopefully give them some Godly advice as they press on in the visions and prophetic that the Lord has placed in their heart. It truly is great to be in the moments of the Lord and in His perfect timing.
Again we would like to thank those of you who have been praying for us and financially providing for us. We are not being paid to be here, this is truly a love offering, but since we have no rent, no utilities and eat in the restaurant we are able to actually maintain and provide for the personal extras that we need thanks to your continued faithfulness. We will be here for sure until August and after that we do not know, but are confident that the Lord will make it very clear regarding His desires for this nation and us.
Blessings & Love
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Italy Report 2011 - 2010
Lets start at Now and than walk down memory lane together….
New Years Eve – We wanted to start our New Year in the presence of the Lord and surrounded by our brothers & sisters in Christ so we went to the Big Tent where we ate and ate and ate and ate some more. We had some awesome time of worship & fellowship and left about 20 till midnight to head down the road to the Vigna with Ps. Guido & Lorraine’s group.
Got there at 6 minutes till midnight, just in time to bring in the New Year. It is always so much fun to hang out with the people at this church. We feel so loved and so welcomed. Oh and did I mention worship is awesome here.
Ps. Maurizio & Tuula asked if we had found a car yet and then invited us to their home around 1:30am to see a car they wanted to give us and stay with them instead of driving all the way back home (1 hour away). WOW. So at 2:00am we arrive at their home, to find a really cute, clean Fiat Punto that belonged to a missionary couple who had to return to the USA.
I told Guido besides not having any clothes except what was on our back, that all that we needed now was toothbrushes and directions to Jan & Millie’s house for the next day. Comes a knock on the door of the room and there is Ps. Maurizio with toothbrushes. Prophetic proclamation is born in my heart at that moment, really, or I should say confirmation of what the Lord was already saying to us.We wake the next day to making plans for the future in church planting, helping Ps. Maurizio & Tuula with their work in Florence and an email from Jan & Millie with directions to their house. So after a big breakfast and lunch we start off to Fabro (about 2 ½ hours away) with no Tom Tom and my slight recollection of how to get there from my last visit.
December we had Ps. Santhosh & Mani with us from India for a few days. He was a contact from our friends Ps. Pedro & Mary of Washington State. We had to give them a special letter so they could obtain a Visa to come as He felt the Lord was calling them specifically to Italy & Norway. They were with us a few days and spoke at Vigna Della Signore (Ps. Guido & Lorrie) and then we drove them up to Varese to Ps. David Ben Joseph & Lube (awesome prayer warrior). For 10 days they went all over Northern Italy meeting various other Ps. from Milan to Verona and beyond.We spent Thanksgiving under the Big Tent of Cristo e la Risposta and brought Chloe with us. Dinner, which included Turkey, Gravy, mash potatoes, peas & pumpkin pie also included a time of testimony and a play from the children. It was so much fun and the first time that we have had dinner together with so many people. It is really hard for us sometimes since we are not around all our natural family, but it is such a blessing to be part of the family of God and it has helped us tremendously over these past 6 ½ years to still celebrate. We miss you Barbutti Family as well.
We went down to Rome to meet up with Karen Dunham of Living Bread International Church from Jerusalem. If anyone is interested in their ministry in Jerusalem check out their website. www.livingbreadchurch.com. There were joined by our friend Lida Lockard from Bread & Wine Ministries out of Modesto, Rev. Edna Overstreet with Reach the World International Ministries also of Modesto, Janiece Peppers from GA (not sure what ministry she is with) and many others who we met only briefly. They came with a prayer mandate for Rome. As we shared about our prayer walk in 2005, some of the same proclamations we spoke then were the same ones that the Lord was having them speak now. Prophetic dreams and visions were shared that were identical to what was seen back in 2005 with Steve Lowton & his team. We found it so cool that as Steve Lowton’s team came from London to Rome and then onto Jerusalem, this team was doing in reverse. They prayed at many locations as the Lord lead but one particular area was the 7 hills of Rome. They split into 7 groups, which included Ps. Lippi from Florence, & Ps. Montecchi of Milan along with others I do not know and at the same time blew the shofars and spoke prophetically into the nation. We were not there for that event as Guido was working, however we did make the connection for their next visit sometime in 2011 where we will meet up and pray at various locations around Rome and possibly other locations in Italy as the Lord leads.
Wow I am so glad that I listened to the Lord and I apologize if I made anyone feel uncomfortable or caused some of you to question our calling here in Italy. We are called to sacrifice and give up some of the normal comforts of life as did the apostles and others called to the mission field. I must however learn to listen to the Lord and put my pride aside in these matters regarding finances or what others might think.
It isn’t easy to live by faith and it isn’t easy to receive. I would much rather take care of myself and my family and give the shirt off my own back as it is how I was raised. It is humbling to ask for anything specially something that isn’t at all necessary for living. Thank you again for all of you who blessed us and showed us that it is truly better to be obedient.
Pastor Dennis McNally was also here and we had a few meetings, one being at our Church with Ps. Marco in Monsummano. Ps. Dennis talked about the importance of the 5-fold ministry like a basketball team was essential for the church and explained about prophecy to bring clarity from the year before when he prophesied over some. Encouraged and uplifted them as they press on in the things that the Lord is revealing for them to do. Then it was off to Empoli in the afternoon to the Worship Center of Guido & Lorraine Foccardi for some awesome worship & ministry time. Ps. Dennis was able to give some insight and direction to the leadership as they transition into a Church with the Worship Center being a ministry of the Church.
The next afternoon I set up a place to go and baptize some of the leadership in a local swimming pool by Dennis. You can NEVER get anything done here in Italy on short notice and from the time they called to the time we were standing in the pool were only a few hours, it really truly was a God thing.
September 2010 -- Official time to start the year again after the summer and time to re-evaluate where we were concerning the 24/7 Prayer movement During the summer we lost 4 churches and had nearly 50 hours that were uncovered. I managed to shuffle many in the Church of Monsummano over to hours that were uncovered to bring it down to about 21. I have to say, this little church is like the Who’s in Whoville in the scheme of the whole world, but let me tell you, when we shout, “We are here” God hears us and the enemy has had to take notice. Ps. Marco has continued to reinforce the need to pray and the church has willingly taken up the challenge to stand in the gap for this Nation.
Our Ministry Calling
1. Plant churches
2. Apostolic anointing
3. Prophetic Intercession
4. Helping and equipping leaders
5. Assisting with 24/7
6. Building a Christian network among the European nations
7. Serving the Body of Christ in whatever way possible.
Ministry Needs
1. Car is on loan to us for 4 months, insurance is €400 for that time
2. We have to move into another place before July at the request of Guido’s mom. Current Rental rates are 350-500 for about 450sq. ft.
3. Really seeking the Lord as to whether we are still suppose to be here in Italy and if so what is our next steps for this year..
4. Prayer Partners
WE SEND ALL OUR LOVE AND BLESSINGS.
THANK YOU!!!! GUIDO & JOYCE BASSI
YOUR MISSIONARIES IN ITALY & EUROPE
If you would like to support our ministry you can send Check or Money Orders to:
New Life Christian Church
20394 San Miguel Avenue
Castro Valley, CA 94546 or
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