A team of six just returned from a 9-day mission trip to Italy. Here’s the group:
Of course the trip involved airplanes:
Buses:
Trains:
We stayed at this hotel in Belluno:
Day 1 and 2 were travel days. We did end day 2 with a special pasta place:
We had a special translator, Natascia, join our team on day 3 and work with us for 4 days!
Days 3, 4, 5 were spent having conversations with Italians in the piazza in Belluno using art, music, and English.
Here are just a few pictures of our efforts with music:
With art:
We had prepared art cards to share with those we met.
Typical responses to some of my questions:
Me – “What’s the number 1 need of young people in Belluno.” 100% responses – “Work”
Me – “We are coming back often, what could we do to help the young people in Belluno.” 80% of responses – “Practice English.”
Me – “So are you Catholic?” 95% of responses – “Yes.” Me – “Do you practice your faith?” 99% of responses – “No, we don’t take it seriously.” (the exception to this small sample was a Jehovah Witness and a Muslim who both practiced their faith.)
Abby’s art was also shared with the Pastor and his wife in their home and then later with the church on Sunday morning:
A highlight for Abby was when we found the actual site, Porta Rugo in Belluno, that she had painted from a Google photo:
One afternoon, we visited Vittorio Veneta, the site of the ending of World War 1. The church has a family moving to this city and they hope to start a Bible study there!
One evening, we went to Pastor Tommaso and Elsa’s home. What a wonderful home and Elsa is a great cook!
We went to Market on Saturday morning!
One afternoon, we prayer walked these neighborhoods. There are literally thousands of people who live here.
A highlight of the week was worshiping and fellowship with our partner church in Belluno:
In preparation for the trip, Grace took Italian voice lessons. Here is just a portion of the song she shared that Sunday morning in Belluno:
We had a picnic after our time of worship and it was great!
We traveled by train back to Venice and spend day 8 in Venice. There is no city like it in the world.
Have I mentioned the food, coffee, or gelato (I don’t know where the gelato pictures are…LOL)?
Here are some pictures of Belluno:
Please pray for Pastor Tommaso, his wife Elsa, and our continuing work in Northern Italy.
I preached Sunday on the Parable of the Soils. Jesus taught us to sow seeds of the Gospel, knowing that some of the seeds would fall on the hard path, the rocky soil, and the thorny soil with no fruit. It could be frustrating, but He also taught the the Seed would eventually find good soil and there would be a 100-fold harvest! Wow. A miraculous crop awaits beyond our earthly estimation. Let’s keep praying and sowing Seed!
Two teams from our area are going back in September and we are already making plans to go back in 2019. Please pray about whether God wants you to go and minister in Belluno!
For the Kingdom!
Pastor Mike