Grace to Our Brothers and Sisters Through Christ,
Former: Our anniversary service went well, although, as it is with most big occasions, we had a few visitors come and a few faithful who did not come. We had 4 visitors, and 1 person was saved that week. We have already lost a few people due to distance, so we are excited that an African couple, who is expecting a baby, has been zealous enough to travel to our church from over an hour away. One lady told me she gets up at 6:00 in the morning to get to our church on time. She said that on Sundays the bus only goes to where she lives twice during the entire day. Whether this is totally true or not, I do not know, but I do know that if we had more people to start churches, there are places here where churches are needed.
Fruit: A man from Egypt had bought new clothes for the special day when he would go out and “come back” to God. He had bought his clothes awhile before getting the courage and desire to put them on one Sunday morning and go out to see where God would lead him. As he ventured out of his apartment, he eventually came to a sign on the street that said Chiesa Battista della Grazia (Grace Baptist Church). He rang the citofono (doorbell) and found his way down to the room where our church meets. He was a bit late but came in and stayed for the rest of the service. Our family took him out to eat, and then I made an appointment to speak with him later that evening.
A man in our church and I met him later in the evening. As is my tradition, I asked him to answer in writing one question. Why do you deserve to go to Heaven? I gave him time to answer according to his true mind. Then we opened the Bible, and for about three hours, we talked about his life experiences, answered questions, and mainly searched the Scriptures. After that time of study, we opened his written-out response to the question I had asked him at the beginning. We noticed that his response was not what the Bible taught. He had a few more questions that we answered from the Bible, and then He bowed his head and, according to his testimony, trusted in Jesus Christ alone for his eternal hope of Heaven.
He came to church for three weeks straight, and we met during the second week again for about three hours more for personal discipleship. It didn’t take but that one meeting to find out that his opinions disagree with the Bible. Oh how many people like to grab the gift and run. I use the modal verb with James 3:10 and say, “. . . these things ought not to be.” We are still in contact with each other, but it is obvious that he does not agree with our beliefs. Please pray that the Holy Spirit, using God’s Words, would bring conviction to his heart.
Future: Between May and October 2015, our town will be holding the World’s Fair. The last one was in 2012 in South Korea, and the next one will be in 2017 in Kazakhstan. One hundred thirty countries will be represented with millions of visitors from around the world. If anyone is interested in a missions trip to Italy, it might be a good time. English is the international language, and normally Italy is not known for being very fluent in English.
Missionaries to the people of Italy,
Christopher, Amy, William, & Ann Marie Yetzer
