Part 1
Part of my testimony includes seeking out a church to attend in Columbus, Ohio, after having moved away from my hometown. Without being invited by anyone in the church, I started faithfully attending the closest Baptist church I could find. At one specific service, I remember the pastor noting that several newcomers, including myself, were not the direct results of soul winning, but the indirect results. In other words, because you are faithful to the call of going, God sends people your way.
We are experiencing a little bit of both. Several people have contacted us about relatives or friends who live here who have recently accepted Christ. Pray that these contacts will find a place in our church and feel welcomed and loved. I have also received several calls from people who received Gospel tracts and are interested in our church. One man, unfortunately, lives far away, but we caught him on the right day at the central train station and have been able to encourage him in the faith. Pray that we would be able to make more progress with the others.
Part 2
What is a missionary? A full-time soul winner, a church planter, a pastor, a Sunday school teacher, a counselor, a discipler, a preacher, a financial secretary, a spouse, a parent, etc.? Obviously, depending on the field, the person, and the calling, a missionary sometimes fills all of these roles. Our goal is simply to help people know Christ better. If someone knows about Christ but does not know Him, then we want to help them become born again. If someone is already a child of God, than we want to encourage them to go on and complete the Ephesians 4 process (saints perfected, work of the ministry, edifying the body of Christ).
Recently a lady had called looking for information pertaining to our church. She was sort of reserved at first and not really open to giving out information about herself or where she had received the information about our church. After she visited our church, I found out that her son was the reason she had come. Her son needed help. I set up a time and was able to meet up with her son. He explained more of what was happening. He had been attending an evangelical church for two years and did not believe in Satan, considered himself baptized (even though he had never been baptized by any method), and could barely find a single book in the Bible. He is suffering from depression and didn’t feel like the pastor of their rather large church had time for him. Someone at their church had passed our phone number to his mom and told her that they could probably find help at our church. I am glad that we have a reputation of being a caring hospital. I have never heard from anyone who recommended our church to someone who was looking for an entertaining service or a “rocking” good time. Our church attracts needy people. I think Jesus did the same.
Part 3
In our previous prayer letter, I mentioned our attempt at a first English service. It hasn’t progressed as I had hoped into a weekly English gathering; nonetheless, we continue to translate services into English as needed. At the beginning of June, our Field Service Coordinator
with FBMI came on a trip to see us. We were very excited to have him come. For years I have wanted to have Spanish speakers come and preach to our Latin American members. We decided to try out a Spanish evening. It was the first time that we have done a true potluck with people making dishes from their respective countries. After realizing we could open it up to a few more people by adding English to the preaching menu, we decided to make it a bilingual service, with Bro. Snipes preaching in both English and Spanish. Bro. Snipes’ years on the mission field and within a city where some of our members are from opened up their hearts. It was so great to see such smiles and joy at hearing preaching in their heart language. Everyone chipped in and over-prepared with a lot of food; and in the end, it was a productive evening. We also took advantage of the extra help and passed out John and Romans and tracts.
Please pray with us for more laborers—Italians or otherwise. We are praying for laborers who are willing to work the field.
Part 4
Our family is doing well. Some confusion early in the year has caused William’s schooling to drag on a bit into the summer, but gratefully he is finished. AnnMarie is doing well and enjoys so much playing with her brother and loving on her sister. Charlotte just turned four months old and is growing too quickly. As busy as Amy is as a mother and wife, she still gives her time to demonstrate her love to our church family as well. I am doing well also, enjoying serving Christ and ministering to the people in Italy.
We have had several appointments concerning health and, therefore, expenses also. We want to thank our supporters, who pray and give to our family. Because of your love for our family, we are provided with the basic needs for our children and for our normal healthcare. We appreciate so much your kindness and generosity.
Our church has also committed to helping two new missionaries. It is exciting to see them sacrifice what they don’t really have so that they can care for others whom they don’t really know.
Missionaries to the people of Italy,
Christopher, Amy, William, AnnMarie, & Charlotte Yetzer
