Normally we write about our soul-winning experiences, but this month we thought we would give you an update on our church. By the grace of God and the aid of a Romanian who was waiting for us to arrive in Italy, we started holding services in Italian in early 2012. We have had our ups and downs through the years, while maintaining a small core of consistent members. We are in an area of Milan where there is a large college dormitory nearby and many college students around the area. Because of this, our college-aged students (which for us has normally been older international students in masters or PhD programs) have been random blessings. College students have played the piano for us, gone soul winning, taught Sunday school, and even preached. At times, we have had around a half-dozen students. Little by little, they have graduated and moved out of the country or gotten married and moved out of town. We just lost one of our most active and longest-attending college members. He returned to Peru and is already deeply missed. However, just as he was preparing to leave, the Lord brought us another student who has been an encouragement.
As we looked around a couple Sundays ago, we realized that almost half of those present had just started attending in 2024 or late last year. It is new for us to have an influx of people start coming in a short time. For several years, it seemed like we would add someone new about the same time someone else would move away. Now we have the challenge of working with a few more people and assimilating them into the church. It is a good challenge to have, and we are thankful for everyone’s desire to know God and follow Him.
Our new location has recently brought a few challenges. At times, we have had some difficulty with getting into the room. In our other building, one of our members had a set of keys and was almost always there to clean early in the morning, so we rarely ever had to worry about the door being open. Apparently, a tenant in the building is not quite happy that a church is meeting there. He tried to close our Google account, but for now, things are going on as normal. The owner we rent from has promised that we have the right to be there and that everything will be fine.
Our family is doing well. Charlotte is in second grade, AnnMarie is in eighth grade, and William will be a senior after finishing up some of his junior year. Amy and I are both doing great. Living in a home with a yard to care for and having a car to maintain has required more labor and time from each member of our family. This “loss” of hours reminds us of your labor and time. We thank you for sacrificing minutes in your week to pray for us, and we thank you for sacrificing your work to provide financially to our family and the ministry in Italy. It is amazing to step back and see the amount of inflation from when we put down our deposit on the apartment in 2011 to today and humbling that God has continually provided for us. We are grateful to partner with you and to have the privilege of serving our Lord on the mission field.
Missionaries to the people of Italy,
Christopher, Amy, William, AnnMarie, and Charlotte Yetzer