Apart from leaving family and friends, part of being a missionary is also leaving behind some things to which you are accustomed. We are probably better off without most of these things anyway: Reese’s, Doritos, garlic bread, Lucky Charms, Twizzlers, Combos, Snyder’s Pretzels, root beer, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, etc. Recently (somewhat unfortunately), American Crunch, a small store which now offers most of these items, opened up in our town. While most of the items are items that you would find on the shelves in the United States, their prices are different. A box of Lucky Charms, for example, would cost about $10.50. American “goods” are rarer here, so if you want that taste, you will have to pay the price. We’ll stick with the cereal from the local stores.
While the Gospel is not American in nature, it is something on all the shelves in the United States. That may be a bit of a stretch, but at least it is available throughout the country. Italy, like the whole of Europe and many other countries, does not have that same privilege. To find the Gospel in many other countries requires finding that “odd little store” that distributes it. We are happy to be one of those rare places in Italy where people can get the message of God’s free gift of eternal life.
Recently while out soul winning, we came upon a young lady who was sitting with her dog. Our kids enjoyed petting the dog, while I enjoyed sharing the Gospel with this Italian lady named Martina. After showing her verses from Scripture and explaining the Gospel, Martina prayed in her own words to God. This is not a common experience for us here in Italy. We seldom have someone so bold as to accept Christ on the first approach. The second, possibly even more uncommon thing, would be for that person to come to church. Martina fits this profile. We took her number and left her with the Italian translation of the book Done by Cary Schmidt. Pray for Martina and people like her, who have made a profession of their faith in God, but because of stereotypes (both of our type of church and churches in general) do not continue to grow in the faith.
Schoolbooks have arrived, and the kids are already diving in. Charlotte is doing well and growing. Amy and I are also doing well. We have new prayer cards available, which include Charlotte!!!! We are sending packets out to churches as we get requests. Please let us know.
Missionaries to the people of Italy,
Christopher, Amy, William, AnnMarie, and Charlotte Yetzer
