Dear praying, 

 

Negist's (a sister in our fellowship) brother-in-law died last night in a car wreck.  He was not a believer, but leaves behind Negist's sister Rachel, a 7 year old son Omar and a 4 year old daughter (forgot her name).  Some of you may remember praying for Omar last year when he had broken his neck and was in the hospital for nearly 9 months.  We often went with Negist to the hospital to minister to Rachel and assist them as we could.  You can imagine what a tragedy this is and all that Rachel will have to deal with.  It doesn't help being a foreigner either.  Her husband worked very hard every day being the sole bread winner for the family.  The will have a very tough road ahead and will desperately need our prayers and support.

 

For those of you unaware, not long ago we registered our association (The Vine) with the city administration in our zone, offering our association as a resource for social assistance in as much as God gives us the grace and the resources to help.  Since Christmas, the city has slowly begun referring people to us for help and assistance.  Since we are in the beginning phases of developing this side of our ministry, things are pretty basic.  Pray with us as we seek to develop this tool and find the proper channels and resources that are available to tap into so that we might be able to offer more to those seeking assistance.  Not only will we perhaps be able to assist Rachel, but even this morning we received a call from Social services referring to us a women named Alice who is a single mom with a 1 year old baby boy.  I had mentioned Rosemary a couple of months ago in a prayer request whom herself had lost her husband and had a daughter.  

 

Pray us up.  May God give us wisdom, grace, compassion, and resources necessary to help practically as well as spiritually.  Let us know if you would like to be involved in some way in making resources available too.  This is a good opportunity for us to reach out, meet peoples needs in practical ways, while at the same time remaining focused on bringing people into His eternal kingdom. 

 

Lastly, as we have been praying for Romina and Fabio... God is at work.  Fabio is reading the book I gave him which means he is being exposed to solid truth and proof.  Pray for full revelation and a responsive, soft heart leading to his salvation.  Their 7 year old daughter Diana has been sick for the last 4 or 5 days with a fever.  Pray for her healing.  This led Romina to call and doors were open for Hope to be able to minister to her worried heart.  Romina called this a.m.,  practically minutes after we had prayed for them, again being open to prayer and ministry.  God is working.  Obviously, so is the enemy therefore.  Pray for God's protection over them as the battle rages around them for their souls.  To God be the glory.  

 

We are grateful for the busy morning but also conscious of our own inabilities and weaknesses as we seek to rely upon Him and allow Him to do what only He can do.  CONTINUED BELOW...

One last interesting appointment.  We had explained that the owner of the building we were currently looking at had lost his wife in the middle of our negotiations.  We are praying for Mr. Talloni and his family as they grieve this loss.  I gave him a written proposal the other day as I met him by God's grace out in front of his house (where the building is next door).  I told him how sorry we were for his loss, were praying for him, and to take whatever time he needed before worrying about our proposal....it could wait.  The other night I ran into his son on the street and was able to express our condolences personally to him and point him to God's love.  Yesterday I ran into him again in front of the store nearby.  All of this just to say that despite the building issue and our need for one, God seems to be building bridges and opening up opportunities in small and big ways.  Only God knows how it will all bare out, but we pray for lives to be touched and changed by His love above all.

 

Thanks for praying

 

By Grace, 

 

Brent, Hope and the CC Rome family 

 

We had a few American Exchange students visit for service Sunday.  One of the girls was a self professing Catholic who never goes to church and isn't saved.  We were glad to have her with us.  Please pray for Andrea's salvation and for the Word to bring conviction and fruit.  We clearly shared the gospel with her and gave her a gospel of John.  

Yesterday we were asked by Romina if we could bring her oldest daughter Diana (who is in Isabella's class) home and keep her for a while until her husband Fabio could get by to pick her up.  This is a favor we exchange frequently on both sides.  As usual, Fabio came to pick up Diana and came upstairs while we got her ready to go.  One thing led to another and Fabio and I found ourselves discussing religion, truth, God and the like for about an hour and a half while the girls played.  It was quite an intense, challenging, respectful and substantive exchange as Fabio expressed his doubts and criticisms.  I sought to counter them and share simply the biblical truth.  It was a definite battle for Fabio's heart and mind and that battle continues on naturally.  On his way out, I remembered that I had the book 'More than a Carpenter' by Josh McDowell, in Italian.  I gave it to him and asked him to consider reading it based on my claims that Jesus, The Bible, and true Christianity are enormously set apart from all religions, philosophies, and ideas.  Today, running into him at school to pick up our littlest girls, he mentioned to me that he had already started reading it!  I was blessed and surprised.  Thus, I am writing to you all to ask you to join us in praying for Fabio -  that he might be softened in heart, have revelation in to God's truth, be convicted of his sin and need for Jesus, and ultimately, get saved .

Thanks for praying for Jim Miller everybody.  Good news and Praise to our merciful God and deliverer!!  Sunday during the Super Bowl, Jim was relieved of the pain and saved from a surgical procedure.  The prayers of the righteous avail much.  May the Lord continue to work mightily in all of our lives and bring glory to His name as we intercede for one another in very trying times.  The whole world needs to see the saints of God watching, waiting, loving and giving.  Jesus said that they will know us as his disciples by our LOVE one for another.  Thanks for showing love towards Jim on our behalf.  

 

I'd like to ask you to pray for Ester from our fellowship and in particular her family.  More specifically, her mom.  Without going into much detail, there are some deep seeded strongholds and issues that need the power and blood of Christ to shatter and destroy that life might reign in her parents marriage and in their family life.  This has been a source of great pain and perplexity for Ester who herself is somewhat young in the faith.  May God bring peace, reconciliation, stability, and the fruit of righteousness to this situation.  In the meantime, pray that Ester would draw nearer than ever to Jesus, be abiding and growing in the faith and in the Word, as well as in her relationship to the body (that koinonia fellowship).  Pray for God to take care of every detail in her life... work, family, relationships, financial, spiritual.

 

Thanks again for the labor of love.

 

Have an awesome week in the Spirit.

 

Gratefully, 

 

Brent