The Café Bar… all encompassing hub of life in Italian culture; caffeine fixes, breakfast, weather forecasts, general info, phone credit, political, religious, and current events talk, or just catching up with a friend… is a most important morning stop and ritual and one of my primary forums for outreach and evangelism. I enter, greet Daniele the owner/barista, help myself to a delectable pastry and wait for my cappuccino as I greet the rest of the lively and familiar gang that is somewhat like a second family. Roberto and Stefano are two guys who never miss a morning. While the rest of us have our coffee, they start the day with a whiskey, or three! God has given me an open door with these two, as well as the others, over which I would ask you to pray.

Prayer:

§ More conversations about Jesus

§ Salvation for Roberto, Stefano (deliverance from Alcohol), Claudio and Malfisia, Glauco and Carmine, Daniele, and others in the community

§ Provision - projector, terrace furniture, kid’s playground equipment, finances for pastors and families to go to church conference in August, needs met for families seeking need through our Association... diapers, baby soaps, strollers, and food in general.

§ Blessed and effective summer outreaches (mini concert series 2 this coming Saturday), Water Baptism, Conferences By Grace, Brent Harrell

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our sincere apologies for such a long gap in getting out an update.   After returning to the states in February for 2 family funerals, things have just snowballed with life and activities.  First, we wanted to graciously thank those of you who sent cards, emails, flowers, words of comfort, and prayed for our families during such a sorrowful time.  The Lord was faithful as always.  A special thank you also to those of you who gave financially, allowing us to travel and go through the process with our families.

Team Work:

After returning in March we hosted a few smaller outreach teams on into June.  Thank you Kardos’s from Spokane who joined up with the White’s and Mike from CC Boise to form a team of hard working laborers.  From a new front wall project (amazing job artist Shelley), to a ceiling for the bathroom, a storage loft, installing a kitchen, lots of re-wiring, installing an air conditioners, building a stage and so on, we tackled a long list of projects.  It’s always a blessing to have servant-minded people just role up their sleeves and get to work.  Thanks for being an encouragement.  Thank you CC Ontario for contributing towards the cost of the kitchen.  We wanted to get to a public park make-over project but just didn’t have enough time or money.  That is still something we are praying to accomplish in the future.  If you’d like to donate let us know.

Preaching the Word:

Immediately following, I had the privilege of traveling to Serbia and speaking at a three-day conference at the Calvary Chapel in Subotica with two other pastors.  God really seemed to be working, blessing and stirring as we taught through the book of Nehemiah.  We pray for lasting fruit in Serbia.

Church Retreat:

One day after returning to Rome, Pastor Bob and Cathy came in from Boise for our annual Calvary Chapel Retreat jointly attended by 5 Italian Calvary’s.  It was an amazing time of teaching, fellowship, and family fun on the Tuscan seaside.  Outside of the general sessions, we separated into men and women’s groups a few times.  With these sessions the Lord was really doing a deep work with family, marriage, and building healthy churches.  Thank you Pastor Bob and Cathy for coming and sharing, pastor Craig for organizing, all those who attended.  Build them walls!!!

The Body:

God has really been doing some neat things, even in the midst of many struggles and trials. .  Recently, we have seen several people come to faith in Jesus in both churches.   Both churches are growing little by little, but God is doing a deepening work, which is very encouraging in these foundational stages.  At the end of June we will be water baptizing at least 4 or 5 folks.  Some are needing work, some are dealing with challenging or ungodly relationships, some need revival, some are growing and need to get plugged in to serving.  Pray for our Sunday school as we seek to fine-tune it a bit.  Chantal is in the hospital with some undiagnosed platelet malfunction which the doctors don’t quite understand.  Pray for God’s miraculous, healing touch.  Continued...

Outreach:

We just finished several months of doing guitar and English lessons at the church to draw people in and build relationships.  This was very fruitful and we’ll look forward to picking it up again in the fall.  We met Natale in the market while handing out tracts.  He gave us a good twenty minutes of his time and just wasn’t convinced that on this side of heaven, one could be sure about God’s forgiveness and one’s eternal security.  Almost a week later, as I exited the gate to take the kids to school, I bumped into Natale who was heading to a work site.  Pray for his salvation and more run-ins.  At my morning pit-stop for Itlay’s best (caffe) I have entered into quite a neighborhood sub-culture of locals getting their morning fixes and discussing the issues of life before facing the day.  It is quite the mission field.  Please pray for these relationships that are being built.  This is key for winning Italians to Jesus.  As another form of outreach to the neighborhood, we plan to do an outdoor acoustic concert/BBQ on the terrace of our church the last Saturday of every month this summer.  We would appreciate your prayers.  Pray for the resources to get some tables and chairs, gazebos and flowers to make a nice welcoming and comfortable space to reach folks.

Family:

Hope and I are doing well; very concerned with various issues and needs within our families.  We are looking to God to do mighty things.  The kids are finishing school so we will now go into full-blown summer mode.  Isabella just turned 8, is finishing 2nd grade, and Olivia turns 6 next month and just graduated kindergarten.  We’ll be looking to get Braydy-boy out of diapers and prepare him for pre-school in September just after he turns 3.  Due to a lack of resources, at this point, it doesn’t look like the Lord will be taking us stateside this summer.  Either way, we look forward to a fruitful season of growing as a family (and as a church family) and just taking some time to play at the beach.  Lord willing, we may be stateside for Christmas.

Thank you sincerely for your love towards us, and the investment made towards the mission here.  It doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated.  Nothing fruit bearing would be possible here if it weren’t for your prayers, your generosity, and you concern for the Italians.  May God bless, fill and reward you in His own way as you continue to labor together with us.

Prayer:

o Miraculous healing for Chantal

o Open doors with our food pantry, and benevolence side of our association, more contact with the poor and needy

o Provision for park re-construction, hearts touched in community to help and give

o Work for Alessandro and Negist

o Sanctification and Preservation for singles in the fellowship

o Strengthened and united marriages, families

o Fruit from evangelistic efforts

o Salvation for Natale, Glauco and Carmine, Daniele, Claudio and Malfisia, Roberto and Stefano (coffee bar friends)

o Provision for T.V. screen or video projector for church, park reconstruction project  

o Provision for courtyard development – chairs, tables, gazebo or umbrella’s, flowers, flower pots

o Upcoming outreach events – market evangelism, acoustic summer concerts/bbq’s – divine appointments, relationships built, salvation for souls

o Sunday school tune up – organization, rotating servants, developed curriculum in Italian, salvation and spiritual growth for children

o Family issues – reconciliation in relationships, protection on marriages, salvation for non-believers, repentance and renewal for backslidden, empowering of Holy Spirit for those walking in own strength

o Anointed succinct, prophetic, and timely teaching

o Blessings on those baptized later this month

Greetings Saints,

It has been an eventful six weeks or so as we went in to Christmas and New Years hosting a team from Seattle, then moving on in to 2010!  Just before the team came I was rear-ended and sent flying into the car in front of me.  Since one of my inspections had expired without me knowing, it resulted in my car title being taken for a couple of weeks.  Two weeks and two hundred euros later we got that settled.  In the meantime the team arrived we got busy.  By God's gracious grace, one of the ladies in the fellowship who was going out of town for the holidays let us use her car.  The team was great, helpful and encouraging.  We did a few concert outreaches both in Tor Bella Monaca and Frascati, plus some special teaching on marriage and purity for singles.  Amy from the team put her artistic hand to work and painted a couple of paintings for the church in TBM (acting also as a sound absorbent on hollow walls).  She also did some handy work up in Frascati as well.  Thank you to CC East-side for all your hard work and love shared.

I had the privilege of getting away a few weeks ago to one of our European winter pastors conferences in Germany.  God always uses that time to take us aside, discipline us, bless and refresh us, then send home encouraged. I came back to Olivia (our middle child) sick with a stomach virus.  Not pretty. Brayden (our littlest) picked it up that Saturday night (of course) so we spent about ten to twelve straight days cleaning up vile messes, doing laundry out the ears, and praying not only for them two to live, but hoping and praying that the rest of us would remain untouched.  

Despite all the drama, God has continued to bless the fellowship and bring some new folks.  It has been a blast to see Romina and Fabio coming pretty consistently and bringing their kids. Please continue to pray for Fabios salvation and growth in the Word for Romina.  The past couple of weeks brought us a couple of other new visitors too. Sara seems to want to make CC Rome her church family while Giuseppe and his wife seem to be checking things out.  We are grateful to see new faces and pray for a radical outpouring on everybody coming, new and old.  On Sundays we are plodding through Acts and on Wednesdays Vincenzo has taken the baton in Proverbs.  Pray over the meetings, the teaching, for a deep work and for transformed lives.  Continued...

...Continued

Our building continues to be such a wonderful blessing and joy as we have been able to hold all of these various events according to our own needs and just spend quality time in fellowship, worship and prayer.  Pray that we could grow in numbers and in financial giving so that as we get weaned off of our home churches financial help for the building rent in the coming months we could carry the load all on our own.  This can tend to be an interesting challenge for Evangelical churches in Italy unfortunately.  We pray for that gracious work of God's Holy Spirit in maturing the body in this area.  We also pray for God to prosper people with good jobs and consistent pay so that they can honor God with the fruit of their labors.   

On the 13th of February we are kicking off a new type of outreach for us with offering English lessons and Guitar lessons for free in an effort to be a blessing as well as simply bring people in.  Pray for Claudia as she will be teaching the English lessons, for Vincenzo as he leads the guitar lessons.  The lessons will carry on every other week until mid June.  We see this as a great opportunity for many in the fellowship wanting one or the other, maybe even preparing future worship leaders.  Either way we pray for the Lord to draw people and use it for His glory and His purposes.  Pray for divine appointments as we do flyer distribution and registration for the next couple of weeks.  

Lastly, on a personal note, Hope's grandpa Lowell Bennett, who is 90, and has had an amazingly full and Jesus glorifying life, seems to be very near the end.  His lungs are super weak, taking on some fluid, and his body just seems to be giving out.  Please pray for him and the family as it is still hard to think of letting him go.  Our prayer is that God has his way and shows mercy either way.

Thanks for your faithfulness to pray and give to our efforts here in Rome.  We can't thank you enough.

By Grace,
Brent and family, CC Rome