May-June 2003 (Year 4, Number 5)
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News
Tidbits
1. Johanna and Sarah have done an incredible job of interacting with friends/neighbors and also establishing new friendships in Palermo this summer. They have opened the youth center and carried out the various activities each week (English lessons, computer lab, cooking class, movie night, prayer night, game night, etc). They have also had many wonderful opportunities outside the youth center to get to know these youth. And they have had the challenge of doing it in a language and culture that is not their own. Each moment they have spent with these Italian friends has been an opportunity to live out a Christian example and a significant investment in what God is doing in Palermo.
2. Water everywhere! Johanna and Sarah were awakened one morning (just days after we left them) by a call from our neighbors that water was pouring off the balcony. It was a flashback to a similar flood in our apartment in Catania 7 years ago! This time, a broken seal on the water heater caused the mini-flood that brought excitement to our building. We’re thankful that our neighbors were quick to help fix the problem.
3. We praise the Lord for new contacts made this summer by Johanna and Sarah. There are a number of new friends they have made who can’t wait to meet us for the first time when we return to Palermo next month. Without any doubt, God has been at work enlarging our network of contacts in our neighborhood.
4. Party at the Mullen House! Over the summer our home has been the stage for some fun activities. 12 friends came to Sarah’s birthday party in June. Then, last week, one of our friends brought 20 people over for her birthday party. These were great opportunities for Johanna and Sarah to minister to them. We praise God that these young people are feeling comfortable and welcome in our home (even when we’re not there). We can’t wait to see how God is working in their lives when we return!
5. Just recently one of our adult neighbors shared with Johanna and Sarah a quote from a conversation that we had had with him about Christian faith. We were amazed that he remembered almost word for word something that we shared with him over a year ago! He has been contemplating it ever since, and we don’t believe it is a coincidence. God is speaking to his heart!
Answers to Prayer
1. We’ve been able to keep in contact by e-mail with several our friends in Palermo. This is something that we hoped and prayed for but were not sure would actually happen. God has been using e-mail as a means of continuing relationships! Many of our friends are urging us to get back quickly. We are looking forward to the increased level of interaction with them when we return and the opportunities we will have to share more of our faith with them!
2. God has continued to confirm our belief that some of the non-Christian youth we are working with in Palermo will soon accept Christ as Lord. We also believe that God is calling a couple of them to Christian ministry. Please keep praying that these youth would soften their hearts and hear God’s voice.
3. For some time, we have been considering how music could be part of the youth center. One of our LINKS churches donated a special offering especially for the purchase of a keyboard for L’Incrocio! Thank you!
4. God has been answering your prayers for Johanna and Sarah this summer! People have responded to them in ways that have exceeded our expectations. They have reported constant interaction and have even built relationships with new people. We praise God for their consistent and real witness in Palermo.
5. We have enjoyed many encouraging deputation services while we have been on home assignment. God has allowed us this time to step back and look at what He has been doing in Palermo through new eyes. We’re thankful for this new perspective!
Prayer Requests
1. Pray for our Field Youth Congress held in Guadalajara, Spain from August 20-25. Over 150 participants (from Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain) are planning to attend!
2. Pray for Chris and Anndee Stringer as they prepare for a year of volunteer service in Palermo beginning this September. Pray specifically that God would smooth the way as they apply this month for an Italian visa. Pray also for their financial support and spiritual preparation.
3. Pray for Johanna and Sarah as they transition out of their summer ministry in Palermo. Sarah has just returned to England where she will begin her university studies this fall. Johanna has just returned to the US, but she will soon leave for a year of teaching English in public schools in Japan.
4. Pray for our remaining services and for our transition back to Palermo on August 11th. It will be a fun challenge to re-connect with our neighbors and friends upon our return. From several e-mails we have received from them, it seems that our absence has actually made them more open to talking with us on a deeper level.
5. Pray for our continued search for a youth center building which we will begin again this fall. We believe that the momentum is growing toward this next step and that God will guide and provide!
Miscellaneous Notes
1. We have the privilege of serving as sponsors for the Missionary Kid District at Nazarene Youth Congress in Houston from July 20-27. Pray for these youth and for the thousands of others that will be gathering together to grow in their relationship with God and each other!
2. Johanna and Sarah have some great photos from their ministry in Palermo. Give their website a look!
3. If you would like more details about dates and times for our speaking schedule during the remainder of our home assignment this summer, we would be glad to send them to you.
4. Thank you to our Palermo Prayer Partners who are faithfully praying for Palermo. E-mail us if you would like to join PPP in order to receive more detailed prayer requests and answers to prayer by e-mail a couple times a month.
5. Pizza + Pasta = Pray for Palermo
May God’s grace reach out and touch you today,
Joel and Sara Mullen
E-mail: jsmullen@interfree.it
Website: homepage.mac.com/joelmullen
1. Johanna and Sarah have done an incredible job of interacting with friends/neighbors and also establishing new friendships in Palermo this summer. They have opened the youth center and carried out the various activities each week (English lessons, computer lab, cooking class, movie night, prayer night, game night, etc). They have also had many wonderful opportunities outside the youth center to get to know these youth. And they have had the challenge of doing it in a language and culture that is not their own. Each moment they have spent with these Italian friends has been an opportunity to live out a Christian example and a significant investment in what God is doing in Palermo.
2. Water everywhere! Johanna and Sarah were awakened one morning (just days after we left them) by a call from our neighbors that water was pouring off the balcony. It was a flashback to a similar flood in our apartment in Catania 7 years ago! This time, a broken seal on the water heater caused the mini-flood that brought excitement to our building. We’re thankful that our neighbors were quick to help fix the problem.
3. We praise the Lord for new contacts made this summer by Johanna and Sarah. There are a number of new friends they have made who can’t wait to meet us for the first time when we return to Palermo next month. Without any doubt, God has been at work enlarging our network of contacts in our neighborhood.
4. Party at the Mullen House! Over the summer our home has been the stage for some fun activities. 12 friends came to Sarah’s birthday party in June. Then, last week, one of our friends brought 20 people over for her birthday party. These were great opportunities for Johanna and Sarah to minister to them. We praise God that these young people are feeling comfortable and welcome in our home (even when we’re not there). We can’t wait to see how God is working in their lives when we return!
5. Just recently one of our adult neighbors shared with Johanna and Sarah a quote from a conversation that we had had with him about Christian faith. We were amazed that he remembered almost word for word something that we shared with him over a year ago! He has been contemplating it ever since, and we don’t believe it is a coincidence. God is speaking to his heart!
Answers to Prayer
1. We’ve been able to keep in contact by e-mail with several our friends in Palermo. This is something that we hoped and prayed for but were not sure would actually happen. God has been using e-mail as a means of continuing relationships! Many of our friends are urging us to get back quickly. We are looking forward to the increased level of interaction with them when we return and the opportunities we will have to share more of our faith with them!
2. God has continued to confirm our belief that some of the non-Christian youth we are working with in Palermo will soon accept Christ as Lord. We also believe that God is calling a couple of them to Christian ministry. Please keep praying that these youth would soften their hearts and hear God’s voice.
3. For some time, we have been considering how music could be part of the youth center. One of our LINKS churches donated a special offering especially for the purchase of a keyboard for L’Incrocio! Thank you!
4. God has been answering your prayers for Johanna and Sarah this summer! People have responded to them in ways that have exceeded our expectations. They have reported constant interaction and have even built relationships with new people. We praise God for their consistent and real witness in Palermo.
5. We have enjoyed many encouraging deputation services while we have been on home assignment. God has allowed us this time to step back and look at what He has been doing in Palermo through new eyes. We’re thankful for this new perspective!
Prayer Requests
1. Pray for our Field Youth Congress held in Guadalajara, Spain from August 20-25. Over 150 participants (from Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain) are planning to attend!
2. Pray for Chris and Anndee Stringer as they prepare for a year of volunteer service in Palermo beginning this September. Pray specifically that God would smooth the way as they apply this month for an Italian visa. Pray also for their financial support and spiritual preparation.
3. Pray for Johanna and Sarah as they transition out of their summer ministry in Palermo. Sarah has just returned to England where she will begin her university studies this fall. Johanna has just returned to the US, but she will soon leave for a year of teaching English in public schools in Japan.
4. Pray for our remaining services and for our transition back to Palermo on August 11th. It will be a fun challenge to re-connect with our neighbors and friends upon our return. From several e-mails we have received from them, it seems that our absence has actually made them more open to talking with us on a deeper level.
5. Pray for our continued search for a youth center building which we will begin again this fall. We believe that the momentum is growing toward this next step and that God will guide and provide!
Miscellaneous Notes
1. We have the privilege of serving as sponsors for the Missionary Kid District at Nazarene Youth Congress in Houston from July 20-27. Pray for these youth and for the thousands of others that will be gathering together to grow in their relationship with God and each other!
2. Johanna and Sarah have some great photos from their ministry in Palermo. Give their website a look!
3. If you would like more details about dates and times for our speaking schedule during the remainder of our home assignment this summer, we would be glad to send them to you.
4. Thank you to our Palermo Prayer Partners who are faithfully praying for Palermo. E-mail us if you would like to join PPP in order to receive more detailed prayer requests and answers to prayer by e-mail a couple times a month.
5. Pizza + Pasta = Pray for Palermo
May God’s grace reach out and touch you today,
Joel and Sara Mullen
E-mail: jsmullen@interfree.it
Website: homepage.mac.com/joelmullen
Posted: Wed - July 9, 2003 at 08:49 PM
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