May-Jun 2002 (Year 3, Number 7)
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News
Tidbits
1. Christian youth have invaded Palermo! Over the last seven weeks, 27 youth on three different mission teams have ministered together with us in Palermo. These youth laid a solid foundation by spending dozens of hours pushing back the darkness over Palermo through concentrated prayer: group prayer, individual prayer, prayer walking, and prayer from the top of Monte Pellegrino. Building on this solid foundation, they met over 70 new people in our neighborhood and spent valuable time deepening relationships with many of our friends and neighbors!
They have had numerous opportunities to share the reasons for their hope in Christ and to be solid examples of Christian living - sometimes on the beach, on the sidewalk, in a restaurant, in an ice cream shop, or in our home. Each time they were able to rub shoulders with Italian youth, we know that Christ was being communicated. Thank you to these teams for their investment in future church leaders in Palermo!
2. Our recent prayer times from the top of Monte Pellegrino were special experiences for us. It was from this mountain that we prayed over the city on our first visit to Palermo in August 2001. God reminded us of how far he has brought us from that first day until now: finding a home, getting residence papers, meeting our neighbors, receiving a warm and positive reception, building a network of relationships in the neighborhood, welcoming people into our home, spiritual conversations, home Bible studies, dreaming about a youth center, hosting ministry teams, etc. This is undeniably the time and place God has called us to be!
3. Three of our Italian friends came to our most recent home Bible study. For two of them, this was their second time to come, and they mentioned how much they enjoyed it, how much they liked the singing, and how they wished they could talk more with us about spiritual things not just on Thursdays! The other youth shared that he doesn't participate in any church but is exploring faith and moving closer to "spiritual things." This didn't just happen. God has brought these youth to us, and he is calling them by name to follow him! All three of them are seriously interested in attending our youth camp in July. Wouldn't that be exciting?!
4. Sara had a really good conversation this week with one of our English students. The girl shared about her family, her father's death, her grandparent's health, the terrible problem of unemployment in Sicily, the Catholic church, her religious beliefs, etc. She has been touched by our kindness to offer free English lessons and often tries to "repay" us by buying us ice cream! The student had tears in her eyes as Sara shared with her our dream to open a Christian youth center in our neighborhood where we could offer various ministries and services to young people. Pray that through our relationship with her God would make her aware of her deep spiritual need!
5. Thank you to Daniel and Carol Ketchum (our field directors) and Tim and Danielle Whetstone for encouraging us and sharing in our ministry during their visits to Palermo. Their interaction with our neighbors added significantly to the foundation that God has been laying here in Palermo. Thank you for ministering intentionally with us!
Answers to Prayer
1. An older gentlemen in one of our local cafes regularly asks us very difficult questions about God. He alternates between belief in God and disbelief. The other day, he begged Joel to promise that he would pray for him. He said that he doesn't have the faith to pray, but that he needed us to pray for him. What he doesn't know is that we have prayed for him every day by name ever since we first met him several months ago! Thank you Lord for making him aware of his desire for you!
2. Thank you for praying for our doorkeeper. He has increasingly opened himself up to us over the past weeks. He has fallen in love with the youth that have come to work along side of us. Though he doesn't completely understand why they have come, he has been warmed by their Christian spirit. Pray for spiritual discernment to know when and how to approach spiritual topics with him more frequently.
3. Thank you for praying for our neighbor who has recently begun studying his Bible. Keep praying for his spiritual journey. In a recent conversation, he shared that he considered Joel his spiritual guide. What an incredible responsibility and open door God has given us!
4. God has opened up incredible opportunities recently for conversations with one of the families in our building. They are very open to our spiritual influence on their lives. Through a mixture of catholic and atheistic beliefs and shared hurtful experiences, they are seeking peace and comfort. Please pray for this family and for more opportunities to be a testimony of grace that can transform lives and be lived out in holiness.
5. The church building in Catania is well underway! The foundation has been laid and the actual building is taking shape. Praise the Lord!
Prayer Requests
1. Pray for the Italy Youth Camp (17-22 July). Pray that the Italian youth would be encouraged and challenged to commit their lives entirely to God.
2. Pray for the Palermo Youth Center. Pray that God would lead us to the right location and for the paperwork process that will follow.
3. Pray for the Task Force mission team from England that will minister with us from July 8-24. Pray for Darlene Risto, a student at European Nazarene College that will do her internship here for the month of July. Continue to pray for the Youth in Mission team as they minister in Catania and the Italy Youth Camp in the next month.
4. Pray for the Eurasia Regional Youth Council - Sabine Wielk, Rob Gray, David Eliasen, Joel Mullen, Doug Mann, Davide Cantarella, Basim Ammari, John Bose, and Deirdre Brower.
5. We can't "keep up" with what is happening here! We need people willing to come to Palermo to spend time with youth and build relationships with them. We need some who can teach English, computer, or other courses. We need others who could "staff" the youth center and coordinate its various ministries. We need creative people to help expand on some of these ministries and to continue to walk through the doors that God is opening. Pray with us that God would call some young people to serve as volunteers in Palermo.
Miscellaneous Notes
1. When you eat pizza or pasta, pray for the people of Palermo!
2. If you or someone you know might be interested in coming to Palermo as a volunteer, please let us know! We would love to have you join us and enhance our ministry here for 6 months, a year, or more!
3. Thank you to so many who have collected Christian CDs for youth on the West. Med. Field. Several hundred CDs have already been sent! Contact us if you are still interested in getting involved.
4. We are beginning to envision our neighbors and friends as members of the body of Christ. We can see with spiritual eyes the ways that God would love to use them in his kingdom: some as musicians, some as children's workers, some as influential community leaders, some as artists, some as youth leaders, and God-willing, some as pastors! How exciting it is when God gives us glimpses of what will be!
5. There have been so many God-moments through the last two months that we could never write them all down. They happen every day, with every new person we meet, in every friend we can greet and show kindness to - it is all making an divine impact in this neighborhood. We literally cannot go anywhere on foot without meeting people who stop to greet us and talk with us. People have begun trusting us, sharing personal problems with us, and allowing us to help them in small ways. God is doing great things. Your prayer is being transformed into God's power! Keep praying and believing in miracles!
Joel and Sara Mullen
1. Christian youth have invaded Palermo! Over the last seven weeks, 27 youth on three different mission teams have ministered together with us in Palermo. These youth laid a solid foundation by spending dozens of hours pushing back the darkness over Palermo through concentrated prayer: group prayer, individual prayer, prayer walking, and prayer from the top of Monte Pellegrino. Building on this solid foundation, they met over 70 new people in our neighborhood and spent valuable time deepening relationships with many of our friends and neighbors!
They have had numerous opportunities to share the reasons for their hope in Christ and to be solid examples of Christian living - sometimes on the beach, on the sidewalk, in a restaurant, in an ice cream shop, or in our home. Each time they were able to rub shoulders with Italian youth, we know that Christ was being communicated. Thank you to these teams for their investment in future church leaders in Palermo!
2. Our recent prayer times from the top of Monte Pellegrino were special experiences for us. It was from this mountain that we prayed over the city on our first visit to Palermo in August 2001. God reminded us of how far he has brought us from that first day until now: finding a home, getting residence papers, meeting our neighbors, receiving a warm and positive reception, building a network of relationships in the neighborhood, welcoming people into our home, spiritual conversations, home Bible studies, dreaming about a youth center, hosting ministry teams, etc. This is undeniably the time and place God has called us to be!
3. Three of our Italian friends came to our most recent home Bible study. For two of them, this was their second time to come, and they mentioned how much they enjoyed it, how much they liked the singing, and how they wished they could talk more with us about spiritual things not just on Thursdays! The other youth shared that he doesn't participate in any church but is exploring faith and moving closer to "spiritual things." This didn't just happen. God has brought these youth to us, and he is calling them by name to follow him! All three of them are seriously interested in attending our youth camp in July. Wouldn't that be exciting?!
4. Sara had a really good conversation this week with one of our English students. The girl shared about her family, her father's death, her grandparent's health, the terrible problem of unemployment in Sicily, the Catholic church, her religious beliefs, etc. She has been touched by our kindness to offer free English lessons and often tries to "repay" us by buying us ice cream! The student had tears in her eyes as Sara shared with her our dream to open a Christian youth center in our neighborhood where we could offer various ministries and services to young people. Pray that through our relationship with her God would make her aware of her deep spiritual need!
5. Thank you to Daniel and Carol Ketchum (our field directors) and Tim and Danielle Whetstone for encouraging us and sharing in our ministry during their visits to Palermo. Their interaction with our neighbors added significantly to the foundation that God has been laying here in Palermo. Thank you for ministering intentionally with us!
Answers to Prayer
1. An older gentlemen in one of our local cafes regularly asks us very difficult questions about God. He alternates between belief in God and disbelief. The other day, he begged Joel to promise that he would pray for him. He said that he doesn't have the faith to pray, but that he needed us to pray for him. What he doesn't know is that we have prayed for him every day by name ever since we first met him several months ago! Thank you Lord for making him aware of his desire for you!
2. Thank you for praying for our doorkeeper. He has increasingly opened himself up to us over the past weeks. He has fallen in love with the youth that have come to work along side of us. Though he doesn't completely understand why they have come, he has been warmed by their Christian spirit. Pray for spiritual discernment to know when and how to approach spiritual topics with him more frequently.
3. Thank you for praying for our neighbor who has recently begun studying his Bible. Keep praying for his spiritual journey. In a recent conversation, he shared that he considered Joel his spiritual guide. What an incredible responsibility and open door God has given us!
4. God has opened up incredible opportunities recently for conversations with one of the families in our building. They are very open to our spiritual influence on their lives. Through a mixture of catholic and atheistic beliefs and shared hurtful experiences, they are seeking peace and comfort. Please pray for this family and for more opportunities to be a testimony of grace that can transform lives and be lived out in holiness.
5. The church building in Catania is well underway! The foundation has been laid and the actual building is taking shape. Praise the Lord!
Prayer Requests
1. Pray for the Italy Youth Camp (17-22 July). Pray that the Italian youth would be encouraged and challenged to commit their lives entirely to God.
2. Pray for the Palermo Youth Center. Pray that God would lead us to the right location and for the paperwork process that will follow.
3. Pray for the Task Force mission team from England that will minister with us from July 8-24. Pray for Darlene Risto, a student at European Nazarene College that will do her internship here for the month of July. Continue to pray for the Youth in Mission team as they minister in Catania and the Italy Youth Camp in the next month.
4. Pray for the Eurasia Regional Youth Council - Sabine Wielk, Rob Gray, David Eliasen, Joel Mullen, Doug Mann, Davide Cantarella, Basim Ammari, John Bose, and Deirdre Brower.
5. We can't "keep up" with what is happening here! We need people willing to come to Palermo to spend time with youth and build relationships with them. We need some who can teach English, computer, or other courses. We need others who could "staff" the youth center and coordinate its various ministries. We need creative people to help expand on some of these ministries and to continue to walk through the doors that God is opening. Pray with us that God would call some young people to serve as volunteers in Palermo.
Miscellaneous Notes
1. When you eat pizza or pasta, pray for the people of Palermo!
2. If you or someone you know might be interested in coming to Palermo as a volunteer, please let us know! We would love to have you join us and enhance our ministry here for 6 months, a year, or more!
3. Thank you to so many who have collected Christian CDs for youth on the West. Med. Field. Several hundred CDs have already been sent! Contact us if you are still interested in getting involved.
4. We are beginning to envision our neighbors and friends as members of the body of Christ. We can see with spiritual eyes the ways that God would love to use them in his kingdom: some as musicians, some as children's workers, some as influential community leaders, some as artists, some as youth leaders, and God-willing, some as pastors! How exciting it is when God gives us glimpses of what will be!
5. There have been so many God-moments through the last two months that we could never write them all down. They happen every day, with every new person we meet, in every friend we can greet and show kindness to - it is all making an divine impact in this neighborhood. We literally cannot go anywhere on foot without meeting people who stop to greet us and talk with us. People have begun trusting us, sharing personal problems with us, and allowing us to help them in small ways. God is doing great things. Your prayer is being transformed into God's power! Keep praying and believing in miracles!
Joel and Sara Mullen
Posted: Sun - June 30, 2002 at 11:21 PM
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Published On: Jan 09, 2004 05:11 PM