I just watched a video about John MacArthur's encounter with Lucio, a native Italian. It's not the best video about ministry here in Italy, but it does express some things:
1. Ministry in Italy happens very slowly. It is a huge mission field. They mention that a minister who was there 15 years had a church of 30 and that was a success. I don't like judging success by numbers only, but that just shows how different it is from American churches.
2. Lucio mentions that Italians are not well-trained for ministry. I told a girl I met at church that I worked with students in churches in America and she looked at me like I was crazy... You actually get PAID to do that?!
Special prayer request: Irene (my awesome stepsister) has her last college exam tomorrow. It's for economy and she's been studying like a madwoman since before I got here for this test. Her test is Wednesday, Oct 6 at 2pm here (8am EST). So if you could just take a minute to pray for her to be able to answer the questions clearly. She won't find out for like a month on how she did on the test.
I'd love to pray for her! It sounds like she is doing all she can to be prepared and ready.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I am a fan of John MacArthur....Wow, what a difference in culture! Makes me think of that one lost sheep that the shepherd will stop to find...and all the angels in heaven rejoicing when even "1" lost sheep is found. Numbers aren't everything. The lost being found is everything...even when it's in small numbers.