The summer of 2011 will be remembered as hot (fa caldo). But, now, the evening breeze is cooler and we are ready for the transition. Bob will depart August 23rd. Marla will depart September 2nd. The purpose of this post is to mention some of the things that have transpired most recently. In July, we had a family reunion in Des Moines. That week of the 4th, also, we drove to Chicago with Signor Coco en route to the Italian Consulate. Once there, at 500 North Michigan Avenue, we met some key people (with authority). From this meeting and by additional exchanges of documents, we received our Visa just yesterday; along with the return of our passports and other sensitive materials. This may sound perfunctory, but until we had these documents in hand, our mission would be considered a “no-go.” The remainder of July and August, to-date, has been a period of meetings, documents, and last minute items. Without getting too detailed, we might mention that notarization of a half-dozen such documents was part of the time consuming aspect of this work. Obtaining a contract in Italy for an apartment has also been fraught with twists and turns. We are pleased to say though that we are now guaranteed a residence (Via Marco Polo). We must also mention our southern trip to Memphis; Cape Girardeau; Essex; and Clinton. These places, both large and small are nothing but powerhouses of encouragement to us. We had a briefing with Lewis and Tammy in Memphis. They have been the missionaries in Milan for the past 10 years. We must also mention how great that it has been to be here in Des Moines with the Grandview church of Christ. From their support through my back surgery to countless encouragements along the way, we are indebted to this group of Iowa Christians. To the Elders and Deacons on our Missions team at Grandview, thank very much for your sponsorship of the March to Milan. We will miss Grandview very much, as we say goodbye to Des Moines.
We are producing a handbook for the brethren in Milan. This new work is entitled, Portable Principles for the New Christian Life (Principi Portatili). We will post this for your perusal in the near future.
We are so excited about the Milano church! They have gone the extra-mile in leg work on their side to help make our move possible. We shouldn’t start dropping names, but we are thrilled to be a part of this fellowship. We have been told that the church in Milan is busy getting ready for our arrival and ministry. Soon and very soon!
We would like to begin this post with a word of thanks to our supporters. We have been so blessed by so many contributors; and, then, there is this unusually liberal anonymous contributor of late. We are both stunned and grateful! Our posture has been that of Psalm 25:1-2, “To you O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God in you I trust.” And, then, you showed up (in his name)!
We want to make several things clear in this post: First, we would not be leaving this August 23rd without your timely donations. We were told when we entered this missionary venture that, “All missionaries are fund-raisers.” That has become more and more evident. We would also like to say, secondly, that the monies generated in the cause of Christ to the country of Italy will be used by us to comply with the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). In other words, as we have spelled out before, we are doing this in conjunction with the formal invitation of the Via del Bollo chiesa di Cristo. The anticipation and participation of this moment in time by the church in Milan has also been a great part of the spiritual impetus for us to continue with this mission; despite back surgery; linguistic barriers; and dozens of other matters. How do we feel about our supporters? Well, Bob and Marla want to thank you for your kind and timely gifts. In the Italian biblical text it is
written: “Benedetto colui che viene nel nome del Signore”/ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Ps. 118:26). We go together now to commence this work in Milan, Italy.