The Italian Memorandum

There is an Italian proverb by Marco D’Oggione which says, “A man should learn to sail in all winds.”  As Marla and I walked through the Magenta neighborhood recently (likely that of Leonardo’ da Vinci), we felt the cool autumn winds and saw the bluest sky.  But, the winds of this autumn are not limited to the skies of Lombardy.

Piero e Eveline

Let me explain.  Last Sunday night, we had a couple from Zurich, Switzerland over to our apartment for a late supper (la cena).  They were originally from the lake region of northern Italy.  He was Italian, she  was of German descent.  If you notice the photo, our new friend looks like the actor George Clooney!    A Milanese stopped him to ask  if he was Clooney; he said, “No, I’m his brother.”

Giovani e Lucia

On the evening prior, we had an Italian couple in our home, Giovanni, an attorney in Milan, and his wife, Lucia.

Then, again, last night, I taught two young women from Ethiopia at the office (And, yes, I used Acts 8 to finalize my thoughts; thrilling indeed! ).   Prior to that meeting, I had spent almost an hour answering a question posed by a man from Sri Lanka.  Tomorrow, I will be teaching a young married woman named Vanessa, from Peru, South America.  In the morning, I will have met with a student from Ecuador.

The Italian language  and culture has brought all of these people together from the four winds of Earth.  This is a situation not dissimilar from that of Acts 2 and Isaiah 2 (“and many people shall come…that he may teach us his ways”).

Marla and I feel that we were placed  in Milan for this special moment in history. The breezes of these times are like currents in history.  The apostle Paul believed and taught in Ephesians 1 that  the winds of history serve to connect and affirm that God has entered history through Christ, and that history itself is not static, but dynamic for those who participate by faith.  We will close with a piece from Dante Alighieri: “Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always.”

A major concern of mine has been how to adequately show gratitude to our supporters. Well, in just three weeks, I am happy to be able to report that we have had an immediate flood of good news!

The Good News

1. First, a certain Monica was baptized in Florence several weeks ago.  Since then, she has shown good faith and is scheduled to be with Marla and I next Domenica (Sunday) after morning worship.
2. Secondly, another new sister, Maria, was added to the body after a long contemplation.  She expressed last Domenica that it was 1:00 A.M. when she decided to find that special pool of water mentioned throughout the book of Acts.  She was baptized and we all celebrated her new birth, along with Miss Monica’s.
3. Thirdly, we are glad to announce that an American family, Doug & Elizabeth, have become involved in the Milan work as a result of an engineering position which brings them to Milan.
4. Fourthly, I am extremely excited about working with three brothers in the congregation who want to train to go to the next level.  There may be more, but at this time these three have vocalized a special request to be challenged privately.

Bob's training session

About the brothers in Training

• Fikado, a brilliant Ethiopian, who speaks three languages, desires to learn Koine Greek and outreach skills.
• Fausto, from Equador, also a keen soul, is meeting with me to bring action into his Christian repertoire. Reciprocally, he is sharing his Italian language skills with me.
• Eric, from the Philippines, who is a tremendous song leader and persuader for the Lord’s cause.

Jason & Eric

Ficadu & Jason

These men already have a considerable Bible background. They are sharpening their swords for tomorrow. So, you see why Marla and I are legitimately encouraged by the first three weeks. A word of special thanks to all of our supporters, and especially to Lewis and Tammy: former missionaries to Milan, who laid the ground work and believed in us. We hope that you too are encouraged by these immediate developments! “Alleluia. Cantate al Signore un cantico nuovo” (Salmo 149: 1) “Praise the Lord!  Sing to the Lord a new song” (Psalm 149:1)

via Marco Polo

Our Home in Milan is located on Via Marco Polo.  We live about two miles from the down town area, where the church building and office are located.  One day, on the way home, as I turned the corner near our apartment by The Windsor Hotel, I nearly fell.  I had a slight sprain.  The blacktop on the sidewalk dropped rather abruptly which caused my incident.  Fortunately, it was not a severe sprain.  I personally know the difference.  Now, about three weeks later, I am about recovered from this mishap.

outside Windsor Hotel

There are many isolated facts which I should probably mention, but for some of you these might be boring.  Suffice it to say that there have been many hoops to jump through prior to coming to Milan and during our first three weeks (government paper work primarily): codice fiscale; permesso soggiorno; La Questera; apartment contract; keys; numerous official necessary documents translated into Italian; groceries; transportation passes; unusual laundry arrangements;

clothes line in bath room

stairs; address preparations; household acquisitions; Italian internet; telephones;

etc.

The reason we mention some of the above difficulties is so that when you notice on this web site some happy people—that’s us—please be aware of some of the labor behind the scenes.  We will try to show some photos of our apartment and environment in Milan.  But, as lovely as these may appear, we assure you that Milan poses its own wilderness.    In our next post, we will mention some rapid positive developments in the church here.  Now we are getting into the reason for the passion about Milan.  We hope that you are enriched by these new developments.  Truly, newness and nowness (2 Corinthians 5, 6) serve to define Porta Nuova: our home away from home.

Metro Repubblica

We are composing this, our first post since arriving in Milan, to give some details about how the first three weeks have been. We have entitled this post, Comasina: Home Away From Home, because Comasina is the end of the subway line en route to our apartment. In other words, to get to Metro Repubblica, our stop, one has to get on the yellow line called Comasina. This is, of course, slightly metaphorical, if not biblical, as to our present status en route to the holy city. Please excuse some bumpy grammar, as being bilingual has taken a toll on my English (strange indeed).

The Journey Home

The Prince of Savio Hotel

I arrived in Milan on August 24th after a long flight.  On my way  from Stockholm to Milan the weather was clear enabling me to have a clear view of the Alps.  This was one of the highlights for my flight.  Having arranged for Marla to come to Milan a week later than myself I started off running to get the new apartment and other initial set up completed before her arrival.

Sights From Apartment

At night, our home views the Hotel Principe di Savoia (The Prince of Savoia, an old and favored hotel of Milan; bombed during WWII.).

The First Lesson in Milan in 2011

Milan Church Building

I was asked to speak on the Lord’s Day, soon after my arrival. I spoke on Hebrews 9:3: Behind the Second Curtain; encouraging the brethren to look behind the second curtain when life gets difficult. This sense of difficulty seems to be a theme of Hebrews. In our next post, we will mention some of the difficulties on the way home.

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 23^rd. Marla will depart September 2^nd. 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 4^th, 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 23^rd 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.

Ready to Fly

We are now into final preparations for our departure to Milan.   Tickets have been acquired for August 23 and September 2.  Marla and Jason will depart about a week after I arrive and have secured housing accommodations.  Jason is our technology expert having worked in the field for years now.

Italian with Coco

Coco and Beatrice D'Esta (painting)

Last night, Marla and I were in the company of Signor Coco, our Italian language instructor, and his wife De.  We attended the 103 Annual Art Exhibit of Des Moines at the Hoyt-Sherman Place (see photo).  We meet for language studies twice a week with Coco.  Eugenio Coco as we say has been put in the Midwest for such a time as this; this moment of linguistic training with theological priority.  He is a native of Italy where he spent his first 23 years.  His father, Francesco Coco, who now rests from his labors, was an indispensable translator for the Italian missionary activity of the churches of Christ during the1950’s and forward.  He is so well spoken of by the brethren (Rev. 14:13).  Eugenio’s grandfather, Domenico Quattrocciochi was a recognized Italian artist from the south.  Signor Coco is preparing us for Italy as a labor of love.  Language schools in general are expensive.  He has taken us under his tutelage as a free commission and continuation of the work of  his father (Lk. 2:49).

On the Mend

In addition to our language studies, we are completing our fund raising; piecing employment together to pay monthly bills; living with our son in Des Moines; and mending from back surgery.  The back surgery of September was successful.  We are grateful for having had insurance to cover the $100K  cost of this extensive operation, consisting of front and rear incisions; not to mention screws, pins, and a plate at L-5.  Yes, it sounds like a hardware store!

Why Italy?

To reiterate why we are going to Italy, we should like to enumerate: first, that our formative background was in Italian Catholicism; second, our extensive emphasis since 1977 has been in the Koine Greek of the New Testament; and, thirdly, a very saturated emphasis in the European philosophies which have served to dismantle the age-old religious structures (from the British F.H. Bradley to the existentialism of Nietsche; who, incidentally, is still being quoted on trains in Italy).  The ultimate reason for going to Italy is that the gospel is for all; for all time; and for all, right now (Rev. 14:6).

In conclusion to this brief but needful update, we will provide a gospel reference (John 20:15).  Like that misty fog (la nebbia della Lombardia) of Milan, which so often characterizes the landscape beyond the city and hovers over the streets, there is something of a gardener among the mists who clearly portrays a message.  The message, however, could not be processed until the fog of personal reflection had lifted.    The supposed gardener  of John 20:15 was not a gardener at all.

The March to Milan is a resurrection event.  Please remember us in prayer and communicate with us if you would like to participate during this critical time  (515) 988-4220.

On September 13th  and 15th, Bob had back surgery to correct a slippage at L5.  He was having acute difficulty walking and standing for many months.  The technical name of the condition is Spondylolisthesis.  The surgery was performed by Des Moines’ finest doctors.  It involved a front and rear incision.  The doctor found a grouping of nerves being compressed which accounted for the pain.  In a word, the surgery was successful.

The recovery will now be 3-6 months .  So, our departure date of December, 2010 to return to Milan has been necessarily moved into the spring of 2011.  All of this makes one ponder the Acts narrative about why ship wrecks happen (Acts 27).  Well, the worst is now over.  We are regaining our strength for the journey ahead.  I like to say that the surgery is now behind me, literally.  I am so fortunate to have had this corrective surgery.  It is a blessing from the Lord.

Thanks for your prayers.

In preparation to return to Italy with the gospel, we made our way to little Rock, Arkansas. The trip would be blessed by time spent in the company of the head of the Department of Sciences, Travis Thompson; Italian missionaries: Howard and Doris Bybee, along with Dr. Carl Mitchell (Dixie Café, Searcy); Paul Love, the lyricist of Italia, the Shackleford family (including Becca; unfortunate to miss Lucy Console by hours though); Dr. Bruce McLarty; Levy church leadership and Roger Pritchett of Pleasant Valley.

Shackelford's & Us

Shackelford's with Becca

Among Leonardo’s riddles is this—”Huge figures in human shape will loom, and the nearer you get to them, the smaller they will become” (Emery Kelen, Fantastic Tales, Strange Animals, Riddles, Jests, And Prophecies of Leonardo Da Vinci, 105). He spoke of the shadows of men carrying lanterns by night. Of course, we say, unless we did not know the solution. Perhaps, this is how it is with the God of Scripture. We know something about who he is, nevertheless within the context of these shadowlands. However, unlike Leonardo’s riddle, the closer one gets to the humanity of Jesus the larger he looms, not smaller (Col. 2:9).

Justin Martyr, prior to the Council of Nicea in 325 (about 150 A.D) used Hebrews 1:8 in reference to Jesus: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.” Yes, we are aware of the Brooklyn, New York, Watchtower people who suggest a little “g” for 1:8. But, Justin Martyr (and others) certainly knocks out their premise that the Trinity was a mute point before Nicea. And, it was Tertullian (160-215 A.D.) who used the phrase,“unity in trinity.” Byron’s language is perhaps the most cogent, “If ever God was man, and man was God, Jesus Christ was both.” The Italian for John 8:58 uses the verb “io sono” (from essere, to be); a present tense depicting God as possessing a state of eternal presentness within the reality of eternity. He is also identifying with Yahweh of Exodus 3:14. How large does that loom the closer one gets. Hebrews 13:8, too, furnishes a beautiful complimentary perspective—”Gesu Cristo e lo stesso ieri, oggi, e in eterno.”

In C.S. Lewis,’ The Horse and His Boy, Lewis set forth a Trinitarian truism that is undeniable; causing us to realize that there are indeed different manifestations of God’s living and communicating being for mankind:

“Myself, said the Voice, very deep and low, so that the earth shook; and again, Myself, loud and clear. Then the third time, Myself, whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, yet,it sounded like it came from round about you, as if the leaves rustled with it.”

This past trip has brought us closer to our desired destination. We appreciate the warmth and the direction for the shadows of the night, for the Three Candles and the One Light! Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Housby & Pritchett

Robert M. Housby

March to Milan via Little Rock