And The City Is...Verona!

Well, we have some great news to announce, which is in some ways months in the making and in other ways years in the making. The target city for church plant number two of the Taking Christ to Italy project is Verona. In subsequent emails, we will be introducing you to this new city as we enlist you in praying us out of Ancona, where we have lived and ministered for over six years and preparing for the move to Verona.

In this email, I would like to share with you a few of the things that led us to the city of Verona. First, the Italian minister of the Apostolic Church in Verona made contact with us and showed us some of the spiritual needs of the city. The Apostolic Church is one of about four Italian speaking evangelical churches in this city of 270,000 people. The Apostolic Church is also the group in Italy that has provided the requests for us to have permission to be in Italy over the past six years. Elvio, the minister, and his wife, Paola, told us that they had been praying for more workers to come to Verona for a long time, in fact over a year ago they recruited the other members of the Apostolic Church to pray and fast with them about it. They saw our new team as answers to those prayers. He has been incredibly open to our new team, which is very strange for churches in Italy. They would love to help us get settled in the new city and find information for our new church plant.

Second, while the prayer/survey team was there we broke up into groups to explore the city throughout the day. At breakfast, a couple of us went into a coffee shop to get to know the workers. There was one woman behind the counter, who was very open and talkative with us. We asked about the spiritual condition of the people of Verona. She said there were many people who believed, but not many who went to church. She told us that she believed, but didn’t go to church, because she was not sure what she thought about the church, referring to the Catholic Church. She asked us more about what we were doing. We replied we were praying about choosing a city, out of four cities, for myself, my wife and a some friends to move to and start a new work there. Part of what we would be doing would be studying the Bible with people and being the Church, the way the New Testament describes it. She told us some of the great things about Verona and then told us before we left to come back and find her, if we chose Verona. She was the only person, out of the four cities, who told us to find her if we chose her city to move to.

Person after person, store owner after store owner, people continued to be friendly and talkative as we walked, prayed and surveyed Verona. Out of all the cities, it’s receptivity towards us and the new work seemed to be the most open. In some cities, to have conversations it felt like we were pulling teeth to get them to talk, or in other cities they simply answered questions, but in Verona the people there actually started conversations, not just continuing the ones we started. It was simply refreshing, to say the least. This was a characteristic which is foreign to us in Italy, in other words it isn’t normal.

While visiting the four cities that we surveyed, the people often told us what they thought of their particular city and the other cities we were visiting. Verona was the only city which people always had good things to say about. We prayed that God would use the people we met in the different cities to speak to us and had faith that He would. In Verona, we felt like the Christians there were asking for help and Eli (pronounced Ellie), the unchurched worker at the coffee shop, was interested in the new work that we were talking about doing. These people seemed to be clear voices in a search where we were praying for clarity.

One of the heartbreaking traits that we uncovered is that Verona leads the country of Italy in the number of divorces. This is a city that is famous for love, due to the semi-historical story of Romeo and Juliet (more on this in future months). This city of love continues to look for love in all the wrong places. The only love that will quench the thirst of their souls is the love of God, found through his son, Jesus Christ. We hope to be His witnesses in this new city.

Verona is a city of art, music, bikes, community and friendly people. Throughout the next many months we will mourn our life and friends in Ancona and greatly anticipate our life ahead in the city that God has directed us towards, which is Verona. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement as we have marched ahead in this new project for God’s kingdom.

A Decision is in the Works

Soon, we will be announcing the new target city for the Taking Christ to Italy project. Check back soon for details.

Bringing it all together.....

I have been trying to upload pictures of our time in the four cities whenever I have Internet access. Below is a list of links to see the pictures that I have posted.

To see where all the current and future albums are go here:
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/

City #1: Treviso; Day One:
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/prayersurvey-trip--/

City #1: Treviso; Day Two:
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/prayersurvey-trip-c/

City #2: Venezia-Mestre; Day One:
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/prayersurvey-trip---2/

City #2: Venezia-Mestre; Day Two:
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/prayersurvey-trip---1/

City #3: Verona; Day One:
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/prayersurvey-trip---3/

City #3: Verona; Day Two:
Coming Soon!

City #4: Parma; Day One:
Coming Soon!

City #4: Parma; Day Two:
Coming Soon!

From Verona to Parma

So this morning we went out to breakfast in small groups, as has been our custom for branching out into the neighborhoods. As we go, those of us who know Italian speak Italian, the others take the opportunity to find people who can speak English. Upon finding out who can speak English, we then have more information about the need for English as a means of reaching out to the community to a desire of theirs. This morning, Eric and I went to a Cafe several blocks from our hotel. It was run by a small blond Italian. Eric and I first got our breakfast and then we began a conversation, me in Italian and Eric in Spanish/English. Her name is Elisa, but she goes by Eli (pronounced Ellie) because she doesn't like her name Elisa. She was born in Verona and lived there her whole life. She said it is a great city, because it is close to the mountains, the lake and the city is beautiful too. I asked her how was the spiritual life of the city? She said that people say they believe but don't go to church or practice their faith. She said she doesn't anymore either. I asked why. She said that she believes, but doesn't know about the church (the Catholic church). She doesn't think you have to go to church to be a christian. Then the phone rang. She came back after the phone and she asked, why we were asking these kinds of questions. I said that I am a christian and a pastor. She replied, 'oh, ok'. I said that my wife and I have been in Ancona for years and we are praying about coming to a city in the north to start a new work in that city. Studying the Bible, helping people know more about Jesus, etc... I told her that we are visiting four cities and Verona is one of them. She gave us her opinions about the other cities, but then said she thought that we should choose Verona. After we paid, she said if you choose Verona, come back and find me. As we were leaving I gave her a business card, with my cell phone number and email address.

We had other opportunities in Verona and then we caught the train. We arrived in Parma in the early evening and explored the city, had dinner and then explored the city some more. At a cafe tonight, we me Diego, Nadia and Emmanuela. They told us how there are many "believers" but they don't practice anything or go to church. Emmanuela told us she used to but doesn't anymore. We talked about other things and before we left I told her that we would pray for her. She smiled and acted embarassed, so I said we will that is if you want us to. She enthusiastically said that she did want us to. So tonight before turning in our survey team prayed for her and other requests including for us to finish strong. We have tomorrow during the day and then we head back to Ancona in the early afternoon. We will have Life Group, dinner together then on Monday, begin compiling all the data. Thanks for any of you praying.

Impromptu Message & Worship

In preparation for our trip, I emailed many different missionaries in the north. I asked for information on contacts within the four cities we were going to be visiting. I got connected with people from Verona. When we arrived in Verona, I checked my email and saw there was one from Pastor Elvio. He leads the Apostolic Church here in Verona. He invited us to their prayer night. We went and he invited me to share a few words, which I did in Italian and also English for our survey team. He then went out of his way to show us some sights and then take us out to a great gelato shop. Then they drove us back to the hotel where we prayed and then headed to our rooms. One of the coolest statements from Elvio was, for about a year they have been praying for more workers to come to Verona.

And the Trip Goes On

We arrived in Mestre last night and checked into our hotel. I had a very interesting conversation with Mauro, who ran a newsstand. He is around 25 and thinks the mafia created the Catholic Church. He does believe though, but just doesn't go to church. Then the team went out into the city, where we saw where all the people gathered at Piazza Ferretti. Then we had dinner and as well as gelato and headed back to our hotel, where we prayed before going to bed. Mestre is the opposite in many ways of Treviso. It seems less safe, more graffiti, dirtier, the people more open and poorer (but Treviso is one of the richest in Italy, so that is not a huge thing).

This morning we headed out for surveys and prayer. After our time in Mestre we had to head to the train station to depart for Verona. There was a misunderstanding on the time for the train departure so we ended up having to practically jog with all of our luggage over a half of a mile through city streets to make out train in time. I literally took one step onto the train platform as it pulled in and a minute or so later we were on the train and on our way to Verona.

Once we got to Verona, we took a bus to our hotel and walked several streets to arrive at a great hotel, four stars, which coincidentally is the best hotel we have stayed in so far and is by far cheaper than the others ($39 per person per night). We have some time here at the hotel before we go out into the city to rest our legs and our minds. I'll write more later.

Here is another picture links...

Mestre (Day 2 - Day 1 Mestre Pictures coming later)
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/prayersurvey-trip---1/

Treviso - Day One (continued)

Here are some of Angie's thoughts after our first day in Treviso.

"Treviso is a beautiful city. It looks like a painting. It is very clean and the people are beautiful dressed like out of a fashion magazine. When we stepped out of the train station we could see a tree lined street. You can tell that the city has money. My thoughts and prayers for the people tonight have been surrounded by this money. I have wondered if they are bound by their love for money. I have prayed that God would free them from that. If I could put a face on Treviso it would be Davide. I know his name because I overheard a friend say “Ciao David” as they were saying goodbye. I watched Davide a tall slender man with a firm jaw who was wearing dark jeans and a black shirt. I watched him walk away smiling and I prayed that he would know my Jesus. "

And then below you can find a link to around 30 pictures from our first day in Treviso. Also the second link is where you can see all of the links for the trips so far.

Treviso - Day One
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/prayersurvey-trip--/

Pictures from 2007 (including Verona pics from an earlier trip)
http://public.fotki.com/mcrosser/2007/

Treviso - Day One

We made it to Treviso, and just checked into our hotel. At the train station we were already attracted to the cleanliness outside of the train station. Trees all in front of the train station and nice buildings. We only had a short walk to our hotel from the station. In a few minutes we will meet downstairs to go to dinner and explore the city center a little. Later, I will try to post some pictures.

Dinner With Friends

So tonight after the survey team learned the language and observed the Italian phenomenon of "strolling" they learned how to cook an Italian meal and then we ate that meal with several of our Italian friends. Some of those friends are part of our church and some of the others are not. We had a blast with all of them, then some of us went out for gelato before turning in for the night.

It gave the survey team a chance to spend time with Italians on a deeper scale than we probably will as we go through four strange cities. This way they could start to fall in love with the Italian people and also have something to compare their other experiences with.

Here are some pictures from the dinner together, which Angie did a great job cooking with Heather's help as well as some survey team helpers in the kitchen. Tomorrow morning the team is meeting at our house where we have a full slate planned of briefing the trip together, breakfast, previewing the evalutions and observations for the prospective cities and then heading to the train station for our first city, Treviso. We ask that God protect us and guide us on our journey.

Booklets for the Prayer/Survey Trip

So, I am still up and it's 5:40 AM. I stayed up finishing the booklets for the participants of the prayer and survey trip. Below is a picture of the booklets as I was putting them together. They consist of objectives, evaluations, a schedule, contact phone numbers, etc... I hope they help as we seek to discern God's will for the new city.

Download our Prayer Guide

Hey if you want to pray with us through the cities this week, download our prayer guide. View it by clicking here, http://www.thecrossers.com/gonorth/gonorthprayerguide200704.pdf. If you want to download it right click the link above and choose to "save target as" and choose somewhere on your computer where you want to store it.

Prep Work For The Prayer and Survey Trip

So, we are getting closer to the Prayer and Survey trip through the four cities we are considering for the next church plant. I have been working on the schedule and accompanying resource booklet for the participants. I am including maps of each city's downtown area (the area usually most frequented by Italians), phone numbers for emergencies, survey questions, items to consider as we walk through each city, as well as places to journal and evaluations as we leave each city. After the trip we plan on compiling the information and sharing with prayer partners and supporting churches, so that we can pray together for the city in which we will be ministering next. I will close now, so that I can get further along on the materials I am preparing.

The First Arrival

Today, Angie and I picked up Charles Lawyer at the airport in Ancona. Charles is a representative from one of our supporting churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Go here to follow along in his blog at http://www.xanga.com/ima_cOoL_dad as he travels with us on the prayer and survey trip. Glad you could make it Charles! With Charles' arrival it makes it that much more real that the survey and prayer trip is here. We are several months into this new work and we have been looking forward to this trip so that we could find out God's leading. Now, we are just waiting on Trudi, Eric, John and Ann to arrive in the next few days and we will then take off on the four day adventure.

Wonderings about the Prayer/Survey Trip

So in about a week, we will be heading to the first city on our four city stop. Several of us have been enlisting the prayers of hundreds of believers who will be following our itinerary and praying along as we go from city to city. At this point, I am a little anxious. Not in a bad way....I think. It is mainly an anxiety of not knowing how God will show us where to go. It's not that I doubt He will, it's how He will do it. And we have our eyes open enough to see it! In a couple of months I believe that we will know, now it is just a matter of patience, faith and obedience.

Prayer and Survey Trip

From April 25-29, we will be leading a prayer and survey trip through the four cities that we have been researching and praying over to be the site of the upcoming church plant. Here are some tools for praying with us as we go from city to city. Thanks for your prayers as we go forward with this project. Email us if you have any questions (or comment below). mcrosser@teamexpansion.org.

Coming up.....

We are only about a week and a half away from a prayer and survey trip we will be taking to help determine what city God is calling our new team to. In the next few days I will post information about the prayer and survey trip, as well as some tools to help you join with us in praying.

Also, this marks the release of Team Expansion's first Global Podcast. Yours truly was the interviewee and Jason Casey (Leader for the Ancona team) was the interviewer. It is all about the new work that is underway. I hope to post it here soon for you to check out. Also, I will post the new feed for all the new Team Expansion podcasts.

I love technology and the interaction with supporters that it gives us missionaries.

Prospective City Pictures

There have been two trips taken to the city, Verona, which is one of the four prospective cities we are looking at for the new church plant. The first trip was an overnight trip on February 16, 2007 and you can find the pictures here. The second trip was about a month later on March 15th and you can find the pictures from that trip here. Thanks for praying for Verona and the other three cities, Parma, Treviso and Venezia-Mestre.