Unexpected Opportunities

When we arrived in Italy, we knew that it was God Who would determine every opportunity we would have to serve Him. We are so grateful for His direction and help.

God provided the opportunity to serve in a little church not too far from where we live.

There are about 20 attendees every Sunday and we are grateful for the privilege to serve with them. David has begun to preach regularly on Sundays, alongside Alfredo and Mario. It is wonderful to teach the Word of God to such an attentive group of believers. Loredana teaches the Sunday school for the children that attend. We are grateful for the opportunities to spend time with the believers and encourage them. A few weeks ago, David was able to officiate a funeral, attended by many unsaved friends. We are so grateful for the wonderful believers we worship with and the opportunity to reach out to a neighborhood of thousands who need the Gospel.

The state of many of the churches in Italy is really sad.

In Rome, where we are, many of the churches are without leadership and many have unresolved conflicts within the church and with other surrounding groups. When we arrived we prayed that God would use us, if He wanted, to help in some of these situations. A few weeks ago, David was asked to help a group of five missionaries to reconcile. As the result of an ongoing conflict, a new group had been formed with about 20 people who had left the church with a couple of the leaders. God was so kind to work in the hearts of these men during the meetings. David was asked on Sunday to preach in the main church, where all the leaders confessed their sin and all those who had left where present. Only God can produce this kind of results! We continue to pray that God will work in the hearts of all those involved and produce the kind of resolutions that truly please Him. We also are asking God that this situation would be an example for many of the other churches who need to reconcile.

There are many who have fallen away.

Having just returned to Italy gives us the opportunity to reach out to many whom we know, who are not attending church anymore. Obviously, we do not know if they were ever truly saved, but we hope to have the opportunity to reach them with the Gospel and see God work in their hearts

We have received the notification for Loredana’s citizenship.

By God’s grace, we were able to find out even before the notification arrived that Loredana needs to be in the USA on the 17th of June for her citizenship ceremony. We are excited to be able to return with such a short notice, on the 9th of June. It will be a joy to visit Jordan and Jennifer and our newest grandchild in Washington D.C., where Jordan accepted the position as College Pastor at Immanuel Bible Church. And we are equally thankful to be able to be at Grace Immanuel Bible Church in Jupiter, Florida for one Sunday and worship with our sending church.
We are very excited about these many opportunities, and we realize that any spiritual results are brought about by God. What a blessing it will be, to be used by Him, for His glory. We continue to covet your prayers!

PLEASE PRAY:  
-For our church  Chiesa Evangelica di Via Natan
-For continued resolution in the church we were able to assist
-For opportunities to reach out to others who need the Gospel
-For the language and culture acquisition of our co-workers Matt and Johanna Johnston (they are doing a wonderful job)
-For the necessary finances for this unexpected trip

Thank you for your love for Christ and your commitment to Him.

Your co-slaves of Christ,
David and Loredana

[colored_box title=”If you would like to support our ministry to Italy ” variation=”olive”]Please send your tax deductible gifts to:

CORNELIUS MINISTRIES
55 South Main Street #164
Oberlin, OH 44074

Mark on the memo line or on a separate note: For the ministry of David and Loredana Standridge[/colored_box]