February/March 2011

Time always flies! Its hard to believe it has been so long since the last update.

The Carnival season ended at the beginning of March and for that we are thankful. It can be compared to Halloween festivities. Kids dress up for parties and everyone eats too much. There is no trick-or-treating, however, in February we received a package that my father-in-law had sent at the beginning of October. And guess what was inside? Halloween Candy! Thanks Ron!

Women's Retreat
The end of January and beginning of February were very busy for Heather this year. She participated as a member of the planning committee for the women's retreat and was invited to help lead small groups. The topic of the retreat was the Beatitudes from Matthew 5. Heather and Dina, another woman from our congregation, led eight different small group discussions, specifically discussing Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.” According to Heather, the retreat went very well, and all who attended were blessed by the discussions and fellowship between sisters in Christ. Of course, when Heather returned from her retreat, Noah had a surprise for her: a black eye and a cut near his eyebrow. It was a bike accident that occurred in the parking lot behind our house. Noah says his bike was being sneaky because he went one direction and the bike went another. He has a small scar but is otherwise fine now.

Congregational Happenings
The flu season hit our congregation hard this year. The usual symptoms were 6 days of high fever, with coughing that lingered afterwards. It hit every family, including Lucia, the wife of our landlord. Unfortunately for Lucia, her flu symptoms turned into pneumonia. She has now recovered well, thanks be to God. Due to the flu season, our attendance was down a bit, however we were encouraged by the attendance of a few Nigerians, who live next door to the Seminara family. The Seminara's have helped them out in numerous ways along with giving them rides to worship, and our church always feels blessed to have them in our number on any given Sunday.

Most of you know that we have been working a great deal on congregational unity for much of last year. Recently that focus has been placed directly on the topic of fellowship/communion. Simply being together as Christians can have a tremendous impact on our faith by encouraging us to live godly lives. Knowing that we have brothers and sisters who are concerned for us stimulates us to greater service and often results in the desire to contribute to the well-being of the other participants. This has been one of our goals and lately we feel that these lessons are being put to the test. Please continue to pray specifically for the unity of the church here in Pistoia.

The midweek studies are now looking at Ephesians 4 and 5 concerning how our lives change or should change when we become Christians. In Paul's words, we are to be imitators of God and we are to behave in a worthy manner. Our world is saturated with selfishness and questions of what God is going to do for us. Because of that, it is sometimes helpful to be reminded that God wants us to demonstrate our love for him and he wants our lives to reflect a coherent faith.

2nd Annual Pistoia Conference
This year we again hosted an open forum where people shared stories about becoming Christians. Last year, around 60 attended and after the presentations the church offered a buffet dinner. The format was the same this year. This year our distribution of fliers consisted of door to door distribution, leaving fliers in places of business and simply talking with friends. The forum again served as an encouraging element for the churches and we pray that it was all done in a way that was pleasing to God.

Upcoming Events
During the month of May the churches of Christ hold a national retreat close to Rome. We attended as a family last year, and this year I have been invited to speak along with 6 or 7 other men. The topic this year is the Economic Crisis. Last year's retreat was very encouraging for us, as it made it possible to personally meet many of the Christians from around the country. We are again looking forward to this time to study God's word and how it applies to our lives, as well as enjoy Christian fellowship with brothers and sisters from all over Italy.

We thank you all for your support and prayers. Financially speaking, everything helps to make ends meet. Spiritually speaking, we know the work here is strengthened by your prayers. We are tremendously blessed to have all of you praying for us and for the advances of Christ's kingdom in Pistoia. We want to specifically ask for prayers regarding a difficult situation currently in the church. Please pray that we will have wisdom in responding to this difficulty in a godly way.

Serving Christ in Pistoia,
Roger, Heather, Noah and Elaina Mahan