Pistoia chiesa di Cristo

November 2011

2011-12-04T09:35:00.001+01:00

With the smells of turkey and all the fixings from our Thanksgiving meal still lingering in the house, the holidays seem to be upon us. The kids are eagerly counting down to Christmas, with the next Italian holiday next week, the Immaculate Conception on December 8. Church UpdateSome of you know of the difficulties the church has been experiencing over the past year. It cannot be said that the

October 2011

2011-12-04T09:34:00.000+01:00

Seven years! As of the end of September we have been in Italy for seven years. How the time flies. We are grateful to all of those who have made it possible to be here serving God and hopefully being useful to the church. After many hours in airplanes, many hours in cars, perhaps many hours on foot (if you consider walking across all the airports), and even a little time on a tram, we arrived

June 2011

2011-07-09T13:16:00.000+02:00

The time for our travel to the US is upon us. A little less than a week remains before our departure at this point. It is always a time of mixed emotions - happy to be heading to see family and friends, but sad to be away from the church family and friends here in Pistoia. School EventsWith the month of June came numerous social obligations for Elaina's and Noah's schools. Both schools held

April- May 2011 News

2011-06-01T00:51:00.001+02:00

What an encouraging weekend!!! We have just returned from the nationwide retreat for the Chiese di Cristo in Italy. More than 100 brothers and sisters from around the country were present to encourage one another in fellowship and in the study of God's word. It was an event that our family personally needed for some time. The only negative thing we can say about the entire weekend is that we

February/March 2011

2011-04-05T15:00:00.001+02:00

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

New Year Newsletter

2011-01-31T21:50:00.001+01:00

PISTOIA, ITALYBuon Anno a tutti!Buon Anno a tutti! Happy New Year everyone! We want to wish you all the best for this new year and we pray that God can be glorified all the more in the service we offer as Christians.After returning from the US the last week of August, the month of September was hectic due to getting back into a routine. The kids both finally got back to school and Noah started

September 2010 News

2010-10-28T00:10:00.001+02:00

PISTOIA, ITALYSeptember 2010 Ah, Fall! The leaves will start changing soon and the coolness of the morning and evening are so enjoyable! This is the time of year that we appreciate so much, especially the opportunities we have to resume our schedules and reunite with church family and friends who have been away on holiday. Church ActivitiesIt has been pretty hectic since returning at the end

March - May 2010

2010-06-14T23:57:00.002+02:00

Greetings once again from Pistoia. We pray that all is well with you as it is with us. Spring has taken a long time to get here and even now it seems to be retreating once again. It has been an interesting last 6 months weather-wise. We appreciate all the prayers and concern expressed regarding the volcanic cloud that was troubling much of Europe. The first major cloud passed to the north of

February 2010

2010-05-28T10:54:00.001+02:00

We thank God every time we think of you. Your generosity makes it possible for us to be here working alongside the church in Pistoia, where God has richly blessed us with a loving Christian family. We pray for you all often, thanking God for the partnership that we share in this effort.The beginning of the year has been busy, and that is good! We pray that the busy-ness translates into

2010-01-30T22:56:00.004+01:00

We thought we'd share the letter which the Pistoia church wrote requesting our extended stay with the church.

December 2009-January 2010

2010-01-30T22:46:00.001+01:00

PISTOIA, ITALYDECEMBER 2009-JANUARY 2010Greetings from Pistoia, Italy where we are learning the value of long underwear! It has been cold here. At the beginning of December a snow storm hit Tuscany and, with much of our area being dedicated to Greenhouses and Nurseries, a tremendous amount of damage was sustained. The city was blanketed by 6 inches of snow in one night and it was not

Summer News

2009-10-14T23:34:00.002+02:00

PISTOIA SUMMER NEWSJULY – SEPTEMBER 2009Well, as I said in the last letter, after a very wet winter where it rained some almost every day for 3 months, we are now having complaints about how dry it is. There is reason. Now it hasn't rained to speak of (maybe 3 short showers) for almost 3 months. Burn bans are active due to the danger of wild fires and the surroundings are an array of browns

2009-07-25T18:28:00.000+02:00

PISTOIA, ITALYMAY/JUNE 2009Another two months have past and it is time yet again for an update on the church in Pistoia. Spring arrived with a brief heatwave followed by a week or so of cooler weather. Now the heat has returned just in time for summer. The see-saw weather has caused a few health disturbances, but we are finally all healthy and cold free.The last two months were quite busy as

April 2009 Newsletter

2009-05-18T21:29:00.000+02:00

PISTOIA, ITALYMarch/April 2009Greetings from the swamplands. At least, that is the way it felt until lately in Pistoia. The winter was very wet and we are not in danger of having the water rationed this summer. It still won't be legal to water your garden with city water, but we aren't too worried about a request to wash our car less frequently like they did several years ago. Of course, that

A few pictures of the kids

2009-04-09T15:41:00.003+02:00

Earthquake

2009-04-06T23:11:00.003+02:00

For those who might be wondering about the earthquake and if it is effecting us, I thought I would put up a short post. We are safe and sound and so is my brother and his family in Prato. The earthquake was pretty far from us and it happened between 3 and 4 AM so we didn't even feel anything. The Italian social services and rescue agencies are pretty well organized so a lot is already being

Dec08&Jan09 news

2009-02-17T12:58:00.000+01:00

It has been quite some time since our last update and we apologize for that. Things were somewhat busy with the holiday season. You may remember that in Italy an additional holiday on the 6th of January prolongs the festivities. Traditionally, it is a celebration of the wise-men's visit to baby

September-October 2008

2008-10-29T10:08:00.002+01:00

It was truly a blessing for us to be able to spend some time this summer with friends, family, supporters, and those who are a combination of two or three of those. We were able to get back to the work in Pistoia with renewed enthusiasm and energy to face the task at hand – implanting God's word in peoples' hearts. It is hard to believe that we have only been back for a little more than a

Welcome home

2008-09-03T10:33:00.002+02:00

We have finally made it home, after just over two months of travels and visits. It was wonderful to be with many of you and we were sad to leave. But, it was also time to get home. Noah has been missing his friends and toys from home, as have we(for us, more the friends than the toys).We left Dallas on time after unpacking at the security entrance and then repacking. They even made Elaina

April-May 2008

2008-06-05T23:10:00.000+02:00

Pistoia, Italy April -May 2008 Newsletter Greetings from the church in Pistoia. We pray that this update finds you all healthy physically, mentally, and especially spiritually. SUMMER SCHEDULE This summer we will be in the US for the months of July and August visiting family and supporters. We still have a pretty open schedule as far as Sunday's and Wednesday's are concerned. If anyone

Picture update

2008-04-21T11:01:00.020+02:00

Sometimes she can look sooo innocent. Our most recent family photo.Noah says cheese while Elaina thinks about how that would taste.Learning to get along and share toys can sometimes be difficult, but they are doing pretty well here.And now for a Before and After of Noah.BEFORE: Noah playing in the grass.AFTER: Noah turning the color OF the grass.

January-March

2008-03-29T21:11:00.000+01:00

PISTOIA NEWSLETTER January – February 2008 We send you all warm greetings from Pistoia. While the weather is cold, our hearts are warmed and encouraged by the faith that we share in Jesus Christ. Financial News I'm not sure how many of you know of our financial situation here. We cannot thank you all enough for how generous you have been to us. Even with all of the tremendous generosity,

Family Update

2008-01-04T20:33:00.000+01:00

It is hard to believe that the Christmas break is almost over already. I know that Noah is ready to get back to school with his friends, and normalcy in one's schedule is always nice. However, the time has gone by quickly and we didn't get everything done that we wanted to do.Everything has been going well with Noah's school. He likes his teachers this year, just as he did last year. Knowing

October-November 2007 Newsletter

2007-12-18T23:00:00.000+01:00

“Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” - Ephesians 1:15-16 Greetings from the church in Pistoia! We pray that all is well with you and yours. The verse above expresses the sentiment that we have for you all. Thank you for your concern for the church here, for its

Picture update

2007-11-18T16:37:00.001+01:00

It has been a while since we last put up pictures so I figured I would get some up. These were all taken after the beginning of October.At the beginning of October we made a quick trip to Milan to meet up with some friends and supporters who were passing through. The above picture is of the Catholic Cathedral.This picture is also from Milan. One of our rare family photos where everyone is in

August-September 2007

2007-10-16T16:48:00.000+02:00

August and September Greetings once again from Pistoia. The church here greets you all and we are excited to tell you about some of the recent progress we have seen in the church here. Before telling you all about what has been happening lately, we want to ask that you pray for one of the members of the church, Carmelo. He has been through a great deal in the last month. Without going into

August in Italy

2007-08-31T15:42:00.001+02:00

Since practically everyone is gone for the majority of August, we had a little time to get out and see what God has made. Giovanni, one of the men of the congregation, took us on a day trip about 20 miles outside of Pistoia. In a town called Cutigliano, an enclosed ski lift will take you from 700 meters above sea level to 1500 meters. The ride is all of about 7 minutes long, but when you arrive

Picture update

2007-08-13T11:25:00.001+02:00

Noah, Elaina and Mom having fun around the pool.Elaina now carries everything from one room to another. She can be a good little helper.Noah had a VERY long day and just fell asleep on the tile floor.

Health Update

2007-08-07T13:11:00.001+02:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the comments and notes that they have left. And to the Richfield church, thank you for the card. Thank you all for your prayers for my healing and for Heather's sanity now that she has to deal with me all day long(my bum shoulder keeps me from driving and from going to the building on the bike). The last two days have been health care days for me.

May-June 2007

2007-08-04T13:04:00.000+02:00

May and June, 2007 PISTOIA, ITALIA NEWSLETTER Wow!!! Time has really passed quickly recently. My apologies for the laps in communication lately. However, we do have a number of exciting experiences to tell of how God is blessing the work in Pistoia. Since the beginning of May we were very busy until the beginning of July. At that point our activities began to slow down a bit due to the

Mar-April 2007

2007-07-12T12:22:00.000+02:00

March and April PISTOIA, ITALIA NEWSLETTERThe Lord Almighty sustains us with his continual blessings and encouragements. The work in Pistoia is progressing by his blessing and we give thanks for the prayers and support which you all offer on behalf of Christ's kingdom. Since our last update we have confirmed the arrival of a campaign group which will spend a week with us in the middle of June.

Jan-Feb 2007

2007-07-12T12:12:00.000+02:00

January and February PISTOIA, ITALIA NEWSLETTER Greetings from Pistoia! It looks as though we are coming out of a very mild winter as the trees begin to bud and the flowers begin blooming. The signs of new growth are always welcome and we continually pray that new growth in the church will be seen as well. The start of spring reminds us that it is God who causes the growth and that it is our

Nov-Dec 2006

2007-07-12T12:11:00.000+02:00

PISTOIA, ITALY NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2006 Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We trust that you all had a safe holiday, whether at home or on the road. And we pray that as the old year passed and the new year began, everyone was able to recall the numerous blessings we have received from our Heavenly Father. In Italy, our holiday season doesn't end until January 6th (the