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Church Renovations

In February, after over two months of negotiations, we finally signed a twelve-year lease on a building in the Chiaiano section of Napoli.  The building is large and perfectly laid out for a church. It is located in a great area - a two minute walk from a Metro station, with plenty of bus routes and major highways that will give people access from all over Napoli. The rent is very reasonable, especially considering the square footage. The Lord has met this need in a tremendous way. The only downside to the place is that it needs a LOT of renovation work!  But God has provided people and resources to help us accomplish that. Two brothers in Christ

from New York - Gerard D'Ambrosio and Cliff Ostrander - arrived in April to evaluate what needs to be done when their team arrives in June.  They are bringing 17 workers to help us get a large portion of the construction finished.  They also helped us get the construction on the sanctuary started. Then, our son-in-law, Dan Lisowski, spent nine days with us to install and tape the sheetrock.  Dan is a very gifted craftsman and it is the best taping job Joe has ever seen! We also have had a few Italian friends and brothers in Christ - Giuseppe Barreca, and Paolo Maugeri - who donated much of their time to helping us hang doors, parge walls, fix electrical issues and repair the sanctuary floor.  Another brother in Christ, Gino, did a beautiful job installing the ceramic tile in our sanctuary. A big thanks to Antonio who replaced the hot water heater. Also, our dear friend Luca brought a sound technician, Andrea, from Rome to install a wonderful sound system. A special group of believers asked to come and clean the church for us - of course we said 'Yes!' Another group came to help carry in 102 chairs, which saved our backs! Thank God for these wonderful men and women who have used their God-given skills to help build this church.

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The Lord has been faithful to provide all that we needed to finish phase 1 of the church renovations. We rejoice because our first service was on May 26, 2024! Many guest came to support us and to witness the first international, Pentecostal church for English speakers in Napoli. The sermon title was 'New Beginnings'. This building  received a new beginning and purpose for its life, so we too are new creations in Christ when we commit ourselves to the Lord.

First Service

Turn the sound on!

STL Vehicle

In February, we were informed that the New York Ministry Network Youth Department was sending us money to purchase a new Speed-the-Light vehicle! We were not expecting this and are so grateful to these young people. We went to a Fiat dealership owned by a dear friend who provided a wonderful deal on a brand new DR SUV. DR is an Italian make and it is loaded with extras. We love it! God knew what we needed as, the day after we picked up this car, our old Toyota died!  It's roomy to carry five people but also, as you can see in the photo, we can carry building supplies with it!

Women's Conference

We had been very busy preparing for our Women's Conference, which was held at a monastery in the Pianura area of Napoli, on May 23-25, 2024. We had wonderful speakers lined up, and two churches sent people to assist - Navarre Assembly of God in Navarre, FL and Inspire Church from New Orleans. Thank you for praying for this event! The Lord touched the lives of each woman who attended; both the guests and the workers. We are praying that the women will continue to hunger for Jesus!

Vacation Bible School

We are looking forward to having a team from Kirkland Life Church, in Clinton, NY, coming in late July to help us put on a Vacation Bible School / English School at a local Italian Assemblies of God church. Pastor Jillian Pelkey is leading a team of twelve and we are so looking forward to hosting them! They have a wonderful children's ministry in New York and we know that they will be a tremendous blessing to the children of Napoli.  Again, we ask that you keep this in your prayers as we want to see the lives of children changed forever with the gospel.

Closing Thoughts

Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support.  At this time, both are so desperately needed! We apologize for the lateness of this newsletter as well as this unique format. But, as you can see, we have been very busy preparing for several events. Thank you for your patience and understanding.  Please let us know if you like this format and, perhaps, we can do this again sometime. But, in the meantime, we would appreciate your continued prayers for us and this ministry. We depend on you so much and consider you our very dear partners in this effort.  May God bless you greatly for the difference you are making here in Napoli!  Dio vi benedica!

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