God is great!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

God is great!

Let me just tell you that with everything that has gone on in the past two weeks I can't help but still feel so thankful. Of course I am not glad that I lost my baby but God has shown me through all of this just how strong of a person I really am with His help and that when I lean on Him Completley He will carry me. He has taught me to live even more by faith than I already did. After tonight I just prayed and thanked God for really lifting me up. Through this I have done some things that I didn't think I had the courage to do and I am really starting to see why God put us where we are today (here in Italy, in Ceolini).

Here is the story...
Well I want to thank those of you who have been praying for us and our church. For the first time I went out and invited a couple people to church.I went and asked Sgt Woods and his family if they would like to come to our revival meetings and they said they couldn't make it Tuesday night but they would come on Wednesday night. I went next door to our brand new neighbors and invited them. They said they had heard about the church but didn't know where it was. I also invited my friend Anna (she's part Italian and part Arabic, (Muslim background) she came with me on Tuesday night and Bobbie came with me on Tuesday night. I didn't know if Anna was enjoying it or felt uncomfortable (she has a hard time understanding some English). But she said she could understand the pastor and after she went to Pastors wife and told her she had a good time and wanted to come back and bring her fiance who isin the military.

So Wednesday (today) I walked to the Woods house and they weren't home, so me and Bobbie went next door and started talking to the new neighbors again and when I realized it was getting late (6:30pm) I said I should get going to church and asked them one more time if they would like to come. She said to her husband "I think we should go" He agreed. She said she has felt bad because the only time she has ever missed church was when she was sick and she has gone her whole life and comes from a Baptist background, her husband too, and said she heard about the church from a friend in Japan. Well Pastor Olsen was in Japan when in the Navy a while ago and apparently the people that her dad knew, pastored this church before Pastor Olsen and also knew Pastor. So they said they would follow me there. When we pulled in the Woodswere pulling out and they seen me and turned back around. They thought that they got the time wrong since there were only two cars there. Well I walked in church with 9 other people and everyone's face lit up. Alan (a young single guy at our church) said "You brought the whole neighborhood" and I said "Yeah actually I did, they are all my neighbors".

So I called Anna and she said they were on their way and almost there. A few minutes later they walked in.Pastor Lancaster preached a good message of salvation and hell. Atinvitation time he asked who knew that they were saved and going to Heaven by raising their hand. Then he asked who didn't know that if they were to die today if they would go to Heaven, or who was concerned about what would happen if they died. And he asked for them to simply look at him and when his eyes caught theirs for them to bow their heads again and I heard one Amen. At invitation time he made it clear that he didn't want to embarrass anyone and it might be a hard thing to do, to walk forward, but he said he promised that nobody would make fun of them and infact everyone would rejoice with them. I could tell nobody had walked forward when he kept extending the invitation, hoping that they would walk forward. Then he said "at least one maybe two people were concerned and I won't embarrass you and I won't come to you and ask you but if you are still concerned and would like me to know please just look up here one more time".

So I heard again at least one maybe two "Amen, ok" After the service Anna's fiance came up to me and said that he wanted to talk to Pastor Lancaster but he also wanted to have a ciggarrette and asked me which he should do first. So I told him togo ahead and go outside and maybe by then he would be done talking. He came back in and got with Pastor and the rest of us walked away. They stayed at the front of the church for a little while, the rest of us by the fire and then they all came to join us to roast hotdogs. I don't know what happened but Philip (Anna's fiance) was smiling a lot. I have seen him many times but he never smiled. They stayed for a little bit and then left.

Everyone else stayed afterwards for fellowship and it was really nice. Pastor kept thanking me for my hard work in inviting these people, but I know it wasn't me. It was God. I told him "I didn't do the hard work, I just asked, they did the hard work by coming somewhere new" He smiled. I know it had to really make their day to see so many new faces in one day. All week we haven't had too many people and before we all got there they probably didn't think many more would show up. 11 visitors in one day. It was a good day.Sergio really wanted to come but they made him go back to work tonight after he wasn't supposed to (he had a class in the morning). So he couldn't make it and was pretty dissapointed.Our new neighbors seem very nice and come from the same kind of church background as us and its so amazing that God could have put them anywhere and He put them right next door to me! The people who were supposed to move in there said they were going to take the house couldn't because his family decided not to come over here. So I was so glad to learn that about my new neighbors. They seemed to have a good time and I really think they will come back and hopefully attend regularly.

I am hoping and would like to ask you to pray for Anna and Philip as well. Pray that they will come back again.

I invited both the new neighbor, Tiffany and Dana (Sgt Woods wife) to come to our Tuesday night Bible studies at my house and sheseemed interested. Since they both live so close maybe they will get to come. I really hope so. Well thanks for all your prayers, I just wanted to give you all an update onwhats going on at little Calvary Baptist Church.