Thank you for your prayers. The last summer was not easy. We left our hometown, that is 37miles away from Nice in France located in the mountains. My family was in the Czech Republic and I continued looking for a place to stay and building connections with the Russian speaking population in Italy. Refugees from Africa and the Middle East came here in large numbers to find shelter. Many refugees are open to a dialogue about Christ. I spend the night in the mountains on the dacha that belongs to my brother Alexander. Even though this is a beautiful place, it is not suitable to live with a family.
Italy, by law, offers free housing to families with children where parents don’t have an income. Unfortunately, this benefit is exploited by many dishonest people, and those are not a few. That’s why landlords strictly check if the person, who is looking to live in their apartments, can pay. Most often they require a work verification to move in. Of course, I don’t have such document and many landlords didn’t believe me. Thank God that in the last two days he made a miracle for us and we received two offers. We chose the offer that is closer to the local school. The children now need to go to an Italian school since we are in an apartment in Ospedaletti, near Sanremo. They like the new school and say that Italian is easier than French and they were welcomed friendly. French is the second language here so with Gods help they will master it.
We see how the Lord starts to impact this region. We meet in groups on Fridays and everybody who wants to study the bible is joining. We also started to meet on Sundays in the church (www.ebbn.org/acces.html) The Lord works in the hearts of people and there have been wonderful meetings, in the church and at Irina’s house. Not long ago she fell and hurt herself. When we came to visit her, she had friends over at her house. God gave us a wonderful meeting and conservation of the Gospel.
Last year I asked for you to pray for bible study groups to form and for opening a church in Nice. Now I ask if you could not only pray for Nice but also for the church in Sanremo. We can’t do it without Him and have to put our hope in him if we want to see His power and miracles.
I still keep visiting Nice. The Lord has told me: ”Look far and wide for one person, even one who acts justly”? and sends me interesting people that I can meet. Last year I was given a scooter that helps me to move quickly along the promenade. I now use the car less than I did last year. It costs 2 Euros to get to Nice by train, and when I’m there I use the scooter to move around and then I go back by train again.
Please don’t forget to pray for the family of George and Sharam, they are close to the Lord but traditions and the opinion of their relatives influence them strongly. Thank you for praying for Herman and Irina, who are moving to serve in Spain. I thank everybody who is supporting our ministry in Europe with prayers and financially.
Ministry in Italy – Gennady Gavrilov