Salerno, Italy & the Gallos

2006-11-16T18:47:00.000+01:00

The following is an email update that we sent out on
Tuesday, November 14

If you would like to be on our email update list, leave a comment on our blog (asking to be added) and we will add you. Ciao!

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Hi everyone,

We wanted to send out an email update filling you in on our ever changing lives here in Italy and ask for some prayer regarding our Visas. As of recently, laws have changed here and we can no longer just leave the country and reenter every 90 days to renew our tourist visas. The new laws require that when we leave the country we can not reenter for another 90 days. Therefore, we are going to need to apply for religious visas in Miami. So with all of that said the Agape Italia (Campus Crusade in Italy) leadership has decided our team must fly back to the states on November 28th and apply for our religious visas in person at the Miami consulate. Fortunately, we will have lawyers with Campus Crusade waiting to help walk us through the process. Please pray that the Italian government will have favor on us and grant us our visas without problems.

We could also use prayer for our time home. We are very excited to see our friends and families, but it is difficult to have an unexpected trip home when we have prepared our hearts and have said goodbye to everyone for a year. Please pray that God would allow us to come back refreshed and rejuvenated!

Now for some really encouraging news... last week another student prayed to receive Christ and just yesterday another student came to know the Lord as well! We have been so amazed by the student's openness to engage in spiritual conversations. They are so willing to share their hearts as well as hear what we have to say. We are also preparing for a Thanksgiving dinner outreach to give Italians a taste of a good old fashion American tradition. We have learned that the way to their hearts is definitely through their stomach! Please pray for this outreach as well.

We will keep you up to date on our progress with the Visas. Thanks for your prayers, we are feeling them!

Love,
Justin and Gayle

2006-10-21T14:53:00.000+02:00

Words from Justin:

Drew and I performing the "Old Italian Man Walk"

In Italy, it's mandatory once you reach a certain age to walk a certain way (no "IF" "AND" or "BUTS" about it). The Italian men start grooming their little ones at a very young age. We have a long ways to go, but Drew and I have been practicing for weeks now and we somewhat have it down. The walk is very technical and takes many years to master.

Direction on how to correctly do the "Old Italian Man Walk":
You must walk at a very slow pace, your hands must be behind your back at all times, and your left hand must always hold your right hand. There are many other rules which I can not remember at this time, but try it... it's fun!

2006-10-10T18:44:00.000+02:00

Gayle here:

Yesterday... when we went to campus, Sarah Love, Kat and I formed a group, and we walked around campus until we spotted two Italian girls sitting on the grass outside the "Lingua" (languages) building - this is an area where many English speakers usually hang out between classes. These two girls were sitting and talking in the grass, and we approached them. We introduced ourselves and explained that we work with Agape Italia, an interdenominational Christian group. We asked if they would mind sharing with us what they believed, and who God was to them. After we gave them the opportunity to respond, they asked what we believed. They said, "We go to confession and we pray to the saints," but it was a revelation in their hearts when we testified that we have a personal relationship with God through Christ - our mediator is Christ, who paid it all. There are no extra parties that are needed. It was incredible to see how God has prepared their hearts to hear the gospel. The conversation was easy. The questions were provoking. Their responses were insightful. I realized that these two girls were really ready for this - when they told us that they felt like our meeting with them was a gift from God, in my heart I understood that they were prepared to hear the gospel, and God had brought them to place in their lives where they were ready to make a decision. All of the circumstances in their lives leading up to this point were preparation to hear the saving news of Jesus. After we were able to clearly present to them what Christ had done for them by dying on the cross, we asked them if they were ready to receive this gift. It was so evident that these girls believed what they were hearing. God did this. It was not the words we said or the compelling arguments we gave. In my heart, I came to understand what Paul means when he write about the power of the gospel.

Today....yet another exciting day on campus! I had the opportunity to share with Adam, and we had the opportunity to talk to a guy and a girl who were sitting together - Francesco and Giusy. Despite the awkward introduction, they still welcomed us warmly and invited us to sit down. Adam spoke primarily with Giusi and I spoke with Francesco. It was then that we were able to express to them that we work on campus and our job is to meet students like them and engage them in spriritual conversations. We also expressed to them that this is so much more than a job, and our conversations are so much more than just spiritual - we are compelled by the truth of the words we speak, and this is our motivation. As we continued our conversation with them, we heard Francesco and Giusi's views on Christ. Although they are both Catholic and share similar views, it became very clear very soon that Francesco was willing to receive this, and Giusi just couldn't - all of her previous experiences and ideas and notions were holding her back. By the end of our conversation, Francesco had prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior.

These two conversations taught me a lot about just how little I have to do with this. God is bringing Italian students to know Him personally, and it really has nothing to do with me. The same words were spoken to Nunzia and Paola yesterday, and then again today to Giusi and Francesco and I wondered why the same words impacted Francesco yet not Guisy. It is amazing to watch the way God hand picks those who are ready t orecieve Him. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 1:18 - "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Nothing I could say could convince Giusy that she needs to call on the name of Jesus to be saved - that is something God will do in her heart, apart from me. Grazie Gesu (thank you Jesus) for another great day on campus!

~ Gayle

2006-10-08T18:35:00.000+02:00

Our Salerno, Italy STINT team
Top right: Justin, Adam, Drew, Kat, Nathan.
Bottom right: Morgan, Gayle, Katherine, Sarah Love, Francine

Words from Justin:

Well I guess this is our 1st official post to our blog. We still don't have internet so it has been tough to find time to post anything. But we have cleared up everything with our apartment (our landlord is allowing us to stay) and we should be getting our tourist visa soon...which means...internet is on its way!!! Thanks to all our family and friends for hanging in there with us as we get settled here in Italy.

We have definitely had some ups and downs. But God has been so faithful through it all. We started evangelism on campus last week and I forgot how hard and humbling it is to approach a complete stranger and try to explain the Gospel. Then add in the fact that you don't speak their language and the odds are they don't speak english "parle englese?". But each time I approach an Italian student I am reminded how much I need Holy Spirit. I feel so inadequate, but in reality I am inadequate, the only reason I am here in Italy and able to share Jesus with these students is because God has empowered me to do so.

2 Corinthians 12: 9,10 - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

A friend emailed me this verse the other day in response to our last email update. It stuck with me throughout the week as I shared with the Italians. I'm realizing how weak I am and how much I need God to get me through each day.

Right now as a STINT team we are reading "Let The Nations Be Glad" by Pastor John Piper. Piper emphasizes that love for the Italians is not what should motivate us to share the gospel, but a deep love for Christ is what should motivates us. Gayle and my prayer is that our love for Jesus Christ would run so deep that everyday we wake up it would be our joy to go on campus to share the reason for the hope that we have and that our words would be an out pouring of our heart!

Please continue to pray for us this week as we initiate with the Italian students. Pray that God would lead us to English speakers and that their hearts are ready to hear the Good News. We love you all!

~ Gallo

2006-10-04T10:16:00.000+02:00

Ciao tutti (Hi everyone),

Well we have been here now for a few weeks and we are still in awe of the fact that we live in Italy! It really is just like the movies.

We’re sorry we have not been able to get in touch with you sooner, but we still do not have our phone or Internet set up. Everything here definitely moves at a much slower pace than in the states!

So here is a quick recap…
The first week we got here was mainly devoted to settling in, learning the city, and getting to know our teammates. There are 10 of us on the Salerno team, 6 girls and 4 guys. Settling in has taken our team longer than we have anticipated. Upon arrival we had 3 apartments for the whole team. Justin and I have our own and the other two are right across the hall from each other, which is ideal, except that they are too small to hold 8 people. So for the last few weeks the 3 boys were sharing a one-bedroom apartment and the 5 girls were sharing a two-bedroom apartment. Fortunately, God provided another apartment for the boys and right now they are currently moving in, allowing the 5 girls to share the two apartments next to each other.

This is a huge answer to prayer because things were really starting to get tight for the guys and girls and now for the first time they can actually unpack their suitcases.

Our current living situation has actually taken a new twist as well. We went from being the only ones settled and unpacked on the team, to needing to find a new apartment. This is because we are having a problem getting our tourist Visas and our current landlord does not feel comfortable with us living in the apartment without one. Unfortunately in order to obtain your tourist Visa in Salerno you need your landlord to sign the papers and he is not willing to do that. Thankfully he is allowing us to stay until we find a new apartment. This is actually a huge blessing for us because Justin and I were running into a lot of problems with the apartment because it is so old, but we knew we were locked into a contract for the year. God really solved that problem in His own way!

Last week we started language school, which has been much needed and very helpful for navigating around the city. We finish it this week and then starting next week we begin working on campus. We are all so excited for that because this is what we are here for! In order to prepare for that we have spent some time on campus this week praying for the hearts of the students. We have also had some very long team meetings planning and agreeing on what our team covenant, mission statement, and strategic plan for the year our.

This week we have also started following up with the 39 students that accepted Christ this summer. Next week we are having a party with them to kick off the school year and begin to build relationships.

As for Justin and I this new world has definitely shown us many challenges and forced us to step out of our comfort zone. All the while causing us to trust God for the next step. It has definitely been tough at times, but fortunately nothing too bad that a little gelato at the end of the day couldn’t fix!

Well I think that should bring you up to speed on what is going on with Agape Italia in Salerno and the Gallos!

Here are some things we could really use prayer for…
- Getting our tourist Visa
- A new apartment
- Team unity
- Our party next week for the new believers
- Boldness on campus as we start sharing the gospel
- Our marriage during all of these new adjustments

We love you all and are grateful to have you behind us!

2006-10-04T10:14:00.000+02:00

This picture was taken from the balcony of our Italian language class.