Prestoncrest Missions

Italian Report - January, 2009

Happy New Year
Be happy in Jesus

My dad was a good man. He was as honest as the day is long. He was dependable, his word was his bond. He was faithful, to his wife, to his family and to the Lord.

He was a hard worker and had enjoyed good health all of his life. Finally, life took its toll. He developed a valve problem in his heart. They operated, but he was never the same. My sisters and I visited him as often as we could but we lived too far away to help much. His wife could not care for him 24 hours a day so it was necessary to put him in a nursing home there in Searcy, Arkansas.

I remember my last visit with him before he died. Naturally we wanted to do nice things for him to make his life as enjoyable as possible. I had some good visits with him, though his mind had slipped away from him somewhat. One time he asked me: ‘’Now, how many brothers do you have?’’ I looked at him right in the eyes and replied: ‘’If you haven’t been lying to me all these years, I don’t have any brothers. I am your only son.’’ He chuckled. I took him for a ride in his wheel chair. We stopped in front the nurse’s desk and dad thought he was running the whole show. We stopped in front of a coke machine. He looked longingly at the bottles. I remembered how much he loved Dr. Pepper so I bought him a bottle. Who knows how long it had been since he had one? He drank the whole bottle without stopping. Later we went to lunch and I remembered how he loved cherry cobbler with ice cream on it. I bought him a big bowl and took it back to his room. I fed it to him. He ate every bight and licked his chops. He loved to sing. He led the singing in my home congregation for more than fifty years. He knew every song by heart, not only the first line, but the second, third and fourth lines.

I will never forget the last song I ever sang with him ‘’trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to TRUST AND OBEY.’’ We sang these words and he dropped off to sleep. These were the last words I ever heard my dad speak. A week later his nurse found him dead in his bed. We didn’t even get to hold his hand as he passed on. We weren’t with him but the Lord was.

As we launch out into the New Year of 2009, I think these three words would be a blessing to all of us, TRUST AND OBEY. There is no other way to be happy in Jesus.

Charles W. Moore

A New Year and New Plans

I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew but I want to be as active as I possibly can. I want to be a blessing to as many people as possible. I plan to take on a special project each month of the year besides all of my regular work. For the month of January, with the help of the Lord, I plan to write a letter to every preacher in Italy, Italian preachers and American missionaries. I plan to write a letter to every church in Italy to encourage them in their work for the Lord. Do you want to join me? I will be happy to supply you with the addresses. How about a note to every missionary supported by your home congregation? Think about it!

What is Going on in Italy This Month?

1. One of our Italian evangelists wrote saying: ‘’We had another Good youth meeting up north at Vicenza. Twenty young People were present.’’ He didn’t mention the subject they Discussed, but I imagine it was the same as the one they studied with the youth in Aprilia: YOUTH FACING THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE WORLD.
2. Paolo Mirabelli, one of the evangelists at the Viale Jonio church in Rome, came up with the idea of a publication on line. He asked for the help of brethren every where and had a great response. I have seen a copy of the proposed first issue and it looks good. He asked me to write a BIOGRAPHY of my life and my work in Italy, plus other articles of my own choosing to be used in the future. I will be happy to help.
3. The church in Catania hosted the yearly Sicilian lectureship and fellowship this year. 130 adults and 10 children from four congregations (Palermo, Enna, Paterno’ and Catania) were there. Everyone was edified and went home with a song in their heart.
4. Jay Young, a former missionary in Italy, has been in Italy recently. He spoke at Pistoia, Milano, Palermo and Catania. He spoke at Catania on a Monday night. The building was full to capacity. Jay is a great speaker. He preaches in Maryland now. He told me that he thought Palermo and Catania are two of the finest congregations in Italy as well as their two evangelists, Salvatore Sparacello and Stefano Spina.
5. Do you remember Linda from Ganah, baptized at Padova a couple of months ago? She was going home from her job on her bicycle, was hit by a car and run over by another car. She is in the hospital, in intensive care, on machines and not expected to live. PRAY FOR HER.
6. We had a visitor from Catania, Sicily this month. His name is Dario Spina, the son of the evangelist at Catania. He visited Harding University. He wants to prepare himself to preach. He plans to take a three year concentrated preachers course. I hope it works out for him. We need more workers in the field.
7. Some sad news. The church at Naples is going through a very difficult time. The brethren are devastated. I won’t go into the details. THEY NEED YOUR PRAYERS DESPERATELY.

Funny Language Problems

I have mentioned that the language is one of the biggest problems we faced when we moved to Italy. Soon after I bought my car, the girls sent me to buy some fruit and vegetables for lunch.

I didn’t have any trouble finding the big open roadside market, but purchasing the things the girls wanted was something else. I used my index finger as much as possible, but had to tell the man what I wanted and how much I wanted.

I had already learned that oranges were orange, bananas were banane , peaches were pesche and mellons were melone. I managed that purchase well.

Then we passed to the vegetables. I knew that potatoes were patate, carrots were carote, tomatoes were pomodore, lettuce was lattuga but I couldn’t think of the word for onions. We had to have some onions. Finally, I made up a word. I thought I might get lucky. ‘’Io desidero un kilo di ‘’onioni’’ I said. I was proud of my self. However, the man’s eyes got big and he shook his head. ’’Non abbiamo ‘’onioni’’ he said. I knew they were bound to have some onions and started looking. Sure enough I found a great big basket full of onions. I used my index finger and said ‘’onioni, onioni.’’ He grinned and said ‘’No, cipolle, cipolle.’’ I became famous throughout Italy for the word ‘’onioni.’’ It still comes up ever now and then after 50 years.

Until next month, God Bless,

Charles & Carolyn Moore
11471 Balcones Drive

Frisco, Texas 75034
Tel. 972-731-8526
E-mail address: cwmoorefrisco@tx.rr.com

Clyde & Gwen Antwine
2600 Shady Tree Lane
Edmond, OK 73013
(405) 478-3614
December 22, 2008

Greetings from cold, wintry Oklahoma. Since many of you reading this newsletter live in the “Sooner” State, this opening statement is, of course, redundant. But others of you, living in warmer climates, may be counting your blessings.

We had thought that since Clyde is not teaching this semester, our schedule might be a little less hectic. However, primarily for three reasons, such has not been the case.

Reason Number 1 is that in October we made a trip to Rwanda to visit our H.I.M. workers, Caleb and Jenny Beck. Since the Becks’ two-year commitment to the Helpers-in-Missions Program ends next April, and they are desirous of remaining as full-time missionaries, the purpose of our trip was twofold.

1. See firsthand the many ministries in which they are involved
2. Help them strategize for their future work. The country of Rwanda continues to be a fertile field for the Gospel, and the Becks are now poised to do an effective work - hopefully for many years to come.

The second reason why our fall schedule has been so busy is because of a trip we made to Caracas, Venezuela, to conduct a seminar, with a focus on “Marriage and Family.” Jonathan Hanegan, former H.I.M. worker in Caracas, now under the oversight of the Northside congregation in Wichita, Kansas, was primarily responsible for arranging the seminar.

The fact that we have been married 52 years is somewhat of a novelty in Venezuela = in fact, we are told that it never happens. Consequently, young married couples in the church have no role models of longevity in the marriage relationship.

We were so warmly welcomed by every age group (we also did a class for the singles) and experienced the affection of the Latin mentality. Many asked if we were coming back in 2009. We never want to “wear out our welcome” anywhere, but we had the distinct impression that the question came from the heart.

Reason Number 3 for the busy fall schedule was the forming of the 2009 group of H.I.M. workers. Much more is involved in this process than meets the eye. It involves recruiting, pre-interviewing, and then interviewing with the H.I.M. Committee, all of which is time consuming, but an absolute must if the job is done right.

God has blessed our efforts with an extraordinarily fine group of ten (10) young people (3 married couples and 4 singles) going to Australia, England, Germany, Honduras, Japan and Mexico. Weekly training classes have begun, and we are so excited in anticipation of the contribution these young Christians will be making toward spreading the Good News in those various parts of the world.

As 2008 comes to a rapid close, and 2009 is about to be ushered in, all of us are feeling a little uncertain about what the future holds. All of us, however, (certainly ourselves included) need the constant reminder that this is our Father’s world, and that He is in control.

Thank you for your support, encouragement and prayers on our behalf.

Dear Friends,

Let me introduce to you our new brother in Christ, Juergen. He is 40, a carpenter and is married to Simone, who is one of the main reasons he found his way to the Lord – just like it says in 1 Peter 3,1-2. Juergen became interested last year when Simone read the Bible through and gave her life to the Lord. Soon after that, Juergen began reading himself – starting with Genesis as she had done – and for the past five months, he has been studying with Ruediger regularly and has developed other friendships that have made what he was studying real. One of those friendships was with Mark and Karen, who have now moved to Chemnitz to work, but they came back for the occasion and Mark baptized Juergen.

If the beginning of his life in Christ is any indication of what the future holds, Juergen will be an encouraging and diligent addition to the church here. When he got out of the water, still soaking wet, he picked up the notes he had ready and delivered his first (well done) sermon.

UPDATE AND PRAYER REQUESTS

Though December is always a month when nobody has enough time, studies continue. Please continue to remember Linda, Barbara So., Barbara Sa., Kai, Rainer, Ludmilla and Heather who are studying with me or others in the congregation. Barbara So. is also recovering from an operation on her foot.

I still haven’t heard back from Chris, but I will keep trying. He is the man I met on the plane when I was in the States.

A lot of people are sick with colds, etc. at the moment including Alicia. Our weather is just right for colds – cold, wet and dreary. We are very far north here, which means that even when the sun shines, the days are very short (from about 9 am to about 4 pm). But starting tomorrow, the days will start getting longer again, a turning point in the year that most of us look forward to.

SPIRITUAL NURISHMENT

The seminar with Glenn Jones from Kiel about the Holy Spirit went well, and he gave us detailed written information and references that will help us further as other questions arise. Our next spiritual feast will be a Gospel meeting in January with David Tarjan from Zurich, Switzerland. Our men continue to challenge us as well as encouraging us with their sermons, but they, too, need regular encouragement from older teachers. It continues to be a source of joy to see how most of them take responsibility for the congregation and are growing themselves in the process.

ETM

We had planned to have an ETM advanced course on church history with Rainer Kallus in the spring, but his health will not allow it. Please pray with us that we will be creative in finding ways to get the preachers and teachers who are willing and able connected with more of those anxious to learn. That has always been the purpose of ETM.

PERSONAL

Good news: Since this has been a difficult year, I went to the doctor and had a thorough check-up. I’m happy to report that he found nothing to be concerned about. God is good!

Bad news: The new wood floor of my almost finished living room had to be taken back up because the mason did a sloppy job levelling the cement slab underneath and we didn’t notice it when we put down the flooring.

Good news: Because of the “click” construction of the floor, it was possible to take it up and correct the problem, and you can rejoice again with me and those who helped me that it is finished – hopefully for the duration.

Good news: My Swiss kids/grandkids are here to visit me for a week. They arrived this morning. Since those sweet little granddaughters are taking naps, I have time to get this off to you today. Sorry that I haven’t yet had a chance to take photos!

I am looking forward to our regular Christmas gathering, sharing my family with folks without families here with whom they can spend the 25th. As it looks right now, we might have 20 or so this time and will certainly have lots of fun. I’m glad that Karin is here to help me get ready for it.

Finally, I hope that all of you a very Merry Christmas with the opportunity for much good fellowship with loved ones. My second wish for you is that you have many rich spiritual blessings in serving the Lord in the coming year. Thank you very much for your faithful prayers for me and the work here in Bremen. Gott mit euch!

Your fellow servant,
Elsa Springer

39 Wishart Drive
Broomridge, Stirling FK7 7TR
Scotland, U.K.
Tel: 011-44-1786-816259
Email: mitchvick@btinternet.com

Wintry Stirling

Hello from a cold and wintry Scotland. So far the forecasts of snow haven’t really come to much, though the surrounding hills are white. Will it be a White Christmas? We shall see.

Stirling Congregation News

The Stirling church continues to do well. We have started a new series of studies in our midweek class based on the lives of great women of the Bible. Our Sunday morning series on the Life of Jesus is almost completed, and we hope to begin a new series of studies from the Minor Prophets early in the New Year. Our members are doing well, though John Renwick continues to wait for word on his next round of treatment. Isobel and I continue regular personal studies with Pauline McGachy and her family, and Tristan and Leslie have spent a lot of time with both Danny and Jie, and with Maggie Campbell. We were thrilled this past week to hear that the Blocks have decided to try to extend their time in Stirling for an additional year.

Baptism Follow-Up

We continue to be thankful for Danny Hong Ping, who was baptized last month, and amazed yet again at the power of the gospel to work in the hearts of people. Danny and his wife Jie will return to their home in Taiyan, China on January 5th, and Tristan and Leslie Block have been working hard to ensure that they are thoroughly grounded in the faith. We are trying to find any church contacts who might be nearby, so if you have any knowledge of the Lord’s church in China, please let us know. We also ask you to please keep these young Christians in your prayers.

Youth Club Begins

At long last, after several false starts, we have restarted our weekly Youth Club, an outreach to local neighborhood kids. For this we rent the gymnasium of the local elementary school. Since we began we have seen around 15 kids per week come along. The sessions begin with a short Bible story and /or life lesson, told by Tristan, followed by some games directed by David McCready. We are hopeful that this work will have an impact on many lives in the coming months.

Marriage Seminar For 2009

As we look forward to 2009, the church is planning a marriage and family outreach to our community in late February. Dr. Steve Allison of ACU has agreed to conduct this series of lessons for us on marriage. We hope it will be possible to do further seminars on parenting and family life at a later stage.

Family News

Things remain well with us personally. We are looking forward to having Hannah home for the Christmas break, and to having Isobel’s sister Lilian and her family with us for a few days. We continue to have concerns about her dad, George Gardiner, and are trying to get up to Forfar to help her mother as much as possible. We remain thankful that my mother is doing pretty well, so very different from this time last year. Meanwhile, Robin and Chrissy are looking forward to a break from school and spending the Christmas holiday in West Virginia. Laura and Clay are well in Dallas and planning to spend the holidays there.

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of another year, and we finish it with deep appreciation for your interest in the work here in Stirling. We ask you to continue in prayer for our work here in Scotland. May God bless you richly.

Yours in the Lord’s service,
Mitch and Isobel Vick