News and prayer information from Richard and Pinuccia Wilson

Today, after our usual monthly lunch together after church, we held our annual church meeting. Some of the meeting was for such matters as approving the budget, but it was also an opportunity to update the members on some of the projects and vision. One of these was the official announcement of a new missionary coming to work with the church. Which means that now I am able to mention and talk about it here.

I first had contact with Suzanne Bikker about 4 years ago, through European Christian Mission; she was interested in working in this part of Italy. We decided that it would be best for her to go through Bible school first, and in order to learn Italian and get to know the Italian church and culture at the same time, she went to a Bible school at Rome. She finishes her third and final year in June, and during this time we have kept in contact and talked about Trento. The church made a proposal to her at the end of last year, and a couple of months ago she decided to come here. Since she is at Trento in these days to look for accommodation, and there was the annual meeting, we thought it was a good time to make an official announcement and welcome for her. Her main ministry will be at Rovereto, where she will be living, and we pray that she will have a big impact on the church planting work there. She will also be involved in some other ministries at Trento, which we have to decide upon together with the church. She will be moving here in July, and then beginning work in September, after the summer break.

This is the answer to about 14 years of prayer, by me and by others. It was back in 1995 that we first thought of our church planting vision in the rest of the province of Trento, but realised that we needed the help of other church planting missionaries in order to fulfil it. So I have often asked for prayer for such missionaries; finally, in God’s timing, one is coming. It will also mean a bit of a change in my ministry. As well as the ministry I am already involved in, I will be the “team leader” for Suzanne, meeting with her regularly to help her in her ministry, especially as she learns about church planting in another culture. So pray for our time together, that we can be a good team and help each other in our respective ministries to help the church. And keep praying for more church planting missionaries as well, even if it takes another 14 years.