Click Here for February 2018 Newsletter PDF

Hello friends and partners of the ministry in Sicily:

We are thankful to the Lord that after quite a bit of a drought, rain has finally arrived. Last time it rained was last April, so this rain was badly needed. With the rain, a cold snap has gripped the entire country and most of Europe.

Sadly, the infrastructure has not been maintained and it is common to see water gushing up from the catch basins. With it, all the garbage that’s been lying around travels to the low grounds, so you can imagine how littered the roads are with mud and all sorts of debris. As you might know, most of the older houses here are without heat, so Giuseppe keeps warm with a couple of propane heaters. That’s why we have invited you to come and visit when the warm weather arrives, usually mid-April.

Giuseppe and Pastor Isaac went to visit a couple of camps in the mountains (4,000 feet high!) where the weather is very cold. We received around 50 cases of oranges, so we took a few cases for the camp. Here, we ministered and sang songs with Pastor Kurt, who shepherds a church in Giuseppe’s hometown.

We had a blessed time with the refugees getting to hear one of their own. Later that week, we found out that after Giuseppe shared with the group about baptism, two approached Pastor Kurt and asked to be baptized. Pastor Kurt will not only continue his teaching but will also give lessons on what it means to be baptized.

Last month, we received a shipment of bibles from refugeebible.com (400 of them) which was great but they did not last long. With Pastor Isaac, we sent a few boxes to Pisa and Milano for the local outreach. Since then, we received another shipment, so we do have enough for the outreach here.

What do you do if you have no heat in the building? Well, you move the service to a house! Giuseppe held the Italian service at the Portanova’s house, where we were real cozy. God blessed the evening service with lots of neighbors coming over for that.

Like the Sicilian hospitality, you have to eat too. Before the service, the ladies started kneading and working hard at making sfinge and ravioli. You just cannot eat only one! That reminded Giuseppe when his mom used to make bread and sfinge (donut balls).

This past Sunday, Pastor Isaac preached about when you try to hide from God because of your sin, God sees you all the time. At the end of the service, he made an altar call: a large number of people joined him to the front for prayer.

Thank you for praying for us here so that we can make a difference in someone else’s life with His Word. In mid-March, Giuseppe will be back to Michigan to share with many of you and some of the teams that will be coming to partner with us in Sicily.

We request that you pray especially for two volunteers that want to serve alongside Giuseppe and a team coming later on for two weeks. Also, we have volunteers coming from Germany to spend time in Sicily advancing the Gospel.

Thank you for your generous heart for the ministry of Act Now Ministries.

God bless you all.

Serving with you our Awesome God,

Giuseppe and Pennie Collesano
Ciao for now.
As always: Let’s go fishing (really) for one.