by Joe Sirico
Since we knew we would be coming to Italy as missionaries we’ve been praying for hearts here to be softened to hear the gospel. One of our college students in our Bible study asked about riding horses as a group, so I went to check it out. I found an equestrian center very close to our house. I went to check it out and met the owner, Mario (so we’ll call him) who gave me a run down on how things worked. I mentioned that I had played polo and trained horses for years and worked with a particular type of training method called Parelli. To my surprise he knew of the method and when I asked if I could have an opportunity to train one of his horses he jumped at the chance.
I began working with one of his young horses and Mario asked if he could watch and learn as I trained. I happily agreed. So, for the past three weeks Mario and I have spent a fair bit of time together. He has been a good student and besides asking me questions about my horse training techniques he has shown a definite interest in what I do for a “living. Through several good conversations Mario now understands my point of view of salvation through Jesus Christ and he gave me his full endorsement today. One day he began asking me more about what I believe while we were standing at the barn with one of his clients and his daughter. The group discussion allowed me to share the four spiritual laws with them. Amazingly, all three of them seemed delighted to hear all of this and they had no problem believing it to be truth. We agreed that the truth was found in the Bible and that the Bible is all about Jesus Christ and therefore the truth (la verita’) is Jesus. We also agreed that whether it be a Catholic Church or a protestant church, we all have the same Bible and that if we rely on God’s Word we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.
They were encouraged to know that there are believers in the U.S. who give their hard earned money to support missionaries who share the gospel to reach people they don’t even know. I’m telling you, all those believers who give to missionaries are a witness across the many miles. God can use it all to change hearts in ways we can’t even fathom.
Through the course of this horse training scenario Mary and I have had the opportunity to meet Mario’s wife, daughter, daughter’s boyfriend, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and nephew. And we have been to Mario’s house for lunch last Sunday. It’s only the beginning of the amazing answers to prayers. These people truly hunger for the truth and we are feeling blessed to be able to offer the wonderful gift of the gospel to them.

by Mary Sirico
To say the least Easter was a different experience here!!!! On Palm Sunday, we found out that there would be not service at our church. There is usually about 20 and more than 1/2 were leaving Rome to go to their family home so a dinner together was planned for Wednesday evening before everyone left. I have to say my heart sank when I realized I wouldn’t be with my church family for Easter, but made the decision to go to dinner, embrace that activity and move on to take the opportunity to be with an Italian family in Tuscany for Easter.
Nearly everyone from church came to dinner. The meal was lamb and bitter greens, bread and wine; all with beautiful spiritual significance. Corrado (our pastor) did a beautiful service sharing the significance of each item. Members then read psalms throughout the meal. And we conclude with a special cake “colombo” which is in the shape of a dove in remembrance of the Holy Spirit and the gift of peace. During one of the psalms, I realized that at our table there were believers from Iran, New Zealand, China, Albania, Italy, France, and oh yes, us from America. Tears started to well up with joy as I sensed the strong presence of God among his united believers and I was so thankful to see his hand reaching far and wide. The slightly crowded, slightly old, slightly dirty room just didn’t seem so important as the beauty of the body of Christ shined brightly. As I dried my eyes, I saw the same thing happening in the eyes of the Iranian woman, and the woman from New Zealand.
So filled with God’s presence we went off to Garfagnana, Tuscany with a family of non believers knowing that it would be a different time. We arrived on Friday and had a beautiful time admiring the beauty and presence of God’s handy work in snow covered peaks. The new green of spring in the fields was magnificent. The natural beauty of this area testifies to a God who surely loves beauty. This back drop and the family dinner table became our place of worship as all of the churches in this town of 6600 people were closed with no type of Christian worship on Easter. Sadly no one but Joe and I and this family seemed to notice that worship of Jesus was missing on Easter Sunday; a holiday meant to remember his death and resurrection. I can’t put into words how much this grieved my heart. I was, however, very glad that we were there to share Jesus in some small way as we “broke bread” and had discussions about Jesus, God and religion with a beautiful Italian family around their table this Easter.
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