...and home again

A massive thank you to all who have supported us with messages, prayer and finances over the past fortnight and also in the run up to the trip.


The team has now arrived back in UK, with the exception of Pete and Alice Skerratt who are staying on in the Italian sun for an extra couple of days! 


We will update this blog a couple more times with debrief reports of some of the things we got up to - but for now, here is a photo of the campers and team taken on the last day. 

Camp Exchange

Apologies for the slight delay in updating the blog, we've been going solidly with the camp all this week and today is the last day. We have about 21 teenagers in total, and have been doing a wide variety of activities in the sweltering heat of about 33°C+. Everything has been running incredibly smoothly and the atmosphere is extremely positive.

Some highlights of this week have been baseball and American football lessons from Eric who plays for the Bologna Warriors, as well as aerobics. Tuesday afternoon saw everyone leave to go to the swimming pool in the nearby town of Ozzano dell'Emilia, where although there were some menacing thunderclouds, we all had great time once the sun finally did emerge.

Each day from 2:00-3:30 the kids have had English lessons based on the themes of the texts from Revelation – keys, books, money, robes etc. This has lead to some valuable discussions with the teenagers about what they have heard and how their preconceptions and misconceptions fit with the story of the Bible. These conversations have been fantastic and everyone is engaging fully.

A really cool thing that has been going on every other day this week has been what is called the 'Tourneo del gabbione' or Cage. This is where some of the team from Wheaton, IL have gone to the local park and set up a cage which you can play football. They also have been performing a very powerful mime which is designed to communicate the saving work of Jesus through music and actions. The overall idea is to attract local kids to come and play and watch, so that they might have a taste of the gospel and come and join Exch@nge.

One more thing to say is that we have been eating like royalty, albeit mostly pasta, and that has helped us through the very busy days.

Some prayer points for the next few days:

• Please praise God for what has been a really fun week
• Smooth running of everything and lively, happy atmosphere
• Good conversations and big crowds watching the mime

• Please pray for the use of the cage and mime on-site today, as the parents of the kids come and see too
• For lots of people to come to the celebration service on Sunday and that the evangelistic message would work powerfully in the hearts of the parents and teenagers
• For strength and energy for the team in the last few days

Check back soon...

Prayer Meeting San Lazzaro

Just a quick update to tell you about the prayer meeting we had at San Lazzaro evangelical church last night, which was a very special evening. Their church meets in a shop front next to a hair salon. As part of their weekly prayer meeting, in which we prayed for the camp and the campers, Esther, Will, Ollie and Caroline shared their testimonies, the first two in Italian.

A stark contrast to the early start so appreciated by students, this started at 8:30 in the evening and we prayed in the car park outside because the congregation have the brilliant problem of being too big. It was very nice to meet some more Italian believers (around 30) and hopefully the evening was really joyful for them too.

Oh, and we went to McDonald's for supper afterwards. It's the same as England. Except you can get pasta as well!

Will

Friday - Sunday: Team Time and Training

Good news- we've all arrived safely, despite early starts, airport mishaps and Italian drivers! We brought the weather with us and treated Bologna to an English summer storm. The weather cleared up by the time JP arrived, and we were able to grab some team time together at the Aranzulla's, our host mission partners. JP and Sue Aranzulla (creating name confusing with our own JP!), have helped us settle in and protected us from the worst of Bologna's over passionate drivers.

On Saturday evening, Mark (the assistant pastor of a local evangelical church), hosted the UK, US and Italian leaders of the Exch@nge camp. This was the first time the whole team met together. Mark shared the vision of the evangelical church partnership in Bologna, and encouraged us to remember that gospel ministry, although often appearing to be weak, is powerful to transform lives and eternally worthwhile. Sue ran us through the programme for the week, and helped expand the vocabulary of our American friends to include "rota", "tuck shop" and "cricket". We were then instructed in the art of the "side-hug" - a modest and appropriate way of showing affection without risking the retribution of the Polizia.

We are staying at Centro Europa Uno, a youth hostel on the outskirts of Bologna - Will and Alec promptly lost a frisbie, whilst Sophie continued her driving lessons. 

Over the course of the weekend, JP Aranzulla ran a number of sessions on understanding the spiritual landscape of Italy and how to approach church life in this culture. As a team, we've been particularly motivated by seeing that the only hope we have is in the gospel through which God's glory shines in full brightness.

Points for Praise:

 - 23 Campers signed up so far

 - Safe arrival of UK and US team

 - Warm welcome from the evangelical host churches

Points for Prayer:

 - Safety on the roads

 - More sign ups for camp

 - Leaders as they finalise talks, testimonies and devotions

 - Overall camp planning - for activities, games and English lessons

Ready to go!

Hello!

With term-time set a distant memory, the stage is set for the Christchurch mission trip to Bologna!

The team will be flying out from Gatwick Airport and into Bologna in the morning of the 1st July - and then onto a fortnight of exciting opportunities, including a bilingual summer camp, encouraging local believers, first contact and lots more!

As the team prepare to go, and the church in Bologna prepares to receive, please be praying for:

- a summer camp full of children

- team members giving talks over the trip

- the church in Bologna to be encouraged by our visit

- safety whilst travelling

Give thanks also for:

- money raised to allow the trip to take place

- provision of JP and Sue Aranzulla, missionaries to Bologna

- children who have signed up to the summer camp so far

We will be posting updates of our trip here - you can check back here for all the latest news....or, you can enter you email address in the box to the right, and receive updates by email to your inbox!