The new-and-improved Greenwich Family prayer card :-)

We needed to make new prayer cards since our family has grown! We didn’t want to leave little Joshua out…he can use your prayers too!

What have we been up to lately?

We haven’t written too much about the speaking engagements we have been having during our time in the US.  We have been given many opportunities to share about Italy and our ministry in Milan over the past few months.  It is a great privilege for us to get to raise awareness of what God is doing in Milan, and to be honest about the ups and downs we have faced while living over there.  As a result of our sharing, churches are able to better pray for us and those among whom we are ministering.  We have been able to speak in several different settings…church services, prayer meetings, youth programs, missionary prayer group, Sunday School classes, fellowship of parents of missionaries, and children programs, mission fair, senior adult meeting, and summer camp.

Here are a few photos of some of these events.  (I decided to take advantage of this post to also try out the new photo gallery feature on WordPress )

35,000 words…

Well, I arrived back in Texas after spending 12 amazing days in Milan. For those of you who had not heard, we received an anonymous gift that allowed me to go back to Italy to follow up with our many friends there, as well as take care of some logistical things (like enrolling Jake in school for next year and start looking for a place for us to live). I feel so blessed. The trip could not have gone any better. I had lunch and dinner with different friends every day. It was such an encouragement for me to see how God is working in different ways in every one of these people! There is still much work to be done in Milan, but I left there with a renewed sense of assurance that God is truly blessing the seeds that have been planted there over the last three years.

Since there is no possible way that I could tell you all about the trip I figured I would let these photos speak for themselves. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here are about 35,000 words for your enjoyment!

Fun times in Italy…TEXAS!

We drove down to the small town of Italy, Texas today to speak at Central Baptist Church. This precious church has been praying for us and our ministry in Milan over the past few years, and it was so good to finally get to meet them. Immediately following the service the G.A.’s at the church hosted a luncheon for us…it was so sweet.

You will not believe this story!

(Special thanks to Brittany Conner for writing this article! Hopefully this story will touch many people. I am still in awe of how it all happened.)

God recently used two edgy mediums for communication – dreams and the Internet – to reveal Himself to a professional soccer player in Italy.

Jason Greenwich, an International Mission Board missionary in Milan, Italy, is connected with an Italian group of Christian athletes called the “Atleti di Cristo.” Through this group, Jason has met professional athletes who come from various backgrounds, cultures and religious experiences – but all share a passion for God. One such athlete, Dino, is a soccer player who has recently been involved with the Atleti di Cristo.

Both Dino and his younger brother, Daniele, belong to the Inter Milan soccer team. Dino invited Daniele to attend a Thanksgiving day gathering that was being hosted by the Atleti di Cristo in the city of Piacenza. Daniele declined Dino’s offer.

“Daniele told Dino he wasn’t into that kind of stuff,” Jason says.

Before leaving, Daniele asked Dino if he knew of an evangelist named Jason. At the time, Dino had not met Jason, but he asked Daniele the reason for his question.

“Daniele said that he had just had a dream during the previous night where an evangelist named Jason kept calling him and inviting him to the party,” Jason says.

Later that evening, Dino logged onto an online chat room where several members of Atleti di Cristo meet to have electronic conversations through Instant Messaging. Jason also was in the chat room, and he noticed Dino’s name appear when Dino signed on.

“I knew of Dino, but he didn’t know me,” Jason says. “So I wrote him a quick message introducing myself.”

Dino replied to Jason’s message, but he seemed reticent in his replies. Unbeknownst to Jason, Dino realized that the man who had sent him a message was an evangelist named Jason – just as his brother had dreamed.

“Dino immediately contacted Daniele and said, ‘You’ll never guess who I’m talking to!’ Daniele then said maybe he should attend the Thanksgiving meeting after all,” Jason says.

At the meeting, Daniele says he immediately noticed the peace and joy emanating from the other athletes.

Later, Jason met Dino again in the chat room, and heard Dino’s story about Daniele’s dream. Dino also shared Daniele’s impression of the athletes who attended the Thanksgiving meeting. Jason asked Dino for Daniele’s contact information so he could talk directly with Daniele.

“I met Daniele online and we talked through Instant Messaging for more than two hours,” Jason says. “It was obvious to me that God was at work in his heart. I had him get his Bible, and I walked him through the entire Gospel presentation. Daniele said he wanted the same peace that he had seen in the other athletes. At the end of our time, Daniele prayed to receive Christ into his heart.”

When Jason saw Daniele log onto the Instant Messaging service the next day he noticed that his username had changed. It now reads “I belong to Jesus…forever”.

Jason served in Milan with his wife, Allyson, for more than three years, but he had never experienced an Italian so eager to accept the Gospel.

“Dino and Daniele are young, professional, Italian athletes,” Jason says. “It’s extremely rare for people in that age group to make that kind of decision.”

“As this story has unfolded, I’m just in awe of what God did and how.”

Visit www.atletidicristo.org for more information about Atleti di Cristo.