1 Corinthians 15v58Â Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
A willingness to go, where no one wants to go for the sake of the Kingdom of God. To proclaim good news to all and bring an invitation to a new life.
In this update on life I'll be sharing about the Trailblazer DTS. A Discipleship Training school with the heart to reach the unreached. with a willingness to go where no one wants to go.
Milano
Before the school had started we felt an emphasis on unity in the body of Christ for this DTS. Italy doesn't have a big history of unity within Ywam or the church in the past but we believe that this is changing!! We're seeing this locally in our town of Arco, being apart of regular prayer meeting for church unity within the different local churches here in our valley. Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox, and Pentecostal churches coming together to pray for unity within the church.
So, our DTS was running at the same time as another school here in Italy, at Pisa. We felt to come together in a city that is central to where are bases are but also in need of hearing about the good news of the Kingdom of God again, Milano. We came together with the Ywam Trentino DTS and the Ywam Pisa DTS for a combined week of lectures on evangelism! Around 40 young people sleeping on the floor of a church for the sake of the Gospel, with hearts to know God and make Him known. This week I like to nickname the 'humility seminar' because it wasn't the most comfortable of circumstances but when we feel uncomfortable we REALLY need to know why we're doing what we are. It's worth it to be in these circumstances for the sake of seeing the Kingdom of God advance! The impression I felt God gave me for this week is of a 'moka pot', which is a coffee percolator. Through the pressing good things would come out, and they did!
Highlight from the week
We're called to love people into the Kingdom
This quote was from our speaker this week, Graziano. The life of a believer should be a testimony of Gods love and through what we've received from God we can love people into His Kingdom! A new life with Jesus!
YWAM Monferrato Hills
This time was incredible! Wow so much I could say. In the middle of our lecture phase, after the week in Milano we went straight into a week of outreach! Taking a week of lectures off to get more practical in sharing the things we've learnt so far in the DTS and serve the people of Italy. There a lot of highlights from this time, We were able to partner with another Ywam Base in Italy called Ywam Monferrato Hills. It was very encouraging to see how God is working through the faithfulness of His people. The testimony of the Brazilian couple who feel called to pioneer a YWAM base here is astounding.
Highlights from YWAM Monferrato Hills
We got to serve in a local soup kitchen, serving the homeless and less fortunate, but we didn't only serve but also got to sit with together, eating and sharing life. How Jesus loved to minister with people
Got to facilitate lots of worship times with different churches and the Ywam Base
During evangelism in Turino we saw someone come to the Lord!
CRAZY PERSONAL TESTIMONY
While in Monferrato on our Italy outreach, the town we were staying in was having a halloween party, giving out free roasted chestnuts and vin brulé. I figured "why not? I'll check it out". I go down and get my free snacks, it's about 21:00 in the evening by now. The team and I are tired from a day of ministry. As I'm there I run into a man from Israel, currently living in Italy escaping the terror or war. We get to talking about how tragic this war is thats happening and dreaming of peace being restored to Israel. As we we're talking, naturally the conversation shifted to why a Canadian guy (me) is in Italy, I have no reason to flee Canada. I explained about what I do here, running school for discipling young people in their walks with God. My friend from Israel is no stranger to God growing up where he did, the history of Israel is a story about a God who is faithful. However our perspective on who God is was completely different. Through talking for some time I eventually felt God asking me to ask him if he has ever heard the Gospel before. As I asked this question to my new found friend I was surprised by his answer, "no" he replied. He is still awaiting the messiah to come. This was an eye opener for me, I could type sooo much in this explaining how this conversation went. What I will say though is that it was a joy to share with him that Jesus the Messiah as home and salvation is available here and now! We can be at peace with God through Jesus. This is GOOD NEWS.
Many more things I could write but for now I'll leave you with this and another update will be one the way!
Thanks for reading this part two of the update of the Trailblazer DTS! Chapter three coming soon.
Also if you ever want to reach out to me and here more or just be in touch feel free to message me on WhatsApp +39 347 511 1755 or email me at lucaskroeker@gmail.com
Blessings, Lucas