Journal 4/19-22/2012 It has been raining in Milan, and unusually cold, in Milan for the last few days. The local brothers and sisters said it is a blessing in disguise, because the rain kept people from shopping, and the shopkeepers close up early due to rain, and many can come to attend my class. God works in mysterious ways!
Finally Saturday was a fine day with blue sky and bright sunshine. The local brothers took me to see the famous Duomo, Milan’s marble cathedral and also the Ambrosio church. The Duomo is huge, with turrets and many statues perched atop spires along the sides of the church. I was indeed thankful for the fine weather, it was a change from the wet and cold just a day ago.
On Sunday the service was in the afternoon. Since they did not invite me to preach I thought I can just go and attend the service; however around noon Brother HP told me that he managed to switch the speaker for the day to next week, and asked me to preach instead. So I shared on Psalm 23. The church is very large and there are about 300-400 people attending. After my message the sister in charge, CJY asked me to pray for their church management team (I think equivalent to deacons). HP then told me that it means that they have accepted me. Apparently the church had gone through a splitting by a 灵恩 group and they are very suspicious of any outside speakers, and the rest of the church (other than HP’s fellowship group) would not want to have anything to do with me. I am glad that their suspicion was proved groundless. Sunday evening is the last class of my 10-step Bible study class, and in addition to the 40 plus regular students we have some new faces, who show up after they heard my sermon.
Today is Monday, and this evening there will be potluck and sharing. They are already thinking about future plans for our involvement with their fellowship. Please pray that our interaction will bring more harmony and the brotherly love that motivates sharing of resources will prevail.
Blessings
Richard