Aperitivo

Last night, after the interns helped with their first Open English session (5 Italians in attendance), we held a short aperitivo from 19-20 to introduce them to some of our friends. We had about 12 people come and enjoy some snacks and drinks and meet and chat with our interns. I was SO encouraged to see how eager they were to dive in and chat with people and as soon as it was over, to jump up, clean and put everything away...especially after a very long day. I'm proud of them and excited to see what God does through them. Earlier that day, they handed out over a hundred invitations to the July English program at two different schools. To finish off a good, but long day, we hit Tunital for a well-earned kebab.

Hard at work

Here are a couple of pics of the interns hard at work. In the first picture they are focused on learning Italian, which they will be doing every morning. Then in the next picture, Angie is getting them ready for the Kids' English Outreach they will be doing next month. Be praying that God sends many kids to this new outreach.

Encounter Coffee House: The Pincers

Well, tomorrow at our event Encounter, we are having a concert by a local group called, "The Pincers". They classify their music as folk, jazz and folk-rock. This has all the makings of being a large scale event. If our normal visitors come plus the fans of The Pincers come it couuld be a real big turnout. Remember our purpose for doing these outreaches is to build community which in turn becomes relationships. Pray that relationships are started and deepened. If you want to check out the music of The Pincers, go to their myspace page at http://myspace.com/thepincers. Tell us what you think!

Chit Chat Open English

Every Wednesday, we have an outreach called, "Chit Chat - Open English". This is for those wanting to learn English. We have had Italians come with varying levels of skill in the English language; from very basic to those who can speak fluently. We supply different levels of lessons for them to work through with us and it is an opportunity for us to spend time and build relationships with more Italians. This week, tied one other week for the most attendance at an Open English, there were seven. That may not sound like much, but I remember times where we have worked for months on an outreach and only one or two people showed up. In those times, we have learned to be not only content, but also joyful that we can have a deeper discussion with only a few that come. However, it is also exciting to see nets being thrown over and coming back stretching at the seams, stretching by Italian standards anyway!

January Ministry News

Here's an update of what is going on in January 2007! Everything is starting back up after the holidays.

The Casey family returned on Sunday. They will be spending the next few weeks readjusting to life here, as well as the time difference.

Kid's English Club is on Tuesdays and most Fridays. Angie teaches several kids each week and you can really see a difference.

Chit Chat Open English - Starts today. We usually have 2 or 3 people who will come to practice their English in focused conversation and friendship. Some people just like to talk, for some we have lessons. It is usually easier to use a lesson with someone who doesn't know English very well.

Friday night, January 12, is our monthly Coffee House. The theme this month is "Winter". We usually have in the double digits (around 10-15) who come. They can hang out in a very informal atmosphere, chat in English and listen to music. Sometimes we have Italians come in and play live music, but not always. When we don't, Marcus plays live music with a keyboard. Everyone always likes listening to his piano skills and sometimes the night turns into karaoke. On my sketch blog, I posted some artwork for our February Coffee House, with a theme of "The Valentine Blues", you can check it out by clicking here.

Every couple of weeks we have a special prayer time for our team. In warm months, it is outside in the piazza. Right now, when it is colder, we have gone indoors into a nearby Catholic church, which is open for anyone to come in and sit. There is usually only 1 or 2 people besides us inside.

Monthly, we have a team fun night. This is for our team to get together and build our relationships, which always helps our working relationships. This month, we have team visitors who are going to watch the Casey's and Roterts' kids, therefore the adults are going to go to dinner together.

Twice per year our team has a planning meeting, usually outside of Ancona. We will be having our meetings January 19-22. Please be praying for this because it is a foundation of everything we will be doing for the next six months.

Every week, we have our two Life Groups that meet in homes. These groups are in their early stages, building relationships and growing together in Christ.

The last thing to note is that the Rotert family is heading back to the states for six months for their Home Service Visit. They will be seeing family, supporters and supporting churches as they travel throughout the US.

Go Ancona News

This is the news for the ministry of Taking Christ to Italy: Go Ancona. The ministry is a non-denominational church plant in Ancona, Italy. Look forward to reading upcoming news about the different facets of our outreach, evangelism and discipleship.

Our church is structured in groups that meet in homes. Weekly, we have two groups that meet in two different homes for fellowship, worship, mentoring, encouragement, teaching and ministering to the needs of group members and the people of the community.

As needed we plan events to focus on different aspects of the church, such as, prayer, worship and teaching. At these events lessons are planned for children as well.

We operate a free English conversational program for adults, classes for kids and a monthly American style coffee house for adults to practice English conversation in an informal atmosphere. Our coffee houses have featured themes like 'football', 'autumn', 'hawaiian luau' and christmas, as well as live music and American style coffee drinks and snacks.

Bi-annually, we plan two contact events for deepening current friendships and reconnecting with relationships of which we have lost communication. Examples of these are Family Zoo Day, Picnic in the Park, Open House at our facility and Thanksgiving Outreach. Of these all, the Thanksgiving Outreach has gone over well in attendance. Italians have seen this american holiday on TV and in films, and this way they get to experience it up close and personal.

Our children's ministry has occasional outreaches like 'movie day', Christmas carnival, bowling, spring carnival and works in conjunction with our kids' english program. Most of the events are planned around a family style of ministry, where the whole family can come together.

As you read you'll see more about our ministry. If you ever have any questions please feel free to write us at info@goancona.com.