Catching Up

[This was actually written on May 3 in the afternoon]

So the flight over was fine and I arrived at the hotel and walked the town. The people are extremely hardened to anything other than Catholicism. My first night was lonely, but God comforted me in that time. In the morning I went to the Vatican and walked there with an audio guide. God's work through a man was enormous, and I appreciate it, but it was Catholically commissioned, therefore the slant was pure Catholicism and religiosity. Even in the midst of that, I was able to have sweet fellowship with the Lord. It is when everything is gone and nobody was around that the Lord spoke so clearly to my heart, saying "Follow Me". It was a re-affirmation of my faith and walk with the Lord. I personally committed myself and surrendered some things further to the Lord as never before. 

That day, I had a hard time meeting up with the Team. We just kept missing each other over and over again. During that time, I visited the Pantheon and St. Angels Castle, which were absolutely breathtaking. I got some great photos of the culture, regarding food and art. It was unique! 

In meeting the Team I was able to connect with them and see their heart and vision for the ministry. We were a silent witness to the work that God wants to do in Rome. The churches are divided, even though there are only a few. The largest church in Rome is 300 people, but there are so many people in Rome. It is heartbreaking that everyone is chained to the Catholic church. 

The next day we played at the tent ministry, which is a community of believers that are one. In saying that they are one, I mean that they share everything and live in a commune with a big tent and trailers all around. The people there are from all around the world. We played there after much rehearsal and by golly, I was able to sing "How Great is Our God" in Italian. The people erupted as the Holy Spirit was ministering in the midst. It was awesome because I learned the chorus and sang it for like 10 minutes. Bob was playing lead and we were all jamming. Anyway, we went back to the Apartments and slept for like 5 hours. The next morning we woke up, had rehearsal and went to the other church. This is the church in Rome- the heart of Rome- that was given this huge plot of land. The city gave it to them because there was a group of Muslims that had the money and wanted to buy it. They didn't want the Muslims to have it, so they GAVE it to this church!!!! God's hand moved yet again and they were gifted the church. We had worship there today. It is a pentecostal church, but definitely Spirit-filled with many people seriously involved in the church. We have been taken care of greatly in every way. 

So that is the past few days. Tonight we are going to the tent for another concert and tomorrow I travel to the site of the earthquake, Laquilla.

LL