phipps charles maryfrances 1977 italy

8/17/2019 Phipps Charles MaryFrances 1977 Italy

1/11

OP

ITALYSALUTEYOU*

CV\ar\-^°i

/

Hebrews 13:24

I t a l i a n C t f r i a i t a n f i s s i o n

( E t f s r i s a anh

^arg

prances ^ t j t p p s

M I N I S T R Y Terracina, 6 September 1977 forwarding agent

Mr.GMis.HowaidR.Battin

I N

ITALY

2209

Chestnut

Street

Columbus,

Indiana 47201

friends in Christ, ——

At 12:54

p.m.,

S e p t em b e r

1,

t h e Lord releas e d Mary

Fra n c e s

f r o m t h e

of

this life

after

years of suffering.

The

cancer whi h

years ago had caused her

massive

mastectomy

and

subsequent cobalt

had s p r e a d t o her liver,

d e s t r oyi n g

i t as a f u n c t i o n i n g unit

h a d heavily involved h e r entire

abdomen^.

At the moment

Mary Frances

had been unconcious f o r

several hours, but^had never

h e r

usual higji degree of awareness a n d clarity of thought.

died at peace

with

t he

Lord and

in

her

h eart was

at

peace

with

all

with whom she had ever had to do.

Frances had known the

truth

concerning

her

condition

from

the moment

t h e

Doctor's diagnosis and f a c e d it courageously

a n d w i th

s e r e n i ty o f

all w h o

came

in c o n t a c t with h e r.

hundreds

o f people (not only "our" church f olk s) from various

Italy and

abroad attended

her funeral on

September

3 in the

church

place in

Terracina.

There were at

least

as many left

standing

in

s t r e e t d u r i n g

t he service

as

t h e r e

w er e in

t h e p a c k e d

( s t a n d i n g r o o m

a u d i t o r i u m

-

plu s a

lar g e c r o w d w a i t i n g w h e r e

w e

live as

w e

l e f t

the place o f w orship. Mary Frances' w i t n e s s f o r C h r i s t was heard

clearly by everyone who

knew

her

here

- t h e s e people love her and

t h e r e is

much more

t o my f e e l i n g s than t h er e

are wor ds

to

them.

Mary Frances was not perfect, thank

God,

o r she

could not

l i v e d w i th me

-

p u t up w i th

me

-

but

s h e

w a s un f ailin gly loyal

t o

convictions an d in her l ove — s h e

n e v e r

w a v e r e d

in

h e r f a i t h in t h e

J e s u s

Ch ris t,

in her c o n f i d e n c e in th e p r e s e n c e o f

t he

Holy Spiri t ,

s h e n ev er

c e a s e d t o prais e

an d

t h^nk our

lovin g Heavenly

Father

f o r

t h i n g s ,

in

s pi t e o f

th e

great pain, the

enervating

w e a k n e s s,

the

ofionminent s e p a r a t i o n from

h e r l o v e d ones.

am

d e e p ly g rat e f ul t o

God

f o r

having

given us more

than f o r ty

years

as a family.

w illin g,

I will continue

in

th e

w or k

here. I have

no

d e s ir e t o d o

an d am

eager

t o s e e w h a t other g r e a t things

(such

a s

t h e

effect

Mary Frances'

w it n e s s) the

Lord has

in store in

His wisdom

and

p o w e r.

pray f o r me. I know there

will

be many

times

when I

will

f e el the

o f y o u r fervent

p r a y e r s

e v e n

mo re th an

in

t h e

past.

L o^ e

in

His

grace,

CmAJ^

Charles


2/11


3/11


4/11

CHARLES &

MARY

FRANCES PHiPPS

Ital ian Christian Mission

Forwarding

Agent:

0„

Wayne

Hay

4

B

i

ngsIey

Dr.

Mt.

Dora, Florida 32757

THUMB-NAIL

SKETCH

Ch arle s

began pr ea chi n g

in 1935; he and Mary

Fran c e s

w e r e

marri e d

in

1937.

Th ey

f i r s t

w e n t

to Italy in 1947 an d

s e r v e d

there

unti 1953/ when the

Undulant Fever

Charles had

contracted

forced their return to the Stateso

After fiv e

years

as h e a d

of

t h e M u s i c a n d M i s s i o n s Depts»

at Midvvest

Christian

Co l l e g e a n d teaching o n

t h e

faculty

of

O klah o ma

City University (for

f o u r

of t h e s e

years),

C h a rl e s '

h e a lth

h a d s o

d e f i n i t e ly be e n r e s t o r e d that

he

and Mary Frances

r e t u r n e d

to Italy in

November, 1958,

w h e r e they

continue

to w o r k

They

are

located

at Terracina

(half way

between

Rome and Naple s

o n

Italy's

V / e s t

coast),

where

their missionary

responsibi

ities

include

e va n g e l ism

t h r o u g h the c h u r c h

there

an d

a t F o n d i ,

a c i ty

about 12 mi

les

away« Gius e p p e Ital ian o is t h e

na tiv e

p r e a c h e r.

Sin c e Apri , 1959

C h a r l e s

a n d Mary Fran c e s

have

be e n doing t h e

"Sea r ch the

Scriptures

r a d i o b r o a d c a s t

in

Engl ish ev ery w e e k.

It is h ea r d over Rad i o MANX, located o n

t h e

Isle of

Man,

England,

T h i s w o r k

i nv olv e s

a careful ly

p l a n n e d

a n d e x e c u t e d f ol lo w -u p

program

among isteners

who write

i n response

to the

broadcast.


5/11


6/11

Page 2

Phipps

Statistics r epor t that Italy

is

a Roman

Catholic

country;

99.6% so .

But

h i s

is only true numerica . l y , since

a l l

babies

born

into a family

that

is

nominally

Roman C a t h o li c are counted

as

members f t h e

Church, No

o n e n e e d s to

c onv er t

the babies: they automatically

i ncr ea se

the

member

ship reported by the Roman Catholic Chur ch.

I n

fact, the "baptism" of

babies

has really

b ec om e

m o r e of

a social amenity

than

a

religious c o n

viction

.

The true picture o f

active

m e mb e r s h i p is very

different. Relatively

f e w men ever

darken

the d o ors of t h e churches except for the minimum

number

of

formal

occasions

required

i n

o r d er

t o

have

their legal d o c u

ments

in

o r d e r. This m e a n s they have

b e e n

"baptized"

, o n f irme d

an d

i f

they

are married

by

the

priest,

t h e y ' l l

have

b e e n

to

c on f essi on

an d

Mass o r

that occasion. T h e

fact

i s that mo s t

of the

population

of

I t a l y

is n o t active at a l l

in

the pursuit o f Roman C a th oli ci sm.

I t

is w e ll- k n o w n that the largest

C o m m u n i s t party

in the w o r l d h as

been

for years (except for Russia) h e I t a l i a n Communist party. I t i s

the largest single p o l i t i c a l party in I t a l y .

I f o n e questions the

n ee d

for

the

simple Go s p el in I t a l y today, h e

in

reality doubts the n e e d t o return to Go d' s Word

an d

h l i s way nyplace

i n t h e world. The Reformation was h e result

of

f f o r t s t o correct the

errors

f Roman C a th oli ci sm, a n d

t l i e

e s t or a ti o n Movement seeks

to

return

to

the

simple

truth

God

h a s

revealed f o r

the

Church

n the

New Testament. I f t he r e is any single

country

in the w o r l d that

is

in

n e e d of this restoration of the

C h u r c h t o

God's original desi gn,

i t

is

Italy. Wha t ev e r

p r o g r e s s

is

made n

Italy

t o w a r d

the

elimination o f

false

doctrine and

wrong

ractices

will

have

more

ffect

than

in other

pla c e s, si n c e the

very

e n ter

o f

Roman Catholicism is here.

The Country

I t a l y

is

about twice the

area

o f

Georgia. I t s population is

about

5 4 . m i l l i o n (1970) while G orgia has s o m e w h a t

over -

million. This

high concentration

of

people in

a

small

area

is

o n e

o f the main

r e a s o n s

so many

talians

are

to be

found all

over

t h e

world.

Much f Italy is o c c u p i e d

by

m o u ntains, w h i c h

reduces

h e a r e a

that

ca n

be cultivated. The opsoil i s generall^^ shallow since the e n

tire

c o u nt ry is

so

rocky.

A m i s s i o n a r y, s e e i n g Italy f o r

the

first

time,

remarked hat i f someone o u n d

the right rock

and

moved

t, t h e w h o l e

c o u nt ry would

slide down nto

the s e a And t

is

that rocky.

The Sec o n d World War was catastrophe for Italy, When

harles

a n d

Mary Frances

irst arrived in Italy in

1947,

bread, lour ,

sugar,

salt

an d

coffee

w e r e

s t i l l

rationed.

Automobiles were

pre-war,

f

c o u r s e , a n d

scarce; bicycles

were

everywhere.

Housing

was

very o o r ,

with many

ollapsing

b e c a u s e of

bomb

damage.

In

the room Charles and

Mary

Frances

f i r s t l i v e d

in,

the floor

was

o

shakyv

i t

was

eld

up

by

timbers in

the room

below

a n d the bindlady

was

fraid

that

the

w ei ght

o f

their

f e w

b o o k s w o u l d c a u s e

i t t o f a l l t h r o u g h


7/11

Page3

Phipps

N o w - i n

1971,

more

than 7 . 3 . y e a r s l a t e r -

many

changes have

taken

p l a c e . Bomb-scarred b u i . l d i ; i g s s t i l l

a t t e s t

t o

t h e t e r r i b l e

c o n f l i c t . Many

s t i l l sh o w t h e e f f e c t s o f

ma

hine-gun f i r e i n t h e i r p i t t e d walls. Every

year

several

children

i n

various

parts o f

t h e

country

are

k i l l e d ,

maimed or

o t h e r w i s e

i n j u r e d by

bombs or hand grenades

t h e j ^ have

f o u n d

i n

t h e ground.

But for t h e most

part, people v i s i t i n g

t h e

large c i t i e s

are amazed

at

how modern t h i n g s a r e . What

t h e y

o f t e n d o n ' t d i s c o v e r

i s

t h a t m o s t p e o p l e

i n I t a l y d o n o t

l i v e as

comfortably

or

prosperously as

a l l t h i s would

make

i t

appear. The raveler

who

e n ture s just

a

f e w miles out

o f

the

cities

will

s e e h a r d

l i v i n g

c o n d i t i o n s , f a m i l i e s who h a r d l y know w h a t a newspaper l o o k s

l i k e ,

c h i l d r e n who

n e v e r g e t a s f a r f r o m t h e i r

home

a s

t h e n e a r e s t

town,

o x - c a r t s , h o r s e s , d o n k e y s , a n c i e n t

f a r m i n g

m e t h o d s .

.

e v e n t h e

wooden p l o w

Even h e r e modern

s y s t e m s

a n d e q u i p m e n t

w i l l

a t

t i m e s b e

f o u n d a l o n g

s i d e

t h e a n c i e n t ,

e s p e c i a l l y w h e r e a

g r o u p o f

more

p r o g r e s s i v e l y t h i n k i n g

farmers

j o i n t o

form a Co-op.

Buildings

Mo st

of

the c i t i e s are divided into three d i s t i n c t sections: Ancient -

Pre-World War I

-

Po s t -W o rl d War

I,

A l l b u i l d i n g s , e v e n i n t h e

s m a l l e r towns, a r e crowded one

a g a i n s t

another.

The

spacious

yard t h a t surrounds

t h e

average

American

home

i s p r a c t i c a l ly n o n - e x i s t e n t

i n

I t a l y . The a n c i e n t p a r t o f a c i t 3 ' ' i s always

characterized

by a

formidable

maze o f narrow,

crooked

s t r e e t s

and

blind

alleys.

The

pre-war b u i l d i n g s

a r e

u s u a l l y ' - r a t h e r drab s t o n e s t r u c t u r e s ,

r a n g i n g

from

o n e

t o

f o u r

s t o r i e s

i n l i ei g h t .

The

post-war

t y p e g e n e r a l

l y r i s e s t o

about

e i g h t s t o r i e s and range from p l a i n

d u l l

stucco t o

some

o f t h e most e x c i t i n g l y b e a u t i f u l s t r u c t u r e s t h a t

w i l l

be

f o u n d

an3^here.

U n t i l

r e c e n t l y no I t a l i a n home was ever h e a t e d except by t h e f i r e

p l a c e

where cooking

i s

done or

by

embers

placed

i n

a

charcoal brazier

which i s

perhaps s l i d

under

t h e t a b l e

t o

warm legs and f e e t .

This

i s

e s p e c i a l l y t r u e o f C e n t r a l a n d Southern I t a l y , I n r e c e n t years, hough,

many

o f

t h e b u i l d i n g s a r e b e i n g c o n s t r u c t e d

w i t h c e n t r a l

h e a t i n g .

Climate

I t a l y i s

known

as u n n 3 ' ' I t a l 3 ' '

. That i s a

good d e s c r i p t i o n o f i t

w h e n t h e sun i s

s h i n i n g But I t a l i a n

weather can become q u i t e v i c i o u s .

Northern I t a l y is subject

to v e r v ^

s e v e r e w e a t h e r

since

i t lies

o n

a l a t i

t u d e above t h a t o f New York. Central and Southern I t a l y , too, have

periods

o f

b o t h unpleasant, c o l d

and

a t

times, dangerous weather.

Be

cause

I t a l y i s

so

mountainous and t h e

t o p s o i l i s so

t h i n , floods and land

s l i d e s , r e s u l t i n g i n great damage

t o

property and loss

o f l i v e s

are f r e

quent.

Earthquakes are

almost a

c o ns tant

o c c u r r e n c e somewhere n

the

country,

During t h e season o f h o t weather, for r e l i e f from t h e heat,

I t a l i a n s

t r a d i t i o n a l l y try t o

s p e n d time either at the sea o r

in

the

mountains. O f

course, t h e

poorer

p e o p l e ( t h e v a s t

m a j o r i t y )

cannot a f f o r d t h e

luxury.


8/11

Page4

Phipps

Shopping

S h o p p i n g i n Italy is d o n e rather

d i f f e r e n t l y ^

t han in

America.

Al

t h o u g h

t h e r e

are

some

mall

supermarkets

in

the

la r g er

cities, in

o r d e r to do oin^ day's

s h o p p i n g y o n

v / i l l have o

d e al

at

s e v e r a l s t o r e s .

I f

you

wont e g ula r

meat, or instance,

you

go

o a

t o r e whi h

sells only

mea t;

but

i t

is more

imiicd

o r specialized tha n the

familiar

butcher s l i o p

i n

the States. There is a mea t store

for

beef, a n oth er f o r

pork, n o t h e r f o r horse meat. M u i t o n and o a t meat can be

b o u g h t

at

the beef shop .

Horse meat an only be

s old

in a s t o r e

limited

to the sale

o f

that

particular mecit;

this

is

required by

law. Incidentally,

when

horse

meat

is c o o k e d correctly a n d

well,

i t is very good. I f

you

buy

he meat,

f

a

young olt,

i t is

very

e n d e r

and

hardly

distinguishable from veal.

Horse

meat

s

the

most

c o n o m i c a l

meat

you

can

buy

a n d

when

you

igure

that

a

p o u n d

of

hambu r g er

of

the cheapest kind costs about Si.50, yo u

might s w allo w your prejudices along with the h o r s e meat

Certain household items such as salt and matches are sold under

a Government monopoly,

s o

you

buy

these

in

the

stor e

where p o sta ge

stamps

and

tobacco

s u p [ ) l i o s

(also

under

t l i e

State monopoly) re

sold.

When you

v/ant

bread,

you

g o t o

t h e .

b r e a d

s t o r e w h i c h

us ally

sells

all items made f r o m flour.

For

s u c h things as

sausages,

i l , " etc.,

there is the ev ery w h er e pre s e n t alumeria"

,

h i c h

i s a s o rt of c r o s s

between

a

grocery

t o r e

a n d

a d e l i c a t e s s e n.

You

an't

g o

into

a p h a rma cy an d buy

just

everything

f r o m

an

aspirin

to a n i r o n

to

a g a r d e n

tractor, as n ' ^ u

c a n

in

the American drug t o r e .

A harmacy^ sells only pharmaceutical produc ts,

with

some f

the

more

m o d e r n

o n e s , handling a f e w

things

in the l i n e , of

c o smetic s

a n d pro d uc ts

f o r

baby

care.

I f you need such things a s

toilet

articles,

s p i c e s , flavorings,

soap,

o r a th ousa n d

other

miscellaneous it ems, you

g o

to the

"d r o g h e ria"

-

a n d t he r e is n o

single

Amer i c a n

word

o translate

this

o n e

Then

f you really w a n t to

d o

your s h o p p i n g as the ave ra g e

Italian

h o u s e w i f e d o e s , yo u t h r o w

a l l

the

above

to the w i n d s a n d

go

o

the

o p e n -

air

market

h i c h

h ol d s

forth

every^

day

from

ab o u t

7^00

a.m.

ntil

2:00

X^.m.

Here

you can

find

anything

aad

everything IF y ^ o u don't

mind the

flies

and

o th er i ns e c t s

w h i c h

a b o u n d -

a n d i f

you

a r e

ready

o bargain

Mary^ Fran c e s

d o e s mos

o f

h e r s h o p p i n g in T e r r a c i n a in the

o p e n

market and s h e h a s

f o u n d

that

i t

is

possible

to shop ell

by

ma k i n g i t

a

habit

t o

g o

back t o the s am e s t a l l s

a n d

t o

make

friends

with

the

ve n d o rs.

However, his is time-c o n sumin g a n d when s h e

r etur ns

home t means

that a l l

o f

the fruit a n d vegetables must be

washed

with

special c ar e ,

in

order no t to risk a bad case o f liepatitis. Charles and Mary

Frances

are

thankful

to

the Lord

that in their many ^ears

o f

s er v i c e

in

Italy t h e y

h a v e

n o t

h e l d this dre


9/11


10/11

Page

6 Phipps

U n d u l a n t

Fever

which Charles c o n t r a c t e d

w h i l e

i n

s e r v i c e o n

t h e

m i s s i o n

field.

1 ' r o m 1 9 l 33 u n t i l J u n e , 1958 h e y

were

i n Oklahoma C i t y where

Charles

W c i s

head o f

t h e

Missions and Music

Departments

a t Midwest

C h r i s t i a n

C o l l e g e a n d a l s o t a u g h t I t a l i a n i n t h e O k l a h o m a C i t y U n i v e r s i t y . A f t e r

h a v i n g b e e n t o l d b y t h e

d o c t o r s

t h a t C h a r l e s ' p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n

w o u l d

p e r

m i t r e t u r n i n g t o I t a l y , t h e y made

t h e i r

a n n o u n c e m e n t

o f p l a n s i n February,

1 9 5 8 a n d

s a i l e d November

1 o f t h a t

y e a r

a f t e r

a

b r i e f

t o u r

o f t h e c h u r c h e s

f o l l o w i n g t h e

c l o s e

o f t h e a c a d e m i c y e a r i n

J u n e ,

1 9 5 8 .

S i n c e t h a t t i m e t h e

work

C h a r l e s a n d Mary F r a n c e s a r e d o i n g

has

b e e n

k n o w n

a s

t h e ;

I t a l i a n C h r i s t i a n

M i s s i o n "

a n d i s

f i n a n c i a l l y

i n d e

pendent of other

missionary e f f o r t s

.

B e f o r e l e a v i n g

f o r

I t a l y i n

1 9 5 8 , C h a r l e s a n d Mary F r a n c e s

p r o m i s e d

Mr.

n d

Mrs.

W a l t e r

C o b l e

o f

t h e G o s p e l B r o a d c a s t i n g

M i s s i o n

t h a t

t h e y

w o u l d

h e l p

w i t h t h e work o f t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e r a d i o

p r o g r a m w h i c h

was

t h e n

b e i n g

b r o a d c a s t o v e r F a d i o L u x e m b o u r g . I n A p r i l , 1 9 5 9 , t h e C o b l e s

a s k e d C h a r l e s a n d

M a r y F r a n c e s t o

u n d e r t a k e t h e

p r o d u c t i o n a n d

f o l l o w - u p

w o r k

o f

t h e

b r o a d c a s t ,

a n d r e q u e s t e d t h a t t h e p r o g r a m ' s

name b e c h a n g e d

t o Search t h e S c r i p t u r e s " . So C h a r l e s

became

t h e p r e a c h e r o n t h e a i r

a n d h e a n d Mary F r a n c e s c a r r i e d o n t h e f o l l o w - u p work.

Charles and

Mary

Frances

are

r e s p o n s i b l e for

a l l

costs i n v o l v e d

i n

t h i s

r a d i o mi n i s t r y , e x c e p t f o r t h e a i r

t i m e ,

w h i c h

i s

p a i d f o r b y G o s p e l

Broadcasting Mission

f u n d s.

At

h e

p r e s e n t t i m e ,

t h i s E n g l i s h

language broadcas t

i s t r a n s m i t t e d

f r o m

R a d i o

MANX

o n

t h e

I s l e

o f

Man

-

a n

i s l a n d o f

t h e

B r i t i s h i s l e s , l o

c a t e d

i n

t h e

I r i s h Sea

midway between

England and

I r e l a n d .

I n

December,

1 9 5 9 C h a r l e s a n d Mary

Frances

moved

from

P e r u g i a

w h e r e t h e y

h a d b e e n

t a k i n g

a

r e f r e s h e r "

c o u r s e

i n t h e I t a l i a n l a n g u a g e ,

back t o

Bari, where

t h e y

had f i r s t l o c a t e d i n 1947. This move was made

n e c e s s a r y b y t h e s e r i o u s i l l n e s s o f

M a l c o l m C o f f e y .

T h e y s t a y e d

t o

h e l p

w i t h t h e

w o r k

i n t h e "heel" of I t a l y .

They

remained

t h e r e u n t i l

June,

1969 when they moved t o Terracina.

This s m a l l

c i t y

where

Charles

and

Mary

Frances

no w

l i v e

and

work

i s

o n t h e West o a s t o f I t a l y ,

h a l f - w a y b e t w e e n

Rome a n d

N a p l e s . T h e i r

m i s s i o n a r y

r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s

i n

t h i s

a r e a

i n c l u d e

e v a n g e l i s m t h r o u g h t h e

c h u r c h

i n T e r r a c i n a a n d

t h e

o n e

a t

F o n d i ; G i u s e p p e

I t a l i a n o i s

t h e

n a t i v e

preacher.

Giuseppe as a boy studied

i n

the

Bari Bible

I n s t i t u t e in

addition to

h i s p u b l i c s c h o o l e d u c a t i o n .

A t t h a t t i m e

h e

d e t e r m i n e d t o become a p u b l i c

school

teacher.

His

steadfast e f f o r t s ever since have been

c r o w n e d

with

success; he

i s n o w

a

regular

teachep i n t h e I t a l i a n

school

system and i s

w orking to finish his University ed ucatio n.

He a n d h i s w i f e , R o s e t t a , h a v e t w o c h i l d r e n :

Roberto, b o r n March

8,

1 9 6 6 a n d D a n i e l a , b o i ^ n

A u g u s t

3 0 , 1 9 / 0 . They a r e

d e s e r v i n g

o f c o n f i d e n c e

an d

prayers as f a i t h f u l

w o r k e r s for the

Lord.


11/11

Page

7

Phipps

Tills

Paly, and

l o r

t h a t matter, a i l hurope needs Christ.. perhaps more

n o w

than

ever before. Why? When

Eur ope

i s c i v i l i z e d

and

I t a l y

has

a

i o r i n

of

aLlegediy Christian religion?

Simply

because

i t i s not

enou gh

t o be

c i v i l i z e d . I t d i d

not

s a t i s f y

Christ - and w e dare

n o t

be c o n t e n t w i t h

less t h a n

what

l i e requires.

And because

i t i s not enough t o have a form of Christianity That is

e x a c t i \ ^ t h e

reason

t h e

estoration

Plea"

challenges

churches gone a-

s t r a } ^ today. Th e s l i g h t e s t comparison of

the

State

religion

of I t a l y

with

the Wor d o i

Go d

s h o w s

h o w

o f t e n and h o w

f l a t l y

they contradict each

other-

and

w e l : n o w which one

i s

bound t o l ) e right i n such a

c o n f l i c t

Years

o f experience

i n t a l k i n g w i t h I t a l i a n

people prove t h a t t h i s

c o n f l i c t i s disastrous t o personal

f a i t h

i n

Christ on

t h e

part o f t h e people.

False

teaching

cannot

produce

Christian results.

And

i n

a l l

Europe,

the

f a l s e t e a c h i n g

and

f l i m s j ^ f o r m a l i t y o f modern

sectarianism

and flabby

m o d e r n i s m is suffocating the c a u s e o f Chris t.

To e e h o w great the n e e d is, just look

at

the tendency of the

faithless,

tottering

denominations

of Europe o

f a l l

under the spe ll o f Rome's

o n c o cti on

of h uman tradition a n d authority

so-called,

i t s

incredible

distortions

o f

the

Scriptures and alarming,

relentless

mixture of m o d er n

skepticism

an d h e r

an c i e n t p olicie s.

As

^ 0 1 1

w i l l

have gathered, the

people of I t a l y

an d

a l l o f Euro p e are

n o t easy to evangelize - a n d yet th er e a r e t h o s e who r e s e a r c h i n g f o r

s o m e t h i n g to f i l l the e m p t i n e s s in

their

lives. And

he r e

a r e

t h o s e who

r e c o g n ize imme di a tely

in

the

Gospel

f C hr i st that f o r

whi h

th ey have

b e e n

l o ng ing.

The missionaries in

Italy

n e e d the

support-

o f

the

c h u r c h e s at

home.

The

i e l d in

Italy a n d

the

r est o f

Europe

s

no t

a g l am o r o u s o n e a n d

the

ten d en cy

o f some s

to

think

that

a mission field mu s t be a primitive a r e a ,

ra t he r

t h an one

w i t h

a l o n g history o f Western

ivilization.

But as

a

matter o f fact,

all i t

t a k e s

to

make an area a m i s s i o n field

is that i t be populated

by

pe o ple

i n

n e e d o f Christ to w h i c h

workers must

be

sent

on His

mission t o

the

lost.

The ragic

spectacle

of masses f p e o p l e who ave lost a l l thought o f

responsibility

to

Div in e

auth ority

is

e v i d e n t

everywhere

n

t h e

world

to

day. a n d

I t a l 3 ' ' , Europe a r e n o

e x c e p t i o n s .

Some

ask: But o e s

i t p a 3 ' " to

d o

missionary

work

n

Italy? In Europe?

The

answer s

clear:

I t does pay, becaus

i t

has worked a n d

c o n ti nue s

to work.

The

answer s

th er e to be

g iv e n by ld

a n d

young n the churches

established

i n

these years, by zealous men

and

women who apably

an d

gladly w i t n e s s

to f r i e n d s

a n d n e i g h b o r s , to a l l th ey

meet,

f

their

j oy in

the Lo r d. The inswer is there in the lives of pe o ple.. pe o ple a s real a s

you and your l ov e d

ones.

Charles and Mary Frances

say:

Whenwe asked

you o send us b a c k to

Italy, we

elieved

the

work o ul d be done,prayed

hat

the

Lord

w o u l d

use

us.

Now

we

know from

xperi en ce

w h a t

faith

told

us.

phipps charles maryfrances 1977 italy

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