Don’t Be Afraid, Trust Me

Don’t Be Afraid, Trust Me
​-King Jesus

The phone rang, interrupting our conversation. It was early June and Alaina and I had been talking about how God was honoring our prayers of dependence on Him. Annika, who works for a refugee center in the heart of Rome, was on the other end of the line. An Egyptian woman and her two children were in desperate need of housing TODAY! After hearing how they had fled their country and had no where to turn, I asked Annika (who is not "religious") that we need to pray, so I prayed with her on the phone that God would provide a solution.

After hanging up, Alaina and I prayed for this family, for the situation and for housing. And God said, "You take them in". He reminded us that we were to take care of the orphan, widow and sojourner. The next month, our guest rooms were booked, so we knew we would have to shuffle people around, but we had the room. Quickly, our ministry partners agreed to house them for the first few weeks until we had the room. The total commitment time was to be one month.

One month turned into three as they visited government offices, went to government appointments and appealed for any kind of help Italy could give. How humbled I was to walk with them into the same offices I have been in, not knowing the system, the language, the process and being fearful of making a mistake. Each time, we would pray and ask for God's sovereign hand to provide and...
...HE DID!
Time and again, God opened doors for them to receive the paperwork needed, food, clothing and more. In early August each of us came together to pray and set a fleece before the Lord. We asked that he would provide housing for them before the 24th of August. On Wednesday the 22nd, we moved them into their new apartment where they can live rent free while the mother looks for work!

Over the summer, this family came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and later asked if they could be baptized. This transient family arrived in Italy full of fear, without hope and without anyone to care for them. Now, only six months after arriving in Italy, they have hope for tomorrow and for eternity as they continue to discover their lasting purpose in Jesus Christ.