Phipps Charles MaryFrances 1977 Italy
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
-
8/17/2019 Phipps Charles MaryFrances 1977 Italy
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.