Mission Milan Newsletter - December 2023

LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Janie, Iain, and I wish you a Merry Christmas as you reflect on the greatest event of human history and what it means for us: that Christ came into this dark and broken world to redeem us through his life, death, and resurrection. Only in Him do we have a living hope that looks beyond the horizons of this present evil age to the promise of a new heaven and a new earth where we will glorify God and enjoy him forever. While we enjoy peace with God now because of Christ’s first advent, we will experience peace in its fullest measure at Christ’s second advent. When the King returns, he will bring everlasting peace on earth as he ushers in the glory of the age to come. This present age, with its sorrow and suffering, will come to an end for God’s people. In that day, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21.4). In the meantime, as believers living between the two advents of Christ, we have the blessed privilege of serving God, enjoying Him, and telling others about His Son. Whatever 2024 brings in your life, we pray that you will be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The best is yet to come! Conference in Sicily.

Conference in Sicily.
On December 8-10, Janie and I had the privilege of participating in a conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of J. Gresham Machen’s classic “Christianity & Liberalism”, which has been translated and published in Italian. The conference was hosted by Chiesa Sola Grazia, a confessional Reformed Baptist church in Caltanissetta, Sicily. This church graciously invited me to be one of the speakers. The conference was edifying and the fellowship was encouraging. It provided us with a great opportunity to get to know other Protestants in Italy and strengthen friendships. A particular highlight was the preaching of 85-year-old Rev. Geoffrey Thomas, a disciple of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Ladies’ Book Club.
Janie continues to lead a monthly ladies’ group. They meet to pray and discuss a book that they have been reading together. In their last meeting, they read Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place, which is available in Italian. We are grateful that these ladies have an opportunity to fellowship outside of Sunday.

Family Matters.

It is hard to believe, but on November 27, Iain turned 18. We are grateful to God for his mercies to our son these past five years. Iain was 12 when we left San Diego and the only home, church, and school that he had ever known. It has not been easy for him, but by God’s grace, Iain has persevered and matured during his teenage years, and continues to walk with the Lord. He is scheduled to graduate from high school in June and has applied to colleges both in the United States and Italy. We pray that the Lord guides him in wisdom in this coming year. Thank you for your prayers for Iain! Janie is doing well. Beyond leading the ladies’ book club and doing most of the tech work for the church, she remains busy as an English teacher. For more than three decades, she has been my greatest source of encouragement and earthly joy. I am so grateful to God that I get to make my journey through life with her. We continue to ask for your prayers regarding the purchase of a home. We believe that this would be a wise investment of resources and important to our mission if it is the Lord’s will that we should stay in Italy long-term. Please pray that the Lord would provide a way for us to do this and that we would be submissive to his will whatever the outcome.

For more extensive updates, visit our website: missionmilan.org

Mission Milan