August 2019 Mission Newsletter

Gospel Hope Ministry Centre Well we got the new name & logo sorted quickly!! As you can see the sign is done & up too!  Cards were printed - Deane has even setup a, dare I say it, FB page!  Most Africans do whatsapp and/or facebook so it is necessary to have both for communications.  The FB page is really only for Deane to post messages &send personal invites to events held at the Centre. Very happy for anyone to "view & like it" Motorbike = Freedom from the city noise & heat  Australian Visitor Great to have our favourite longtime friend Karen visit from Sydney for a week !!  Lots of fun, ministry discussions & yummy food!!   (not the donkey meat tho)   Gospel Hope Food Bags We have received a number of generous donations recently which we have decided to use it for Ministry needs. The African people we are meeting have tremendous needs..... they don't have documents, which means they can't get work, so that means they can't buy food either.    Some of the young men even sleep under bushes on the waterfront! We have decided along with meeting & talking to people about their spiritual needs, we can help with their physical needs. We went grocery shopping and purchased some "staple foods" to make up food packages to give, along with gospel tracts, to the Africans that visit the Centre.  We are sure people that get a food package will tell many of their friends and we pray that as each person visits Gospel Hope Centre, they will find encouragement, prayer, love and have the desire to hear more about Jesus Christ.  Deane has been meeting regularly with Hadim over the past 2 months, he is pictured below as being the first recipient of a Gospel Hope food bag. Hadim came to Palermo 5 years ago, got documents & went to Germany where he was cared for in a Christian home.  His visa expired and he had to return to Sicily (because this was his first point of entry into Europe) Hadim is now going through document process again Hadim was a Muslim but became a Christian - we believe God has bought him along to help at Gospel Hope, while he is waiting for his new documents.  Hadim is in contact with many Migrants that have nothing,& he wants to bring them to Gospel Hope Centre so they can share their stories and hear about Jesus love & His eternal hope!

Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana Enjoying a free outdoor concert at Politeama Square one Saturday evening Italian Language & Cultural Week   Italian Language Classes went well - full immersion Italian - great to meet new people & opportunities to share our Ministry Centre with - hopefully we retain something of what we learnt! Eleanor our teacher was great, she says we now just need to STOP, RELAX and take it slowly!!!    Sherilyn now  has the opportunity to meet with her on a regular basis :-) We also had the opportunity to do a couple of day trips as part of Sicilian Culture & History - we visited the Greek Ruins in Agrigento, Scala dei Turchi and Mt Pellegrino, photos below. Enjoying Sicilian Pizza, beaches & countryside   LifeHope "Community" evening  Always heaps of fun to meet with this great group of Italians that go to LifeHope Church in Palermo. Lots of laughs, fun, fellowship and never an Italian occasion at Sergio & Gracia's in Lascari without loads & loads of food!!!