August 2020 - Mission Newsletter

BUSY FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST
 
The first week of August was extremely busy.  Preparing to head away for 3 weeks from Palermo & the heat of the city,  Deane contacted all his young men to see if we could help them with food before we went away .... many needed help  ..... as did our regular young mums and families.   It was good to see them all again before we left Palermo.

Even while we have been away many have kept in touch by text and keep asking when we are returning - some have said their situation had got worse and they were hungry having no foodbags.   
MENS CAMP 
We were able to collect some food & even purchased a 5kg watermelon to deliver to Deanes friend Bubba from Gambia and his fellow refugee campers on the outskirts of Palermo.
2nd VISA APPROVED
Waiting our turn in the line like everyone else at the Palermo Questura ... the paperwork is all finalised & approved for our next 1 year residency visa for Sicily.  The process takes about 3-4 months and has been considerably delayed & changed because of COVID-19. 

AMSTERDAM
We enjoyed a few days in Amsterdam relaxing & sightseeing - both of us had visited previously, about 32+ years ago so it was nice to revisit & see some of the sights together .... even though the weather was extremely hot .... we thought we were escaping the heat of Palermo but  Amsterdam was experiencing a heatwave at the time we stayed there!!
 
SWEDEN
Thanks to everyone for your prayers ... we arrived safely in Sweden and its been relaxing & peaceful in the countryside, refreshing with most days of cool enjoyable weather.

Great time with the grandies, Kaela is speaking great english - Loui is growing & more attentive by the day!!

Enjoying the different foods ... too much food !! ....  DIY projects for Deane & Sam.  Bella & I cooking and stewing fruits & berries freshly grown on the property.

We managed to get Deane & Sam to take a couple of days off from DIY to take a boat ride and go in to Karlskrona for our favourite fish'n'chips (not available in Sicily like we are used to)

MIGRANT SITUATION IN SICILY IS SERIOUS

According to the Govenor of Sicily, Musumeci quoted figures this week  - 7,077 migrants arrived in Sicily in July and "more than 3,000" have already arrived up to August 15 this month. That is "more than 10,000 people" in less than two months. Musumeci says these numbers make it impossible for the centers meant to test, house and potentially quarantine migrants to cope while maintaining the hygiene standards and distance requirements that the coronavirus requires to halt its spread.

"Sicily can't continue to submit to this invasion of migrants," tweeted Musumeci on the evening of August 22, just ahead of the publication of his latest decree. "Within a few hours, I will have on my desk the decree in which I will be able to empty all the hotspots and welcome centers on the territory," read Musumeci's tweet.

His decree was made and then it was revoked by the Courts in Rome the following day .... many migrants are still travelling & arriving in Lampedusa and the situation is serious - where are these migrants going to be housed?


REMINDER
SIM PROJECT # 99756
 
The project is now up & running internationally & we are thankful for the good exposure in SIM NZ's recent magazine & an article that is being done by SIM International - we get reports monthly but no personal details are included - we cant thank you personally for any donations .... so please accept our peronsal thanks now if you have made a contribution!
 
 
PRAISE & PRAYER


Thankful for:-
  • Safe travels
  • Good health
  • Break for a few days in Amsterdam
  • Rest, relaxation & time in Sweden with the family
  • New VISA up to May 2021
  • For all those that have donated to the foodbags project so far.

Please pray for:-
  • Enthusiam to return to Palermo and reconnect with refugees/migrants
  • Work for our  friends in Palermo
  • Energy for summer heat that continues in Palermo
  • Social Media ministry and Gospel Hope fb page
  • SIM Project # 99756 - that people around the world will support & donate for foodbags.
  • New opportunities in Palermo in September
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