Jainuary 4, 1991

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As most of you Imow, I went to Italy for three weeks this last November.
We decided

i t would be best i f I

Steve's woi'k schedule.

were to go with the children,

because of

This also gave "Nonna" (Grandma Coffey) the chance to

see her grandsons.

We arrived in Rome on the evening of November Gth and were immediately
driven to Sulmona where Nonna was waiting for us.
The next two weeks were

spent sorting, throwing away, packing and boxing, closing all our accounts
(i.e. gas, electric, telephone, etc.), arranging for the move of our things,
and even having a small "garage sale" for a few American friends that came to
visit (Italians cannot even conceive of the idea of a garage sale!).
We left most evenings open to call or visit with our various contacts.
I
was able to_give a copy-of the English NTV Bible (which is easier to-follow) to
most of our English club members.
Raffaele came by (we met during the English

course as mentioned in past newsletters) to say goodbye.

He encouraged us to
return, since his Christian walk is so lonely without others of like-faith
around him.

I had long talks with Davide & Anna Maria DiCiannantonio (one of the
families we were having Bible studies with).
They have been attending the
Assembly of God congregation "near by" and have decided to obey the Lord in

Christian baptism!

How true that it is for us to plant and to water, but God

gives the increase. Praise the Lord!

Only a couple of days
later, we had a long and

Let us glorify Him for his work!

involved discussion with the

women

of

the

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Giovannelli

family (our neighbors).

It
led to a heart-to-heart talk
with

Enedina,

the

youngest

member of the family (now

almost 18 years old). After

going over several Biblical

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truths, she stated that she

she knows is teaching unbiblical traditions over Biblical

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had a decision to make: stay

with the Catholic church that

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leading her to - a sei^aration

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truths, or follow what God was

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from the Catholic church and

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r

an embracing of Christ and His

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Word.
I finally asked her,
"Do you know what the riglit
choice is?"
She answered,
"Yes."

pray

Please

for

continue

Enedina

to

and others

Grandma Enedina, Maria, Enedina & Micah

like her throughout Europe who

are standing alone for the Lord.

Tiie rest of the l.hree weeks T S|Xnt, feverishly finishing the iwking,
going to Mom's, aind starting a process of emptying a room to store our furni
ture and belongings, and saying goodbye.

It was a difficult trip, full of stress and sadness, but it was' a good

trip with moments of Joy and laughter.

It was accented by the great Joy of

knowing that our first term in Italy brought Christ into people's lives.
The
liOrd willing, we will return to Italy as soon as jxjssible to continue to shine
as Gcxl's light in a dark world.

Please continue to pray that whatever hai)penR in the next year, all that
we do might work to help advance God's kingdom, esjiecially in Italy.
In His Service,
Valeri

Continued Education

Many friends have ashed Steve how l\is plans for continued education are

progressing.

Me still wants to take grad\iat.e courses, b\it will have to wait

until we can afford the tuition.

The current graduate program tuition fee at
Cincinnati Bible vSeminary is now $120 an hour (the average course is 2 - 3
credit hours).

Translation: The work vAiile in the U.S.

Steve has accepted a full-time position working with Berean Christian

Bookstores, due to a heavy financial burden and Isick of inccane. Valeri will be
taking on the translation responsibilities.
Even though it is very difficult to stay in the States knowing there is
so much to do in Italy, we are excited about this facet of the ministry. While
in Italy, Valeri was able to get various suggestions on materials to translate,
needed for several areas of ministry.

We currently are working on the Ambassa

dor's program. For those of you who are not familiar with John Hendee's pro
gram, it is a simple but effective tool for sharing the Gospel message with
people who are interested in the Bible. John Hendee is an Administrator at the
Central Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona.
We first became involved with this
series while attending White Oak Christian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, a few

years ago. The church was using this program to reach out to first-time visi
tors and found it to be very effective.
It explains in simple terms the steps
that someone must take to become a Christian and can be used by church members
as well as leaders.

We highly recommend this evangelism tool.

This program is so clear that Steve translated the simple worksheets into
Italian and used them in seversil Bible stxidies.
Now we are seeking official
approval for the translation of the entire series so that it can be used in all
of the churches in Italy.
We have the verbal permission from Brother Hendee

and Standard Publishing.

plete the process.

Now we must get official written permission to com

There are several other works we will try to get translated from the var

ious suggestions of Italian missionaries, before we return to Italy.

Transla
tion can take a long time to complete.
There is such a vast amount to trans
late and so little time. Please pray for this work.

Newsletters
We

have

found

that

it costs us approximately
$75 to put out a newslet
ter. ~Srhce the incoming
funds are greatly dimin
ishing (a few of our
supporters are putting

their support money into

funds until our retiom to

Italy), we must cut back.

We

will

not

be

able

to

put out more than 3

newsletters
a
year.
So..."see"
you
this
summer!

SOTTHERN EUROPEAN EVANGELISM MISSION

P.O. Box 39741

Cincinnati, Ohio

45239

Mission Services

Resource Department
P.O.

Box

2427

Knoxville,

TN

-3W1

2?-

7^\f

S.E.E. Mission
\
P.O. Box 39741
I ; y
Cincinnati, OH 45239 I i ,

July 1, 1991

Dear Friends,
Some letters are harder than others to write.

The really fun ones are those in

which we can only report siinny skies, healthy children, and steady progress in
meeting our goals and dreams in obeying God's will for our lives. But that does
not cover all the bases right now. Oh, we are all doing fine physically and

spiritually, but we are not making much progress in getting back to Italy.
1.

The dollar has taken a beating against the lira, so, even though

faithful people like you have sent money, we have lost most of our
financial footing.

2.

The Social Security

issue was not resolved in our favor; therefore we

still owe the I.R.S. a considerable amount of money that will take us
several years to pay back.

3. My hopes of further preparing for the challenges of the mission field

by taking additional classes at Cincinnati Bible Seminary have have been
severely set back by the harsh reality of paying $134.00 per credit hour
while trying to support a family of four.
4. We have as yet not been able to find a new couple that is seriously
interested in dedicating their lives to serving God in Italy by joining
forces with us.

Quite honestly, it does not appear these circumstances will change in the
immediate future.

Has our commitment to work for the Lord in Italy cooled?

By no means!

Do we

see all that has happened as a test of faith, a means to God's end? Certain
ly! Have we looked at the issue of stewardship in this? That is why we are
writing.

We believe in a loving God, one vho calls us to serve Him in vhatever

our circumstances.

to serve Him here...

If we cannot return to Italy immediately, we will continue

and pray He opens the doors for our return to the mission

field we have grown to know and love; but for now, we simply cannot assure you
we will be back on foreign soil in the next few years.

How does this affect you?

In practical terms, vhat have we done about all this?

1. Several months ago, we were able to convene an advisory council. This

close and trusted group of Godly people have helped us through prayer,
advice and research, in each step of our decision process.
2. After actual research and a long job search, God dropped just the
right thing in our lap. I had been looking into possible jobs with
secular international businesses, hoping to fing a job in Italy that would

supply the rest of our needed personal support, and give us a way to live
in Italy in a different light before the people as "tent makers".

This

search led to a dead end, and while I was working two jobs to make ends
meet, T was offered a job at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, in the admini
strative office. This will provide us with:

a)

free tuition for up to 6 hours per semester (more knowledge)

b) a regular schedule, which will allow me to look for and accept a

week-end ministry (more experience!)

c)
3.

benefits and less expensive housing (of which we had neither)

We went to see a lawyer, to make sure everything is done correctly,

not only in the eyes of God and our supporters, but also before the law.
Her recommendations included not closing down the mission for at least a

few years because of prohibitive costs in closing it now and re-opening

it later.
Instead, she suggested rendering the mission dorment (i.e. no
salary to us) until we begin our preparations to return. This will allow
Valeri to continue in her translation work on materials that missionaries

are requesting to be put into a usable form, and be payed on an hourly

basis at least through December, or until the remaining funds are used up.
And now, finally and most importantly, to you. Many of you have been putting
support funds in escrow, or have been using them to support other missions until
our return to the field. Others of you have continued to support the
translation work. We are grateful to you all for the prayerful wisdom and
attention to stewardship that you have shown in using God's money, and for being
so supportive of us personally through all this. We could not have asked for a
better group of friends and supporters! Thank you! In light of the current
standing, we have decided to no longer accept funding for the mission on a
continuing monthly basis, but the mission can accept occaisional gifts to be used
for the ongoing translation work.

Your mission support can now be sf>ent meeting the more iiranediate needs of those
who are presently on the field. Of course we are a bit prejudiced, and would
love to see your funds go to an ongoing Italian mission.
All the Christian
workers there (both Americans ind native Italians) are having financial
problems,and any of them could use finacial help. Enclosed is a list of
existing Ita]ian missions we recommend. We would be grateful if you would
prayerf\jlly consider this as an option. If yo\j have any questions about someone
on the list, please feel free to contact us through the S.E.E. Mission address.
When the time comes for us to return to the field, we will contact you again to
see if any support is available at that time.
We thank you for all your prayers and support as we have gone through a
difficult time of learning and decision-making.
It has been hard for us all,
but we believe we are headed in the direction the Lord wishes, and that because
of a].l this we will be more effective servants for Him when we return to Italy.

Thank you for your part in this.

Forever in His Service,

Steve, Valeri, Micah and Josiah

Claudio & Rosellen Chisholm

Wilma Coffey (Valerias Mom)

Avezzano, Italy

Bari, Italy

Dan & Linda Flory

Bitonto, Italy

Matelica, Italy

Harold & Enid Fowler

(presently in U.S.)

Ciampino, Italy

Evelyn Jones
Bari, Italy

Pino & Evelina Neglia

Lecce, Italy

Jessie Lee Troyer

Lecce, Italy

Vito & Franca Gentile

James & Caranita Wolsieffer

Francavi11a Fontana, Italy