GBU Turin

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We really want to thank God for giving us the opportunity, energy and blessing to have already organised numerous activities: start of year party, mountain retreat, conference in Turin Polytechnic (see photo), games evening, weekly discussions, surveys, distribution of “PolyLife” guides, prayer meetings, etc.

We’re pleased with how the new academic year has begun as we’ve managed to reach lots of new people and, at the same time, we’re also seeing that those who have been involved in the GBU for longer, are more passionate about serving than they were last year. Therefore, we can’t help but praise the Lord for how He’s been working both within and outside of the group.

We’re asking for prayer support for organising the next conference at the start of December: as we’re wanting to hold it on the Einaudi campus, we’ve been coming up against a few logistical problems.

Furthermore, we’re hoping and asking for prayer to be able to reach a lot of people this time too, since the topic will cover violence against women.
In addition, please pray that those of us who run the group will have deeper and more sincere fellowship with one another, so that we can serve the Lord with joy, passion and above all, unity.

Finally, we’re asking for prayer for God to bless us with seeing people submit themselves to Him and converting as a result of our service.

GBU Turin

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Praise
  • we held a conference at Turin Polytechnic on 26 March entitled, “UNDER PRESSURE! Managing stress amid commitments, demands and expectations” given by Dr Susanne Waldner. It went very well. Lots of people came from outside (around 100) who, in addition to everything else, were able to hear a short but effective testimony by Susanne. We had some positive feedback, so we are thanking God for that and we hope to be able to bring some students to God.
  • Lorens (local GBU staff worker) has come back after being absent for a long time due to his broken leg
  • the opportunity that Paula (coordinator) has had to go on a mission trip to Greece
  • for everyone who has stayed faithful to the GBU by getting involved with us, and for those who continue to come along even though they have slightly different beliefs from us
  • for the opportunity to organise conferences on the Einaudi Campus
Prayer
  • for the mid-week meetings and for the group to bond because fewer people are attending
  • for those who we came into contact with us through the conference held in March, though not exclusively through that, that they would come to the GBU and to Jesus
  • for the upcoming conferences, there will be one in April on scientific topics (given by Prof. F. Shaeffer) and one in May on the subject of “Why I don’t do what I want to do” (given by Paul Chatfield)
  • for Lorens who broke his leg in August 2018, that it would heal completely and quickly.

GBU Turin

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Praise
  • We want to thank God because we have a lot of new people and we can see that they’re very pleased with the group and excited about it.
  • We also give thanks that the activities have started up again so well.
  • But we’re especially thankful for the fact that one of our GBU members who converted last year, got baptised last week.
Prayer
  • For Lorens’ health (GBU staff) that he manages to recover more quickly than what the doctors are saying.
  • Pray for the new people, that they would make a commitment to Jesus.
  • Pray for the student committee, that we would grow as a team and work well this year to the glory of Jesus.

GBU Turin

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Praise
  • We thank God that we’ve been recognised as an association in the Polytechnic and this allows us to have an institutional email address, therefore we can send emails to all the students in the Polytechnic, inviting them to our events. This made two of the last events highly successful: the open mic and a seminar on pornography, both of which drew around 40 non-believing students.
  • Praise God that this month a student made the decision to follow Christ!
  • That new group members were enthusiastic and got involved.
Prayer
  • On 12 April we’re holding a conference on self-worth.
  • For our coordinators, in particular that they’d manage to organise their time well and make their commitments with both the university and the GBU fit together.
  • That those interested in the faith could deepen their study of the Word, and that we students would help them in that process.

GBU Turin

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Praise
  • For all the volunteer coordinators we have
  • For how the Lord has provided by finding us somewhere to hold the Bible discussions
  • For the non-believers who are coming to the discussions
Prayer
  • that the GBU evangelistic vision would become more and more clear to us, so that we’re more open and available towards non-believers
  • for organising two events: 21 November (Open Mic) and the Christmas party
  • that the coordinators would work together harmoniously: since there are a lot of us and we’re all different from one another, conflicts can arise, but we know that God is in control and we pray He’ll give us wisdom in all circumstances.

GBU Turin

Tempo di lettura: 2 minuti

Praise God for His faithfulness and for how things are constantly moving forward. The group is continuing to grow and new students are wanting to know more about the GBU as a result of the Mark Drama from a few days ago (20-21 March) and join in the Bible discussions! We’re really grateful to God for these two Mark Drama days and for how He has guided everything.

A while ago we organized two special meetings on the subject “Sex and God”. The evenings were interesting, enjoyable and a good number of people turned up, both “regulars” and not.

We have recently changed venues for our Bible discussions, so that we can accommodate everyone.

Conference “Sex and God”

Lastly, the non-Christians who are attending make up around 1/3 of us. This makes us very happy, but the problem remains that there aren’t many Christians willing to help out, particularly not in discipling them. As there aren’t many of us doing this, it’s not easy to “manage” everything and we could do with more support.

Praise:

  • For all the young people who are continuing to attend as well as the “newcomers”.
  • God’s faithfulness and goodness.
  • The opportunity to involve new people and make Jesus known.

Prayer:

  • More Christian students are needed to help the group and sustain the “growth” of the non-Christians. Pray that they will understand that helping out in the GBU and discipling the new ones doesn’t need to be burdensome but enjoyable and something pleasurable.
  • That this new meeting venue for the Bible discussions would allow everyone to get to know one another, as there are new students, and help the group work together more and be more united.

GBU Torino

Tempo di lettura: 2 minuti

We thank God for His faithfulness and for how things are moving more and more. As we are growing, we would like to form another group and we are praying that this news will be received positively and with certainty.

A while back we organised an Open Mic. The evening was very entertaining and enjoyable and a lot of people came along, both “attenders” and non-. One girl, who came along to the evening, then turned up at a Bible discussion and has continued to come along. She lives with one of our female co-ordinators, Andrea Carolina. She shared great news with us, because that very evening when she arrived back at home, she was able to talk about Jesus to her again. She has also agreed to do a Seekers’ Bible Study and we are overjoyed about this!!! Wonderful!

Finally, roughly a third of the people coming along are non-Christians. As I already mentioned previously, we are very happy about this, but the problem is there are not many Christians willing to help us disciple them. As there are not many of us doing this, is it not easy to run everything and we need more support.

Praise:

  • For all the young people who are still coming along.
  • God’s faithfulness and goodness.
  • The possibility of involving new people and introducing them to Jesus.

Prayer

  • We need more student believers who are willing to help out with the group and support the “growth” of the non-Christians. Pray they will understand that helping in the GBU and discipleship of the new ones does not have to be a burden but something enjoyable and pleasurable.
  • That forming a new group would be received positively and will give space to new people coming along to get to know Jesus.
  • Again in regard to forming a new group – we must make rather important decisions. Pray God would give us wisdom to make the right choices.

GBU Torino

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Recently in Turin, the Lord has blessed us greatly. We’ve organised various events, including a conference with Stefan Gustavsson. We have a really encouraging testimony of a foreign student who has been with the group for two years (and is a more active member this year). She told us that before coming to Italy, she would not have called herself a Christian, but thanks to our passion she has discovered the joys of the Christian life and how important it is to share Jesus with others. Testimonies like this renew our strength and push us to work even harder for the Lord, knowing that he is one our side!

Praise:

  • non-Christians that come along to meetings and events
  • the conference with Stefan Gustavsson, especially the conversations we had with non-Christians during and after the conference
  • Christian students that have recently got involved

Prayer:

  • for more Christian students willing to actively contribute to the group
  • that we’d be able to follow up on non-Christians that have shown interest, bringing them closer to Jesus

GBU Torino – international group

Tempo di lettura: 2 minuti

Since September 2015 there has been an Interaction Team focusing on International Students in Torino and we are very encouraged with how things have been going.

The year started with an International Welcome Outreach Week and during that week many students were contacted as they arrived to register in the Politecnico di Torino. We spend a lot of time talking to students as they went to the campus and giving invitations to different events.

The programme included, a welcome dinner, walking tour of Torino, sports in Parco Valentino and an Apericena. There were more than 30 students from over 8 different countries at the dinner and many of them have continued to come to our meetings.

Since October we have been meeting with a regular group of International Students every other Tuesday evening. The meetings are social with food and some cultural or fun elements. However each evening we have some time dedicated to thinking about the Christian faith either through apologetic talks, discussions, testimonies or short evangelistic talks. The highlight of the term was the Thanksgiving Meal. Thirty International Students attended the traditional American Thanksgiving Meal and a local American Pastor gave a clear Gospel message.

Most of the Internationals who attend the events are not yet Christians and come from countries closed to the Gospel. It is exciting to see them engaging with Jesus and finding out more about who He is and how He transforms lives today.

Please pray for:

  • Stephi the Interaction volunteer who works tirelessly to build relationships and reach International students in the city.
  • The students who have heard about Jesus (some for the first time) since arriving in Torino. Pray they would see who He is and grow to love Him.

 

,

Lorens Marklund

Lorens was born in Stockholm in 1980. When he was a child he moved to Italy with his parents, both former missionaries of “Christ is the Answer.” He graduated in Electronic Engineering, from the Polytechnic University of Turin and has worked in the Aerospace field as an Avionics System Engineer. Beside engineering, he is also passionate about music, art and poetry.

His interest in the Christian faith began in his teenage years, leading him to accept Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour at the age of 18. Since then, his first priority has been to grow in his knowledge of the Bible and serve God in a practical way, especially through evangelism and mission. He discovered GBU at the end of his university career but has been involved with it since then, benefitting from biblical training and the many friendships made. His desire is to now give something back by serving GBU on a local and national level.

Lorens attends an AG church in Turin and, as well as GBU, is involved with other missionary organizations such as Operation World Italia and The Gideons International.