GBU Udine is in need of prayer! At the last meeting there were only two of us students there, one of whom was the coordinator. We are sadly struggling to get other students involved. Moreover, the referring staff member to lives 300 km away…
Pray that the Lord would raise up student believers who want to be involved and want to consolidate the group, so that it can grow and be a witness in the University. Pray also that a coordinator for next year would be found.
We’re grateful to God for the possibility of meeting online weekly to read the Word of God and for being able to have a space to meet in person once a month, offered by a family.
One reason to give thanks is certainly starting up activities again this new semester, which began with a conference given by Susanne Waldner, in which how to manage stress and anxiety was discussed.
We said goodbye to some of the international students, but we also welcomed in new students at the Sapienza and at Tor Vergata. Therefore, meetings in the faculties are therefore proceeding well attended and with invaluable times of discussion and reflection. We have just finished a series of studies on the book of Jonah, with which we began the semester.
On the 2nd and 3rd April, we put on The Mark Drama, the whole of Mark’s Gospel portrayed in 90 minutes. We thank the Lord that this project came to fruition, and we’re continuing to pray for all those who were involved or took part in it.
As GBU Urbino we can say that the group has formed and over time is getting larger and stronger, for this we can only be grateful to God. At the beginning of March we spent a beautiful weekend together with GBU Siena and the Uniperugino people for a Winter Camp in Gubbio, it was two days full of fellowship.
Then the students from Perugia came to visit us the following week with a group of Americans and with them we evangelized many students in Fortezza, it was encouraging to know that so many care about the city of Urbino which, though small, is so much in need of knowing God; we pray that in the future we can open a church and that the witness can grow.
Our meetings have continued and lately we have been dealing with the theme of friendship: we read together the bond of deep affection between Ruth and Naomi, her mother-in-law; in 1 Samuel, the friendship between David and Jonathan. It was good to see how we can reflect and take inspiration for everyday life even from Old Testament stories; sometimes we think that only in the New Testament there are teachings more relevant to us, instead it was good to learn, from more “distant” stories, how love and affection can be demonstrated. In addition to this we shared our experiences and how we would like to improve our friendship relationships, giving each other advice.
We plan in May to have an event, indeed, the first event with the new GBU group with the help of GBU Siena and the guys from Perugia, we pray that with this special meeting we can reach the students and make ourselves known more!
We continue to give thanks to God for how He provided when, humanly speaking, the outlook was very bleak. When we started out online last March, we had nothing to work with, yet God provided the support with His Word from brothers and sisters in Christ and a fresh, new participant. This year we’ve relived the very same experience; wanting to interrupt the online format, we no longer had a way to involve external help. However, wonderfully, God allowed an interested new student to come to Trento, and that was how we managed to start
up weekly meetings in person.
For now, three of us are meeting up (and God-willing, that will hopefully soon become four). Out of these, there’s a young chap in particular, who is still getting to know God, whose growth over the weeks has been far beyond what you could have humanly imagined. We’ve seen him speak of God’s truth with an open heart, full of the Holy Spirit.
We’ve also seen a beautiful atmosphere of collaboration with a current ministry in a local church working with international students. On many occasions God has used this network of contacts to bring new people into the various activities.
We are of course praying that God would speak to this young man’s heart as He chooses, urging him to get to know Him fully.
The group is still forming and of course starting up from nothing has its difficulties. We are increasingly aware of depending on God wholely for everything He’s wanting to do through the GBU.
We really would like to reach still more students at the University. Over the past weeks we have put up flyers on campus and we’re praying they would also be a means to spread the GBU voice and make ourselves known.
Over the next few weeks, we’d like to go into the Faculty to talk to the students we meet, share the Gospel and leave them invitations to the GBU meetings. Pray God would direct all aspects of this and bring people to Him in whatever way He chooses.
We’re praying God keep revealing to us more and more how fundamental humility is in serving Him. We really need to feel we will never get there and we mustn’t ever get stuck in a fixed routine, rather always keep our eyes fixed on who He is and what He is calling us to this day.
The GBU in Urbino this year is a real group of ‘power girls’, as we call ourselves, because for now we are only girls, but we hope that the group can expand soon.
In these first two months we started with our meetings by studying together the second letter to Timothy, the girls began to familiarise themselves with the inductive method, enthusiastic about reading and sharing the Word of God together. I thank God for the perseverance we are having in meeting each week despite everyone’s commitments and various difficulties.
Last week a non-believing girl also came, in fact a subject of prayer is to grow and that by working together we can evangelise to this university city which is in such need since there is not even a church. It would be nice if new people could come, classmates of each of us, and that we can present the message of the Gospel.
In addition, together with the GBU of Siena we are organising the Winter Camp which God willing we will have on 4-5 March 2023.
I am certain that the Lord has great things planned for us!
We thank God for what He’s doing in the group. All the young adults are free to express their own opinions and they interact calmly during the studies.
This year we have got a different idea about how to structure our program. We’d like to address various different subject matters during the studies. In years gone by, we have instead read through a book of the Bible from beginning to end, for example, Ecclesiates, John and Acts.
The first topic already covered was Friendship. It was interesting having a few meetings where we could concentrate on this subject matter, touching on the various sides to it.
Two girls joined in, which we are very grateful for. We’re also happy to have returned completely to in-person meetings.
Pray for the next subjects we cover, that the Lord will give us wisdom to choose well.
We’re asking for prayer that God would enable these new people to come along regularly and integrate. Finally, pray that we’d witness to our friends and course collegues.
