Praise and Prayer
Fall 2020
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Editorial
March has arrived and for many of us it feels like we’re living in a movie we’ve seen over and over again, like a time loop from which we can’t escape. A year ago many in our country were scared, skeptical, terrified, hopeless, but we would never have guessed that a year later so many of these feelings would still be in our hearts and minds. The fact is, although time has passed, for many, the situation seems to be unchanged.
Students are still in distance learning and universities seem to be functioning only online , with a few exceptions here and there. The thrill of stepping through the door of the university classroom for the first time for many is gone, for yet another semester. For others, however, the experience of online graduation will become a bittersweet memory to be recounted in the future.
The daily life of GBU groups has also changed now. Online Bible study meetings, thousands of messages in chat rooms, social promotion, and online events have become part and parcel of a normal GBU day. But don’t let that fool you. The essence remains. That desire to share Jesus with one’s friends, the commitment to witnessing the gospel, and the fellowship that spurs growth in one’s own faith and the faith of others is there for anyone who wants to see it.
In times like these, where challenges against our faith are piling up, we cling to the Word and the hope we can find only in Jesus. He is the one who assured us that He would be with us until the end, pandemic or not. My invitation to you is to go and read the news from the different groups. You will see that instead of complaints or ‘defeated tones’ there are many reasons for joy and hope. There is news from large and consolidated groups but also stories of the challenges from small groups that have just been born and who enthusiastically recount every small victory. There are many reasons for praise and there are requests for prayer, because the students have now realized that in their life of faith they will not be able to go much further without the prayer and intercession of their brothers and sisters.
What has changed then since the last news report? If we look at the circumstances, not much. But if we look to the One who works every good work in us, who acts when no one else can, and who changes the lives of students every day, then there is much to be seen. So I invite you to read the news, praise the Lord for His work, and pray for the groups, with the assurance that Jesus has not stopped in time, but is at work making all things new.
Carol Rocha
(GBU Staff)
GBU Modena
In GBU Modena we started up really raring to go this second year!
We held an introductory pizza evening combined with a short reflection on the subject “Were the gospels altered?” dealing with the topic of the New Testament reliability and giving out a copy of Josh McDowell’s “More than a Carpenter” to those who were interested.
From this perspective, we started studying the life of Jesus through the Gospel of John. So far, we have met together twice in someone’s home (taking the necessary precautions) and using a computer as well, so that the study could be followed online too.
GBU Verona
By the grace of God, GBU Verona has just started up again, despite it having been a truly unpredictable and unstable year from many perspectives!
God provided a new coordinator this year. We would like to thank God above all for His grace and faithfulness and then we’d like to thank all those who prayed for this ministry!
The group is currently made up of little more than around ten people, but not everyone participates actively.
Let’s keep praying:
GBU Bologna
GBU Bologna is progressing well; we’re studying Romans to find an answer to the question, “Is God just?” and some wonderful ideas have emerged.
At the first three meetings there were always four of us, of whom one person was always alternating.
Thank you for sustaining us in prayer.