Dear friends,

After some difficulties to obtain a permit, our trip to L'Aquila was postponed to the 25th of April. We stayed there 2 days and I have to say that it was both difficult and glorious. Difficult for the people, difficult to see the destroyed houses, difficult to find encouraging word for the survivors. However, it was glorious to see people admitting their need of a Savior. Here are a few facts and a few personal stories.

We donated for about 500 dollars worth of undergarments and socks. It was actually one of the greatest needs people had. We were able to find great deals though a friend who has a clothing store.

We brought water, food, detergent, silverware, toys, diapers and all kinds of basic items.

On Saturday, we were first denied the permission to enter the camps. And after evangelizing a few people, the police came to ask us what we were doing. A friend of mine took the opportunity to preach the Good News to the police officer. And if it weren't for his colleagues, he would have accepted to be prayed for.

Later in the afternoon, we went to other camps, where we were allowed to give food and clothes to the survivors on our own. That is where amazing things happened. "Can I have a Bible too, please?" is a request we have heard numerous times, as soon as people saw us giving Bibles to their neighbors. People are so desperate that they realize their need to draw near to the Lord. Though it is sad that oftentimes catastrophes must happened in order for people to soften their hearts to the Lord, we were honored to be able to respond positively to their requests. By the end of the weekend, we donated around 90 Bibles.

"After this tragedy, I don't want to hear about God!", was the bitter comment made by an old lady when I offered her a Bible. After explaining to her with much love and compassion that the recent events have proven us that we cannot put our trust in earthly things because they'll eventually pass, she changed her tone of voice and accepted a Bible with tears in her eyes.

On Sunday, we were invited to speak in a church nearby. God moved powerfully as 3 people were baptized in the Holy Spirit and other were "fired up" to preach the Gospel. It was not a planned event, as we really wanted to concentrate our efforts on the relief efforts in L'Aquila. But God decided otherwise and it was a glorious surprise to see Him use us in such ways.

On Sunday afternoon, we went back to the earthquake area and were allowed into the very restricted camp of Onna. Onna was a town of 221 people. All houses were destroyed by the earthquake and 41 people died. Needless to express the atmosphere of mourning and depression we found when we got there. I gave a toy to a little girl; she smiled and her mom cried. This is the general situation there. They didn't need much of the stuff we brought, since the camp is always under the spotlights. Politicians, media and the catholic church have turned the town into a symbol of the disaster, which explains why the area is very restricted.

In Onna, a local priest asked a police officer to kick us out of the camp. As we overheard them, we approached them to have a little "talk" with them. God's favor was on us, as we were able to pray for the priest and give him one of our Bibles! When the police officer saw that the priest was no longer against us he begged us to give him a Bible!

These are only a few testimonies from the trip. It would take too long to tell you all the great things that God did in our midst. Your contributions were definitely a great tool in God's hand to send us there. We are ever so thankful for your generosity.

There are a few photos attached. I currently only have a few photos, but as soon as I receive those from the other members of the team I will put them on Facebook.

Here is the situation after the first trip: we still have a few things we were not able to give away and about 200 euros (around 260 dollars) left on the account. We will definitely take another trip there in the near future. Some friends (Ciro Scuotto and others) are already planning a trip in 2 weeks from now. I am not going to be able to team with them this time, but help will be needed there for at least 6 months. Relief workers begged us to not forget about those towns once the medias' attention is off of them. We made a commitment not to, so I can guarantee you that we will go back in the future.

If you wish to donate more to the relief efforts in L'Aquila, you can still send your checks out to:



FIRE International
P.O. Box 5306
Concord, NC 28027

Write your check out to Nicolas Girard and mention in the memo "Italy-Project Earthquake".

Thanks a lot and God bless you.