the boat. They sit balanced around the balloon
boat, which is disposable and intended to be
abandoned after its use. One large wave will
capsize it. They had no life jackets, and up to
200 people were on their balloon boat, and
they left in a flotilla of nine
boats. Women and children were
on the ‘boat’, although ‘dinghy’
would be a better description.
They left at night; but a wave
capsized them, and many
drowned, including the parents of
two small children. Elvis made it
back to shore. He tried a second time, but
they were attacked by pirates who brought
them back to the Libyan shore, beat them and
put them in an enclosure, ordering them to
contact their families and ask for money to be
sent for their release. This kind of thing
happens often. In that enclosure, Elvis and his
friend prayed to God and promised to serve
Him with their whole heart, strength and soul.
After the traumas of crossing the Sahara,
abuse in Libya and then the risky sea
crossing, where many drown, all the
migrants say the same - that they wouldn’t
have come if they had known the risks.
They all say that they prayed to God during
the crossings, of the desert and the sea, and
vowed to serve Him if they survived. And
then they encounter us, offering some food,
free Bibles and Gospel teaching; and
explaining that baptism, going back to the
water they nearly drowned in, is the way to
connection with God and His Son. They
really are a fruitful segment of society to
preach to and assist.
On this trip, we baptized Elvis in the Catholic
stronghold of Cattolica. We first met him last
Summer when distributing NEV
Bibles at the bus station one
evening in Cesena. Taking God’s
word out onto the streets does
bring forth fruit… and Italy is full
of Africans on the streets. Elvis
was baptized at brother Joseph’s
home; and he gave a wonderful
account of his preservation by God’s grace on
his journey across the Sahara, see link below.
He speaks of how in Libya and on the desert
crossing he saw many Christians beaten and
killed, and how he refused to convert to Islam.
He describes the Mediterranean crossing in
great detail. The migrants are put into huge
inflatable dinghies called ‘lapalapa’, or
‘balloon boats’. The people smugglers don’t
accompany them. The migrants have to steer
25
beliefs. After she had left, the group were
very excited and explained that far from
appearances she was a highly qualified senior
lecturer in Philosophy at one of the top
Tehran universities. She was totally
committed to her Islamic beliefs and had
studied world religions in connection with her
doctorate. They said they could not have
imagined she would take such an interest. The
next day after she had gone, her parents in
law said that on returning back with them to
their house she had talked at length about the
conversation and described the encounter as
one of the greatest experiences in her life!
Surely the Lord is at work and it must be that
she saw him and heard what he wanted to say.
It was not me. Please pray for her and for her
husband and his brother, that the Lord’s
efforts to reach out to this unlikely contact
will bear fruit to our Father’s glory.
Carelinks | Italy
Thank you for
your prayers for
our mission in
Italy during April
~ continued ...