UPDATE FOR JULY 2008

The Restoration Workshop. This Convention, held at Torre dell'Orso (LE), is now history, and thank the Lord, came off well. The theme for this year was: "Saved by Grace, Do we Live by Grace?" The convention's goal was to reaffirm the fundamental value of grace in the salvation process (as opposed to salvation by "Christian activity"). It was very important to demolish the subtle incursion of "salvation by orthodoxy," a notion held dear by some people in our fellowship. One brother spoke on the richness of His grace and its visible fruits in our lives. Another spoke on the conditional nature of grace because "Falling from Grace," is unthinkable among evangelicals here. Another target was clarifying the positive effects of grace in the life of the believer. Harold spoke on "Liberated by Grace from Legalistic Perfectionism." Another brother faced the question: "Does Grace, as a system, annul moral responsibility and personal discipline?" Because of the prevalence of "faith-only" teaching in Italy, one lesson treated "Grace: conditional or unconditional?" while another addressed the subject: "Does Salvation by Grace through Faith contradict Salvation connected with Baptism?"

One highlight of this convention was the presence of Albanian Christians, and one Christian missionary couple laboring in Albania. Although the main convention language was Italian, when the Albanian brothers spoke in Albanian, Italian translators brought their messages to the others. We must not underestimate the richness of this fellowship and its long-term effects. The Christians in Albania are just across the water from Italy (about 90 miles), and need encouragement.

Enid set up our book display, and she sold $228 worth of Bible studies and books. We distributed multiple copies of A Church That Flies to churches present at the rally.
The theme went well; now is the time for application of its message in the lives of not only the participants, but also those whom the Lord brings into their lives.

Harold preached at Mesagne. We have known and appreciated brethren in this south Italy congregation for over 40 years, so when this sadly divided church asked Harold to speak, we welcomed the opportunity. However, they specified that nothing be said about certain subjects (for them, explosive). They requested something that would give long-lasting encouragement. So Harold chose to speak on the subject: "Jesus' Bible," an encouraging invitation to relish the Old Testament's rich bass undertones that form the background harmony and rhythms for the fully developed symphony of New Testament revelations. It also furnishes the vocabulary necessary for understanding grace. He presented six practical ways to utilize the Old Testament, to absorb all the good from it possible.
Some churches here claim to be New Testament churches but have not the foggiest notion about the life of Christ and relegate the Old Testament to oblivion. They think that all truth for the Church begins with Acts chapter two, and anything before that is completely irrelevant to our faith! This, in effect, "decapitates" our faith by eliminating Jesus as a viable role model, and grows a "bonsai church" whose Old Testament roots are clipped.
Jesus' Bible, however, reports things "that happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us on whom the ends of the ages are come" (1 Corinthians 10:6,11). This theme challenged them to open the Old Testament to "become wise unto salvation through the faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15), confident that "everything written in the past was for our instruction that, by means of patience and the consolation that comes from the Scriptures, we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

Latiano invited Harold to preach. This church too has suffered for years due to internal struggles, so they asked Harold to speak at their midweek meeting. They specified that he not address a certain explosive issue. So, he objectified their real but unmentionable issue by substituting a cover problem with Bible teaching on? circumcision (!).
"The Gospel of Christ + circumcision = salvation and full recognition as Christians."
This one doctrine in the early church condemned whole congregations to fall from grace, because it transformed Christ's system of grace into just another law (See Paul's letter to the Galatian churches). By adding this one requirement, churches were seeking to be made right with God by observing a recreated legal system. It takes only one regulation added to the Gospel to distort grace into law! A number of Italian churches of Christ risk repeating the same mistake, so we are teaching where we have opportunity to do so. The circumcision issue (and others like it) is not near as dead or irrelevant as one might think! There are good reasons why they occupy so many pages of the New Testament? Moreover, some of them directly concern our unity in the church of Jesus Christ.

During our travels to south Italy for these events, we enjoyed the hospitality of dear friends we have known for years. We ask you to pray earnestly for these people, because in Christ they are your people too.

UPDATE FOR JUNE 2008

Prayer answered. We asked you to pray for Harold as he presented his message at a Christian convention to a group that contained a few potentially hostile people. Well, folks, we all prayed and the Lord heard. His answer was a bit different from what we expected, but it was quite evident nonetheless, and so we give Him thanks.
As leadoff speaker, Harold presented A Church That Flies, a new book on restoring New Testament Christianity. Its author, Tim Woodroof, raises important questions about what it is that we must really restore, distinguishing from this what is merely cultural, human, temporary, optional, opinion, personal taste, etc. The author helps us get back on track, after many historic derailments caused by confusing opinions for the Word of God. He points to the real assignments God has called us to complete, as normative functions. The various forms for doing this are really not normative, so there can be "unity in diversity."
Some Anti "brethren from Jerusalem" (Acts 15:1,5) heard the presentation. But something happened that hampered their raising objections: the usual open discussion after the messages simply did not occur. This might prove unfortunate because a few opportunities for clarification might have allayed some concern about the thrust of the messages.
However, this turn of events gave the majority more time and tranquility to reflect on the message, without having to "take sides" immediately in open debate. We will have opportunity in June to move among these very people, to share the same message and teach further.
The other speakers brought very positive messages that challenged everyone to make a difference in the world. They pointed to concrete proposals for helping the church to grow. They spoke of the challenge and blessings of a multiracial congregation (of which we are beginning to have several).
An open discussion of the various messages was on the schedule, but, "strangely," it did not get off the ground. Greetings from the other churches practically nudged it out. Because the 15 or so congregations represented at the rally had exciting progress to report, the enthusiasm they generated changed this year's focus, and the discussion of the messages was postponed until the last afternoon. But the encouraging reports of progress were so many that a quick survey revealed that most folk really wanted to hear the good news of progress in the churches, than listen to a (potentially) sterile discussion that could lead to a dispute. This too is good news, since the majority did not want to ruin the positive spirit manifested in people's attitudes. It postponed coming to grips with the ideas involved, but some people process information slower and the postponement left everyone more time to be led of the Spirit to reflect on the concepts without demanding instant judgment and potential rejection. Instead there was room for appreciation of each other as brothers and sisters and coworkers in the Kingdom.
At last, the book has been launched and we rejoice. Let's continue to pray that these ideas about real restoration of New Testament Christianity may have a wide hearing and an even wider practice throughout the entire brotherhood ? and beyond!
Another convention is scheduled for south Italy at Torre dell'Orso (LECCE), sponsored by the Lecce Church. This is a different group of Christians gathering for instruction, fellowship and mutual encouragement. Here we are to distribute more of our Bible study books and booklets. Please pray for the Gospel presentations there too.

UPDATE FOR MAY 2008

Civitavecchia Trip. By special invitation, we visited a small group of believers living north of Rome at Civitavecchia. Harold shared with them the biblical concepts expressed in "A Church That Flies." Because this group came out of varied backgrounds, they could appreciate the wisdom of this message. As a young Christian group, they had experienced all the frustration of examination and excommunication by self-appointed "watch-dogs of orthodoxy" whose sectarian views immediately categorized this group?s "entry-level" faith as unfaithfulness toward God! Can you foresee that they readily warmed to someone who loved them, even if not sharing all their views?
Free publicity announcing the publication of "A Church That Flies" is beginning to go out to a readership among brethren from Churches of Christ in Italy. Our announcement has been accepted for publication on their website and has begun to reach our intended audience.
Pray for Harold's message. He is the leadoff speaker at the coming convention at Velletri in mid-May. His task is to introduce the book "A Church That Flies." This theme can prove to be a real godsend, but it faces some unsympathetic hearers, so we would seek your prayers for the favorable reception of the book's pioneering message. The date is May 16; the time is 11,30 EST, but your prayers are welcome and appreciated even now. A public distribution of this book will be made at the convention.
Kingsley evangelized in Nigeria. We introduced you to Kingsley Eseguee, one of the Nigerian Christians that participate in our church at Matelica. In April he returned to his homeland briefly to participate actively in an evangelistic campaign in his hometown. Our Italian group helped him to purchase food and equipment for the program, since he worked alongside other Nigerians in this evangelistic effort. Our group is thrilled not only that he took this opportunity to reach out in his home country, but also for his zeal here in Italy. His fervor is a good model for our people too.
Visitors. We were blessed by two sets of guests: Randy and Katy Smelser and Dale and Barbara Mallory. These missionaries in Germany were in Italy to work on the Mid-Winter Rally planning for this year's end. Although guests of the Italian committee members, they had free time to bless our lives too.
We appreciate you and your prayers!
Harold and Enid Fowler

UPDATE FOR APRIL 2008

Enid stocked up for the women's convention. She printed books and booklets almost non-stop, working them in between her other tasks. She then distributed our publications among the churches represented by the women attending the meeting.
You should see our new color catalog. This innovation enhances the look of our publications. It's amazing what a new color cover can do for some heavy Bible studies. Just because the content requires thinking doesn't mean that the covers have to be dull and uninteresting! By scanning the new book covers and reducing them to thumbnail size, we were able to issue a good-looking catalog.
"A Church That Flies" PowerPoint presentation begun. Harold has begun work on a message for the family week of the Velletri convention in May. His task is to introduce the book he translated.
This book's content could be perceived as controversial to some who attend the convention, for whom a conviction that "all necessary truth has already been learned, so further thinking is unnecessary." So we would again ask your prayers that he be able to make a good presentation and then respond well to the questions that will surely arise during the question and answer time that follows.
One of our co-laborers has already received some negative letters from former missionaries to Italy who question the appropriateness of printing such a book. A few complaints from some Christians who have begun to call the book "heresy." We are looking for the initially open response that the Apostle Paul received in Rome when he gathered the Jewish community. They responded, "We want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect." (Ac. 28:21 ff). We can expect something of the same result he got: "Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves?" Rejoice for some positive comments are beginning to come in too.
Thanks for your prayers that make our work in Italy possible! You may not hear all the "domino-effect" answers your prayers launched. Certainly, only the Lord can reveal their long-term effect to you at the Judgment, but may we encourage you to keep praying? anyway. Some problems have been ironed out, almost before we knew we had them. Praise our heavenly Father for pleasant surprises like this.
We have finally had some rain and the first snow of the winter. This could be critical this summer if the water sources begin to dwindle and water is rationed, as it has been in the past. The neighbors said, "We are going to plant potatoes this year, due to the dry weather." So, Enid planted potatoes too, with this difference: she prayed, "Lord, we need some snow up on the mountains" and it began to rain and snow! Thank Him for His goodness. We are probably not the first to tell you that the buying power of the American dollar is dropping. But let us remember that we have only one fully dependable Supporter, and even with a falling dollar, He can provide however He wishes, even with home-grown potatoes.
We appreciate you and your prayers!
Harold and Enid Fowler

UPDATE FOR MARCH 2008

Harold and Enid take turns being sick. When we got our flu shots last November to immunize ourselves against the flu, they must have given us a placebo, or else the proper vaccine against this year's "new and improved" microbes did not work. This has really slowed us down this year. Thanks for your prayers, because we spent little down-time in bed, although, for awhile, life was a drag here!

Enid is printing books. This Spring we are anticipating taking our books for distribution at three brotherhood conventions. The ladies' convention comes up at the end of this month, the family convention in May, with another in June. So Enid is doing everything necessary to have sufficient copies of all of our materials for each meeting. These conventions offer opportunities to share information, Bible study materials and promote good books.
THREE ENCOURAGING ANSWERS TO PRAYER:
Giuseppe Perrone, one of our brothers in south Italy, emailed Harold, asking for study materials on a given subject. Little did he know that, at the very moment he was typing the email, Harold was at the computer finalizing a book on the very subject he asked for!
Vittorio Vitalone, preacher in Rome, emailed Harold asking for part of his PowerPoint presentation of "A Church That Flies". It took no time at all to attach this material to an email and fire it right back to Vittorio! When we have something ready, sharing it with our preaching brothers is no trouble at all.
Harold to speak at Velletri. The committee that organizes the Velletri convention this year invited Harold to present "A Church That Flies", the book we recently published. This opportunity to give the lead-off message at this convention is a real first for him. He has waited over 20 years for this invitation, because, for many of the participants at these gatherings, we are "on the wrong side of the keyboard." It has taken a great deal of patience to wait for such an opportunity. In the meantime we continued writing and publishing Bible study materials to help everyone do his or her job of teaching in the churches. This time was well spent, because it was earning the confidence of the brethren. These years of patient waiting are beginning to pay off. Now, please pray that the Lord help Harold to speak well at this upcoming convention and meet some real needs. These dear people have blessed us too, and we really want to bless them wherever we can.

UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 2008

Kingsley led worship! Back in February 2005 we introduced you to Kingsley Ezeguee from Nigeria. This young brother lives just 15 minutes from us and works in our area and brings a breath of fresh air and joy to us. We have treated him and his other Nigerian friends to meals in our home. He was prepared for Christian ministry in one of the Bible schools in his native country, but since he was just beginning to learn to speak Italian, he could do very little at first. Whenever he was called upon to pray in the assembly or asked to preach, Harold translated his "Nigerian English" into Italian. Now, however, he is quite fluent in Italian and accepted to lead the worship. Our people were patient and pleased that he could use his gifts in this way.

Because he comes from the Ibo tribe in Nigeria, he links up with other Ibos who have migrated to Italy to work. He shares an apartment with three Muslim young men his age. He courageously encourages Ibos to talk about their faith, and invites them to come along with him to worship with us. He has brought Catholics, Evangelicals and even a Muslim from Bangladesh.
February sickness. Even though Enid and Harold took their influenza shots back in November, they came down with varying degrees of flu. Enid had stabbing pains and fever for two or three days, while Harold just felt weak. They had to cancel two Bible studies, but seem to be back on their feet.
Enid has a small cookbook. A missions committee, working on a missionary fair for their church, requested the missionaries to furnish four or five recipes typical of their country of service to create a missionary cookbook. So, Enid put together several for Italy. They are delicious. Need we say more?
Matthew Commentary. Work is proceeding slowly on Harold?s Matthew studies. These he inserts as sermons preached here in Matelica, between other sermon series. He shares printed copies with some of the men who will be preaching. It is very interesting to see what use they are able to make of Harold?s work as they preach the material back to Harold during their own service in the Matelica church!
Thanks Debbie! Debbie Alwardt, of the Southern Heights Christian Church in Lebanon, MO, has faithfully served as forwarding secretary for many years. We are deeply grateful for what she has done and is as a trustworthy Christian servant. She?s the kind of friend "you could entrust your checkbook to", literally! We have watched her children grow up and rejoice in their accomplishments. Thanks also to Mike, her husband, who has worked quietly behind the scenes to take care of this beautiful family.
Thanks Dan! For those of you who receive our Newsletter, maybe you did not know that Dan DeNeal of Hoopeston, IL, is the professional printer who adds the finishing touches to our Newsletter and prints it. He then ships it to Debbie and she affixes the mailing labels, sorts and organizes everything according to postal rules so that the mail will go out.
Thank you all! With friends and help like you, the Lord has been able to make use of our efforts to encourage Italian Christians and become a point of reference. Some younger missionaries even call Harold "Gandalf". You have prayed, we have worked and the Lord is praised!
Pray for our lost calendars. Every year our people distribute calendars with a well-written Christian message for each day. These are appreciated by their non-Christian and Catholic friends. Our order for these got tied up in the Christmas rush complicated by a lengthy and crippling strike by truckers. We believe our order (and that of a lot of others!) is tied up in some postal warehouse. Would you pray that these tools for evangelism may be delivered, and more critically, that the Christian gospel may be proclaimed in one more way that is appreciated by its recipients?

UPDATE FOR JANUARY 2008

Mid-Winter Rally. With what superlatives can we describe our annual family reunion of old friends from the Czech Republic, Kosovo, Romania, Germany and Italy? How should we summarize the highly thought-provoking studies led by Larry Niemeyer on "Incarnation and Discipleship" and "Letting God Bring His life and His wisdom to influence our lives"? Larry and his wife are a couple whose lives as disciplers have touched the lives of 24,000 other people who became disciples of Jesus Christ. Don Rohrkasse led us to study why men do not easily identify with "Church." Randy Smelser raised our sights by asking "Why Do Some Churches Reproduce?" Harold and Enid team-taught on "Spiritual Nurture for the Long Haul." She described her odyssey as a missionary wife and mother for 44 years; he talked about attitudes and approaches to self-nurture when one cannot attend seminars for constant edification.
Colditz Castle. Our conference took place in the European Youth Hostel located in one of the castles that became famous during World War II.
"After the outbreak of World War II the castle was converted into a high security prisoner-of-war camp for officers who had become security or escape risks or who were regarded as particularly dangerous. Although it was considered a high security prison, it boasted one of the highest records of successful escape attempts. This could be due to the general nature of the prisoners that were sent there. Most of them had attempted escape previously from other prisons and were transferred to Colditz because the Germans had thought Colditz to be escape-proof. One lavish scheme even included a glider that was kept in a remote portion of the castle?s attic, although it was never used because Germany surrendered to the Allies before the scheduled date of the planned escape." (Wikipedia)
These well-trained men made 300 escape attempts using many ingenious schemes, but only 30 succeeded. We did not want to escape, because we thoroughly enjoyed our rich fellowship and left only because the rally was over!
Weissenfels! This little town south of Leipzig in East Germany was the birthplace and home of Enid's grandmother. Randy and Katy Smelser accompanied us there to help as translators and chauffeurs. We walked among buildings that Enid?s relatives could well have seen, some of which were erected in 1470, a short 22 years before Columbus discovered America. Public offices were not open for the holidays, so we could not examine the genealogical records. So we did the only decent thing proper Germans should do: we stepped into a restaurant to have some delicious stollen and cake, pots of coffee and tea! On the return trip, we did the only decent thing proper Americans should do: we dined at the Weissenfels Burger King!
Thank God for the nearly perfect driving conditions for the 1800 miles in the middle of winter in Germany. There was just a touch of snow, but nothing to slow us up. Our old cars made the trip just fine. Thank God for our 9-year-old Honda Civic because it is a real joy, especially the good mileage: even after 83,700 miles we are actually getting better mileage than the car did when it was brand new!
Andrea Gentile, from the church in Ciampino (Rome), went with us, and our conversations with this young missionary, whom we have known all of his life, were delightful.
Prayer Objectives: please pray specifically for the Matelica Church that this group may accept the challenge to be a self-reproducing church in 2008. Pray that all the Italian churches may overcome the priest-pastor syndrome that leaves responsibility for church growth to the preacher and little, if any, to the people. Pray for the non-Christians whom we are teaching, that they would accept the Lord of life.
We send you our love and gratitude.
Harold and Enid Fowler

UPDATE FOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

We rejoice that the God of Heaven wanted all of us to know HIM and share in His gift to us. Praise to His Name in this special time of the year when many think of Him. May we praise Him more each day in the New Year!
We rejoice with you! You prayed with us that we could complete our latest book project, and the Lord heard your prayers. We have just received 1,000 copies of Tim Woodroof?s fine book, A Church That Flies, and have begun distribution among Italian-speaking Christian workers. Woodroof?s solid upbringing among churches of Christ gives him a unique vantage point from which to work on the problems that short-circuit a successful return to the New Testament Church.
For big publishers, 1,000 copies is a small print-run, but this first printing is adequate for our specific market among churches of Christ in Italy. We hope to extend the book?s influence among other religious groups, encouraging them to reflect on and apply the same Biblical principles too. Our publisher retained 100 copies for distribution from her website. Our primary goal is to help those who have some understanding of restoring the New Testament Church, but have become blocked by traditional interpretations that have nothing to do with true restoration, and are actually detrimental to its realization.
Health problems in Matelica. Three non-Christian friends of our group have experienced health problems: two suffered broken legs in separate accidents and one is undergoing a long recovery after knee surgery. This gave us opportunity to get into these families that do not know the Lord. As the Italian proverb has it: "Not all ills come to harm you." Sometimes God uses pain to get our attention, so we can hear Him when He speaks.
Harold preached at Rome. Taking advantage of his presence in Rome, the Viale Ionio church invited Harold to preach on Wednesday evening to their midweek group. Two special people were present: a seeker who had left the Catholic Church and is now searching for something solid, and our publisher, an evangelical who came to deliver the books. Both responded favorably to the lesson and asked good questions.
Worship every Lord?s Day at Matelica is led by Italian Christians. Harold teaches at Midweek on Galatians and at Sunday Bible school on "Christ in the Gospels." Enid helps teach Bible school too.
Thank you for your loving encouragement over these many years. We appreciate especially your very practical assistance in prayer. May the Lord of Harvest bless you as you go forward empowered to serve joyfully and effectively in the Kingdom!
Love from both of us,
Harold and Enid Fowler

UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 2007

Encouragement. Back in 1992 Harold translated a fine book entitled Encouragement, the Key to Caring by Larry Crabb and Dan Allender. This book went out of print, but now is back. The editor revised it completely and reissued the book. We had been discouraged because Harold?s efforts seemed lost, but now this helpful, encouraging text is back ? now we too are encouraged!
Men?s convention. Near Taranto in south Italy, 30 men gathered from a number of church of Christ congregations, and Harold went too. (The same organizers have a women?s convention in the Spring.) The theme this year came to grips with the Seven Churches of Revelation (chapters 2-3). We noticed a greater sense of fellowship among us, because we could identify with imperfect churches in the New Testament and examine our efforts with more objectivity.
The last session?s topic asked what we gained from the convention. Naturally, each one reported something different to take home. Harold was particularly impressed with the general attitude of love and openness he had experienced. He said, "We have studied these seven different, imperfect churches that had some very serious problems. As I go home, my question is this: if we had lived in that world of the first century (or if those churches were modern Italian churches), could we have full fellowship with them, as bad as some of them were? Were they 'churches of Christ' BEFORE Jesus wrote his letters to them, or were they 'churches of Christ' AFTER reading his letters, or both? Clearly, Jesus? corrections establish the true model, but how should we treat congregations like them in our own times? Jesus loved them and called them to repentance. Does this text reveal what WE should do with them? I am truly grateful for the love that you have shown me, imperfect and different as I am!?
On Sunday the morning speaker referred to these observations with approval. As we were leaving for our respective homes and congregations, one of the leaders approached Harold, saying, 'I had never thought of our church situation in the light of the churches in Revelation as you presented it. That gives us a lot to think about!'
Indeed it does!

UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 2007

Did we have September this year? I saw a sign that said: ?The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!? We feel like the cranberry merchant who just saw his cranberry table overturned: he was berry, berry busy! Maybe we should send out this Update before it becomes ?ancient history!?
Stress relief? Some wise person said, ?To avoid burnout, allow time to recharge your batteries.? A Christian brother from the Florence church invited us to help him harvest his grapes in the Tuscan hills (Chianti region). We accepted to spend two days helping him. This activity provided us excellent therapy of some good, physical labor, working up and down the hilly vineyard, cutting clusters with scissors, pitching them into 40 kilogram cases and hauling them up (or down) the rows until each case was full. Around 30 young people from Harding University?s Florence branch worked the first day, as ?an Italian cultural experience.? Enid and Harold came back a second day because the owner needed help, and we were able to develop our friendship and sense of brotherhood further.
An incredible Bible study. During our stay in Scandicci (a Florence suburb), we attended a week-night Bible study. We were informed that a person converted two years ago would be leading it. Anyone who assumed that his lesson would be rudimentary and bland at best, would have been quite wrong. Instead, he was surprisingly well prepared, spoke clearly and raised thoughtful questions. Essentially, he read and explained the Sermon on the Mount in 35-40 minutes, an exceptional feat in itself.
But this ?lesson? was astonishing for one surprising feature: there in this small gathering of believers (even one Catholic was present), the teacher used this lesson to explain why he was leaving the church of Christ! This relatively new Christian expected to see more real Christianity from the church members. He correctly saw in the Lord?s Sermon a call to radical obedience, but he insisted on judging Jesus and decided that He made some unreasonable or incomprehensible demands on those who would be His disciples. The young teacher chastened the church for an inflated interest in observing the forms of Christianity, while denying the power of it and ignoring the very thing that God called us to do. Sadly, he could offer no remedy, because his own doubts were too strong and evident, undermining his faith in Jesus.
Here was a person pouring out his own doubt and unbelief publicly while presuming to teach the very Scriptures that could remove his doubts and lead him and his listeners to faith! But it should not have been surprising, because many Italians here have an ambivalent relationship to God and Christ: it is a deep-running skepticism about trusting any authority figure implicitly, even Jesus.
During the discussion time, Harold asked how this teacher understood Jesus? call for perfection (Mt. 5:48), and suggested that His inflexible demand might well be intended to challenge everyone to ask, ?Lord, how can I do this?? This would demonstrate his real discipleship to Jesus by going to Him for the answer to the question. To this Jesus could answer, ?You have come to the right person with your question. I can give you the power to do what you consider impossible.? Jesus did say, ?Without me you can do nothing; with me you can bear much fruit.? The young man remained calm and thoughtful. We pray that he returned home with the implications of the Lord?s words ringing in his ears: ?For men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.? Oddly, the young man?s name is Victor: may he find his true victory in whole-hearted belief in Jesus! This will take radical surgery to eliminate his disbelief.
So as we continue to work, you continue to pray.

UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2007

August in Italy. There are not many generalizations that are true of most Italians, but this one is: August is the month for their vacations and they close down the country to enjoy them. The exceptions are people involved in the tourist industry, the police, the firemen and the hospitals, and they are busier than ever. Everyone else goes on vacation. It happens every year, so everyone is accustomed to it, except, of course, the tourists or anyone else who HAS to get something done!

Fowlers in August. We had just returned from four months of traveling in the States, so we faced four months of junk mail and a shutdown country. This was a great time to clean out our garage and make trips to the junkyard. Over the last few years termites had been working their way into wooden cabinets in our storage room. Disposing of some junk indicated how being simply "pack rats" can be confused for a "conservative, frugal spirit." We see the necessity for simplifying our lives, and, in fact, it was liberating and actually fun.
A Church That Flies. This book is now in the hands of a publisher in Rome, thanks to the cooperation with Vittorio Vitalone, preacher and writer of good books. Pray with us not merely for the book's publication, but especially for its wide distribution. Pray for the readers themselves, because we anticipate that its deep, revolutionary message can be explosive among the churches, hopefully in the positive sense. But the determined obscurantism of the "anti" mentality can torpedo its distribution among the very people who need its message most. The book is thought provoking and thinking is hard work and demands self-evaluation, all of which may come very hard for some of the very people whom we hope to reach with this study. So, we pray.
Harold?s back to preaching and teaching on (what else?) "A Church That Flies." The church at Matelica is receiving the material well, perhaps because we have advocated many of the concepts for many years now.
Summer's End Convention. 88 brothers and sisters in Christ gathered at Florence, Italy, in the Harding University site to share fellowship and learn more about Bible origins in the context of the current Da Vinci Code agitation. We rejoiced in the warmth of the fellowship accorded us there. We came home more determined than ever to publish more Bible study textbooks for the future teachers of the Word in Italy.
Enid's health. Her blood-clot and gastric reflux therapies seem to be working well, but will take some time yet. Her doctors are pleased with her progress. However, unpredictable arthritic pains in her back and legs are causing trouble. We walk for about an hour everyday to counteract the sedentary side of our work. Pray that she may be restored to normal health.
We are updating our mailing list with new listings gathered while in the States. If you prefer not to receive the Updates, simply address an email to hrldfowler@yahoo.com and we will remove your address from the list.

Update For July 2007

Enid is fine. During our travels, she developed severe leg pains, which doctors identified as a blood clot. This arose from the nature of our trip, since long-distance travel in cars and airplanes forces one to sit for hours. Ironically, this also holds true of sitting pratically immobile during intense conversations with dear friends, the very people we came to America to visit! Without her usual activity, in fact, a clot formed, costing Enid the pain and concern for a potentially worse problem. Thankfully, ER doctors gave her blood thinners to attack the problem, permitting her to arrive back in Italy. She is now able to go for long walks with no pain. However, doctors advised her to postpone our trip back to Italy for ten days.
Harold's sister passed away. Alice Marilyn went to be with the Lord after struggling for over a year with congestive heart failure that took her in and out of hospitals, without a decisive diagnosis. In the end, a fatal heart attack ended her suffering. We were able to fly to Georgia to be with her during her last four days. All her children were present for the informal, but heart-warming funeral. Even the timing of this event was providential, since we could have been in Italy. Instead, we were able to be in the States and with her at the time of her passing. Also this was the first week we had free during a busy schedule of visiting the churches, and it was the very week we needed most to be there with her.
Another "God-thing". We had hoped to meet Leonard Allen, editorial director of Abilene University Press, the brother who granted us the right to publish "A Church That Flies". Our speaking schedule left no time to go see him, but the Lord arranged everything anyway: Brother Allen was to speak in the Detroit MI area the same weekend we were to be there! Some brethren in the Troy church arranged for us to meet him and talk over a plate of pasta at an Italian restaurant (no less). This generous brother later offered further help to our ministry.
Pray for the book A Church That Flies. As summer races by, pray that we will be able to publish this book in time for several conventions coming soon.
Thanks for everything! We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Christians we had known for a long time, and making new acquaintances. We're grateful for all the hospitality and kindnesses we were shown while in the States, especially from the dear Christian nurses and doctors we met along the way. We want to thank all of you who helped make our four months so enjoyable!
We are back in Italy. After driving 9,483 miles and flying 12,472 airmiles, we are now back home in Italy. We have been so blessed by so many! Now we we would ask your continued intercession for us that our re-entry would bring the Lord's blessing to the most people possible here.
Harold and Enid Fowler