Global Missions
Missions Updates
Tom and Janni Nunziato
Dear Liz and the Missions Team,
I wanted to share this with you. I finally got to meet Pastor Raul. Tom has been driving about an hour every few weeks to meet with him, for several months now. Raul's eyes sparkled as he told me how they met on graduation day at the Hispanic Bible Institute. Tom simply introduced himself and said that if he could be of service, in any way...to give him a call. Weeks later, during a time of burn out and frustration with ministry, God reminded Raul about Tom's offer. He found the card and called.
According to Pastor Raul, Tom has helped and encouraged him in very practical ways. His face glowed as he told us that his church which consisted of 32 people last February, had 104 adults and youth in last Sunday's service. He thinks the church can reach 400 by the end of the year! It was fun to watch Tom's sincere and gentle response to Raul's faith
and enthusiasm. He asked a simple question, "then what do you need to do to prepare to be a church of 400 before December?" Tom explained to him the importance of developing leaders and how Pastor Raul could not lead a church of that size alone. An interesting dialogue ensued. I know what they will be talking about the next time they meet!
Recently Pastor Raul has seen God do some incredible miracles in people's lives, and he was eager to tell us about it. People have been healed of addictions and of physical illnesses. Pastor Raul's faith in God's power to change lives comes from personal experience. He was an unfaithful and jealous husband, a violent father, and a corrupt police captain in his native Mexico. Ten years ago he and his wife Guadalupe put their faith in Jesus and they were never the same. Now he offers this same life-changing
opportunity to anyone who will listen, oftentimes praying for drug-addicts and others on the street.
As we returned home I marveled at God's goodness. Its no wonder Tom enjoys meeting with Pastor Raul. His commitment to reaching other Spanish speakers for Christ, out on the streets, is inspiring. And, its no wonder Pastor Raul enjoys meeting with Tom. God speaks through Tom in practical ways that impact the way Raul pastors his church.
Calvary is a huge part of this! Because of your faithful financial support, Tom and Pastor Raul can meet together regularly. Not only that but your encouragement to Tom over the years has enabled him to continue on during the times when he isn't seeing much fruit and wondering how God is using him. This is just a little "slice of life"...each missionary Calvary supports has their own stories of suddenly recognizing that God is at work in and through them, but I know we don't often to stop and THANK YOU for making it possible for us to even be missionaries.
With grateful hearts,
Tom and Janni