Welcome to our Site!
We are the Planck family, called by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to be missionaries to the people of Italy. The desire of our heart is that the Italian people might know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you will leave feeling closer to our family and share our burden of reaching Italian souls for Christ.
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“Hello, I Must Be Going”
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to present our burden for Italy to Calvary Bible Baptist Church in Rochester, NY. Pastor Drew Stewart and his family spent six years in Ireland as missionaries before the Lord led them back to the States. Pastor Drew had incredible insight on missions and over the course of the day I was able to glean much from his wisdom. Here are a few thoughts that stand out in my mind from our conversation…
“And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.” (Ex. 4:2) Just as the Lord would use what was in Moses’ hand to lead the children of Israel out from the bondage of Egypt, He will use what’s in your “hand” to accomplish His work. Each person has a different talent or skill set that God has blessed them with for His glory and purpose. What works for one missionary, what’s in his “hand,” may not work for another missionary, we each need to yield our talents to God and use what is in our “hand.”
Pastor Drew found, and it was corroborated by another missionary, for approximately every 1,000 face-to-face contacts a missionary made there was one national led to Christ. However, a saved national would lead another national to Christ after approximately 60 face-to-face contacts. It is so important for a missionary to disciple their converts that they might be grounded in truth and become more effective soul winners to their people than the missionary himself.
A missionary cannot prepare for the culture shock they will face. Many missionaries return home from the field because the culture eats them up. The only way to keep it from doing so is to let go of America and submit to the foreign culture.
The most important lesson Pastor Drew had on being an effective missionary he learned from a 15 minutes conversation with a lost Irish salesman. The Irishman told Drew if he wanted to engage the Irish then he should always be leaving. Asked to clarify, the Irishman explained that his countrymen do not like to be called upon at home unannounced. They do not like to be rude and their minds will be working on how to politely get you off their doorstep. However, if you beat them to the punch and tell them you can’t stay, they put their guard down and are more relaxed knowing you are not there to bother them. They open up and become curious about this strange American at their door. Drew would knock on the door and say something like, “I’m Drew. I really can’t stay, I have a lot of calls to make today. I just wanted to tell you about a Bible study I am having. Here’s some information. Have a nice day. I really must be going.” The curiosity of the Irishman would get the better of him at this point and he would then ask Drew questions about who he was and what he was doing. The key was learning how the Irish mind works and what will get them engaged in a conversation. That will be the challenge in Italy. We must learn how Italians think, what they find offensive, what is their psychological make-up, obviously not in order to manipulate them but rather to be like the Italians (without compromising) in order to win the Italians.
We’ve always enjoyed our meetings in New York and this church was no exception, perhaps one reason is there are so many Italians in the northeast. After I preached in the evening service Pastor Drew asked all those in the congregation whose parents were Italian to stand. He then asked those who had Italian grandparents to stand. He then asked all that had Italian heritage to stand. Finally, he asked any that were married to someone with Italian heritage to stand. At this point most of the congregation was on their feet. He then quoted Jeremiah 8:7, “Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” Pastor Drew addressed those who were standing and said something like, “Your people do not know the judgment of the Lord. This man and his family are willing to go in your place and preach the gospel to your people.” It was one of those special moments of deputation. The church voted that night to support our family financially that we might reach Italian souls for Christ in their behalf. Praise the Lord.
“And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means saved some.” – 1 Corinthians 9:20-22
Jun/Jul Prayer Letter
Dear Brethren,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. We are thankful for the full schedule of meetings in June and July that the Lord blessed us with in Missouri, Colorado, Nevada, California, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. It has now been one year since I quit my job as an engineer to begin full-time deputation; we praise the Lord that we are currently receiving 52% of our needed support to minister in Italy.
While in Vinita, Oklahoma I drove to a neighborhood to pass out gospel tracts. When I got out of my vehicle I noticed five young men under a picnic shelter in the park across the street. I felt impressed to go witness to them. When I asked if any of them attended church, a 27 year-old man who I would later know as Robert replied, “I’m the bus driver to hell. I’m so bad even the devil doesn’t want me.” The tattoos and scars that marked Robert’s shirtless body gave testimony to the hard life he had lived on the street. Robert and another young man, who could best be described as a skateboarder-type, interjected questions as I preached to them the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was apparent that the skateboarder and the three other young men were either totally indifferent about their soul or too scared of what the others might think if they were to actually give ear to the gospel and they eventually wandered off. Robert on the other hand was genuinely engaged in the conversation and he began to open up and be receptive to the truth of the Bible. At one point he said, “You’re different from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Pentecostals that have tried to talk to me. They usually get irritated or mad by my questions but you actually listen and then give a reasonable answer from the Bible. That’s the only reason I’m still sitting here.” We spent over an hour talking about various spiritual things and how they related to the gospel. Robert then bowed his head and with repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ he called upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Praise the Lord! Please pray for Robert’s spiritual growth.
We also took opportunity to pass out gospel tracts door-to-door in Nevada, California, and Arizona. In Las Vegas, Isaiah and I were confronted by a belligerent atheist. We’re very proud of how Isaiah handled himself in that situation. See our blog posted June 29th to read more about it. Although we enjoy ministering while on deputation our heart’s desire is to reach Italians souls for Christ, that they might know Him and the power of His resurrection. Please pray that our time on deputation will be shortened and specifically for the following requests:
- Pray the dozens of churches that have already expressed their intentions of financially supporting our ministry would not forget our family and be enabled to support us soon
- Pray the Lord would stir hearts for Italy in churches we visited this summer as well as in the remainder of our meetings this year
- Pray I can book meetings with churches that will be committed to supporting our ministry
On the home front, Isaiah recently expressed concern for his soul. We honestly believe Sandy led him to Christ three years ago in July when he expressed his desire to be saved, however, as is sometimes the case with small children, he can’t remember all the details and had become anxious about eternity. On July 26th Isaiah and I sat around an open Bible and started from scratch. We praise the Lord Isaiah now has assurance of his salvation! Please pray for his spiritual growth.
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.
Yours in Christ,
Stetson, Sandy, Isaiah, and Pearl
Pepperdine
Sandy’s life, and consequently mine as well, would have been very different had she kept her interview with Pepperdine University. It was 1997 and after four promising years of undergraduate studies, she suddenly found herself lost and unsure of her future…
Sandy was uncertain of which career path to take when she enrolled at Defiance College in the fall of 1993. She wanted a profession in which she could help others while at the same time earn a lot of money. She was considering the medical field until she sat through a required career survey class that first semester which happened to be taught by the main psychology professor at Defiance. She was really impressed by his insight and enjoyed how he turned teaching into a performing art. At the end of her freshman year she declared herself a psychology major.
The same professor who sparked her interest in psychology would soon become her mentor. She had most of her psychology classes with him and she was his student assistant for three years. He became the most positive influence in her life to that point. He had studied abroad and recommended Sandy apply to graduate schools somewhere other than her home state for the experience. One of the universities she applied to was Pepperdine in Malibu, California for a PhD in clinical psychology. The application process was very intensive and they were selective in extending invitations to prospective graduate students. After the formality of the interview process acceptance was highly likely. Within a week of Sandy receiving her invitation to be interviewed by Pepperdine the beginning of her last semester, her mentor abruptly left Defiance. She never learned the details of his withdrawal from the college but his departure was devastating to her.
Sandy had a few other teachers in her life that took interest in her as a person but her mentor invested himself in helping her grow in the field she thought would be her life’s work. To a person who never really had someone that seriously cared for her, his leaving the college shook the confidence he helped to build. She never replied to Pepperdine to schedule her interview and was unsure about the next step on her career path. She felt lost and was unclear about her future. Only having a bachelor’s degree in psychology greatly limits the job opportunities and she realized over the course of the next year that in order to have a satisfying career she needed to continue with her original goal of furthering her education. She had already been accepted to Eastern Kentucky University when she had applied to Pepperdine and since the reapplication process with them would keep her from enrolling for another year she decided to attend EKU. At this same time in her life she began searching for spiritual truth and through the providence of God she was invited to Grace Baptist Church in Middletown, Ohio where she heard the preaching of the gospel. Seven months later in the midst of her first year of graduate school she received Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour. At the end of that school year she left EKU to become a homemaker.
When we were in southern California this summer for meetings we spent a day in Santa Monica and visited Pepperdine University in Malibu after dinner. The campus is composed of classic Californian and Mediterranean architecture situated among several steep ridges that overlook the Pacific Ocean. It was the most beautiful setting of any college campus that Sandy or I had ever seen. Sandy would not exchange her life now for the career path she once worked so hard towards but standing in a place that could have very easily been a springboard for a completely different life was rather surreal. She could have received her PhD from a respected university on a stunning campus in one of her favorite parts of the country and had a distinguished career earning a six-figure salary. Ironically Sandy has since learned that Pepperdine University is religiously affiliated with the Churches of Christ, the religion she grew up in that taught a false plan of salvation in baptismal regeneration. Her life certainly would have been grander in material possessions and things of temporal value had she attended Pepperdine but in contrast her life spiritually would most likely have been wanting, and that with eternal consequences.
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” – Psalm 16:11