Italian Souls for Christ

The desire of our heart is that the Italian people might know Christ and the power of His resurrection. After 100,000 miles, 27 States, 261 churches, 54 mission conferences, 15,000 prayer cards, 151 different beds, we are ready to begin our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ in the land of Italy.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Thank you for partnering with us to reach Italian souls for Christ! We are so thankful for the supporting churches the Lord has blessed us with that makes it financially possible for us to minister in Italy. We only lack 8% of our needed support but trust the remainder will come in from churches who have expressed their intentions to partner with us as well as others we have visited in the past that are unknown to us as part of God’s plan for provision.

Today was a happy day for Sandy and me as we received our visas in the mail from the Detroit consulate! We praise the Lord all the paperwork was processed without difficulty and we received our visas within a week after we first submitted the required documents. There is conflicting information of what is required for our kids. It seems the “worst case” scenario is that we would eventually have to fly back to the States after receiving the appropriate certificates for them in Italy to submit them in person to the consulate in Detroit. After speaking with other missionaries in Italy we’re not too worried about it. Our next step will be to apply for our “Permit to Stay” (Permesso di Soggiorno) in Italy within a week of our arrival. Please pray we all receive this very important document without any difficulty.

Two weeks ago I flew to Italy to secure an apartment for my family. Our future co-laborer in Rome drove me around to the twenty-plus appointments he had set up. We are so thankful for the Homan family and especially the hard work Brother Jamie put in on our behalf in order to help us obtain an apartment. Thank you so much for your prayers in this matter. God provided wonderfully with a beautiful apartment! It is in a great location and we are all very excited to move into our new home. We are looking forward to the opportunity of ministering in our neighborhood which is only a 10-minute ride from the church that Brother Homan has started.

On the first leg of my flight to Rome from Cincinnati to Charlotte I had the opportunity to witness to a Chinese graduate student seated next to me named Fei. Not long into our flight we began discussing the meaning of life. In spite of the ancestral worship of his youth he was open to the existence of a God but was not sold on the “escapism” he saw among Christianity. We began at creation and ultimately examined through the scriptures how God has reconciled sinful man to Himself by Jesus Christ. It was apparent that I wasn’t going to change Fei’s philosophy of life in an hour conversation; however, his parting words did encourage me. He said, “I search for peace. Maybe someday I can have what you have. I need to buy me a Bible and study this further.” Amen. Please pray for Fei’s salvation.

Our departure date of December 28th is fast approaching and we still lack $21,825 of our start-up fund. This money has been set-aside for things such as deposits, shipping a container, furniture, a vehicle, expenses for the apartment search, etc. If you feel impressed to help, please send your love offering to Mount Abarim Baptist Mission with the note “Planck Start-up Fund.” We are so thankful for those that have already given.

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 Planck