Pastor Brent & Hope Harrell are proud to announce the birth of their "other most beutiful girl in the world":
Olivia Grace Harrell
Born July 15th, 2004 @ 11:07 Rome time.
Via C section, both mommy and Olivia are home and helathy.
Praise the Lord!

Sunday July 4, 2004

Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus,
Grace and peace to you in our Savior whose grace abounds towards us in great abundance. Greetings from Roma and the saints in Rome. We have had quite an exciting last couple of months and we wanted to bring you up to date on all that your prayers have accomplished as give you our current prayer needs.

RECENT OUTREACH:
From the beginning of May until the beginning of June we had a one month team here from Oral Roberts University. They were a great blessing, served without complaining, and carried lots of joy around with them as they witnessed at the university every day and on the streets of Rome morning, noon, and night. Tons of tracts and gospels of John were given freely, and we prayed with quite a few people to receive Jesus. One night we prayed with an American named Peter who was from Long Island to accept Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. We prayed with several Italians to accept Jesus, a young man from South America, a Romanian and so forth. God is so gracious to let us see people from all over the world get saved here in Rome. We would ask you to pray for all who received Jesus. May they really get into church and get rooted, grounded, and built up.
We traveled with the team to a town on the Adriatic coast northeast of Rome where we have been working with and encouraging some believers for about the last year. One young man in particular really gave his all to Jesus. His name is Mirco, he is Italian, and Jesus really freed him from drugs, depression, and wanting to take his own life. He even came down to Rome for a week, spent time with the team, and became quite the evangelist. God led Mirco to work several days after his return to his town and he was so full of joy. Now Mirco is wanting to get water baptized and grow in the Lord. Lift up Mirco, his family and their salvation, and this little group of believers outside of Rome. We pray for God to strengthen them through the teaching of his word and raise up someone to Pastor this little flock. Thank you O.R.U. guys!

COMING OUTREACH:
In July we will have a special guest singer to minister to the body and give people the chance to bring lost friends and family. In August we will have a large team from California with which we will put on a couple of concerts. We will also have an Italian band working with us. Pray for the necessary permits. We are also looking to invest in our own sound system this year. We will use it for outreach and then have it for the new building by faith. This year we are also wanting to do our own retreat out here on the sea somewhere. Pray for God to open up a place as well as bring an anointed guest speaker!

FAMILY AND FRIENDS VISITING:
While the team was here my folks were here for ten days, plus other guests. God really gave us grace to spend good quality time with our family in the midst of zooming all over the city for evangelism and bible studies. Many of you have prayed for my step-dad Jim who had cancer and went through treatment twice. He is doing pretty well all things considered, but please continue to pray that God would totally heal him and add years to his life.

BUILDING UPDATE:
Two things! First is the Association process. Unfortunately things have been a bit slower on the American side with getting paper work done than we had anticipated so we are going to go forward this week here in Rome and apply to obtain a more generic association status in order to progress with negations on our building until we can move forward with the other. We would appreciate your prayers for our application to become an association. Pray for the defining of our constitution, the naming of trustworthy, godly people to be marked as leaders in the constitution, that the process would be expedient and cover all aspects that our vision for reaching Rome and equipping the body entails. We praise God for a born again attorney who not only loves Jesus and knows his business, but also is excited for what we are going to be doing with this building. Pray for him to have wisdom and to be blessed as he and his wife expect their second child; also as they serve in their church. God had blessed us with money for the fees but there are more costs arising that we didn’t know about. Please pray for provision.
Second is the building itself. We are now in the final processes of getting bids on work that needs to be done with the building to be usable for the public; electric, plumbing, bathrooms, and the most major work being two parts of the roof needing re-roofed, then the floor being re-poured. The amount that we settle on concerning the bids will be subtracted from the total paid in monthly rent over a 6 year contract if we do the work ourselves. Our first proposal, which will be somewhat final upfront, should be made within the next week or two. Ultimately, we are praying that God will demonstrate His great power, give us great favor, and the owner will sell us the building. If not, we will still progress with a rental contract. There is lots of work to do both materially and spiritually. If anybody wants to come work get ready!! The pleasure would be ours! If you would like to contribute towards the reconstruction expenses send it to CC Boise. As a memo write CMI (which stands for Chapel Missions Italy) then attach a sticky note for building. We could be looking at costs around $200,000! Pray for sure. God is God!!
As a side note; the other day I went to the building with our used, new to us, digital camera that some folks in our church here gave to us about a month ago. After shooting about 15 pics of the inside of the building, I sat it on a shelf inside. Yep, you guessed it. Ripped off, right out from under our noses. No need to elaborate. Just a reminder that we are still in Rome and the devil hates us and what we are doing. The Lord provided that one after much prayer, please pray, that he might provide another one.

WATER BAPTISM:
A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of baptizing a young lady who has been coming to the fellowship for a year or two but has struggled off and on with the pull of the world. Therefore, she never felt prepared to actually take the step of obedience in baptism. She finally was ready and did it. It was beautiful and joyous. She has rededicated her heart to Jesus and needs our prayers. Her name is Donatella. This next week we will dunk a couple more people at least so be praying. One is Ukranian, the other Italian. As we do our baptisms at the sea (the sea being a place of pagan worship here in Italy) many people are there to watch and receive the testimony and afterwards we get the opportunity to talk to some folks. Pray for those watching that the Holy Spirit might touch, convict, and draw them to repentance and new life in Jesus.

PERSONAL:
God is good. Isy turned two May 30th and is pretty much a genius as well as the cutest girly on the planet. I won’t get into that now. Hope is now in her final weeks before delivering bambina number two and has a hard time finding comfortable positions. But, looks great!! I try to keep things in perspective, keep up with everything and beg Jesus constantly for more grace. I really can do nothing apart from Him. I praise God that he is glorified when we are weak!! Please pray for the birth and health of our new to be little girl, for Hope, and every detail. We would also ask you to pray for our desire to come home for a visit in the fall. With Isy being two now we will have to buy three tickets plus we will have a newbie. Pray for grace and provision. We will leave it at that for now. Once again, thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support. Habakuk 1:5

By Grace,
The Harrells, and some other saints in Rome

Tuesday June 10, 2004

Pastor Brent Harrell and Assistant Pastor Robert Diamubeni evangelizing on the streets of Rome.

Monday April 19, 2004

The Lord has graciously blessed us with decent funds to support Robert. Our home church has graciously decided to partially support Robert which helps tremendously. Thank all of you for your prayers and support. Robert is so grateful and so are we. Feel free to continue to pray for Robert and his family, that all of their needs will be met. God has been absolutely faithful to this point and we trust in His goodness.

BUILDING:
We are still in the waiting process on the building we want. Some discrepancies were discovered in the processes to this point so those have to be settled. Should be no problem, but we shall see. Saturday we had an appointment with some zoning professionals and the owner. God has really given us favor with the owner but there are still some important phases to move through. Things are progressing though. Praise God. It is hard to wait! Please pray for God’s will to be done.

SUMMER OUTREACH:
Summer outreach will kick off for us in May with a team from Oral Roberts University which will be here for one month. We will have some other guests at the end of May from our home church as well as some family, a concert is tentatively scheduled for June, family due in July, and then two teams in August. Pray for GRACE, strength, divine appointments, a great harvest, the church to be edified, and a blessed time for all with God glorified abundantly.

BABY DUE:
Hope is good! Feeling more pregnant everyday. Our second baby girl is due in the end of July. Pray for continued health and safety for the duration of the pregnancy for mommy and baby. Pray that we can find a name for this child and for a smooth delivery for mom and baby. Isabella is wonderful and a joy to all. She blesses people and ministers to them by loving them and giving them lot’s of attention. As she moves towards two years old at the end of May she gets smarter and more strong willed. Pray for grace, knowledge and wisdom so that we can discipline her correctly and love her fully leading her in the things of the Lord.

We would also appreciate your prayers as we look for a family/church Van. We have been looking for two months now and it is not so easy to find something used in our price range that is worth it. Lastly, we ask that you pray for Brent’s step-dad Jim as he goes into round two with cancer. After radiation, chemo, and surgery, they found more cancer. Pray for healing mostly, but also for his mom and step-dad as they go through the tiring processes of hospital visits and treatments.

That is about it for now. Thank you all as always for your love, support, words of encouragement, gift packs, prayers and giving. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you guys and we appreciate it and we consider it a great honor and privilege.

By Grace,
Brent, Hope, Isabella, and the rest of CC Roma

Monday March 15, 2004

Dear co-laborers and prayer warriors,

This is a note we sent to our home church as they will place CC Rome before the body this weekend for prayer. We would appreciate your prayer as well as we continue moving into things that must be provided for and dealt with supernaturally by our supernatural and faithful God!

We appreciate your prayers so much. Blessings to you as you partake in the work in Italy from your prayer closets.

Two pics are of the building we are asking from the Lord!!

I would breifly mention Robert and ask you to continue to pray for him as he has come on staff full time to help us. With Robert it is something we are doing by faith considering the call upon his life, his desire to serve, and his usefulness in the ministry here. Robert has a wife and three kids whom we all love dearly. Our desire is to see God provide support for him as we move forward in working together to see God's will brought to pass concerning Rome and Italy, lost souls and Jesus' bride the church.

Robert translates all of our services (Wednesday evening, Friday prayer, Saturday study, and Sunday morning) and helps teach the Word and pastor the flock. If it is the Lord's will for us to get this building, or when we get another one of our own, it is our desire to have a coffee bar/bookstore/church!

Considering this was Roberts job for 12 years he will certainly add the experience and tools necessary as we combine our ideas to have a Christian bookstore unlike any other Italy has yet to see.

Our vision for this building is to not only have a bookstore supplying Christians with quality resourses that they might be best equipped for maturity in their walks with the Lord, but we want there to really be an atmosphere of love and openness for outreach of various kinds, drawing in the lost and filling the generational gap here in Italy.

Having the bookstore in one part, we will build the coffee bar and fellowship hall in the other part making an area for reading, drinking and eating, viewing of Christian music videos, movies, and conferences, prayer, fellowship, and of course all of our Church services. We want this building to be a ministry to the body of Christ as a whole here in the city of Rome and not just CC Rome. Christian youth don't really have a place where they can converge, hang out, listen to good music, have small concerts, etc... and bring their non-saved friends that is not so Churchy. Our desire is to present something new, casual, and yet Christ centered for all beleivers at all times. We will have a youth room, and area outside, Lord willing, where we can set up some game tables and chairs and stuff so kids might feel relaxed to just hang and absorb all that goes forth. Obviously our goal with this is to get young people saved and growing in faith without feeling like they have to join a monestarty or something.Every Italian lives for cafè (coffee) and with a coffee bar serving top quality cappucino's and pastries made by our very own Lidia, we hope that our bar will become a regular place for many to make their pit stop. Then, by God's grace, they will perhaps wander in on our services to hear the word of God, or browse through the bookstore, find a book, or ask questions, and some how get saved!!

This building is located in the center of Rome but not the dead center. It is about 8 Metro stops form the main train station which is the center of that Metro line and the center of the Historic center. The zone in which it is located is basically the hollywood of Italy not to mention the most populated zone in Rome. The building is literally about 50 yards from the metro and is in plain sight when you walk out of the metro. Lastly it is a single level building with a yard. This is rare, but sweet. We have been praying for a place with these dynamics for two years. May God's will be done. Feel free to join us in fasting and prayer! Let us know if the Lord reveals anything to you!!

Please pray for:

-Robert and his family that God would provide abundantly for them and protect them from the enemy, blessing them incredibly.

-All paper work to be expediently and correctly completed for our association process to become a legal, recognized association by the Italian government. After completing this on the American side, we will have to officially translate and notarize everything at the Italian consulate here and then get it into the political processes.

-Building: For wisdom and discernment as we begin negotiating for the building. Favor from the owners, city, and neighboring businesses and families in all phases. Financial provision for construction costs, legal fees, rent, set up costs for books, cash registers etc... Pray for divine guidance and key appointments even for those whom God desires to get through to in this process. Pray soley for God's perfect will to be done.

-Pray for Sefano, Teresa, and Victoria who are new beleivers as of two weeks ago. Pray for grace and patience for them as they adjust from Catholic traditions to personal intimacy with Jesus. May they be protected and kept from sin and the schemes of the emeny to trip them up. Pray for good soil in their hearts that they would hunger desperately for more and more of God's Word daily. May they be filled with the Holy Spirit and be used in mighty ways for the furthering of the gospel.

-Hope is now in her 5th month. Prasie God for another girl on the way. Pray for the rest of her pregnancy to go as smoothly as the first part, for a problem free labor and delivery, and for a name!! Pray for the Harrells as they look for another place to live.

Joshua 1:9
By Grace,
Brent, Hope, and the saints at CC Rome

Tuesday March 9, 2004

Blessings from Roma to all of you loved of God!

We hope this note finds you increasingly convinced of your utter love and need to depend soley upon God! We sure are convinced, and it doesn't take long to be reminded for our need if we wander a bit either. God is good and we are consistantly humbled by his graciousness. Many things are always moving, changing, and challenging here in Rome.

Last week we had two Italians and a girl from South America accept Jesus as their personal Lord and savior. Glory to God!! It truly is a great victory and sweet savor in these parts! Stefano is a guy we met on the streets one afternoon while witnessing. He has had a rough and eventful life and God crossed our paths right in that broken moment. He showed up to the bible study the next night, then Saturday, then Sunday and so forth. His second Sunday we were in Mark talking about how Jesus began sifting through the crowds and really challenging people to follow, that there is now middle ground. We are either for Jesus or against him. The Lord really used it to convict Stefano and yet at the same time demonstrate His love and how he desires for us just to respond to his goodness and follow more than anything just so we can be together eternally. Stefano got a job and a place all in the span of about two weeks. From rags to, well doing way better. Pray that as his situation improves that he will not forget where he was and how God blessed him. He has asked to be water baptized too.

Teresa is an Italian woman whom we have had you all praying for quite a while. She has been staunch Catholic but coming for about 8 months every Sunday. About 4 months ago she began coming some on Wednesday evenings, then about 3 months ago she began catching a Saturday night. Each week she would weep, ask questions, really agonizing over the battle within. Why we shouldn't pray to Mary, what about the Eucharist and confession to the priest.... and on and on it rolled. We praise God for the patience and persistence he gave us to respond lovingly with the truth. By His grace she continued coming even though one of her priests told her that she would go to hell if she kept coming to us. She said that she just felt so good when she came. The Word of God really did it's number on her and finally last week she decided to surrender all to Jesus ONLY! Count soley upon God's salvation as a free gift by confessing, believing and receiving! Halellujah!!! Pray for her as she has many family issues. We cannot tell you how sweet she is and how special she has become to our fellowship these past months.

The gal from S. America came to our Jewish Seter dinner a couple of months ago and then showed up with her American friend for our evangelism night. Much of it was on how to evangelize but God spoke to her and she got saved. I only met her once and can't remember her name but God knows so pray for her. She is sixteen and here as an exchange student.

Robert is doing well as, by faith, we are bringing him on full time. God has been providing and he is a major help to me and the ministry. We are praying more, sharing the gospel more, and tending to the flock more personally and consistantly. Continue to pray for him and his family. The enemy tries to attack with all that went down in leaving the bookstore. What people say, what people think etc.... Chantal, his wife, has started coming to our fellowship more and more, off and on. This past Sunday she even stayed for the Agape feast we had and asked us for prayer! One step at a time. It is hard for her, but she knows she needs to leave her church and follow her husband.

On the building side of things there have been some exciting developments. Last week we looked at a place that is ideal for all that we desire to do. It is what I have been thinking of and talking about to the guys concerning being it's own building, having a yard, being near a Metro and so forth. Incredible. The catch is that we want to buy a building (yeah I know, with what?) but the Landlords don't want to sell, only rent. Faith can move mountains and God is God so we are praying for God to move in a way that they say, hey, we would like to sell after all. If God in his wisdom knows that we should rent it because we will grow out of it anyway, then we ask that his will be revealed and done. If it is not the place then that is fine too. We will fast and pray and wait upon the Lord. Thank you for praying with us. Our desire is to have a place where we can equip the saints, provide resources such as books and tapes, reach out the the lost, youth can have a place to hang and be, and people can study God's Word, play music, drink tea or coffee, even have a bed for a bit while they get on their feet! Is that a run-on or what? IN the mean time, we have our rented place for Sundays, and Wednesday and Saturday nights we are meeting in two different apartments in the center. It's great. The body has been weeded out a tad, but these guys are united and faithful, and love the Word and fellowship. What a blessing. Small but big!

The association status is moving along slowly but we are sending some documents to our home church that will need to be officially dealt with, sent back, officially translated, notarized, processed in the courts of Italy, and bam, we will be recognized. Please pray!

In January we had a Jewish Seter dinner (bibilical dinner if you will). About forty people showed up and it was a blessed time of seeing God's Word come alive through the meal and customs from the bible as Pastor Jay McCarl explained it all. Thanks Jay, good time. People are still talking about it and teasing with some of the table manners like taking food from each other which expresses love and hospitality.

On the home front all is good! Isy is growing and so is Hope, literally. Hope is at five months in her pregnancy. We should find out boy or girl this week so for that we are excited. Last time the ambilical cord was blocking things!! Shooooot! It looks like we may be moving finally. Our landlords layed on us just the other day that they are raising the rent. We could understand if it was a little bit but they want to raise it quite a bit. We will either get closer to the center for that amount, or we will go out further for better conditions. Pray for wisdom, provision, and connections. It is not easy finding a place here. My wallet was stolen a month ago. No major loss financially. Cancelled the bank card and lost ?5 which is about $8 I suppose. The bummer was that my permit to live here was in it along with my driving permit and American drivers liscense. By God's grace, after three agonizing weeks including some six trips to the police station (each consisting of two to four hours) that is all settled. I got my papers and even got residency.

Anyway, we love you all and could never express our gratitude for your love and support in so many ways. Thanks to those of you who write and call and stay in touch too. It means a lot to missionaries. May God bless you thousands fold both in this life and the next for your prayers and faithful giving to Chapel Missions Italy. May he keep you and fill you to overflowing that you might shine as lights in a dark dark world.

One last thing. Some of you email and ask for teaching tapes for Italian friends and family. Firefighters for Christ has a website on which they are make sermons available. There are three of us missionary pastors on there. Two are in Italian and then our teaching is in both english and Italian. So, if God can use that, feel free to give the sight address out. Just click on this link "Audio Bible Study" or on the navigation bar above.

By Grace,
Brent, Hope, and some of the saints in Rome

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