| Highlights of DAWN | October 1980 |
Report from Italy
(By Brother Diego Cacioppo, Agrigento, Italy)
DEAR brothers and sisters in Christ, may the grace and peace of God be multiplied unto you! In his love and goodness may he continually lead you, and give you added strength to further labor in his vineyard and to fight the good fight of faith!
I cannot find proper words to express my appreciation for all the blessed experiences I have enjoyed at this convention, and for the great privilege our Heavenly Father has granted me to meet all of you for the first time, and to fellowship with you. I am very much impressed with the zeal and high spiritual tone of all you brethren, and your devotion for the care of the church, and assistance to all who desire to share in the joys of the truth and to engage in spiritual fellowship.
The Lord’s people, as they walk in the truth, always rejoice to learn the manner in which others of like precious faith are blessed by the Lord in their endeavors to serve him. Today there is a rich fellowship of kindred minds in many countries, although many are unknown to us according to the flesh. Yet we dearly love one another, and rejoice to learn that the Lord’s people are still walking in the truth, and laying down their lives in sacrifice, in the interest of the truth and the brethren.
There is no greater privilege in the world today than to be a servant of the truth. Some sow the seed, some water it, and some are reapers. But whether our part is small or great in the Lord’s work, we are nevertheless his servants. The main objective of the Lord’s people in this life is to spend as much time as possible in his service and to his glory, and to grow in grace and in the likeness of our Redeemer. While we realize that you brethren live in a land that offers more than ours, the Lord’s work which you are doing throughout the world is not because you are wealthy. It is because of your love and your sense of responsibility to the Lord to make known the message of the kingdom, and the privilege of running for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. It is made possible because you are individually prepared to make the sacrifices required for this purpose. The brethren here have always been very generous in helping to bring the message of the truth to brethren in other countries around the world including my country, Italy.
We are very grateful to The Dawn brethren for printing and distributing the Italian Dawn, and for the increased quantities of printed matter. As the Italian Dawn and the numerous tracts and booklets make their monthly journey to Italy, we are thankful to the Lord for the privilege we share in being able to have a part in this work. We very much appreciate the labor of Brother Panucci, who prepares the Italian Dawn each month, and Brother Nail who coordinates the work at The Dawn.
The brethren in Italy enjoy a measure of religious liberty such as never enjoyed before and how long this situation will continue we do not know. For many centuries the country was under bondage to the Babylonish system, which persecuted many who were not of their following. Today, that system fears the ascendancy of communism more than it fears Protestantism. In the past, many of the Lord’s people in Italy went through some form of persecution.
Now there are numbers of brethren in Italy who are laying down their lives in the service of the Lord. They zealously spread the glad tidings by speaking to others about it, and by distributing tracts and booklets. When Brother Panucci approached me in 1977 to serve as a pilgrim in Italy, 1 hesitated to undertake that task—not because I did not want to serve the Lord, but because I felt incapable of doing so. But he convinced me by saying that with the Lord nothing is impossible. He told me that he represented The Dawn, and that their whole desire was to help the Italian brethren. I felt that this was a Christian approach.
And so I became a full-time pilgrim, and I began to work in the island of Sicily. But I must confess, my dear brethren, that at times as I traveled to different places my heart was filled with sorrow when I learned that those who once walked with us had lost their vision of the truth. In the years from 1950 to 1962 there were twenty classes of Bible students in Sicily. But after that, due to the influence of outside brethren, much confusion was created in Italy, and many went in different directions.
We must realize that the message of truth in Italy was brought into that country after the Second World War. This meant that the brethren there were all new in the truth, without any elders to guide and instruct them. Now, since 1977, when The Dawn asked me to serve as pilgrim, it has been my mission to find and reorganize classes wherever there are brethren. And so I am visiting and spending time with all the brethren I can find, and encouraging them to have study meetings. In Sicily I visit the classes twice each month; on the main land once every two months. As I make these trips throughout Italy I also stop to visit newly found friends and those who receive The Dawn.
Last year a major radio station from Agrigento invited the different religious denominations to present their beliefs, alive on radio, and before a group of newspaper reporters. The different denominations were: Pentecostal, Valdese Adventists, Mormons, Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses, and we Bible Students. All these denominations gave messages of fear, eternal torment, and destruction of the Planet Earth, and presented a God that will destroy all people with the exception of the members of their specific religions. Even the newspaper reporters, who served as judges of the discussions, reprimanded the others for presenting such a God of fear.
Then when it was our turn to speak, we presented a message of comfort, and a God of love, and told about the blessings of the coming kingdom when all the families of the earth will be blessed. All the judges appreciated this message, and one of them, the chief editor of an influential magazine in Italy, expressed the desire to know more about our beliefs, and said he wished to write an article about us in his magazine. Later another contact was made on the mainland, as a result of which the name of our association was printed in the official Italian encyclopedia, with which great numbers of young Italian students will come in contact. It was also recorded that Brother Charles T. Russell was the founder of the Bible Students movement.
The pilgrim service has helped the brethren in Italy immensely, especially in binding them closer to one another. This important work has been increased during the past two years, but the need remains greater than is within our ability to fill.
Brother and Sister Nail’s pilgrimage to Sicily in 1978 was very richly blessed by the Lord, and their loving fellowship and ministry brought much joy and blessing to the Italian brethren.
Last year, in September, the first convention in many years was held in Agrigento. This happy occasion was arranged by the local brethren with the cooperation of The Dawn. An encouraging number of brethren from America crossed the ocean to partake of the spiritual blessings of this fellowship and it was, indeed, with grateful hearts and abounding joy that all the brethren gathered together. The whole assembly was also delighted and much blessed in having Brother Panucci with us. He not only served on the program, but also interpreted for us for four days in both English and Italian.
In closing, dear friends, I bring to all of you the greetings of love from all the Italian brethren. And may the dear Lord richly bless you!