I’m so excited to share how God worked in Bologna, Italy in just ONE WEEK! Our mission was to seek out students at the University of Bologna, get to know them, have lunch or coffee with them, learn about their religious background, and share our faith.
As I met and spoke with students, the majority claimed Catholicism as their religious background, but few could say they had a relationship with Jesus Christ or believe in God at all. Several believe Jesus was just a prophet, likened to Muhammad. There were several who believed in “Mother Earth,” and a couple who had made up their own religion, in a sense. The good news is, almost all of the students were seeking something spiritually and were very open to talking about religion and spirituality.
We used several methods of meeting and speaking with students. We went to the mensa (student cafeteria) daily and had lunch. If you can imagine, the university has over 100,000 students, and only one cafeteria that seats around 300 people. Strategically, this was the perfect place to meet students, because they were forced to sit with us. ☺ We would ask students if they spoke English, and the most common answer was “a little bit,” but they were almost always open to practicing English conversation. The language barrier definitely made communication difficult, so we had to trust God to speak through us, and, help us communicate in a way that we all could understand. We usually played the “dumb American” card to get the students to talk to us, asking them questions about their culture and eased our way into spiritual conversation.
After lunch, we usually made out way to La Scuderia (which means “the stable”), a coffee shop in piazza Verdi between several of the school departments. This is when we had to gather our courage and randomly approach people to start conversations. We’d get a coffee, approach a group of students, and ask if we could sit and ask a few questions. Since Americans are rarely seen in Bologna, most were intrigued and happy to talk to us.
Agape Italia also offers an English Club once a week for students interested in practicing their English speaking skills. This and even band names are titled with an English phrase. So, if a student was expressing some interest in spiritual conversation, but was a little uncertain about engaging in a deep discussion, we always threw in a plug about the English Club.
I think the hardest thing, overall, was seeing just how lost the people of Italy are spiritually. I’ve gained such a burden for the students that I met because they’re searching for something to give them hope and with little to no Christian influences, it’s very hard for them to find. Catholic churches are filled with elderly people, who the students say are only there because of social status. Italian Catholics seem very superstitious in their religion as well. It seems like they’re more interested in the saints, rather than Jesus Christ. I heard stories about Italians putting the picture of a saint on their back to heal back pain rather than trusting God to heal them. The cathedrals are filled with small chapels devoted to a specific saint. In Venice, in front of the main cathedral, there are two giant pillars with a winged lion and what looks like a saint, and sculptures of saints line the top of the cathedral. I honestly don’t remember a sculpture of Jesus in front of a single cathedral. A few of us were talking and remembered this verse from Romans 1:23: And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
People probably wonder why we feel like we need to go all the way across the world to reach out to people and share the message of Jesus Christ. In Italy, the above is exactly what surrounds Italians. There are very few evangelical churches, and even fewer Italian Christians with a movement to reach each other. This is our mission. I know God sent me to Italy for a reason, and I have developed such a burden for the people there and for their need for Christ. I hope that this opportunity will bring up others in the future, and that God used this one week to prepare me for another trip to Bologna to share His message in the future.
I honestly never thought I’d have the chance to over overseas to do missions. This experience has opened my eyes to new possibilities. I don’t know if God used this trip to prepare me for yet another trip to Bologna or if it was a way to open my eyes to the need for Christ everywhere. I do know that He used it to show me how easy it is to spread the Word on my campus, considering we all speak English!! ☺ Please pray for another opportunity to go back to Bologna, and that in the mean time, God will use me on campus at TCU.
Thanks again for all of your support, financially and prayerfully. I have been so blessed!! With Love, Cameron
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