Tell Me About Jesus - Bible Club in Italy

By David Stevenson

Many major cities around the world host an International Women's Club. This club for women who speak English has several goals: learning more about the local culture, performing community benefit work, and providing English speakers an opportunity to enjoy time together. In 1992 my wife Rosezell joined the club in Turin, Italy. The club has about 130 members, half of whom are Italians and the rest a variety of other nationalities. After several years of attending, Rosezell was chosen president of the club in 1996. Although the Women's Club involves a lot of time and expense Rosezell has had opportunities to share her testimony, given out several hundred pieces of literature and Bibles, and loaned books as an encouragement for the women to read Christian books.

One day Rosezell received a phone call from a Women's Club member asking if she would teach Bible to the woman's three children. The caller said she wanted her children to know about God, but did not want to send them to catechism classes at their local church. She offered to invite other children and host the class in her home if Rosezell would teach. We set a schedule whereby we both would go to have a weekly Bible study.

At the first lesson we discovered these children had never seen a Bible, never prayed, and didn't know who Jesus was. They knew nothing about biblical characters and had never heard a Christian song. Soon, however, they were not only singing children's Christian songs but were writing new verses to the songs during the week. Their mother was pleased that they were playing "Bible Class" during the week and eagerly anticipating the next lesson.

Children of friends and neighbors began attending and learning biblical truths. Rosezell asked one little girl if she understood about going to heaven. The child's response: "What is heaven?" Now, however, children who once said they never heard of Jesus tell their parents all about who Christ is and what He has done for them.

At Christmas we gave a Bible to each child. One five-year-old Japanese boy was excited about getting his. Since he can't read yet and his parents are Buddhists, we were not sure if we should even give him a Bible. After a few days Rosezell received a call from his mother. She thanked us for the Bible and said that their teen-age girl had heard of the Bible and had always wanted to read one.

Since we send materials home with the children, parents are reached also. The Buddhist teenager asked us to send materials for her with her little brother. Opportunities to spread the gospel have expanded. Sometimes parents, grandparents and household helpers listen to the lessons. We have become good friends with some of the parents and regularly visit together. In the fall of 1997 we began an after-school Bible class at the International School of Turin. This is a private English-speaking school where many business people send their children. Pray that God will use these attempts to reach out to Italian families and those of the international community. Thank God that children who did not know who Jesus was are now learning God's Word.

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