Dear Friends,
Nearly two years have passed since I left the mission field in Lower Hutt, New Zealand where I ministered to children and young adults at a Christian church. Those two years were a gift and a blessing to me from God for which I will always be grateful. At the time I departed, I had trained eight leaders to continue building up His kingdom by teaching the Lower Hutt youth about the Glory of God and the Love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
When I left Lower Hutt, we were averaging 45 youth each week attending Sunday school, had joyfully baptized 20 young people, and were blessed with a growing and vibrant young adults program.
In the Spring of 2000, I felt the Lord calling me back to the States. I spent most of my time at Englewood Christian Church in Jacksonville, Florida, where I started a young adult's Sunday school class and worked in the church's many youth programs. During that time I was uplifted and encouraged by my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I believe that God used that time to guide and prepare me for my next step of faith.
During this time my burden for the people in New Zealand had remained strong. New Zealand is a very secular society, and estimates show that only 2% of the residents are Christian. Many of the Restoration Movement churches that were placed years ago have suffered recently due to a lack of trained preachers and1 ministers. In fact, while I was in New Zealand seven of our churches closed after the preachers retired or left the ministry.
New Zealand has no Christian bible college and many of the churches have found it virtually impossible to get Christian preachers from the United States or other countries to move so far from home.
I had kept in contact with some of the friends I had made, and in early June 2002, I received a letter from the leadership of what has now become the Epuni Church of Christ. They were leading a group of 30 people who were meeting every Sunday, and they asked me to return and join them in starting this new church. I prayed earnestly over this opportunity, and came to realize that God had prepared this step of faith for me even in my absence.
With the Lord's help and your prayers, I left for New Zealand in December so that I could be here in time to encourage the people of the Epuni Church of Christ during the Christmas season. It has been nothing short of miraculous how God has both shown me the opportunity to serve him, and has provided the resources and Christian support necessary to do so.
Please prayerfully and carefully consider helping support this ministry in every way you are able.
God Bless,
Lou Pulicicchio
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