A growing number of children and teenagers are coming back to a Baptist church on the Italian island of Sicily, led by a BMS World Mission pastoral couple.
Huw and Alex Anderson were only officially instated as the leaders of Syracuse Baptist Church in mid-February but have already seen families attending again after a time away from church life.
Huw writes, "Their return has meant that we have been able to run a regular Sunday school, as we now have six children attending.
"The after-school club has grown from 12 to 22 children. Relationships with families are growing".
After-school clubs take place two afternoons a week and include children and teenagers of Indian, Romanian and Sri Lankan immigrants, as well as Sicilians. They live in the deprived area of the city around the church building known as the Borgata.
Alex says, "The children are only too grateful for help with homework and simply to have somewhere safe and welcoming to hang out with their friends.
After the homework is finished we play table football, table tennis, chess and other board games".
As the club continues to grow, space is becoming a problem. "Please pray that the church would agree to use the large room upstairs in the manse-flat for the children and that this could be the beginning of a new youth club in the church," Alex says. "We also need more volunteers to help supervise the children".
She adds, "Do pray that we may develop new strategies to attract young people into the community. This is perhaps, the hardest part of our ministry".
Aside from the youth work, the couple have this month launched the church's first Alpha course after a time of training in January.
As well as his preaching engagements, Huw is also involved in training lay pastors for Baptist, Methodist and Waldensian churches on Sicily. It's a crucial ministry given the lack of qualified pastors on the island.
Alex and Huw have been in Italy since last August after a year of mission training in the UK. Read their previous prayer letters by clicking here and, for regular prayer information and updates on BMS' worldwide ministries, go to our prayer tab.