Small Acts of Faith: The Gospel Grows in Finland and Italy

This week we’re excited to share news of how the gospel is spreading in Europe. Brother Carl and Sister Rosemary Ballerino visited Italy, and Brother Daniel Anz traveled to Finland with other brothers and sisters for our first baptism in that country.

As we recounted before, Toni Tulsa from Finland was baptized in Texas in 2023. He did not return to the support of a church family, but he has been sharing his life and faith with others. When Brother Shahar and Sister Kim traveled to Finland over a year ago, Toni introduced them to his friends Ronnie and Bettina.

The couple struggled for many years to find unity in Christ and a walk of faith with fellow believers. After meeting Shahar and Kim, Bettina told Ronnie, “I feel like we’ve seen a piece of the Body of Christ.” They had found what they had always been looking for, but had not even known existed! They traveled over icy, winter roads to meet the Yardens at their hotel the night before their departure from Finland. Shahar met with Ronnie, and Kim spent time with Bettina. The Yardens prayed with them. Later, Sister Kim wrote, “They took our counsel to heart and later shared that their obedience to God has completely transformed their marriage and walk with God.”

Since then, the Yardens have returned to Finland several times. Brother Tony and Sister Pat Salmeri visited with them last year, as did Brother Micah and Sister Jessie Borman. Ronnie and Bettina have been growing in relationship with God and with people in our communities. Their five wonderful and lively children are a testimony to God’s work in the family’s life.

This week, brothers and sisters gathered for the baptism in Finland from all over: Brother Daniel and the Salmeris from Texas, the Yardens from India, the Schafers and Brother Jinu’s family from the Netherlands, and Brother Marius and Grace from Estonia.

Brother Daniel wrote: “Ronnie and his wife do not have a lot of support from many of their old friends and fellow believers in the area, but the Lord has borne witness in incredible ways that His grace is upon the step they are taking. One sister whom they have known attended the baptism and testified with deep feeling of the unity and love between the brothers gathered here. It was obvious to her that we must be children of God, even though she had never met or spoken to us.

“After the baptism, we gathered in Ronnie and Bettina’s living room. We sang, worshiped, opened our hearts to one another, wept, and laughed in the embrace of the Father.

“Please pray for these brothers and sisters, along with those in the Netherlands, and Marius and Grace in Estonia. Everyone is going home strengthened, but they will need our prayers.”

In Italy, the Ballerinos spent time walking through towns and cities layered with centuries of history. Brother Carl said, “As we walked around the ancient towns and cities in Italy, we got a sense of how small and insignificant we are in the world and in history. People have lived in this ancient country for thousands of years, but every life has counted to God. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge. He hears every prayer we pray.”

In Florence—a birthplace of the Renaissance and, with it, the rebirth of humanism in Europe—a small group of Christians walk the streets and pray in the square where Savonarola was martyred.

Through those prayer walks, Christians have connected. A Brazilian who happened to know Brother Dan Lancaster indirectly led to Giacomo and Joseph learning about the Exodus conference in the Netherlands. They came, felt drawn to the life they encountered there, and have remained in connection.

Last month, Brother Dan and Sister Amanda joined the Ballerinos to meet these brothers and others who have been praying with them. “The meetings have been full of the Holy Ghost,” Brother Carl said, “with hungry, open people wanting more from God. One of them told me that there is a famine in Italy for the Word of God. We believe God is wanting to give birth to something there. We may be part of the answer to the prayers that they have prayed.”

These new friendships are taking root as trust deepens and shared hunger for God draws people together. “We’ve entered into deep personal relationships with a number of them,” Carl shared.

During a trip to Italy last year, the Ballerinos and Salmeris stayed in a house that was 1600 years old. Brother Tony wondered aloud, “Who knows what prayers have been prayed in this house? Maybe people have prayed here for the gospel to spread.” Later they discovered that the farm had once belonged to Christians who had opened their home for outreach. Long before they arrived, someone had already been planting. Brother Carl said, “When Brother Tony and I prayed in that house, we felt God adding our burden, our prayers, to the memorial that had been offered decades before.”

Wherever we are, our lives, our prayers, and our gifts of love and service are not insignificant. Even when we feel small against the backdrop of history, each choice to share our faith, to pray, and to build relationships are small acts of courage that accumulate over time—sometimes building upon prayers and efforts made generations before—bringing hope to others and kindling new communities of faith in unexpected places.