Gospel into Action: take up your cross and follow Him

The unexpected

We were expecting our first child. Immediately after this news came an unexpected discovery: I had a small nodule in my breast. The tests showed that it was cancer. For me and for my husband, who is a physician, it was a terrible blow. Three days after the visit with a specialist, I had an operation. In his opinion, keeping the baby was an aggravating factor: we should have immediately proceeded with a therapeutic abortion in order to start chemotherapy. We didn’t want to give up. Trusting in God, we consulted other doctors, seeking an alternative solution. In the end we decided to have a Cesarean section in the seventh month of pregnancy, when the baby would be perfectly able to survive. Only afterwards would I start the chemotherapy and radiation. Since then, 8 years have passed and we are expecting our third child.
M. D. – France

The stranger

One day I was in the car with a man who had asked me for a ride. It was noon, and I asked him where he was going to have lunch. He answered, “I haven’t got a penny, and I have no idea how I’m going to eat.” I was overcome with suspicions and indifference. But I pushed these thoughts away, saying to Jesus in my heart: “It doesn’t matter who he is, what I do for him, I do for you.” I fished in my pocket and gave him all I had, adding, so as not to humiliate him, “Pay me back whenever you can.” A few days later, I received an envelope from a client with the exact amount that I had given that stranger inside. For me, this situation was the confirmation that the Gospel is true.
A. G. – Italy

A family party

We had an idea, with several other families that are friends of ours, to organize a party for the Senegalese in our city. We were all committed to making these young immigrants feel the warmth of the family. Afterwards, one of them commented: “Everything went beyond our expectations. No one made us feel different and because of this, we felt at home. We have the same God who makes us brothers and sisters.” The party had finished, but the friendship continues.
G. L. – Italy

We have a Father

 By chance, we met again after many years. I hadn’t seen her since my high school years. Although she had a degree in mathematics, after a very sad sequence of events she now found herself in my city without even a penny, living the life of a beggar. She was desperate, and I listened to her story. At that moment, I had nothing to give her, but I promised to help her: I told her she must be certain of this, because, “We have a Father in heaven.” We made plans to meet again the next day. In the meantime, with the help of some others, I found a temporary accommodation for her and gathered some money: at least enough to live on, to be able to eat and to bathe. After two days she contacted me again, and returning the money, she explained that she had been offered a job in a place that also provided room and board. She added, “I have to thank you, not only for the money, but because that day you gave me back what I needed most: the hope and the certainty that I have a Father who cares for me.”
Franca – Italy