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My wife Jana and I currently serve in cross-cultural ministry with Crossworld as church-planters/disciple-makers in the greater Milan area of northern Italy. We've just recently completed language school, an internship with Crossworld colleagues and various ministries all across Italy. Now we are settling into our long-term ministry area in Sesto Calende. God has blessed us with great teammates, Terrance (ThM 02, MA/BC 02) and Hillary Luker (ThM 02), who have already been laboring for a few years to build the foundations of a new church through a weekly Bible study here in town. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to teach regularly at our local study and to occasionally preach at other churches in the Milan area. It has been a challenge to preach the Word in my second language, Italian, but God has been faithful to provide every step of the way! We're excited about the Lord beginning to open the doors for evangelism and discipleship as we get to know our neighbors and make friends in town. DTS gave me the tools necessary to step out by faith into the ministry to which He has called us and He is sharpening those tools a little each day in the forge of ministry itself.
Some of my fondest memories at DTS occurred in Chafer Chapel, listening to many of God's choice servants preach the Word. What anticipation I felt going in to hear the likes of Chuck Swindoll, Tony Evans, Tommy Nelson, Erwin Lutzer, and many others! Likewise, I fondly remember meeting with a group of students early on Tuesday mornings to pray for DTS students and faculty by name, the nations, and that God would bring a missional revival on campus. My favorite week of the year at DTS was the World Evangelization Conference. It shifted our hearts and minds to the Lord’s passion for the entire world! Also, I will never forget the blessing of sitting under the tutelage of so many humble servant-leaders at DTS who prepared me for where I am now. Finally, I have many great memories of between-class power naps on the third floor of the library after being drained from all-night Greek/Hebrew study sessions.
The greatest contribution DTS has made to help prepare me to teach truth and love well is actually twofold: DTS has shown me not only how much I don't know, but it has also helped me to hold humbly yet firmly to the truth that I do.