April 2022
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
It has been a busy month of ministry here in Milan. We are grateful to God for the opportunities that he has given us to serve his flock, help the helpless, and watch his church grow. Here are some of the highlights from the past thirty days:
Ukrainian Refugees in our Church
First, I want to update you on the Ukrainain refugees who are among us. If you did not have a chance to read their stories in my update on March 14, please do so here. By God’s amazing grace, Alena Fedchishina, the Argakov family, and the Chygrynova family are doing well, despite their traumatic experiences of fleeing thier homes in Kiev and Kharkiv and making a long and dangerous journey to Milan. Your donations helped us to secure housing for all of them, provide funds for food and clothing, and take Voldomyr’s car to the mechanic for some much needed repair. All of them are attending our church every week. Alena is our resident interpreter, translating the sermons from Italian into Russian. We were able to purchase headsets for the refugees so that they can hear the translation without disturbance.
Everyone is waiting to see what will happen with the war. In the meantime, these refugees have applied for residency permits here in Italy. We are doing all we can to help them feel welcome.
Sending Aid to the Presbyterian Church in Kharkiv
This past week, I was able to speak with Rev. Marko Argakov, who is the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Kharkiv and also Voldomyr’s older brother. He is still in Kharkiv, seeking to minister to the remaining members of his congregation and bring humanitarian help to people in the community. He told me that their greatest material needs at the moment are 1) medicine, 2) non-perishable food, and 3) jackets. Due to your donations, we were able to help them obtain these items. It is amazing to see God’s people around the globe helping one another, bringing light into the darkness.
We are also working with two other churches in Milan to assist refugees. Milan expects some 40,000 people to arrive from Ukraine. As you have probably heard, more than ten million people, mostly women and children, have been displaced from their homes because of the war. It is the largest mass migration since World War II. As refugees come to Milan, we want to be ready to assist them in their basic material needs and to bring the Gospel to them.
Thank you so much for your prayers and generosity. For the moment, it appears that we are sufficiently supplied to assist the eight refugees in our church. We are committed to their care. We ask you to please remember Alena, the Argakov and Chygrynova families in your prayers, as well as peace for Ukraine and Europe.
New Deacon
On Sunday, March 20, we ordained and installed Mr. Tonino Bellito as a deacon. Tonino is a tender-hearted, faithful man of God who loves the church and loves to serve others. He is an outstanding example of a joyful, selfless servant. It was a blessing to witness his vows of ordination and hear his heartfelt gratitude as he expressed his thankfulness to God and the congregation for the opportunity to serve. We trust that he will be a blessing to us for many years in the future, as he has for many years in the past.
Janie in the States to Visit our Family
On March 22, Janie flew to the United States to spend two weeks in Vermont with our daughter Aly, son-in-law Kevin, grandaughter Isabella, and son Isaac. Our other daughter, Kayla (Aly’s twin sister), surprised Janie by flying from her home in Los Angeles to Vermont. Janie was blessed with a partial family reunion. In the meantime, Iain and I are bachelors here in Milan. We look forward to Janie’s return, and also to this July when we will visit the United States together and have some time to spend with the whole family. As I have said before, Janie and I love being missionaries, we love our church here in Milan, and we love Italy. The one difficult thing, however, is that we do not get to see our children (and granddaughter) often enough.
Janie and I remain grateful to all of you who read these updates and pray for us. Thank you for your encouragement and generous support. Mission Milan is only possible because of people like you!
~ Pastor Mike
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” ~ Acts 20:24
If you would like to help by making a donation, you may give online here on our website or send a check to:
Escondido United Reformed Church
1864 N. Broadway
Escondido, CA 92026
Attn: Mission Milan
Checks should be made out to Escondido United Reformed Church. Please indicate that the support is for Rev. Michael Brown as a missionary to Milan, Italy.
