February 24, 2003

Dear brothers and sisters,

Brotherly greetings from the church of Christ in Ferrara.

The purpose of this letter is that of informing you of a difficult problem that has presented itself to our congregation. After 40 years of meeting in the same location (that we have been renting), the owner has informed us that he has decided to sell the building. This has been a continual discussion with the owner for many years but the church has been able to continue to find a solution. A few years ago, though, the owner (who is getting on in years) began to sell off a lot of his property. He came to the congregation here and told them he definitely wanted to sell this building. They were able to work out a contract in which the church had to greatly increase the rent and be ready to move at any time he was able to sell. The contract they worked out ends November 2003 and he wants to try to sell the building with it empty. This would be a hard blow for the work of the Lord in Ferrara for various reasons:

1. The building is situated in the center of the city that (contrary to many cities in the States) in Italy is still the centre of the social and cultural life of every city.

2. It is very difficult to find a building that corresponds to our needs (auditorium, classrooms, etc.), as this. In fact, this building was practically designed (internally) for our needs (years ago when it was being built).

3. Even if we could find a building that corresponds to our needs (the measures about 140 m2), we would need to pay rent that would be 2 or 3 times superior to that which we now pay. ($700).

4. It would be a negative thing for the neighborhood. The Italians are very traditionalists and habitual and the fact that we have been present in this location for more than 40 years, for many it is an indication of seriousness and stability.

The owner of the building, recognizing the good relationship that he has had with us in all these years, has declared that he is willing to sell the building to the church at a very advantageous price. In fact, he has asked $1750/m2. In this area of the city the average price is $2250-3000/m2. Therefore, the asking price is about $250,000.

The church in Ferrara, after having prayed and evaluated the situation, has decided to buy the building. Presently the church is composed of 11 family nucleuses and counts a total of 30 members with an average Sunday frequency of 38 people. In these days we are going to all the banks to ask if they are willing to give us a loan and with which conditions. For sure we must find 20-50% (depending on the bank) of the total to be able to have a loan. These numbers can help you to understand how difficult it will be for us to confront and resolve this situation without your precious help. What are we asking?

1. First of all we would like to ask you to unite with us in prayer so that the will of the Lord will be done also in this occasion. We are convinced that the Lord is offering us a marvellous opportunity, but we know how many difficulties we must face. Therefore we would appreciate receiving your prayers and your encouragement.

2. We need donations and financial help to be able to get the lowest loan possible.

3. We need to know if there are any churches or brethren who would be willing to loan us the amount (or part of it) that we can give back monthly.

4. We need to know if there are other possibilities for buying a building of which we have no knowledge.

We would be happy to provide further details or information to all those interested in helping our congregation in this project.

Thanks for all that you can do to assist us in this necessity. God bless you.

In Christ,

Paolo Di Luca Casella Postale 124 44100 Ferrara Italy e-mail: dilpao@texnet.it