WhitmanRansom.com

January 5, 2011 (Perugia, Italy)

// January 5th, 2011 // No Comments » // updates

The past several months have been busy ones for us. When we arrived in Italy we immediately needed to work on lots of documents and paperwork for residency permits and for citizenship for Elizabeth. This was very time consuming! Elizabeth and the girls did receive a residency permit with no expiration, so hopefully that will make things easier for Daniel too.

After that Daniel’s classes at the University for Foreigners started. He has over 30 hours a week of class plus 2 hours a day of commuting with public transportation… this made for a long 3 months for him and for the family. He is now at half way point of his courses, so 3 months left to go and then Lord-willing he will be done. It was not our intent for him to start school as soon as we got here, but it was the only way he could get a Visa and a residency permit. Once again our plans aren’t always God’s plans. His time at the University has been profitable in building relationships with students and sharing about our church and radio station.

Daniel has also continued to carry on his role as the director of Radio LUCE and taken on responsibilities at church helping run the sound system and train those already involved in this area.

Elizabeth has been able to take on some ministry responsibilities when not busy taking care of the girls and the house. At church she has been able to provide nursery for kids up to 5 years old during the Sunday School hour for the first time so parents can focus on the lesson. She also recently started a discipleship and counseling relationship with a woman in the church and is thrilled to be able to help people think and live biblically.

Cristina and Elisa are well, slowly adjusting to our life in Italy. Cristina still often mentions good memories from America and says “I wish we could go back to America!” Soon life in Italy will be what is normal to them and they will not feel like America is their home!

January 1, 2011 (Perugia, Italy)

// January 1st, 2011 // No Comments » // updates

Blessings in 2010

In this past year God has blessed us greatly… answering so many of our prayers. These are some things God has done in 2010:

- May 15 Elisa Abigail joined our family. She has brought great joy to our family and has been a very happy and relaxed baby.

- All our needed regular financial support and outfit and passage funds were received so we could plan our departure.

- We were able to pack up all our things and move to Italy on September 9.We picked up Daniel’s Visa and Passport on our way to the airport, which made it possible for us to leave!

- After arriving to Italy we applied for our residency permits and Elizabeth, Cristina and Elisa received an unexpected blessing… residency permits without an expiration date!

- We were able to purchase a van suitable for our family’s needs.

- The girls have been adjusting to life in Italy and have been healthy for the most part.

God has been so good to us!

September 10, 2010 (Perugia, Italy)

// September 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // updates

Waiting to board the plane in the Philly Airport

We are so thankful to have arrived in Italy…

The day before our departure we weren’t sure if we would be leaving or not. Daniel’s Visa and Passport had not arrived in the mail and we were afraid we would need to postpone our move to Italy. God was gracious and answered our prayers allowing us to pick up his passport and visa (for 6 months) at the Italian Consulate in Philadelphia on our way to the airport. His timing is always perfect. We were thankful that we were flying out of the Philadelphia airport! The trip was long, but uneventful. The girls did very well on the trip: Cristina enjoyed being on the airplane and Elisa did well sleeping, even if she had to sleep on the floor of the plane. All our suitcases made it and we had no problems. We look forward to settling into our temporary apartment and adjusting to our new life in Italy. We are anxious to rejoin our missionary team here and get back into the ministry here. A special THANK YOU to all of those who joined our support team so we could be where God has called us.

July 10, 2010 (Justus, PA)

// July 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // updates

Italy here we come…

Just a few weeks ago God worked in great ways bringing in the rest of our needed monthly support allowing us to purchase our plane tickets and start working on the last few things that need done before we can leave (Visa, medical clearance, packing and preparing to move). In less than two months, Lord willing, if we have Daniel’s Visa in hand we will be leaving for Italy (Sept. 8). We have enjoyed some time at home, a just a few more trips until we can focus entirely on packing and moving out of our apartment. We have started talking with Cristina about the fact that this house will no longer be our house, that we need to speak Italian because that’s what people will speak in Italy, and that she won’t be able to have her favorite cheese (shredded) in Italy. This last one is a major topic of conversation… Cristina is growing up fast and enjoying being a big sister, she learns so fast, everything she sees she does, everything she hears she says! So now she knows how to better care for all her babies, after watching mommy and daddy care for her baby sister. It’s fun to watch her learn and grow. Elisa continues to be a blessing to us and brings an added joy to our days by smiling and talking as well as she can with her sweet little sounds. She especially likes to smile and talk to her big sister! We look forward to the day we can settle into our own place in Italy. It seems impossible that the time has finally arrived for us to move back after these years of preparation! We are so thankful for how God has brought us through these years and has taught us so much about Himself, about ourselves and about trusting Him and His timing!

June 3, 2010 (Justus, PA)

// June 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // updates

Elisa Abigail Ransom

On May 15 at 9:42 pm Elisa Abigail Ransom joined our family! The past two weeks have gone by fast as we have been adjusting to being a family of four and Cristina has learning all about being a good big sister and what it’s like to not be the only child in the family anymore. Elizabeth’s mom, Rachel Whitman, was able to come for a few weeks to help out during these first few weeks. Cristina has enjoyed spending lots of time with her “nonna” that she usually doesn’t get to do. She is also looking forward to the day we will get on a plane again and move to Italy.
In the past several months we have continued to travel to several churches and took a short break for the arrival of the baby. We currently have 89% of our support committed and we are waiting on decisions from a few churches. Please continue to pray with us that the rest of our support will come in so we can plan our departure for this summer.

January 16, 2009 (Justus, PA)

// January 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // updates

We recently returned from a trip to Italy and have settled back into normal life again! Our main purpose for the trip was to once again work on renewing residency permit papers for Elizabeth, and we also were able to spend the holidays and lots of quality time with family. Cristina enjoyed her time with “nonno & nonna” (her grandparents), her “zii” (aunts and uncles), and especially her cousins! We are now back on the deputation trail, currently at about about 73% support, waiting on decisions to be made by churches that have expressed interest in our ministry. We hope and pray to be moving to Italy by this summer, to get back to our ministries there!

Some news about our family…
- Cristina turned TWO on Nov. 26 and continues to be a blessing and joy to our family and anyone we spend time with! She’s growing up fast. Her favorite sentence now is “How does that work?” She’s always wanting to learn new things, including English and Italian.
- We are expecting our second child, a girl! She should join our family on the outside in about 4 months.
- Tomorrow (January 17) Daniel, along with our friend Tim Van Dalen, will be ordained by our sending church, Summit Baptist Bible Church (Clarks Summit, PA).

August 27, 2009 (Justus, PA)

// August 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // updates

This past week has been an interesting one in the Ransom household… since we’ve been working hard at potty training Cristina for the past three days, we are hoping she will continue to do well even with the traveling, since our next trip is tomorrow! Yes, even missionaries have to do normal everyday things like potty train their kids!

We’ve been busy presenting ourselves, our ministry, and Italy in different churches each weekend. Recently we took a trip to Virginia to visit friends and family, and to make contact with a church we will be returning to in September. Our calendar is mostly all filled up until December except for a couple Sundays, and Daniel is working hard to schedule meetings for those weekends too! We are thankful for the meetings, and praying God will give us the strength to keep up with our responsibilities. We’ve been challenged lately to please Him and glorify Him in all we do. Even if we would prefer to move to Italy now and return to our ministries there, we need to keep the right perspective, serving God where He has placed us at this time! Our committed support level is around 71%, and we are still hoping and praying to move in January. We appreciate your prayers!

July 28, 2009 (Justus, PA)

// July 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // updates

We are thankful for God’s help and strength in fulfilling our responsibilities in 4 churches as the missionaries for their VBS. We have since enjoyed spending a few days at home, we’ve taken a few days off, and now we’re back to normal everyday life. Daniel spends most of his days fulfilling deputation tasks (phone calls, emails, mailings, scheduling meetings, and staying in contact with people), and also the many responsibilities with Radio Luce. Elizabeth gets to spend her days at home taking care of Cristina, unpacking (or packing, depending on the day), and doing laundry. We enjoy our days at home, although the pressures of the many things we need to get done now and before we move to Italy weigh on us at times. As of now about 71.7% of our monthly support has been committed, with more promised support on its way. We are praying that God will bring in the rest of our monthly need in the next few months. Thanks for your prayers! In the next couple of weeks we will be away from home for another VBS, meetings and visiting friends and family. Following that trip, summer will just about be over and we will begin our busy fall of meetings and missions conferences in several new churches. Cristina is doing very well in all of this and has adapted wonderfully to our lifestyle, and is willing and happy to stay with anyone we entrust her with! We are thankful for her happy and flexible attitude!

July 3, 2009 (Breesport, NY)

// July 3rd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // updates

We’ve just concluded our second of five weeks of VBS this summer, so we feel like we’re in the middle of a marathon and in need of some rest! Before the “VBS marathon” started we spent a week in Maine for a missions conference, and also enjoyed a few relaxing days in preparation for what was coming. We have enjoyed our time so far talking to kids ages 4 to 15 about Italy, teaching some Italian, about Italian culture, and why we are going to Italy. We count it a privilege to be given these opportunities to have an impact in kids’ lives. We pray for strength and endurance as we continue to meet new people and minister in new churches, while we raise support to return to Italy. We currently have 70% of our support committed, and are praying that God will bring in the rest by December 2009! Take a moment and check out our latest prayer letter.

March 31, 2009 (Justus, PA)

// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // updates

We are learning that that our plans are not our own, sometimes we make plans, but God sees fit to change them!
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’ ” (James 4:13-15). It’s a good reminder to make plans aware that they will happen only “if the Lord wills”. He has in mind what is best for us, and the timing of it so that His purposes are carried out!

Recently we found out that Elizabeth will need to return to Italy on a specific date, sooner than we expected, to pick up a residency document. Unfortunately due to the timing of the trip, that is in God’s hands, Daniel will not be able to come, however Daniel’s sister will come in his place. While Elizabeth, Cristina, and Daniel’s sister Elizabeth are in Italy, Daniel will be on the road most of the time making contacts in Ohio and Indiana and participating in missions conferences in Sherman, NY and Barre, VT.

We are planning to take a couple of days of rest and vacation before our travels draw us an ocean apart. We look forward to this break from everyday deputation life! Thanks for your prayers for our travels.