My mother, as I have mentioned before, was illiterate, but it seemed as if she had a recorder in her head. When she spoke about the Gospel, she could recall many Bible verses and gave a faithful testimony of the Holy Spirit’s work in her. As the Bible says: “for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:12; Matthew 10:19) My mother never missed an opportunity to speak to others about God, and through her, many people came to know the Truth and accepted Christ into their hearts as their personal Savior. That’s why everyone in town knew her as Maria the Evangelist.
I remember once, when she was quite old, a family moved into the apartment directly across from hers. Their front doors faced each other, but she never had the opportunity to speak to them about the Lord! She prayed to God, saying, “Lord, give me the opportunity to talk about You to this family.”
One day, she decided to play her tape recorder in the light well that connected to the neighboring apartment. She wanted to listen to hymns and also hoped to pique her neighbor’s curiosity. She played tapes of sermons from the Word of God and raised the volume a little, so that the neighbor could hear what was being played.
But time passed, and nothing happened. She repeated this for several more days until, finally, my mother and the new neighbor happened to meet on the landing. The lady greeted her and said, “Ma'am, those tapes you listen to are very beautiful!” My mother replied, “Those tapes speak of Jesus, including the songs. I am a believer of the evangelical faith.” The lady continued, “I would like to listen more closely, but my mother, who is elderly, is against it because she says your group is made up of bad people. However, I really enjoy listening to those words.”
My mother replied that she would gladly speak to her mother, even though the neighbor warned her that she might be rudely dismissed. “Don’t worry,” my mother said with her usual gentle persistence, “just let me know when she is around, and I’ll come over. Let’s see what happens.”
So, the day came when the two met. My mother knocked on Titina’s door (that was the young lady’s name) and asked if she could borrow some onion. Titina invited her into the kitchen, where her mother was sitting. “Who is this lovely lady?” my mother asked. Titina replied, “This is my mother. Isn’t she beautiful?” The elderly lady then said, “I’m just an old woman, full of ailments.” “But,” my mother responded, “the Lord keeps you young!” One word led to another, and soon my mother began to share the Gospel. The elderly lady listened and eventually said, “What you’re saying is very nice to hear, but I’ve heard that evangelicals are not good people, that they speak ill of the saints, and that they are excommunicated.”
To this, my mother responded, “Why don’t you come to church with us one evening so you can hear for yourself what is said?” The elderly lady replied, “I can’t, I can’t even walk.” My mother then offered, “Don’t worry, we’ll take you in the car.” The lady agreed, saying she would come out of curiosity. So, at the first opportunity, both mother and daughter joined my mother and my brother Donato in the car, and they all went to church together. At the end of the service, Titina and her mother said, “People speak so badly about evangelicals, but we didn’t see anything wrong with what you do. On the contrary, we liked it so much that we want to come with you always.” From that day, not only did the two of them give their hearts to the Lord, but also Titina’s husband and their young son, Mimmo. All were saved and baptized in accordance with Jesus’ command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) Glory to God for all the wonderful things He accomplishes!