2. My Mother's Conversion

As was common in those days, my mother would often sit outside the front door of our house when she was done with her chores or when it was hot. One day, while she was sitting there, she saw a young man stop at the house next door and greet the lady who lived there by saying, “Peace!” In her dialect, the word peace (pace) sounds very similar to the word crazy (paccj). My mother wasn’t sure which word the young man had used. Confused, she turned to her mother-in-law, who was sitting beside her, and asked: “Mama, did you hear that young man? Did he say peace or crazy?”

Her mother-in-law replied, “My daughter, you should have nothing to do with those people because they are excommunicated. They do not love the saints!”

However, my mother couldn’t stop thinking about the word she had heard from the young man—whether it was peace or crazy. Intrigued, and careful not to let her mother-in-law know, she later went to her neighbor to clarify: “Excuse me, ma’am, that young man who greeted you the other day, did he say peace or crazy?”

The lady calmly replied, “He said ‘Peace’!” Still curious, my mother asked what he meant by that word.

The lady, who was very kind, explained that the young man was an evangelical, and that their greeting, “peace to you,” was the same greeting that Jesus used. She also mentioned that the young evangelical had given her a Bible (which is the testament that Jesus left us), but she never found the time to read it.

My mother was illiterate, so she said to the lady, “I can’t read, but you can. Since you don’t have the time, let’s do this: I’ll shell your fava beans for you, and you can read the Bible to me. I’m very curious to know what it says.”

Angela Maria (the lady’s name) accepted the offer, and so they began reading the Bible together. This went on for a long time—they would read the Bible and then pray.

The young man who had greeted Angela Maria with “peace” was named Paolo Spada, and he was also illiterate. He began to listen to the Word of God with the two women, and the three of them would pray together. The Lord began to bless them.

In 1937, my mother gave birth to another son, whom she named Donato. At that time in Italy, the Fascists were persecuting Pentecostal evangelicals, and believers were also persecuted by the Roman Catholic clergy. There was no Pentecostal church in Massafra, so the few evangelical believers gathered in Angela Maria’s house.

My mother occasionally went to Mottola to visit her family. There was a Baptist church there, which she attended whenever she went to Mottola.

Soon after, a preacher named Pola from Ginosa began visiting Massafra.

One day, while my mother was praying alone in her house, she began to feel great joy within her—she felt the presence of God in her heart and began to speak in other tongues. She didn’t understand what was happening to her, because she had never been told about the Holy Spirit. Later, when she met with the other believers to pray, the Holy Spirit manifested again through my mother speaking in tongues. Sister Angela Maria, who also didn’t know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, thought this behavior was “strange” and that it wasn’t from God.

A few days later, the brother from Ginosa came to visit the believers in Massafra, and Angela Maria immediately told him what had happened to my mother during prayer. She said, “I don’t know, maybe it’s some evil spirit, and this thing isn’t from God.” The brother replied, “Don’t worry, we’ll see.”

During prayer, my mother began to speak in tongues again, and there was a great manifestation of the Spirit of God. The brother then explained the passage about Pentecost and how the promise was not only for the disciples but for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself (as it is written in Acts 2). He then added: “Sister Maria has been baptized in the Holy Spirit!”

During that time, my mother also learned about water baptism, which is in obedience to Jesus’ command to 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). My mother said, “I want to be baptized according to His command!” And so, Sister Angela Maria’s bathtub was used as a baptistery, and as it is written that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7), there was also great joy on earth. Glory to God!

In 1940, a daughter was born—Maria Annunziata (that is, me, Titina, as they always called me).

During that time, the Second World War was ongoing, and it was very difficult to find food, especially for the poorest families. We could only buy flour and other essential food items with ration cards handed out by the local government, which allowed us to purchase a specific amount of goods based on the number of members in each household. Food was scarce, and we suffered from hunger.

In 1942, my mother gave birth to another son, whom she named Antonio. As the family continued to grow, food became even scarcer. My mother prayed to the Lord to provide for us.

I remember once... My brother Donato, who was 5 years old at the time, cried, “I’m hungry!” To which my mother replied, “The Lord will provide, and we will eat.” At that, little Donato exclaimed, “Then let’s pray to God!”

My mother, who always trusted in God’s help for every need, immediately responded to Donato’s request, and we all prayed together. Soon after, we heard a knock at the door. My mother went to open it, and it was a neighbor who said to her, “Maria, my daughter got married yesterday, and many guests didn’t show up. We have many trays of baked pasta, potatoes, and meat left over, and I thought you might not mind if I brought some over, since you have so many children. If you want, I’ll bring everything to you.”

We were amazed and filled with joy; from having nothing to eat, our table was suddenly and miraculously filled with delicious food.

My mother not only accepted all the food that God had provided, but she also testified to the neighbor about what had happened and how the Lord had moved her heart in response to our prayer. She thanked the neighbor as well.

We truly witnessed a miracle of God!

My mother with us children (1996): Mamma, Giovanni, Donato, Maria Annunziata, Antonio, Luigi, Antonietta, Elia