6. The Church of Massafra

And so, in 1947, after Gino’s healing, my father converted to the Gospel.

As I have mentioned before, my mother would always take the opportunity to listen to the preaching of the Word of God at the Baptist church in Mottola whenever she visited her family. At that time, there wasn’t an established evangelical community in Massafra, so my mother asked the Baptist pastor to visit the believers in Massafra to share the message of the Word of God. My father, now a believer, no longer forbade my mother from attending these services; in fact, he was eager to attend the church in Mottola with her, to pray and listen to the preaching of the Gospel. The Baptist pastor would occasionally visit our home for meetings where he would speak to us about the Lord. During this period, brother Michele Andrisani from Matera, and brother Raffaele Pignone from Bari, also began visiting us occasionally. They offered to lead the services in our home.

In 1947, another daughter was born to my parents, a much-anticipated event for me. She was named Antonia Rosa, and she was the first child in our family not to be baptized as an infant according to Roman Catholic tradition.

Our house was a single room, about 16 feet by 16 feet, where our family lived. There was also a small courtyard where my father managed to build a small kitchen covered by a canopy, and in the remaining space, he dug a baptismal pool in the ground. Despite being a very small and crowded living space, we held church services there. During the baptismal services in the courtyard, many curious neighbors and passers-by would peer over the low wall; some even sat on the wall and watched the entire service. Among these was Vito Ramunno and his wife Maria, who both converted to the Gospel. Brother Vito, a carpenter, built about twenty simple wooden benches without backs, which we used during the services. After the meetings, the same room was divided into four sections using curtains. The benches were arranged in one quarter of the room, side by side, to form a large bed where we placed mattresses for three of my brothers to sleep. In another quarter of the room was the bed where my parents slept; in the third quarter were foldable camp beds for the younger children; and the final quarter was used as a dining area. Despite its small size, this house was greatly blessed by the Lord. Many souls came to know Christ there and were baptized in the pool my father had built.

Not only did we hold services in that room, but we also hosted brothers who traveled from other parts of Italy and from America. When these brothers couldn’t come to preach, my father would step in to lead our worship services. Even though he wasn’t very proficient at reading, he was led by the Holy Spirit, and souls were blessed because the Lord was with us, supporting our simple faith in every way. This continued for several years.

In 1949 and 1950, more brothers began visiting our home regularly, including brother Francesco Giancaspero from Triggiano, in the province of Bari.

I particularly remember one incident: A group of young Catholics, who had heard about the meetings at our house, one day pretended they wanted to listen to the preaching of God’s Word. In reality, they intended to mock us evangelicals and had brought stones to throw at us. However, when the pastor began to read from the Bible, specifically Isaiah 40:3, “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”, one of the young men, named Salvatore Convertino (a catechist), recognized that what was being read was indeed from the Bible and stopped the others from throwing the stones.

After the meeting, a debate arose between the young Catholics and the believers, during which Salvatore accused my mother of being inconsistent regarding idols and statues, since on the dresser behind the makeshift pulpit (actually just a table) was a rag doll I played with—I was about nine years old. The discussion continued until the young Catholics, unable to respond to the believers' arguments, decided to organize a meeting with priests they trusted for religious matters. After everyone left, my mother, wanting to avoid any misunderstandings, threw away my doll, and I promised myself that if I ever had the chance, I would throw a rock at that young man’s head!

One Sunday morning, they returned with Father Isidoro and several monks and priests from various associations, arriving just as our service was beginning. Brother Santoro (the first pastor of the church in Massafra) agreed to speak with them, but only after our service had concluded. They accepted and attended the entire service. After the service, the debate began, and Salvatore stood on a bench to better follow the discussion as a large crowd had gathered. In his heart, he prayed his first spontaneous prayer: “Lord, if the truth is on our side, guide Father Isidoro in what he says; if not, guide the words of this evangelical pastor, because I want to serve You.” God began to speak to his heart, and after this experience, he started reading the Bible. Some time later, he went off to the military and converted to the Gospel.

In 1958, Salvatore became my husband.

The young Catholic group, including my husband Salvatore, then a catechist (first row, third from the left)

In 1951, my parents were able to purchase a 150 square meter plot of land to build a new, larger house. My father decided to dedicate the largest room of the house to the work of God. In 1953, with the Lord’s help, everything was completed, and we held services there until 1957.

Later, the Lord provided the church in Massafra with its first dedicated church building, located on Via Paisiello. Brother Santoro, after consulting with the church council, highlighted the need to purchase land for a church building, as the Lord had saved many souls, and our home was no longer large enough to accommodate all the believers. Brothers Pierino, Ettore, and Antonio Ramunno offered to build the walls and faithfully fulfilled their commitment. Unfortunately, when their work was done, we lacked the funds to build the roof.

My parents were corresponding with some brothers in America, whom they had met and hosted previously. Salvatore Convertino, who was then my fiancé, wrote to them with my parents’ permission, explaining our need. Financial assistance soon arrived from America, allowing us to complete the building of the church, which opened its doors to anyone who wished to come and listen to the Word of the Lord.

I hold a special memory of that church building, not only for the great blessings the Lord bestowed upon us but also because my husband and I were the first couple to be married there. However, since religious marriages were not yet recognized by the State, we were married at the City Hall the day before, and the next day, brother Sergio Zucchi (pastor of the church on Via Emilia in Taranto) came to celebrate our union before God.

Our Sunday School group with brother Santoro, top right (circa 1950)

God’s work has continued to this day, and by His grace, it has been necessary to change church locations several times, as the Lord has saved many souls.

In 1954, the last of my siblings, Elia, was born. Like all my other siblings, he gave his heart to the Lord and committed himself to active Christian service.

My mother would rejoice and give glory to God as she saw Donato, Antonio, and Elia preaching the Holy Word of God throughout Italy and abroad.

Everything was done for the glory of God.

Me, my siblings and our spouses, in front of the current church in Massafra, on Via Brindisi (1996)