HOSPITAL EVANGELISM PROJECT (BASILICATA)

Tiziana is the wife of Pastor Antonio. Their story takes place in Basilicata. Her 10-year-old son had been diagnosed with cancer, and his condition had become critical. The doctors had given up hope; his life was hanging by a thread. As Tiziana wept, she saw another young mother sobbing over her little girl, who was also dying of cancer. Tiziana found the strength to approach her, embrace her, and pray for her little girl. And three miracles occurred: the little girl came out of her coma and began to recover, and Tiziana’s child is also recovering. From this experience, Tiziana realized the extent of the suffering in hospital oncology wards and decided to do something. She formed a group of volunteers with whom, with the chief physician’s permission, she went to the oncology ward to help the patients, especially those in the terminal stage. Since then, the team of volunteers, all believers, has been assisting patients with their daily needs such as bathing, meals, and changing clothes. The volunteers sing Christian songs to them, share the Gospel, and pray for them and with them. They lead them all, one by one, to Jesus. Tiziana’s vision could expand and reach several cities in Italy, thanks in part to the publication of the book *I Will Give You the Strength of the Buffalo*, which recounts Nicoletta's extraordinary testimony.

-PROJECT “I WILL GIVE YOU THE STRENGTH OF A BUFFALO”

Nicoletta lives near Venice. She is a woman of prayer. Every day, she retreats to her prayer room to be with the Lord and pray for those who don't know her. With her husband, she began distributing tracts from house to house, offering to pray for people with any kind of problem. But Nicoletta was yet to experience suffering. She was suddenly struck by a severe lymphoma, stage 4. She went through all the stages of cancer treatment. She faced it with courage, finding strength in the Lord who told her, "I will give you the strength of a wild ox." But the disease became very serious and progressed rapidly. She spent many days in the hospital, surrounded by many other cancer patients and cared for by extraordinary doctors and nurses. At one point, she no longer had the strength to fight her "monster." She wanted to give up, but her family urged her to keep fighting and to trust in the Lord. And indeed, Nicoletta recovered completely, achieving full remission. She now understood the suffering of cancer patients lying in hospital oncology wards. She decided to write a book of her testimony, with the help of her daughter, to give hope to those who were ill by showing them how to trust in Jesus. The book was published under the title: I Will Give You the Strength of a Buffalo. She organized a book launch at her church, which was attended by a large audience, including her doctors and all the nurses who had cared for her. Her testimony of faith and resilience was met with many tearful eyes. She then obtained permission from the hospital network to distribute the book free of charge to cancer patients in hospitals. Today, hundreds of patients have read the book and wanted to meet her. She has been able to talk about Jesus with many of them and even pray with them.

Nicoletta and her husband have printed an initial batch of 1,200 copies of the book at their own expense, but this number is clearly insufficient. The goal is to distribute the book to as many hospitals as possible. The project is divided into several phases, depending on the number of hospital networks willing to receive the books as gifts for cancer patients. Tiziana has already requested several books to distribute at the hospital where she works. The project therefore involves printing an initial batch of 5,000 copies, at a cost of 3.50 euros each—for a total of 17,500 Swiss francs. The vision: to reach, if possible, every hospital in Italy to give cancer patients hope by inviting them to open their hearts to Jesus.

If you'd like to learn more about our projects in hospitals, click on the images