Good evening my friend! I hope you are doing great! I know, I typically post in the mornings, but I just did not want to wait till tomorrow to publish this. It’s time for another post of The Coffee Talk, and I would like to talk to you about a variety of things. News and updates on my trip to Casa di Preghiera Italia, worship, and experiences with God. Be prepared to get some true insights into my life and a testimony I’d like to share. But first: Grab yourself that cup of coffee or tea. And snacks. And some covers or something – just to be really comfortable.
House of Prayer in Naples 🔥
If you don’t live behind a rock you ought to know that I’m currently living in an apartment in Naples, Italy. To be more specific, in Caserta. I have been here for ten days now and it definitely feels like I’ve been here for months. I am here for three months to help out at the House of Prayer just 15 minutes by foot from where I am staying at. Other than that I am here to help Giuseppe (the big boss) and his family and I am trying to invest in his projects with time and dedication and financial aid. One of these projects is the HOP (House of Prayer) itself, or as they call it here, Casa di Preghiera. Up to now, there aren’t enough volunteers and believers to keep the HOP open 24/7, but we are working on at least having it open in the mornings next to special weekend events. Giuseppe’s vision is to have it open at all times for anyone, no matter where they go to church, and for them to experience the Lord’s presence in maybe a different way than they know him. Just last week we hosted a 24 hours non-stop worship session with various churches and groups coming in and contributing to this event with one or two-hour turns. To understand why it’s difficult to have the HOP open here anytime, I want to paint you a picture of what living in Naples means.
We are located in the darkest part of Italy with the highest rate of crime, highly toxic material, 16.000 migrants, drug and human trafficking, Italian and Nigerian Mafia, a lot of prostitution, and a very high rate of unemployment. Hence, to get into the building where the Casa di Preghiera is located, you need to pass three locked doors and gateways. It is incomparable with our Swiss standards. As a kid, you cannot just walk to school by yourself; your parents have to drive you and wait for you after class is over. It really is a whole new world down here. Therefore, and because there’s a shortage of staff members, the HOP cannot always be opened. What we have been able to start now, though, is opening it in the mornings and doing some worship with the team and then individually. My time to lead in worship is always from 10-11 am, for instance. And it is amazing to start your day with like three hours of worship and prayer.
Next to a retreat center they’re currently renovating and preparing for groups to come in the summer, a big project right now is also the apartment I am living in. When I came here ten days ago, this whole upper floor just had three bedrooms with one bed in them, an IKEA table as a nightstand, and a little desktop lamp on it. For five years the vision of this apartment has been to make it ready so that people from everywhere could come and visit the Casa di Preghiera, but the facilities are sparse. That is why we are helping to make this place ready for guests to come. On Wednesday we went to IKEA and designed a kitchenette for the upstairs living space because the downstairs kitchen is small and not sufficient to host people. Something important to know about Italians is that when they move out of an apartment, they take their kitchen with them. You buy/rent a totally unfurnished place here, including the kitchen. So the kitchen that is installed now may be enough for Lia, the woman who has been renting a room in this apartment for years now and who is also part of the regulars, but not for seven or eight people. I will post a short update here and in my Whatsapp text chain as soon as this kitchen is here. They are currently building a brick wall in the communal area to enable the installation of a kitchen because otherwise, the wall would not support it. We are also going to get a washer and dryer and some additional furniture from Facebook Marketplace to make this place more livable. I am excited to share the results with you once it is completed! If you’d like to get little updates and pictures about anything happening here and are not yet on my text chain, you can join by clicking this link: Whatsapp group "Nici in Naples"
I was honestly extremely surprised when I listened to the suggestion of a friend to create a text chain and keep everyone up to date and invited people to join because apparently 64 people are interested!!! That means so much to me, thank you!
The Power of Worship 🙌🏼
Leading worship every day, although I’m the only member of the team, is kind of new to me and really exciting, but it has its difficulties. I know I am completely free in my choice of songs and instruments and improv parts, but I still like to think about two or three songs beforehand that I would like to play and thus have a small setlist. Something quiet, something powerful, and something where I can instantly come into this place of worship in my mind. And after a few minutes, I mostly start to have an improv instrumental and prayer, which in my opinion are even more powerful sometimes because you get to sing what is on your heart and what you want to declare or ask for or just pray. It is the perfect opportunity to invite the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds and fill us with a spirit of love, peace, kindness, praise, and thankfulness. And with time passing by and me adjusting to my surrounding, at times I try to pray in Italian, but that is still very hard. I know some basic Christian vocabulary by now to express the most important feelings and desires, but it is not enough to lead in prayer or pray for something or someone specific yet. That is one of the things I’m asking God to help me with because it is so powerful not only for me but also for the locals here to actually understand what is being said and prayed for. English worship and Italians are still two separate things, so this introduction to them is probably not the worst, but it couldn’t hurt me to try and adapt to their culture (of worship) a little bit. Anyway, some lyrics and Bible verses have really touched me in the past few days, and just yesterday I had a personal encounter with God that was breathtaking. Let me share some lyrics first:
You are my only hope You are the rock on which I stand You will not let me go I know that I'm safe inside Your hands In the fading light when night is breaking I know you will always be waiting You will always be there I'm running to the secret place Where You are, where you are I sing to you of all the ways You stole my heart, stole my heart Better is a moment that I spend with you Than a million other days away I'm running, I'm running I'm running to the secret place The Secret Place by Phil Wickham
This is like my number one worship sesh start-off song right now. Coming into worship, I really want to run to the secret place where He is and encounter His being. One moment with him is better than a million other days away. That reminds me of Psalms 23:6 where it says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”1 And that brings another song to my recollection with similar lyrics:
One thing I desire, only this I seek Just to dwell, dwell, dwell here forever This will be my posture, laying at Your feet Oh, just to dwell, dwell, dwell here forever Most Beautiful by Maverick City Music
Being in His presence is an indescribable experience, and I know that full well. Yesterday at dinner (which I made myself because I’m a grown-up now) I watched some live worship of Brandon Lake, one of my favorite songwriters at the moment. They included a live testimony in the worship session and prayed for healing, restoration, and deliverance of any kind – not just in that room, but also to everyone at home watching this in their room. And these words hit me. It did not even feel awkward to raise my hands to some Youtube worship video and pray with them as he declared the presence of the Holy Spirit in that place and with the people watching this anytime anywhere. And WABAM. Man, was I hit by the Holy Spirit in that moment. It got really intimate and emotional, and I just cried sitting there as this man prayed for freedom and healing of different kinds. I keep telling myself and proclaiming that worship is not about feelings and that if you don’t feel the Holy Spirit, it does not mean he is not there, BUT there’s nothing as refreshing as feeling Him move and wander through your room. Funny enough, on my bedroom wall I hung some pictures of my friends and me, and there is one Scripture right above my head saying He refreshes my soul (Psalms 23:3). And exactly this had happened. I was refreshed, I tasted a hint of freedom and God’s grace once again. I haven’t experienced a moment like that for months, and I will count it as one of the most special ones ever. Because of this, I want to share this video with you and see if you are ready for the Holy Spirit to move right where you are because I was. In the land I’m living in, far away from where this worship session took place, not even close in time. But the Spirit living in you can move wherever and whenever you invite him to.
After I had finished watching this, I didn’t want the Holy Spirit to stop speaking to me and let this moment pass by, so I clicked on the next worship video, and let me just say, some other lyrics touched me to the core. I cried some more. But that is why I want to share this with you too:
I'll never be more loved Than I am right now Wasn't holding you up So there's nothing I can do To let you down Doesn’t take a trophy To make you proud I’ll never be more love Than I am right now You've never been closer Than You are right now I don't wanna forget How I feel right now On the mountaintop I can see so clear What it's all about Stay by my side When the sun goes down Don't wanna forget How I feel right now I’m already loved I’m already chosen I know who I am I know what You’ve spoken I’m already loved More than I could imagine And that is enough You are enough So I am enough Jireh by Elevation Worship
This is sooooo powerful! I love it. I hope it spoke to you too :)
Dio ti benedica 🙏
God bless you, brother or sister in Christ. Be encouraged, never stop seeking his presence, running to that secret place, and see the Spirit move. Know that you are loved, chosen, and enough. I need to be reminded of that sometimes, I don’t know about you. But it is great to hear and to know.
I know this turned out to be quite a long read, but I hope it was worth it. I wish you all the best weekend ever with a lot of God moments. I miss you all very much! See you soon, Nici 🤍
PS: You can now read The Coffee Talk in the new Substack app for iPhone and iPad. With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. You’ll have the whole collection of posts in one place! Check it out:
Scripture (as always) after New International Version on the Bible App