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Running on Empty
One day, Missionary Alfred Perna Sr. and his son traveled to a water baptism service in Mola di Bari, Italy. This city is located along the eastern coast of Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. God was moving in this area, and many people were giving their lives to Jesus. As a result, these new converts wanted to be baptized. Missionary Perna held a baptismal service in the beautiful blue waters of the Adriatic Sea.
The baptismal service was really special, and many hearts were touched. Afterwards, Missionary Perna had a Communion service with everyone there. He then preached a powerful message to all those hungry hearts who so loved their Savior, Jesus.
The people in this part of Italy were very poor. They sacrificed from the little they had in order to feed the missionary during his visit for the baptismal service. The pastor at the church in Mola di Bari was also very poor. His daughter was very ill, and he couldn’t even afford to buy medicine for her.
Missionary Perna was also having financial difficulties, but he felt led to give the pastor some money. The pastor wept with gratitude upon receiving the money.
It was time for Missionary Perna to begin his drive back home. As he got into his car, he realized that he only had enough money left to buy six gallons of gas. He lived near Rome, which was 400 miles away. He could never make it on that amount of gas! What would he do?
All Missionary Perna knew to do was pray. So he and his son prayed and asked God to help them. When they finished praying, they started the long drive home. What would happen to them? Would they run out of gas along the way in the middle of nowhere? What would they do?
As they approached the city of Naples, the needle on the gas gauge showed that the gas tank was almost empty. Missionary Perna had no money, yet they had to make it home. All he and his son could do was pray again.
They left Naples trusting God to take care of them. As they continued to drive into the night, the gas gauge seemed to be frozen on the same spot. The needle didn’t move.
Finally, they arrived in Rome. As they turned the last corner, the car gave its final gasp and stopped in front of their apartment gate. God had done a miracle! They made it all the way home with the little gas they had started with.
God provided for them and took care of them. They didn’t get stranded. They trusted God, and God made sure they made it home safely!
The information for this story was provided by Missionary Alfred Perna Sr., and is used with permission from Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2002 The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce and adapt lesson components for exclusive use in the local church. Any other use requires written permission.
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