About Us

Dear reader, we hope and pray that this greeting finds you growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank you for your interest in our ministry.

Mario and Sheila smilingly pose at an ancient Roman forum, with columns, ruins, and historic buildings behind them on a sunny day in their early years in Italy.

We’ve been happily married 49 years and have two children and nine grandchildren. Mario was born a tiny mountain village in southern Italy and raised in the Bronx by parents who spoke no English. I, Sheila, was born and raised in rural Michigan. We met, married, and came to know our Savior in Colorado.

We became Christians as young adults with two small children. Our church had a strong missionary focus and we were blessed by the visits of many missionaries. From an early stage, we felt called to take the gospel to Mario’s homeland and people.

Our Missionary Call

Early on, we started reading missionary stories, including the autobiographies of Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China, and George Müller, who cared for thousands of orphans in England. These stories had a profound influence on our lives and we desired to follow in their footsteps.

Despite their great needs, both of these men had resolved to never raise funds or share their needs with others. They wanted to demonstrate God’s faithfulness to meet the needs of those who wait upon Him in prayer. This was the cry of our heart as well.

Hands hold a colorful world globe while a note labeled “Italy” is placed in front, evoking travel, geography, and international adventure.

Our Heart’s Cry

Inspired by these great missionary tales, we set out with two cries in our hearts. Firstly, we longed to give our all for the One who gave everything for us.

Secondly, we longed to reach Italy for Christ, for it is a needy land of searching hearts.

Even now, many years later, while serving as pastors in the Abruzzo region, these cries remain at the forefront of what we desire most.

A red heart and handwritten Bible verse, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” rest beside a Bible on wood.

Ours is a Story of God’s Faithfulness

Following the convictions of Müller and Taylor we also resolved to never raise support or share our needs. God has met our every need through the years, often answering even before we called out. He is a faithful Father who always takes care of His children.

We have lived in some rather unusual dwellings, including a tent, a camper infested with tarantulas, and a former chicken coop that was so cozy the chickens kept coming back!

We’ve experienced both lean times and times of plenty. Through it all we have learned countless lessons, especially that God is faithful and He is good at all times!

Mario and Sheila's two children stand outside a blue tarp tent beside a laundry rack, evoking a candid, warm scene in a rustic outdoor encampment.
Our tent
Vintage family photo: Sheila and her two children pose beside a bunk bed in a cozy bedroom, with a checkered table and animal poster.
Ex chicken coop
Black-and-white rural scene with laundry hanging between trees, a caravan trailer, and a quiet yard conveying a nostalgic, peaceful mood.
Spider-infested camper

Our years here

Since coming to know the Lord in 1982, we have had the privilege of serving in various capacities including pastorates, church planting, drug rehab, refugee work, childrens’ and youth ministires, and prison ministry.

Above all, we have been blessed to witness the hearts and lives of men, women, and children transformed through the Gospel and the awesome love, power, and grace of God!

  • Mario and Sheila are smiling and embracing in a tiled kitchen. Mario has a mustache and is wearing a red shirt, and Sheila is wearing glasses. They are in a warm and joyful mood.
    Our first Italian apartment
  • Group of people sit in a circle outdoors at night, listening to Mario read the Bible in a historic courtyard with flowers and stone walls.
    Street meeting in the hometown
  • Mario speaks at a church lectern to seated attendees, with drums and guitar nearby. The wall reads “Dio è amore,” (God is love), conveying a warm, communal tone.
    Mario preaching in the home town
  • Mario speaks at an outdoor church meeting to seated attendees, with trees and blue chairs in the background, conveying an encouraging, uplifting tone.
    Mario preaching
  • Mario and Sheila pray for new pastors during an ordination service in church.
    Ordaining pastors
  • Sheila, with other church members, distributing Christian literature at an outdoor book table.
    Book table evangelism
  • Mario and Sheila taking a selfie in Mario's hometown in Italy, with lush green trees in the background.
    In the hometown
  • When we lived near Switzerland
  • Tony and Kathy Peaks, Mario and Sheila's pastors in the USA posing in an outdoor scene.
    Our pastors in Virginia
  • Mario in a peach polo shirt and Sheila in a black and white patterened top pose for an impromptu and joyful selfie.
    Us in our Abruzzo church
  • Mario, wearing
    In the hometown
  • Mario and Sheila wearing summery clothes pose close together on Rome's Spanish Steps.
    On Rome’s Spanish steps
  • Mario in a green t-shirt leans over to kiss Sheila, long hair flowing down her back, in front a medieval castle with hills in the background.
    While pastoring in Lazio
  • Mario and Sheila pose on a Venetian bridge, surrounded by historic buildings and canals. It's a warm, relaxed travel portrait in Italy.
    A visit to Venice
  • An audience gathers in a bright church hall as Mario presents a young couple's newborn baby to the seated congregation during a baby presentation.
    Baby presentation in Abruzzo

Mission Italia is a ministry of Open Door Church, Suffolk Virginia.
We thank them and our Pastors Tony and Kathy Peaks for their faithful support of this work over the years. We could not have done it without them. And we also want to thank the many believers: here in Italy, in the USA, and from around the world who have shown their love and support in countless ways. You all a vital part of our work here in Italy. We thank God for each and every one of you.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13