In three days, a team of 18 people will embark on an 11-day 2026 Winter Olympics mission trip to Italy.
During this trip, we’ll spend half our time in Northern Italy, in a small town called Arco. While we’re there, we’ll be staying with our dear friends, the Testa family. Our goal is to help them build connections, form new partnerships with other ministries, and share the gospel with anyone we come in contact with.
We’ll be doing this through a mix of:
- Street evangelism
- Intentional gospel conversations
- Two coordinated outreach concerts
One day, we’ll travel even further north to Predazzo, a town surrounded by the peaks of the Dolomites and home to the Ski Jumping Stadium.
On that day, we plan to work side by side with a Catholic church to engage locals and world travelers in meaningful gospel conversations.
Please pray that these interactions would be fruitful and lead to salvation. Also, pray that these partnerships would become deeply rooted, long-lasting relationships.
Milan Outreach
In the second half of our trip, we’ll shift to outreach in Milan, supported by the Lehtonen family and Frank and Pam Apisa.
Our mission remains the same: to share Christ at the Olympics, whether through concerts, conversations, or responding to new opportunities as they arise.
So flexibility and presence will be key as we seek to follow the Lord’s leading each day.
In fact, this Winter Olympics mission trip is a rare opportunity to share the gospel with people from every nation without ever leaving Italy.
Our purpose is to represent Christ clearly—encouraging and inspiring everyone we encounter through music, conversation, and fellowship.
Because I Get To
One simple answer to the question “Why are you going?” is this:
Because I get to.
One thing we can expect in the days leading up to a trip like this is spiritual attack. Our team has already been experiencing it, and we’ve surrounded one another in prayer.
In preparation, we’ve been reading a 31-day devotional called Gospel Meditations for Missions. I highly recommend it—it’s short, powerful, and has already been knitting our hearts together.
Today, on day two, I was reminded that it shouldn’t surprise us when we come under attack while pursuing the lost and sharing the gospel.
The reading focused on Paul’s adventures in Acts 17. Paul was constantly threatened and opposed by mere men, yet he never wavered. He stayed on mission.
After fleeing two towns and waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, Acts 17:16 says:
“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.”
In the same way, my prayer is that our hearts would be stirred—despite everything going on around us this week.
The War of Distraction
Thankfully, I don’t have a mob of men trying to break down my door this week.
But I do have something else:
A task list.
Distractions.
Mental noise.
That’s the war I feel right now.
I find it hard to focus on spending time with my family before leaving them for 11 days. My mind drifts instead of resting in the good the Lord is preparing for us in Italy. Sometimes I even lose sight of the amazing relationships God has already built within our team. And in the middle of it all, it can be difficult to feel fully joyful about what I’m about to embark on.
Don’t get me wrong—I need to honor what’s in front of me.
But those responsibilities can easily create a heart posture of:
“I have to…”
Instead of:
“I get to…”
And just like always, the Lord’s timing is perfect.
The second half of today’s reading addressed this exact attitude and struck my heart with conviction:
“Paul’s spiritual psychology is instructive. He’s not a reluctant ‘missionary’ on assignment. He’s what I call a ‘passionary.’ There’s a huge difference between mission and passion… Mission says, ‘I have to witness’; passion says, ‘I get to witness!’”
That hit me hard on this busy Monday morning.
Leaning Into Joy
There’s no denying there are a lot of tasks to check off before heading out on a mission trip. It’s easy to fixate on everything we have to do.
But I want to shift my focus in these final days.
I want to be thankful.
I love being on mission—especially on an international short-term trip like this.
I get fired up thinking about all the ways we get to experience the Lord at work:
- Within our own team
- Through conversations with strangers
- By relying on God in unfamiliar places
I think back to previous trips and how deeply the Lord has strengthened my faith through that kind of desperation and dependence.
So yes, my list is long this week.
But I’m going to lean into it with joy and gratefulness, remembering that the Lord has chosen me for this adventure.
With a provoked spirit,
Brent Kendall
Posted in Missions