We are a family-based ministry. Manuela and Vincenzo (aka, Vince) are mom and dad. Then we have Cristina, Salvo, and Emma. All together we are “The Russos” ☺️
Manuela and Vince are both originally from Naples, Italy. However, they moved to the UK between 2008 (Vince) and 2010 (Manuela), where they lived for nearly 15 years. To this day, the UK is like home to them, and it holds a special place in their hearts. After all, it was there that they found their Christian faith, decided to get married, and started a family.
During their time in the UK, after the first few years of Christian life, they felt called to return to Italy to serve God. This calling would later be fulfilled when they moved to Tuscany, where they now live with their three children.
Manuela holds a master’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literature, whilst Vince has a master’s degree in Computer Science and is in the process of completing his MA in Biblical Exegesis and Hermeneutics. Cristina (9) and Salvo (8) are both in primary school (years 4 and 3), whereas Emma (3) has only just started preschool.
What’s our service?
Our service to God for Italy has been developing slowly over the years, all the way back when we started blogging on Per Grazia, now part of our larger ministry, Gratia Gratis, which focuses on the edification of the Church through the exaltation of the unadulterated free grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Our ministry can be summarised by the acrostic TELL: Teach, Exalt, Love, and Live (out). Our desire is to exalt God through teaching, loving and living out Christ’s grace as well as the full counsel of Scripture.
What do we do?
Our current work includes:
- translating books into Italian
- writing original content in Italian
- preaching and teaching (both in our local congregation in Castelfiorentino, Italy and in other churches)
- learn together with our community how to live by grace and faith every day.
- make our home central to our ministry, creating a place where one can fellowship, learn, and come to rest.
We have received some hard and needed lessons between 2020 and 2023, which have awakened our desire to truly reflect our understanding of God’s grace in our daily lives.