One month a year, we like to use a prayer letter for a family update because, one, having family updates every month could take away from the ministry vision, and two, because many of you asked!

To start, Jenn and I celebrated 6 years of marriage on May 29^th! Thanks to some close friends, we had a fancy rooftop dinner (above picture) to celebrate. In October, we will also celebrate for our 11-year dating anniversary. Yes, that’s right: we are high school sweethearts! Back in high school, I was a shy boy around Jenn. Jenn, however, was outgoing and vibrant. Eventually I worked up the courage to ask her to be my lady, and we began dating, staying together through college and marrying in 2010. Pictured left is a 10-year throwback to our high school graduation. Look at my deadly sideburns!

As for the niños (children in Spanish), oh boy how they are growing! Gabriel (3), our youngest, is a caring, intelligent and social butterfly. He loves to hang out with mom and dad more than he likes getting new toys. And he says the darndest things! Recently, he asked Jenn if he could “go into the TV to play with Mickey Mouse.” On another occasion, he told us randomly, “I’m not big yet. I’m not Mr. Gabriel Sforza.” Hopefully that gives you a glimpe of his wild personality! Gabriel is also excited to start Pre-K 3 in September. We thankfully got him into a great public school in Jersey City.

Gianluca (5 in August) is loving the summer. We take day trips to the lake, our local town pool and to nearby sprinklers. Perhaps as much as he likes climbing, he loves water! As many of you know, Gianluca is on the Autism Spectrum. Autism is a developmental disorder that for Gianluca mainly affects his cognitive, social and speech development.

While he has a long way to go, because of your prayers, the right private therapy and his school’s special-needs program, he has made some encouraging progress. Although he cannot have a conversation with you like a typical 5-year-old, these last 6 months, he began responding “no” and “yes” appropriately! This was huge, as it helps us understand his needs a little more. He also finally got potty-trained this July 2016. A big concern of ours was that perhaps he’d never understand and therefore use the potty, but he does! Another praise is that Gianluca will stay at his current school for special-needs Kindergarten in the fall. We were so anxious that the district would move him, but we prayed and fought and God made a way. He’s done so well at this particular school. His teacher the last two years happened to be a Christian!

Please continue to pray for us! We covet your prayers. Please let us know how we can pray for you. We mean that! Specifically, pray that our boys would have great experiences in school this September. Pray also for us as we decide whether we would need a second car. Once the school year starts and both kids are in school, we’ll have more life details to workout with pickups and dropoffs. Having one car has worked well for us, so this is sort of a big decision that we want the Lord’s leading on. Most importantly, pray that Jesus would remain everything to us individually and as a family. Thank you!