Welcome to Aurelio & Esta’s journey

Hey! We’re Esta and Aurelio Bernardini

We met in October 2014 as the Lord answered our prayerful desire to each walk with a spirit filled spouse. Esta had never prayed before, she asked God to choose her husband, with two specific details, he must be ‘a good Christian (whatever that meant!) and Sicilian’.

At the same time Aurelio was declaring to the Lord that ‘if the wife that God had prepared for him was ready, then so was he’. We met a few weeks later at a charity event washing dishes together. Aurelio is Sicilian … and a born again, Holy Spirit filled follower of Jesus Christ! In April 2016, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Esta in a powerful encounter, He baptised her with His love and the Holy Spirit and wrote her name in the Lamb’s Book of Life!

  Following the death of Esta’s mum, Anita, in 2022, the Lord began to prepare us for our next chapter.

The Lord spoke that He would be sending us to Esta’s ancestral land of Salento in Puglia, Italy, where Esta had ministered to her mum before she gave her life to Jesus and went to be with Him. 

We knew this was God’s will as Aurelio had zero desire to return to Italy and the Lord’s word was being confirmed through the body of Christ, from Bradford and America to Bangladesh! Jesus began to reveal the desires of His heart, a home to serve the spiritually poor, bringing deliverance and healing, and a place of worship and prayer that would be genuine, raw and true.

A young Anita
on the Land near Lecce

Anita’s Testimony
Away from the darkness towards the light

  As our love story began so did the Lord’s. Filled with trials and miracles, the Lord began a work of restoration in both of us that sees much personal deliverance and healing.

We desire to see the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth bring the same salvation, healing and freedom to all. Our miraculous meeting washing cups and dishes was a beautiful foreshadowing of the deliverance and healing ministry the Lord has blessed   us with.

Redemption

Our preparation saw a period in which Aurelio lost his hearing and was deaf for several months in 2023. This was a difficult trial. The doctors at Bradford Royal Infirmary insisted on immediate but risky surgery, Aurelio refused and stood on his promise of healing from the Lord. One Sunday at home in 2024, Aurelio was miraculously healed as the Lord spoke to him and his ears exploded open, first one, then the other. All glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.
This trial ended with so much joy and an incredible testimony but also an invitation as we saw God move and send us to minister overseas for the first time at Chiesa Agape in Milan. The Lord told us that this season would require us to step out in faith as we leave the UK to fulfil His calling. He nudged us to reach out and share His (and our) story as He uproots and establishes us.

Ministering at
Chiesa Agape Milan
Ministering at
Chiesa Agape Milan
The land near Lecce where The Lord desires a Ministry building and prayer and worship house

  The Lord spoke for over a year that we needed to start a Go Fund Me page, helping to provide funds for transport – specifically a van for travelling to Italy and the ministry, equipment and resources to set up once we arrive.
A lot of paperwork is needed before we can build on the land he is preparing for us.
Ownership of the land needs dividing and a new building constructed to serve as an outreach centre and prayer house.
This is the long-term vision the Lord has shown us He desires to build. We continue to seek The Lord’s direction and heart in all matters.