Thank you for your prayers for us over these
past several weeks. We are
thankful for the opportunity that we had this summer to be back in the USA for
a mini-furlough and time of home ministry. It was good to see many of our family and friends as well as
a good number of our faithful ministry partners. Since it was for such a short time, we weren’t able to get
to see everyone we would have liked to see, so we plan to repeat the trip in
two years and hope to continue connecting with more of our partners. The Lord answered prayer for safety and
gave grace to our three children and ourselves as we drove over 8,000 miles to
see churches and individuals in MI, OH, PA and NY.
On August 27, we said tearful goodbyes to members of our
families in Grand Rapids and boarded the plane to return to Bordeaux.
Upon our return, as our ministries picked back
up our children also began their new school year. As we reconnect with people around us, God is giving us
opportunities to shine His light where it is so lacking but desperately
needed. Here, our church plant
moved to a new location at the end of August where we have better parking and
bus-line access.
I have been going through some difficulties
related to my health during the past couple of weeks. It began with pain in my stomach on September 5, which
worsened as the day and night wore on.
By midnight, the pain had become almost unbearable in any position and
lead to my fainting on the floor in the hallway. Cherith called the number for the emergency doctor who came
to the house. His exam included an
EKG and he didn’t feel I needed to be hospitalized. He gave me some pain meds and suggested I could have had
some kind of intestinal virus. The
sharp pain lessened after that, but I have continued to have low pain and
limited energy since. This and the
encouragement of a number of our friends on Facebook prompted us to seek
further for answers. Our family
doctor prescribed a blood test and an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed everything as it should be but the
blood test had a couple of elevated numbers, which the doctor said could
indicate the presence of a tropical parasite (Africa 2008, Cambodia 2010). He prescribed some follow-up tests and
we are now waiting on those results.
Praise
for:
- God’s blessings and care during our
mini-furlough this past summer, for safety over the many miles and a safe
return to France.
- the prayer warriors and financial supporters
that God has lead to partner with our family to help bring His light to this
country.
- the visits that we have had since we got back
to France, including with the family of T, whose cancer is progressing. Praise for his son A’s interest in the
Gospel, and for the opportunity to share the Gospel with him again.
- C and Y who began attending our church here
after we left for the USA. Praise
for our new location and that we were able to produce new flyers and signs with
the new address.
Pray
for:
- God to send more laborers into His harvest
field in France.
- the hearts of our unsaved contacts to be
opened to the Gospel, and that God will guide and bless in our future contacts. Pray especially that Christ will work
in T’s heart while there is still time.
- K, the young man who came to our church in
April from Paris, whose internship is ending this month. Pray that God will provide him with
work in this area so that he can continue his involvement in our church, if it
is God’s will.
- the results of my tests to show clearly what caused
my stomach pain, and that God would guide in any treatment necessary.
- all who will be involved in preparing a
Christmas Cantata as a joint evangelistic effort for our church and three
sister churches in the Bordeaux area.
Weekly practice begin this Saturday under the direction of our
colleague, Bob Bixby in the Pessac church.
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