Praise and Prayer October 31, 2014

We rejoice in the way God blessed the church retreat this past weekend, with 104 people taking part from four different churches.  This was the third time for our family to take part in this annual retreat since we moved to the Bordeaux area in early 2012, but it marked the 20^th time for this annual retreat to take place since it began in 1994 as a one church retreat under the pastoral leadership of Charles Anderson.  Each year the retreat has been held at the historic Chateau de Peyreguilhot, which dates from the early 18^th century and is owned by a Christian organization.  Since that year, three other churches have been started, of which the one here in Saint Medard is the newest.  What a blessing to have Charles and Babs Anderson come back from the USA for this anniversary as one of the keynote speakers.  We had special opportunities to reflect on God’s faithfulness through the years.

It has been a very long time since we have been with a group of that many believers for a service and our hearts were encouraged by the good fellowship, excellent Bible messages from our speakers and a wonderful loving spirit in the serving, game times and meals.  The children had a great time of singing, learning, making crafts and playing with a nice group of other kids as they benefitted from the special program that was prepared for them.  The Lord blessed us with beautiful weather in the low 70s for the weekend.

As the retreat ended we were reminded of God’s goodness once again.  Before we left to head for home someone observed that our right rear tire was flat.  Instead of having a surprise flat tire along the fast lane where the speed limit is 80 mph, or even worse have a blowout, we were able to get the tire change with plenty of help and encouragement from our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We had a slow but safe trip home on smaller country roads.

Praise for:

- a very good church retreat this past weekend with four Bordeaux area churches, and for the various ways God blessed.

- safety in travelling for all of those coming and going from the retreat.

- the email contact we had this week from someone who is interested in coming to our church.

- the prayer warriors and financial supporters that make it possible for us to be serving the Lord here in France.

Pray for:

- lost souls (M, C, F, P).  Pray that God will give us a good opportunity to talk with Mr. P. and his wife in the near future about the Gospel.

- two-year-old Timothée Letellier as he continues treatment for leukemia.

- the next English Connection scheduled for Novembe 14.

- good responses to invitations to church as well as to the English Connection.

- Pray that God will open a door and provide for our church to have our own meeting place with a permanent address, rather than continuing to rent only Sunday mornings.

Praise and Prayer October 23, 2014

Much has happened this month and God has been answering prayer.  We want to say thank you to all who have been praying and give you an update on what is happening.  After no one showed up for our first English Connection on October 10, we moved it to a later time that works better with some of the kids, especially those from Adrianna’s class last year who are now in middle school.  The children are on their first two-week vacation so the next EC is set for November 14. 

At church we welcomed a first time visitor October 5 who had received a church flyer in her mailbox a few weeks earlier.  Since she left quickly after the service we wondered if we’d ever see her again.  Then this past Sunday, she came again and visited with several of us.  Pray for C. that she will continue to come to church and that the Lord will work in her life as well as her husband’s. 

Little Timothee Letellier came through his month of intensive chemo treatments but finished with his white cell counts dangerously low (aplasia).  He caught a virus and was hospitalized with a fever on October 12 and was given antibiotics to fight the virus.  The next Sunday, he was released, but with his white cells still very low, he quickly picked up something else.  Although his white cell count was increasing slowly, he reentered the hospital this past Monday evening.  By Tuesday, his white cell count was high enough to go back home, so the family is once again reunited.  They have all been through a very difficult month, but testify to God’s sufficient grace and their trust in Him.

Praise for:

- C. attending church two times, and for several other good contacts.

- the safe return of the Christys and an encouraging visit from our BMM administrator.

- a recent “chance” meeting with Mr. P. at the pharmacy, and for the interest he expressed in talking about the things in a booklet I gave to him over a year ago.

- God’s help for Timothee Letellier and his family through a very tough month.

- God’s protection for His people in CAR despite renewed fighting in the capital Bangui and continued fighting upcountry, including Bambari.

Pray for:

- lost souls (M, C, F, P).  Pray that God will give us a good opportunity to talk with Mr. P. and his wife in the near future about the Gospel.

- grace and healing for Timothée Letellier, and for his family during these challenging days.

- C. to keep coming to church and responses to invitations to church as well as the English Connection.

- Mrs. T. whose 84-year-old husband went to be with the Lord last week.  Pray for her children and grandchildren who are unsaved, or not walking with the Lord.

- the 20^th Annual Church retreat this weekend, October 24-26.  Our guest speaker is the retired pastor who began the retreat.  Charles and Babs Anderson, and their son Chad are here for two weeks to minister and connect with people they have ministered to and prayed for over the years.

Praise and prayer September 30, 2014

Thank you for praying for us.  Our needs for strength, grace, wisdom, patience and perseverance are met as our Father provides these daily needs, often in answer to specific prayer.  We are so thankful for His restoration of Cherith’s health after the nasty cold/flu that she had come down with at the time of our last update.  Josiah continues to suffer with a runny nose, but Adrianna and Caleb have both gotten over the colds that they had.  The sharing of germs is definitely not our favorite part of school life.

Praise for:

- healing for Cherith and the children after the flu and colds they had.

- the time that Timothee’s grandfather from the north was with his family here in Bordeaux and came to our services before he returned home this past week.

- several good contacts that we are having as we invite people to the English outreach, for some good contacts that J. has had at her university and for good contacts that E. is having in her neighborhood.  The Letellier family has had more opportunities to reach out to families of cancer patients, including one who lost their small child this month.

- the technology that enabled us to meet to pray and plan with our teammates over Skype, though they are home in the US for a brief visit and ministry.

Pray for:

- God’s continued work in the hearts of M., C., and F. as well as for Timothee’s grandparents.

- Timothée Letellier as he has begun more intensive chemo treatments which will contiue through the end of October.  Pray for grace and for healing.

- the preparations for the first English outreach, which will be held twice a month beginning October 10.  Pray for a good response from those who are being invited.

- wisdom and strength for our various ministries and obligations. 

- our children as they face various challenges with their schooling.  Pray for spiritual protection for them, especially for Caleb as his history material this year is all about prehistoric time and evolution.

Prayer and Prayer

Time marches on and the school year is now in full swing.  I’m so thankful we serve an all-powerful, infinite God.  We are constantly faced with our own limitations when it comes to time, strength, even health.  Yet, to know that God gives from His infinite supply of grace and strength especially in response to prayer and faith encourages us to keep praying – and to keep encouraging you to pray for us and for His work here in this corner of His world.

This week marks one year since we began regular services in the new church plant here in Saint Medard.  We are thankful for all that God has done for us in bringing us through this first year, for the thousands of church and event flyers that have been given out, for each and every contact that has been made, and for the visitors that have come through the doors of the church or our home.  This month, we have seen the return of a couple that had begun with us, then left in January.  Their faithful return would be a boost to our small group, bringing some stability as an older French couple.  We have prayed that the Lord would send us a younger French family with a burden for reaching the people of this community.  Our teammates, the Christys, continue to wait on the Lord for a buyer for their home, which would enable them to move to Saint Medard.

Timothee Letellier is doing well with continued chemo treatments, and is anticipating a stronger, more difficult period beginning in October.  His grandparents returned to China, but his grandpa on his father’s side (P.) has come from Reims to help with the children for a few weeks.  Due to his leukemia and treatments, Timothee is unable to attend daycare as he did last year, which complicates things for his parents who are both working.  They have adjusted their schedules this month but don’t know how this will affect their jobs.  We believe God is working in the hearts of these grandparents.  P. who has a Catholic background and does not know the Lord, has been in church the last two Sundays with evident interest.  The Gospel was clearly presented in the Bible studies and messages.  P. has been exposed to the Gospel in the past (in Reims) but has up till now not been able to see his need for repentance and faith. 

We have not seen M. return to our services yet but she is starting up the weekly English/Bible story class with Cherith.  She was unable to come last week as her sister was in a car accident.  Cherith has come down with a miserable cold/flu over this weekend so I don’t know if she’ll even be up to the class Wednesday morning.

The kids went back to school the first of this month, giving us renewed contacts with families in the community.  Preparations continue for the English Connection outreach set to begin October 10 in our home.  When we have the flyer ready, we will begin to invite contacts and friends here in Saint Medard.  Adding this new ministry to our very full plates is a bit daunting but we believe the Lord would use this to help us to connect to more of the people in our community that need to hear the Gospel. 

Praise for:

- the visitors that we have seen in church and for the return of the Christian couple. 

- the arrival of J. a university student coming to Bordeaux from Reims for graduate studies, and for her presence in our services these last two weeks.  












- the opportunity to see and host three of our Reims church family who moved J. down from Reims.  These dear people continue to be prayer warriors for us and this ministry.
- a good beginning of the school year for all three of our kids, including Adrianna who is now homeschooling (6^th grade).

Pray for:

- the people who are coming to church to keep coming!  Pray that we will see others respond to verbal invitations as well as to the flyers as we continue the mailbox campaign. 

- Timothée Letellier and his leukemia treatments.  Pray that God will open the hearts of his grandparents to receive the Gospel through faith. 

- Pray that God will continue to work in M. and her sister’s lives.

- the Lord’s guidance for J. regarding her involvement in our church here, as distance definitely creates a challenge. 

- the preparations and inviting for the English Connection starting next month.  Pray for grace and strength for us and the Christys as we spearhead this initiative.
- peace and stability to return to Bambari and all of the CAR.  Fighting this month at the Ngakobo sugar plantation/factory caused much injury and many deaths including some believers.  We are thankful for the report that our pastor there was spared.

Praise and Prayer

Whether or not we are ready, the summer here is drawing quickly to a close.  We are grateful for your prayers over this summer and praise the Lord for the way He is working here.  One way the Lord surprised us was in the opportunity that He gave us to share the Gospel at the end of the year Barbecue party.  Just before the meal, I was asked to give a short speech and then pray before the meal began.  My silent prayer was “Help, Lord!”  We were impressed by the silence and attention of the 30 plus adults and children seated around the table.  Then during the meal there were several more opportunities to share as we were asked a number of questions, some specifically regarding our faith and the Gospel. 

Activities this summer have included a weekend trip across France for my cousin’s wedding, a 2-day trip to Paris to renew Josiah’s passport at the American Embassy and hosting a teenage girl from a French Christian home who is with us this week.  We picked up a nasty stomach flu on our trip to Paris and spent a week recuperating appetites and strength.  

As time and energy have permitted we have been working on some indoor and outdoor projects here at home.  One of those was completing the sanding and refinishing of our staircase that we’d begun last fall but never had the time to complete.  Another has been working in the yard and garden.

At church, despite the absences due to travelling members, we were so encouraged two Sundays ago when the Lord brought not only M, the lady that has been studying English and the Bible with Cherith, but also her two sons and her sister.  This was the first time for them to be at our church, except for M who had come for the Christmas program.  Her sister and her son listened intently to the message from Galatians 1 on believing the pure Gospel, while M accompanied her 3 year old to the junior church class which Cherith taught.  They seemed interested in returning and we pray they will.

Praise for:

- the great opportunity to share the Gospel at the end of the year Barbecue party for the Soccer club.

- Timothée Letellier’s release from the hospital in early July and for the good month that he has had while the chemo has been lighter for a few weeks.  He has regained quite a bit of strength. 

- the healing the Lord gave our family and for the health our family is enjoying.

- safety over many miles travelled and for special opportunities to serve the Lord this summer.

- the Lord bringing M and her family to church.

- opportunities to connect with the people of our neighborhood, including a supper invitation we received from one of our neighbors last week.

Pray for:

- opportunities to water the seed that has been sown and for opportunities to keep planting the seed. 

- Timothée Letellier as he will begin a more intensive phase of chemo the beginning of September.

- our teammates, the Christys, as they have put their house on the market.  Pray that the Lord would provide the right buyer in His time and that He would lead them to just the right place in Saint Medard where they will have further opportunities to reach out to the lost of this community.
- peace and stability to return in the CAR.  While some of the violence as subsided, the two rebel militia groups continue to battle for control, bringing death or suffering to the rest of the people.  Word came from a Bambari pastor this week that our five churches there have been meeting on Sundays, though many people are displaced, including some of the pastors.

Praise and Prayer

June turned out to be quite a month for our family and we are thankful to be arriving at the end!  The Lord has answered prayer in so many ways this month and we are so thankful for all He has done as well as for the prayers of God’s people. 

Little Timothée Letellier has handled the weeks of isolation and responded to the chemotherapy at the hospital very well.  His grandparents from China have been a wonderful help to the family.  This week Timothée was able to move out of isolation into a regular single room where he will remain as he continues chemotherapy.  Blood and bone marrow tests have shown that the treatments have been successful thus far.  His parents testify of God’s grace and their confidence in Him and desire to be used of God to bring His light and hope to those suffering around them.

The Lord gave a very good response to the invitations for the English adventure club outreach that we held on June 18 here in our home.  Our teammates, the Christys, and the F.O.F. team joined us in praying, preparing and executing the outreach.  Based on the reactions of the parents and the kids present, it looks like there is enough interest in this type of a weekly club this fall to make it a real possibility.  It is hard to describe the joy that we had to be able to share the Biblical account of Creation to these adults and children, most of whom had never heard it before. 

The F.O.F. team completes their five weeks of interning with several of our teammates across the country this week, and is returning one by one to the US.  Last week they helped us with our mailbox campaign, getting church flyers into the mailboxes of every home in Saint-Medard-en-Jalles.  We covered some good ground with them and only have about ¼ of the homes left. 

Praise for:

- God’s hand on Timothée Letellier’s life and the chemotherapy treatments he has received.  Praise too for the safe and timely arrival of his grandparents from China and for the precious help they are to the family.

- the opportunity to share God’s truth at the English club and for the very good response of those who participated. 

- the help of the F.O.F. team this summer and for the various churches and ministries they have been involved in including ministries in new areas, helping with established churches and helping at the Bible institute.

- the many opportunities the Lord is giving us at the end of this school year to connect with people and invite them to church, including at my roller blading club and Caleb’s soccer club.

Pray for:

- the continued contacts that we will be having this summer.  We have had good contacts with two of our neighbors in the past two weeks.

- Timothée Letellier and his family as he completes the hospital treatments and looks forward to being released from the hospital to continue treatment from home.

- God’s protection for our F.O.F. team as they return home and His blessing and direction for their future involvement in ministry.  As many on our small France team near retirement, pray that God will sent more laborers into His harvest fields in France.
- peace and stability to return in the CAR.  Our former hometown and base of ministry in Bambari is just this week experiencing great insecurity and thousands have fled their homes.  More than 50 have been killed since Monday.

Pray for Timothée!

The F.O.F. team is now into their second week in France.  One of the things they helped our church with last week was distributing flyers in mailboxes and at the market place in our town on Saturday.  Then on Sunday, they were involved in our morning services and helped with the children’s ministry.  Steve shared his testimony and all three sang a special number.  What an encouragement it is to see three young people preparing to serve the Lord in missions who have a clear burden for the people of France.  This week they have been helping some of our teammates, Jean-Jacques and Valerie Cheloudtchenko, near the Spanish border.

Our small church family was hit hard this week as the Letellier family has dealt with the hospitalization of their 22 month-old son, Timothée, and his unexpected diagnosis of leukemia.  This family is the one that moved to Bordeaux from Reims last year to help us with the new church plant in Saint Medard en Jalles.  Both Jean-Charles and Longjia are first generation Christians, so do not have family members that can encourage them in the Lord.  In fact neither of their families are even close enough to help in a physical way either, since Jean-Charles’ family is in Reims and Longjia’s parents are in China.  The Christys and us are trying to do everything we can to help.  In His wisdom and foreknowledge the Lord had already directed in the timing of Longjia’s parents coming from China for a visit, as they are scheduled to arrive in Bordeaux next Saturday, June 7.  Just this week, they received their French visas, which was a real answer to prayer.  Both Jean-Charles and Longjia have testified to the peace that the Lord has given to them as they have adjusted to this unexpected change, and their trust remains securely in their Lord.  They have asked that we share this need and ask for prayer, and are so grateful for your prayers for them and their children, Timothée, and 3-year-old Louis Gabriel.

Praise for:

- the work the F.O.F. team has done since they arrived in France and for the way the Lord used them here in Saint Medard last week.

- the strength and peace the Lord has given to Jean-Charles and Longjia Leterllier as they face this storm. 

- God’s timing in bringing Longjia’s parents to France at a time that their presence is greatly needed and for the granting of their French visas.

- our wedding anniversary on May 26 and for the privilege God has given us to serve the Him together these past 13 years.

Pray for:

- Timothée Letelllier as he remains hospitalized and receives chemotherapy for leukemia during the next 6 to 8 weeks.  Pray for strength for his family and that the Lord will bring his grandparents to faith in Christ.

- our church family as our small body is affected by the challenge the Letellier family is facing.  The need to be with their son will surely have an effect on their faithful presence and participation.

- preparation for a special English adventure club outreach that we are planning to have in our home on June 18.  Pray for a good response to invitations.

- peace and stability to return in the CAR .  Our former co-workers, John and Paula Dannenberg arrived back in Bangui this week to continue their ministry.