Praise and Prayer for December 19, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008
The Lord has answered your prayers this past week, and we can tell that you were praying! First of all, the Choir Christmas party here in our home on Saturday went very well. It was a time of encouragement and bonding as we ate, sang and prayed together before laughing through a gift exchange game. Everyone seemed to have a delightful time together. Secondly, the Christmas program at our church was well attended and the presentations were well done. We were proud of the great job done by the children as they recited their verse and sang two songs. The choir and the Sango Bible study group both presented and did well. Please continue to pray that those who attended who have yet to make a decision for Christ, will consider what they heard last Sunday and take that step of faith. This coming Sunday we will be hosting a Christmas party here in our home for the Sango Bible study group. There will be some guests attending, so pray that the Gospel will be made clear as we share a film about Christmas.

We have been able to hand out some of the goodies we made to Adrianna’s teachers and a few fellow parents. Included in the package was a Christmas card including a CD of Christmas stories read along with Scripture and the plan of salvation. Please pray as we continue to pass a few more out that people will be receptive to the Gospel and willing to discuss what they hear.

Praise for:
- good fellowship together with the choir last Saturday.
- good attendance for the Christmas Program at church.
- God’s Gift to the world! Praise God for gifts and tracts that have been given out to those in our community.
- Caleb’s recovery after acute bronchitis and an asthma attack last weekend.

Pray for:
- the Sango Bible study group Christmas party and that visitors’ hearts will be open to Christ.
- Jonathan as he was diagnosed with shingles this week and is suffering.
- receptiveness as we share with neighbors the true meaning of Christmas.

Praise and Prayer for December 12, 2008

Thank you for your prayers as we face many opportunities during these very busy days. Along with a piano lesson, Sunday school preparation, cleaning house, keeping Caleb profitably busy, and having a choir member and another family stop by to practice for Sunday’s Christmas program, today we are also preparing for the choir party tomorrow evening. The choir Christmas party will be here at our house Saturday evening for a dinner and time of celebration of God’s Gift. Sunday afternoon will be the annual Christmas program at church with refreshments to follow. Each group in the church will take part including our SS children, our choir and the Sango group. Many have been invited to this celebration, including teachers and friends from Adrianna’s school. As usual space will be a problem, so please pray the Lord will give special grace and help the message of the Savior born in Bethlehem to be clear to all. There has been 90 or more present each of the past 4 Sundays.

There are still several goodies to confection or bake for the Christmas parties and gifts that we are preparing to share with friends, students, neighbors and school contacts. Please pray that the Lord will open hearts to the Gift of Jesus this Christmas through these special opportunities and that He will give us grace, health and strength to keep up with all of these opportunities. Pray that God will use us and that we will ourselves be refreshed and blessed.

Praise for:
- good attendance at church these past four Sundays.
- God’s Gift to the world! Praise God for invitations that have been given to many to come to the church Christmas program.

Pray for:
- the Lord’s help to keep up with all of the special opportunities this month.
- God to bless each participant in the Christmas program on Sunday and that visitors’ hearts will be open to Christ.

Praise and Prayer for December 5, 2008

We hope all of the College students had a refreshing break last weekend. Reims has begun to celebrate the Christmas season with the opening of its annual Christmas Market (Marché de Noël), which ranks in France’s top 10. With the holiday spirit around us, we pray that God will help His children here and around the world to keep our focus on Christ and use us to help point others to Him.

This week we have been able to complete the Sango Hymnal (Bia ti Sepala Nzapa) project and get it shipped off to the printer in Ann Arbor, MI. Since the printed stock in the CAR ran out last year, we have been trying to fit this project in with our other ministries so that it can be reprinted. Praise God, it is finished and should be printed by the end of January. Then it will need to be shipped overseas. There are many in the CAR waiting eagerly for this tool for ministry. We too are looking forward to having it available for our Sango work with Central Africans here in Reims!

Praise for:
- good attendance at both the French and Sango services on Sunday.
- finishing up the corrections for the Sango hymnal.
- protection on the roads to and from Algrange on Wednesdays, especially as we face rain, snow and the return trip after dark.

Pray for:
- our church here as it prepares for the annual election of deacons in January. Pray for God’s will and guidance in this process.
- Sylvia Christy, our coworker in Bordeaux, France, who has just been diagnosed and is being treated for cancer.
- preparations as they are made for the Christmas program and special outreaches this month.
- the Lord’s financial provision for us as there are special expenses this month with the Christmas celebrations/outreaches and gifts.

Praise and Prayer for November 28, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving Day yesterday! Although France does not celebrate this American holiday, we have been able to celebrate with fellow Americans as well as with the students at the Institute. What a meaningful holiday in which to reflect on God’s goodness to us over this past year.

Thank you for praying for the ministry here this past Sunday. The Lord answered prayer! God gave special health and strength to all of the students from the Institute who did a great job despite colds, etc. that are going around. David C. did an excellent job leading the people in a time of worship to the Lord and Joel H. delivered a challenging message after the choir’s presentation. Our small auditorium was packed as 114 people squeezed in. God gave special grace to the church family, with members welcoming and seating, even giving their seats for guests. After the service and during the fellowship dinner, many of the folks shared that the students’ ministry among them Sunday had challenged them. Pray for our church choir members as we prepare for the Christmas program Dec. 14. Several told us that the Institute choir’s presentation was very motivating to them!

Praise for:
- answers to prayer for the special Sunday at our church with the Bible Institute here to minister.
- the opportunity to work with these students on a weekly basis.
- our gas prices which are now only about $6 per gallon (down from $10 this summer).

Pray for:
- the preparations for a special Christmas celebrations/outreach for the Sango Bible Study. The current BMM Advance publication contains a brief highlight of our outreach to Central Africans in Reims!
- wisdom as we work with the vocal groups at the institute with fluctuating numbers. Each of the wives who are students are expecting!
- additional financial support. We are currently at 80% of our monthly need.

Praise and Prayer for November 21, 2008

Sunday, November 23 is nearly here, a day for which we have long been praying and preparing. On October 17, our Praise and Prayer told about the Bible Institute in Algrange and our involvement there. This Sunday our two primary ministries will intersect as the student body of the Institute will come to minister in the Baptist Church of Reims. The students will minister through the entire service, including the preaching. Pray for the choir and ensemble as they present four songs before the message, that the Lord will give peace and recollection of what we’ve practiced. Pray for us as we lead and accompany.

Pray for grace and wisdom for seating in our small church building. Last week there were 92 in church with at least 15 absent. Sunday, there will be at least 20 from the Institute added to the number present from the church. Our building seats 80 comfortably. Pray! Pray too for each one attending, saved and unsaved, that hearts will be receptive to the message through testimony, song and preaching. We are praying that the Lord will call out from this congregation some who would prepare to serve Him vocationally.

Praise for:
- a conference/ministry forum Jonathan was able to attend with Emmanuel on Monday in the Paris area.
- the student body at Algrange, for opportunities for training and for ministry.
- the opportunity to work with these students on a weekly basis.
- a number of members who have volunteered to help with the nursery ministry this month and next.

Pray for:
- the Institute choir and ensemble as they minister in our church this Sunday.
- open hearts among those in attendance at church on Sunday.
- Good health as the cold and flu make their rampant advancement through the Institute and schools at this time of year.

Praise and Prayer for November 14, 2008

We are so thankful for our children and for the opportunities of outreach that God has given to us through them. Adrianna is our vibrant five year old. She has had the opportunity last year and this year to attend the local pre-school and kindergarten, helping her to learn the French language and develop friendships with children and adults in our neighborhood. We see in her developing a love for others and a burden for their salvation. Adrianna has talked to her friends at school about God and we have encouraged her to continue to share with them as she has opportunity. She is learning to be more thoughtful of others, desiring that they see Christ’s love in her. She has been invited to several Birthday parties where her gifts include some kind of Bible storybook. Through Adrianna, we have had opportunities to befriend teachers and some of the parents through daily contact and involvement in the parent-teacher meetings.

Please pray for us that God would give us wisdom in reaching these parents and their children for Him. We pray that some of the children will be allowed to come to Sunday school with Adrianna some day and that the Lord will use this to reach the parents as well. At Christmas, we have a special opportunity to share a gift with some of these families and our neighbors with a message of God’s Gift to the world. Our Christmas program at church is a celebration of Christ’s birth as well as an outreach to the community (though space is a problem!). Adrianna will be singing at church in our Christmas program, and we pray some of her friends will be able to attend.

Praise for:
- our children and the doors they have opened in our ministry.
- relationships God has given us with parents and teachers from Adrianna’s school.
- Caleb’s improved health after a bout with the flu last weekend.

Pray for:
- the spiritual needs of families with whom we have contact.
- wisdom in sharing and ability to communicate the Good News.
- our Christmas program at church and that some of Adrianna’s friends would come.

Prayer and Praise for November 7, 2008

Some of the less acclaimed aspects of our ministry are the administrative and office responsibilities that we have. Communicating with prayer partners is at the top of this list, and is vital so that you are able to pray more effectively for us. Time is set aside regularly to write prayer letters and updates. We need prayer for guidance so our ministry, needs and praises are represented clearly. We have created a blog to make current prayer requests and praises available and are in the process of creating a website with more information about us and our ministry. We appreciate your prayers, as this is fairly new territory to us.

Aside from keeping our prayer partners and supporters informed about our ministry, there are several other reports that we must work with. Monthly expense reports submitted to our mission agency include ministry mileage and expense records with receipts, and are used to figure our income tax for the IRS. Our home office, our BMM France team and some supporting churches require detailed ministry reports annually, all in different formats. Several documents must be prepared annually for our foreign residency permits which we must renew each year with the French government.

Praise for the:
- prayer and financial supporters God has given us around the world.
- great job our youth did at the Bible quiz rally last weekend.
- refreshment students at the Bible Institute received on their week of vacation.
- good health the Lord has given us in the past few weeks. Caleb hasn’t had the coughing spells he had so commonly before.

Pray for:
- guidance as we communicate to our prayer partners.
- the spiritual needs of the Central African population living in Reims.
- the preparation by the Institute students as they prepare the music, testimonies, choir numbers, and the message to present here the 23rd.
-protection of our health as Adrianna is back in school where colds and other infections are easily passed from one child to another.