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.