Praise and Prayer for January 30, 2009

It was encouraging this week to have all of our students present for our classes, practices and lessons on Wednesday at the Institute and Thursday here in Reims. Praise the Lord for good attendance on Sunday, both in the worship service and in Sunday school. There were five children present in each of the three classes. Jonathan was approached by two individuals about helping with Sunday school and one person offered to help Cherith with the 2s and 3s. We would like to see at least four on each class team so there can be a regular rotation of the teachers and no one would have to miss the preaching service too many times consecutively. This would also give possibilities for future teachers responsible for the classes.

The business meeting went well in the afternoon with 33 of 44 members present. There seemed to be a good spirit of unity overall, though a few individuals are dealing with a hurt. Pray that there will be forgiveness and that good fellowship would result with the whole church family. Our friend P.W. arrived today from Taiwan to spend the weekend with us. We haven’t seen her in nearly 12 years and are thankful that the Lord is bringing her back into our lives. We pray for her salvation.

Praise for:
- good attendance in Sunday school/church, and those who’ve offered to help in the Sunday school.
- a good business meeting on Sunday and for decisions that were made for the upcoming year.
- the arrival of our friend from Taiwan.

Pray for:
- the Lord to guide the Sunday School ministry and that children would grow in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
- our church here to be a testimony of love and unity to those around.
- our contact with P.W. and that the Lord will bring her to Himself.
- the Sango service this Sunday, for good attendance and that people will come to Christ. We will be sharing the first part of the film “The Hope”.

Praise and Prayer for January 23, 2009

What an encouragement it is to us to know that you are praying for us. Thank you for joining us in this ministry before the Throne of grace. After being quite sick, the Lord has restored our kids’ health. Due to her sickness, Adrianna missed a full week of school and her first Sunday since September. This made us extra thankful for all the months of good health the Lord has blessed her with and for her good attendance record in Sunday school. Cherith stayed home Sunday with both sick kids so Jonathan had all of the kids from age 2 to 6 in Sunday school. He was thankful for C. who helped to keep order with the 9 children crammed in the small classroom. We were almost thankful for the space made available by the four regulars who were out sick. Two-year old E. from church was taken to the hospital Tuesday night with fever seizures. He is now home but testing and treatment continues. More than 10 children in Adrianna’s class at school were out with Scarlet fever and strep throat this week.

Having two sick kids around for a week gave us extra responsibilities and diminished sleep at night. We’re thankful we have not gotten the fever thus far. We managed to complete the rest of the paperwork and reports needing to be done and got caught up on some correspondence. This Sunday the church will be having a major business meeting where new deacons and the annual budget will be voted on. We are anticipating a visit from our Taiwanese friend P.W. from January 30 to Feb. 1 and are asking the Lord to give us good opportunities to share the Good News.

Praise for:
- growing attendance in Sunday school/church, and help given Sunday by C.
- Adrianna’s perfect attendance in SS until last Sunday and for her and Caleb’s recovery from illness.

Pray for:
- the Lord to guide the Sunday School ministry and that children would grow in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
- the Lord to direct in the church business meeting Sunday.
- our contact with P.W. and that the Lord will bring her to Himself.

Praise and Prayer for January 16, 2009

We have sensed God’s answers to your prayers for us this week. Thank YOU for praying! There was a good group out to church on Sunday morning. Since Sylvie Fischer is helping to teach Jonathan’s Sunday school class from time to time, Jonathan had a two-week reprieve. This helped make it possible for him to lead the worship service on Sunday. At present there is still no one to fill in for Cherith’s class with the 2s and 3s. We still don’t have anyone in sight yet to take over either class. Currently we are also looking for someone to take charge of the nursery ministry. Choir practice was cancelled due to absences. There were 14 at the Sango service including one visitor.

The Lord gave safety on the trip to Algrange on Wednesday despite thick fog both ways, added to darkness on the return. After our classes in Algrange, we had the privilege of attending a special Open house for Becky Stetson and her fiancé Pascal Grenade at her parents’ home in Metz. It was a joy to reconnect with some people that Jonathan had gotten to know when he studied French in Nancy 12 years ago! Our kids were very tired and by the time we got home they both had low fevers. Caleb’s temperature was up during the night and Adrianna’s by Thursday night. Jonathan accompanied Adrianna’s class on a field trip on Thursday. Cherith took Caleb to see the doctor. Jonathan had a piano lesson with a church member in the afternoon and joined Mike and the rest of the church leaders for the last church counsel meeting before the General assembly business meeting on January 25. Thursday night, Adrianna’s fever had risen so she is home from school today.

Praise for:
- a good Sango service and for one visitor, though not J.F.
- completing some of the reports.
- a letter from P.W., a friend of Jonathan’s from language school in Nancy who plans to visit us in Reims during a short vacation from Taiwan.

Pray for:
- for Adrianna and Caleb to regain good health and for Cherith and Jonathan to remain healthy.
- helpers for Sunday school classes and for someone to be responsible for the nursery.
- our contact with P.W. and that the Lord will bring her to Himself.

Praise and Prayer for January 9, 2009

Thank you for your prayers for us this week. Temperatures here have dropped below 20° and there remains some snow and ice on the ground from what fell last Sunday night. Adrianna was so excited to start school again after her Christmas break, especially when she saw enough snow on the ground to leave tracks while walking to school. It makes for some cold treks for us back and forth to school four times a day!

Tuesday mornings Jonathan meets with Mike Farrell and Emmanuel Fischer to pray together and discuss the ministry. This has been a good opportunity to talk through issues and make future plans. One of the women who has attended our Sango service fell just after New Years and broke her arm. We visited her and her two sons and had the opportunity to meet another Central African who was there visiting. J.F. has lived in Reims for many years and struggles with alcoholism. He mentioned some strange beliefs about God, but indicated that he would visit our church and perhaps our Sango service. Sunday will be a full day for us as Jonathan will be leading the French worship service in the morning and Cherith will be teaching Sunday School. Choir is resuming after a few weeks off, and the Sango service will be meeting in the afternoon.

Praise for:
- all of those who accepted the gift and tract that we gave them this Christmas Season.
- the contact we made with J.F.
-the Tuesday morning prayer meetings.

Pray for:
- Jonathan as he preaches in the Sango service on Sunday.
- open hearts in both French and Sango services and that J.F. will attend.
- Pray for the church leaders as they meet on the 15th to prepare for the upcoming business meeting (January 25).
- us this week as we have a lot of extra paperwork and reports to complete.
-our financial needs as the dollar/euro exchange rate has gone down again.

Praise and Prayer for January 2, 2009

Happy New Year! We thank the Lord for the opportunities that we have had to celebrate the Holidays with family and friends this year. There were eleven of us around our table on New Year’s Eve to celebrate. How we praise the Lord for the Skype and telephone contact we have had with our family around the world.

This morning we received a telephone call from one of our African pastors in the CAR. It was encouraging to hear of the good progress that he and his wife have made in their continuing education at the Brethren seminary there in Bangui. He continues to direct the Bambari Bible School and is currently in Bambari to teach a block course to the students. We were thrilled to hear that the equipment that we gave to him has been a great help with his studies and ministry. It was also a blessing to learn that Cherith’s wedding dress that we gave to encourage young people to follow God’s plan for marriage has been used by a young couple that has done just that. With the percentage of those who save sex for marriage at less than 5, we pray this dress and Pastor and Mrs. Goumba will continue to be able to disciple young people to wait on the Lord. We were saddened, however, to learn that one of our faithful helpers for many years has allowed his testimony to deteriorate as he has made many bad choices.

Praise for:
- good fellowship and the outreach through the Sango Christmas Celebration. There were 19 of us in our living room!
- the blessing to be with family and friends celebrating Christ’s birth and the New Year; for Skype and telephone contact with our loved ones far away.
- the loving reminders this Christmas of the love of so many. We’ve been so blessed by cards and gifts this year from near and far.
- the good report of the Goumba family from CAR.

Pray for:
- the Lord to guide and bless in every aspect of our ministry in 2009.
- open hearts as we continue to share goodies and tracts with some neighbors.
- our friend J. in CAR to have a change of heart and life.