Praise and Prayer for November 28, 2009

We were reminded of our dependence on the Lord for good health this week as many around us have been sick. Numerous children and teachers in the Preschool and Elementary schools where Caleb and Adrianna are enrolled have been out of school for much of the week. The H1N1 flu is changing habits for cleanliness and people are doing what they can to avoid catching or spreading it. How thankful we are for the peace and freedom from fear that is ours through our faith in Jesus Christ.


The Lord gave good services Sunday, with good attendance in the morning French service and in the evening Sango service. There were 19 at the Sango service, which is the highest attendance yet this season. And this was despite a strong windstorm that began Sunday afternoon. On Monday, our teammates, the Farrells, joined us for a good time of fellowship over dinner. We made the trip on Wednesday to and from Algrange to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Bible Institute. While we greatly missed our families, we were blessed to be together with these dear friends to reflect on God’s goodness. In the afternoon, the Lord gave us some special time with Roger and Jean Reisacher in their home before we had to load up and head back home. The Lord has given some special opportunities this Thanksgiving to share with those around us a bit of the history and reason for this holiday. On Thursday afternoon, our family visited one of the grandmothers from our church here who has been unable to get to church for some time with health problems.

Praise for:
- the good business meeting Thursday evening with church leaders.
- good attendance in Sunday school and church, and a good evening Sango service.
- special time spent with students and professors at the Bible Institute as we celebrated a American holiday, Thanksgiving, together.
- those who are part of a special Christmas chorale ensemble, as we prepare a part of the Christmas program for December 13.

Pray for:
- Elva Farrell as she anticipates hip surgery in the near future.
- Granny S. to feel well enough to come to church tomorrow.
- us as we gather documents needed and travel to Paris Thursday to apply for a record of birth, S.S. number, and passport for Josiah.
- our intern and pastoral candidate Emmanuel and his wife as they participate in a special Q & A time this coming Sunday as the January church vote approaches.
- continued protection and good health.
- God’s direction to be clear to us for our next term of ministry (after home ministry in 2011).

Praise and Prayer for November 22, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving Day! Sometimes when we live in a foreign land, we lose some of our own traditions and celebrations. While some traditions are perhaps best lost, there are others that we do not want to lose and we do our best to celebrate them whether in the USA, the CAR or in France! One of them is Thanksgiving Day, which is a reminder to give thanks to God for His many blessings and His grace bestowed throughout the year. It would be impossible in this short update to share all of those blessings, but we would like to take the opportunity this week to mention just a few of them. First of all, we join Paul in 2 Cor. 9:15 saying “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” Praise God for Jesus Christ and the salvation that He provided for us at the Cross. Praise God for His Word through which He speaks to our hearts as we read it and study it. This year, at our Thanksgiving table, there is a fifth member of our family. Praise God for His gift of Josiah to our family, and for His protection and healing of Josiah when he experienced such great difficulty after his birth. Friday, Cherith’s Birthday, was a reminder to our family of the special blessing that God has given us in a wife and mother. Our family and friends, those who support and pray for our ministry, our health, the food we eat, our apartment, etc. The list goes on. May every day we live be a day of thanksgiving to God for His daily blessings.

Praise for:
- the innumerable blessings that God has given us throughout the year.
- good attendance in Sunday school and church, and a good evening Sango service.
- several of the Central Africans that Jonathan was able to have contact with this week who have not been in our Sango service.
- those who are part of a special Christmas chorale ensemble, as we prepare a part of the Christmas program for December 13.

Pray for:
- good attendance this weekend for our services, and for the Lord to work in hearts.
- the church leaders as they meet this coming Thursday (26).
- our intern and pastoral candidate Emmanuel and his wife as they participate in a special Q & A time this coming Sunday as the January church vote approaches.
- the rest we need at night!
- God’s direction to be clear to us for our next term of ministry (after home ministry in 2011).

Praise and Prayer for November 13, 2009

God blessed our church with the visit of all but one of the student body from the Bible Institute in Algrange on Sunday. Spouses and children also came along. It was a personal blessing for us to see our former students, their growing children and to introduce them to Josiah. The students led the singing and meditation, gave testimonies, sang special numbers, played an instrumental number and preached. Cherith and I both taught our Sunday school classes, partly while holding Josiah! After the service and a time of fellowship, our family hurried home so that we could be ready to return to church for the evening Sango service. However, when we returned for the service, nobody else showed up. We spent time singing and praying, and then had a special treat on our way home: supper at McDonalds.


We are thankful for the health and strength the Lord continues to provide for us, especially with all of the interruptions to good rest at night for our newest family member’s feeding. We are learning once again to work our schedule around the regular feeding schedule of a newborn. For Cherith, it can be frustrating to recognize that her responsibilities to Josiah take up a good part of each day. Still, the Lord has helped us to make some good progress in some of our projects this week, including correspondence and birth announcements. Yesterday, Josiah turned one month old and the Lord has provided him with very good health. His doctor was very pleased with his progress when he saw him today for his first month checkup. How thankful we are for God’s goodness to us.

Praise for:
- the ministry of the Bible Institute students last Sunday, and for the very good attendance we had (every seat full!).
- good health and particularly the good report for Josiah’s one month checkup today.
- good attendance in Sunday school.
- progress in projects this week including correspondence.

Pray for:
- the various groups in the church as we prepare our part of the Christmas program scheduled for December 13.
- the Sunday School ministries, for regular attendance and for each member of the teaching team.
- good attendance at the Sango service this Sunday night and for Jonathan as he preaches.
- wisdom and God’s help to reach our neighbors for Him.
- continued adjustments to scheduling around a newborn and his needs.

Praise and Prayer for November 6, 2009

On Sunday, one of the youth shared a testimony of the special trip to Saint Dizier for the Concours Biblique. One of the special blessings mentioned was the opportunity to get together with so many other youth in an evangelical setting. This has been especially important, since the youth groups are typically very small and although there were certainly some unsaved present, fellowship with so many other Christian young people is rare here in France. We were proud of our own youth group placing third in the quiz team competition.

This Sunday will be another big day at church. We will be welcoming the student body from the Bible Institute (Algrange) for the morning service. They will be leading the service, sharing musical numbers and one of the students will be preaching. We will miss part of the service since we will both be teaching Sunday school classes, but we look forward to having a few guests in our classes as some of the students will be bringing their children. This Sunday evening, our Sango service will be meeting again after two weeks off as folks were off on vacation. Last Sunday one of the Central African families was back in church after a long absence. We are praying for more regularity in attendance to the Sango service. Jonathan will be preaching on God’s help in living the Christian life.

Praise for:
- the good participation in the Concours Biblique by our youth group and several others.
- the good health God has given our family.
- a Central African family’s return to church last Sunday.
- each one who helps in the Sunday School ministry.
- projects completed this week including the next SS teacher schedule.

Pray for:
- the students from the Bible Institute as they come and minister in our church on Sunday.
- the Sunday School ministries, for regular attendance and for each member of the teaching team.
- good attendance at the Sango service Sunday night and for Jonathan as he preaches.
- our family’s adjustments, and the need for good rest, especially for Mama and Papa.
- the financial strain we are having due to the fall of the dollar ($1.48 to 1€).