Praise and Prayer for January 29, 2010

Thank you for praying for the business meeting and pastoral vote held at our church last Sunday. We praise the Lord for His answers to prayer at the meeting, for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There was an excellent turnout for the meeting. There was peace and calm throughout the business that was conducted and as the vote took place. Although it was apparent that nobody was eager to see the Farrells leave the church (to the contrary, many voiced wishes that the Farrells would remain!), the Lord must have made it clear to the congregation that they were ready for this huge step for the church.

The congregation was to vote on the recommendation of the Church Counsel/Board to call Emmanuel Fischer as the first French pastor of the church. The pastoral vote resulted in a strong majority vote to accept the recommendation and call Emmanuel Fischer as the new Pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Reims. After completing an internship for the past year and a half, the Fischers, pictured here with Mike Farrell, will now begin serving the church in their new official roles as Pastor and Pastor's wife. There will be an installation service on February 28, though his ministry will immediately change from pastoral intern to Pastor. Thank you for your continued prayers for the Fischers, for the Farrells and for the church during this time of transition.

We will continue to serve in the same support role that we have been doing, assisting the pastor of the church. Our family needs your prayer as we strive to help the transition to be smooth and as we work to strengthen several church ministries: Sango outreach, Sunday school, worship and music. Our goal is to see the ministries we are doing become nationalized as church members and leaders assume the leadership for them by the time we are scheduled for home ministry in the summer of 2011.

Praise for:
- the good business meeting Sunday, and the unity evident in the vote to call Emmanuel Fischer as the first French pastor.
- the Farrells ministry here in Reims and for the way the Lord has blessed.
- the safe arrival in the CAR of the container that transported the Sango hymnal “Bia ti Sepala Nzapa”.
- Josiah’s good report in his 3-month checkup this week and for his good health.
- an encouraging telephone call from a Bambari, CAR pastor and for a good report of the Bible school and church ministries.

Pray for:
- Emmanuel and Sylvie Fischer as they begin their new ministries as Pastor and Pastor’s wife of the Reims Evangelical Baptist Church.
- Elva Farrell’s continued recovery at home after total hip replacement and for the Lord’s guidance and grace for the transition from this ministry to the next one He has for them.
- the Sango hymnal’s use in the CAR to be a tool of blessing and edification to the church throughout the country.
- Cherith and Adrianna who are suffering with sinus colds.
- God’s direction to be clear to us for our future ministry (after home ministry in 2011).

Praise and Prayer for January 22, 2010

This Sunday, January 24, at 3 p.m our time, the Evangelical Baptist Church of Reims will be voting on calling their own pastor. While this day has been long anticipated and prepared for, it is also a day that would begin a new era for the church that has been established through the Farrells’ ministry over the years since their arrival in Reims in 1986. Our prayer is that the members of the church will sense the leading of the Holy Spirit as they make their decision and that the results of the vote will show a unity of mind and spirit among the voting members (38). Each of those of us serving the church desire God’s will for the church and that the church will continue to move forward and grow in spirit and in number.


We praise the Lord for the results of tests Jonathan’s Mother (Betty Teachout) had this week by a renal doctor. Her kidneys are functioning well and she has no need for dialysis at this time. Elva Farrell (pictured) continues to recover in the hospital from her hip replacement surgery January 13. She is scheduled to be released from the hospital this Saturday, but will continue rehab at home over the next couple months. Here at home, Caleb continues to have asthma struggles and Josiah still has some congestion. They were well enough for us to have a couple families visit on Wednesday with their children. Our friends the Clapots even offered to watch our kids for us on Thursday so that we could get out on an enjoyable date, our first one in several months.

Praise for:
- the good services on Sunday, both in French and in Sango.
- answers to prayer for Mother Teachout’s kidneys and for Elva Farrell’s continued recovery.
- the completion of the reports for the ministries we are involved in at church for the annual business meeting January 31.
- the opportunity to encourage the two families that we had in our home on Wednesday.

Pray for:
- good attendance at the church business meeting on Sunday afternoon, and for a spirit of unity among the church body as it votes to call the Fischers.
- Elva Farrell’s return home Saturday and continued rehab.
- individuals coming to our services that need to make decisions for the Lord.
- good health and rest for our family.
- God’s direction to be clear to us for our future ministry (after home ministry in 2011).

Praise and Prayer for January 15, 2010

After the snow and cold spell that hit France and much of the northern hemisphere on the heels of the global warming conference and headlines, it seems as though Reims is beginning to thaw. This week, we have been nursing both Caleb and Josiah through illness. Josiah is almost recovered from a pretty nasty cold, and Caleb seems to be finally over an asthma attack and flu that had him out of school for nearly a week.

The church counsel met Saturday evening to go through final details regarding the upcoming business meetings and pastoral vote. We are praying that the Lord’s will be made evident to members through a strong positive vote to call the Fischers. However, the changes that lie ahead for the church can seem daunting to some. We are so thankful to the Lord for the way that He has blessed the Farrells’ ministry here in Reims and that the church is now ready to call her own French pastor. Pray for the church, for the Fischers and for the Farrells as the Lord gives each guidance for future ministry. We also need your prayer as we strive to help the church through this time of transition, and as we work to strengthen several church ministries: Sango outreach, Sunday school, worship and music.

Praise for:
- Elva Farrell’s hip surgery going well on Wednesday, for a good beginning to the long recovery process.
- improved health for Caleb and Josiah.
- unity and good meetings of church leaders as we approach the January 24 pastoral vote.
- God’s blessing of the Reims Evangelical Baptist Church to bring her to this very important time and opportunity.
- Jonathan’s opportunity to accompany Caleb’s class on a field trip to the circus, at the teacher’s request.

Pray for:
- good attendance at our Sango service Sunday and for Jonathan as he preaches.
- God’s guidance for the church body in the coming days and for harmony as the church votes on calling the Fichers on January 24.
- a speedy recovery for Elva Farrell after hip surgery.
- complete healing for Caleb and Josiah, and for good health for the rest of us.
- God’s direction to be clear to us for our future ministry (after home ministry in 2011).

Praise and Prayer for January 8, 2010

Happy New Year to each of our friends reading this update! We are so thankful to the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness to us in 2009 and for bringing us into this new year. Living in an insecure world and listening to sensationalized news reports, one could allow himself to spiral into a state of fear, insecurity and alarm. We cannot begin to fully express our thankfulness to our loving God for being our Father, Keeper, Helper, Guide, Friend, Protector, Provider, Comforter, Lover, Teacher, and so much more. In His Presence, it is with great joy and anticipation that we look toward the future knowing that He has His perfect plan for our individual lives in 2010. It is also a comfort to us to know that, while we may not always like or understand circumstances that we may be in right now or will go through in 2010, we can trust Him to do what is best for us and in such a way that He receives the most glory in each circumstance. May He be pleased to use us to point others to Him and to His Word this year.

Elva Farrell put together a beautiful Christmas collage of all the children that have come to Sunday School in the past couple months.

Among our goals this year is seeing our Sunday School program become more independent. In our experience, we have seen that when programs are built by and revolve around individuals, the programs dwindle and eventually disappear when those individuals move away. This can be disastrous in a church setting, whether it be a church plant or an established church. Our desire from the beginning of our involvement in this church plant has been to try to start ministries that we could share and eventually turn over completely to church leaders and members who would, with God’s help, continue the ministries when the time comes for us to leave. During this past year, the Lord has blessed our efforts to build up the Sunday School ministry here at the Evangelical Baptist Church of Reims. One of our current responsibilities is the scheduling of Nursery workers and teachers and helpers for the two younger SS classes. As we prepare this update, we are making final adjustments to the SS program for the next two months. Although we are losing one of our faithful teachers this month to a work related move, we are thankful for others that have responded positively to getting involved in this ministry. They will have opportunities to help experienced teachers as they train and prepare to teach classes in the future. During this year, we will be looking to turn over more of the administration/scheduling responsibilities to qualified and willing church members.

Praise for:
- a blessed Holiday season and the beginning of a New Year.
- a good reaction from many of our neighbors to the gift of goodies along with a calendar and Christmas tract.
- Josiah receiving his French residency identity papers this week from the French government.
- the opportunity we had as a family to visit one of the shut-in members of our church on Thursday evening.

Pray for:
- the Sunday School ministry, and especially the new individuals that are getting involved this quarter.
- good attendance at our Sango service Sunday, for Jonathan and he preaches and for Cherith as she has the children’s class.
- both of us as we take on and share a new ministry: the accompanying of the morning services.
- Elva Farrell as she anticipates hip surgery on Wednesday.
- the church counsel as it meets Saturday evening, for direction for the church, as they vote for a pastor and select deacons on January 24.
- God’s direction to be clear to us for our next term of ministry (after home ministry in 2011).