Praise and Prayer for July 30, 2010

Last week, we were finally able to get the little strip of ground behind our apartment looking like a flower garden again. We have the only back door in our big building, and are therefore the only apartment with a strip of actual ground (the upper floor apartments all have balconies). So our strip of earth is a luxury for us, but also a bit of a responsibility since the common driveway and foot entry to the building all pass beside our personal back entry. We really do want to honor the Lord with the appearance of our back entry, and are glad to get caught up on its care! There were a few miscellaneous maintenance jobs to do yesterday (not too complicated for me!), including replacing a wall electrical receptacle, a door handle, an insulation strip around the front door, and the filter on our bathroom sink. Not too complicated, but necessitating a little time and the right parts. When we took our car to the garage for it’s annual checkup Wednesday, they found a few things that needed to be addressed, including replacing tires and a belt that they did not have in stock. While we waited, we visited a few sights in the area including the impressive Chateau Thierry American Monument, the medieval ruins of the castle behind City Hall, and the home of the fable writer/poet, La Fontaine (The Tortoise and the Hare). We ended up leaving the car at the garage, and are expecting to pick it up before the weekend.

One of our Central African friends who has not been coming to church was in an accident last week Friday, in which his right leg was badly broken below the knee. I found out about it Tuesday and went with Emmanuel to visit C. after our weekly meeting to pray and discuss the church and her needs. I went back to see him yesterday afternoon and found him a little more encouraged than on Tuesday. He is dealing with a lot in life and really needs to yield himself to the Lord. I was happy that he gladly accepted the French version of Max Lucado’s booklet “He Did This Just for You” and he assured me that he would have plenty of time to read it while he awaits release to go home. We’ve had more contact with our neighbor, M., who we hope to see in church this Sunday.


Praise for:
- the way the Lord blessed Adrianna’s Birthday party, for good participation and cooperation from the kids, and good contacts with parents and grandparents. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially the Birthday girl, whom we thank the Lord for!
- an excellent soiree with the meeting and dinner at our house for the church council and their spouses.
- Catherine Daily being well enough to travel with her whole family from Germany to the States for Home ministry on July 26.


Pray for:
- C.’s long recovery ahead, and for a tender heart toward spiritual matters.
- our neighbor M. to be in church this Sunday, and that the Lord will work in her heart.
- Jonathan’s Mom and Aunt Mary Lee (Teachout) as they travel to Ely Lake (in PA) this week for a three week visit.
- our Sunday School summer ministry, and for us as we are the team teachers this Sunday.
- guidance as to our future ministry.

Praise and Prayer for July 19, 2010

We have much to be thankful for this week! The closing service for our Sango outreach on July 4 was blessed with good attendance (20), good fellowship and good food, spiritual and physical! It was great to see one man come to service for the first time and one who hadn’t come at all this year. The Lord helped Jonathan with his preaching in three services. We had four young singles from church over for homemade pizza and a movie on July 9. The movie they chose was Flywheel and there were some good discussions about our walk with the Lord before the evening ended around midnight. : ) After church Sunday, one of the church families invited us for supper last night. We enjoyed visiting for several hours as our kids played together with their kids.

This past week, the Lord made it possible for us to make a trip to southern Bavaria, Germany to meet our friends, the Don Waite family, who had a longer drive than we from their home in Slovakia where they are serving the Lord. We enjoyed hiking up a mountain to a church pilgrimage site, touring a couple castles, and eating delicious German food. The highlight however was just being together with dear friends and sharing and receiving encouragement in the Lord regarding our ministries. We learned more about their great need for help. The kids enjoyed being together too, especially Adrianna and Vivian Waite who were pretty inseparable during waking hours! An added blessing was being able to spend Tuesday evening with fellow BMM family, the Todd Dailys, who are scheduled to leave for furlough/home ministry next Monday.

NEEDED: We are still looking for an English song/chorus book to use with an English outreach. If you or your church has from 15 to 20 songbooks that are no longer needed, and you would like to see them put to good use, please contact us for further details.

Praise for:
- those who came to the closing Sango service who we had not seen in a long time.
- the Lord’s help as Jonathan has preached.
- time with several of our church people.
- a refreshing and encouraging time with the Waites in Germany.
- the safe birth of Joshua Broeckert to Cherith’s brother Hans and Thuy.

Pray for:
- our contacts with friends and parents on Friday as we have Adrianna’s 7th Birthday Party.
- good progress with correspondence and projects this week.
- our preparation for having the members of the church counsel along with spouses for dinner this Saturday evening.
- Catherine, the 12 year old daughter of Todd and Dawn Daily, who is recovering from surgery and appendicitis, and for wisdom for the family as they prepare to leave.
- guidance as to our future ministry.

Praise and Prayer for July 1, 2010

The weather here in Reims turned HOT this week. We are thankful that our apartment has stayed below 80F (91F outside) and that the humidity hasn’t been high. The movie “Flywheel” was very well received Sunday night, though there were only 16 present. The spirit was good and I believe we were all challenged to examine our lives and make sure we are living for the Lord. This Sunday night we are having our “cloture” or closing service. It will be held at one of the member’s homes and I will be bringing the challenge. We are very thankful for the good progress that has been made this week on important paperwork, including much time working with our mailing list and expense reports. The Summer Sunday school program will be beginning this weekend – and we are finally ready for it. The schedule for July and August includes 17 volunteers willing and available for the selected dates! Praise the Lord for faithful helpers! We told the children in opening exercises last Sunday that while school was letting out this week and they would have vacation from school, there would still be Sunday school throughout the summer and we hoped they would be there regularly.

Yes, today is the final day of school here in France for the kids. Jonathan accompanied Adrianna’s class Monday on the last field trip of the year: the Library. Adrianna and Caleb both made special thank you cards to give to their teachers (and the teacher’s assistant in Caleb’s class) along with a jar of homemade strawberry jam (which Caleb also helped pick the strawberries for!). It is hard to say goodbye to teachers, parents and children knowing there will be little contact or opportunities to witness now until school reconvenes in September. We are looking forward to seeing several children and their parents at least once during the vacation as Adrianna has invited several friends to a special Birthday party on July 23.

NEEDED: We are looking for an English song/chorus book to use with an English outreach. If you or your church has from 15 to 20 songbooks that are no longer needed, and you would like to see them put to good use, please contact us for further details.

Praise for:
- contacts made this school year.
- the good reception of the film “Flywheel” Sunday evening at the Sango service.
-good progress made on important paperwork this week.
- church members who are willing to serve in the Summer Sunday School program.
- the safe arrival of Anita in Australia, Arnaud in Canada and Lin and her daughter in China.
- a safe move for Jonathan’s Mom and for good help from family and church family.

Pray for:
- a good turnout Sunday evening--the closing service for the Sango outreach.
- Jonathan as he prepares messages and Bible studies.
- good attendance in this summer’s Sunday School program.
- strength for Jonathan’s Mom for unpacking and getting settled in a new place.
- guidance as to our future ministry.