Praise and Prayer for December 13, 2010

Warm wishes to your house from ours for a blessed Christmas and New Year. Thank you for your prayers for us. The Lord blessed the Bible study on Tuesday. We thank the Lord for safety as Reims (and much of France) was hit with a snowstorm Wednesday and Thursday, the worst they have seen in many, many years. One of the high school seniors in our church who lives out of town spent Wednesday night and Thursday with us as her train home (and all public transportation) was out of circulation. Her parents were happy that the roads allowed them to get into town Thursday afternoon to pick her up. Cherith surprised me with a surprise 40th Birthday party on Friday evening and we were joined by a number of friends from church.

In Sunday School we had 22 children present (including babies) for a special program with a film (L’enfant de la Mansarde/The child from the Attic). Some of the children had not been in Sunday School at all this school year. We were surprised and encouraged at how well the children sat and listened carefully and did well answering questions afterward. The Christmas program was Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. with a very full church. The Lord blessed in so many ways as many people took part. There were several first-time visitors present who heard the Gospel clearly presented in a variety of ways. The choir did a great job with the two songs they had prepared. Adrianna and Caleb did very well with their duet. It was the first time for me to speak for the Christmas program here, and I was so thankful for the Lord’s help. Several comments afterward encouraged me that the message was clear and appreciated. We pray that there will be eternal fruit.

Lord willing, we will be flying out of Paris tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. heading to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The trip will take more than 27 hours from our front door until we are met by Cherith’s parents at the PP airport. We are all looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas together with Grandma and Grandpa Broeckert since 2006! Thank you for praying for our health and safety, and that the Lord will use us to encourage and bless those we will be with. We look forward to the opportunities that we will have to minister: Cherith teaching a ladies’ SS class, me preaching, giving some help with music, etc. We plan to return to Reims December 29 and will try to get an update written soon after that. May God bless your Christmas season as you celebrate the greatest Gift of all, Jesus Christ, the Savior.

Praise for:
- God’s help for Jonathan as he led the Bible study Tuesday and spoke for the Christmas program. Praise for good attendance.
- the help and strength God gave us with all of our responsibilities for Sunday’s program in the morning and afternoon.
- God’s blessings so evident throughout the Christmas program and for the visitors that were present.
- safety throughout the snowstorm that hit Reims.

Pray for:
- those who have heard or will hear the Gospel this Christmas season to open their hearts to receive God’s gift of salvation.
- many around us whose hearts are cold to the Gospel.
- our trip to Cambodia and our time there with Cherith’s parents and the people they are working with. Pray for the ministry that we will have there.
- the family of Mr. Earl Dannenberg (formerly in the CAR and missions professor at FBBC) who was promoted to Heaven on December 9. Son John and his wife are currently serving in the CAR.