Praise and Prayer May 24, 2012

We are thankful for the Lord’s help as the weeks are full and seem to go by so quickly.  His provision of health and strength to meet opportunities of service and challenges of life are evident and we are thankful to Him and to you who pray for us.  I will try to summarize (never my strong point!) here some of what we have been involved in here and how God is working.

A couple Sundays ago, Cherith, Adrianna and I all shared our testimonies to join the church for the time the Lord has for us here.  Several other visitors have come through the church doors and a few have even returned several times.  Among them is a young lady of Central African origin who has come with her six-year-old son several times.  She has many questions and is hungry for spiritual truth.  Her son along with another 2-year-old child, have been a welcome addition in Junior Church.  As the attendance of children between 2 and 11 grows, our request that the Lord will provide more help for Junior Church becomes more urgent.  As the only teachers at this time, we take turns teaching unless I am involved in teaching or preaching downstairs with the adults.  In those cases, Cherith takes my turn upstairs. 

We are enjoying serving the Lord alongside Pastor Christian and his wife in the downtown church.  This weekend their family will be attending an annual retreat a couple hours away, so I will lead the Bible study and preach in the service.  The following week, Christian will be travelling by train to Algrange for the graduation ceremonies at the Bible Institute there.  He will be speaking at graduation.  Although we would love to be there for graduation this year (it will be the first one we will miss since we arrived in France five years ago), it is crucial that Christian be there to speak, especially as one of the graduates is from the church here.  Our presence here makes it possible for him to be there. 

Praise for:

- the visitors that have returned and for new children in Sunday School.

- opportunities to serve God in the church here as well as in the Merignac Bible study.

- the arrival this weekend of the Musical Mission Team from Bob Jones University for the European concert tour, and for the two concerts that they will be giving in two of our Bordeaux churches. 

- God’s provision of a small minivan with 7 seats.  We were able to purchase the vehicle outright with funds we had set aside from the sale of our last furlough vehicle in 2006 and funds that we have been setting aside over the past five years.

- the safe arrival in Cambodia of Cherith’s parents and Aunt Sue.

- the good progress the children have made in school, and for grace to keep up with the demanding school schedule along with ministry.

Pray for:

- the two concerts this weekend and that the Lord will bring out a good number of the folks that have been invited, including some of our neighbors.

- our family to be a blessing to the three of the BJU group that we will be hosting this weekend.  They are our first overnight guests in our new home.

- our full ministry these next two weekends as Pastor Christian will be away, for guidance, for adequate prep time despite an active, energetic household and for receptive hearts to the Word of God.

- God’s help for Adrianna and Caleb as it has been particularly hard for them to be far from their friends in Reims and family. 

- Jonathan as he will be having hernia surgery June 22.

Praise and Prayer May 1, 2012

God has sent sunshine to Bordeaux for which we are very thankful after more than three weeks of daily showers.  Spring flowers are everywhere and in our yard, grass planted in February lengthens and thickens needing a lawn mower before it gets permanently out of control. 

The Lord answered prayer in a very special way concerning our France field conference.  On Sunday before conference, Cherith felt like she was coming down with something.  By that afternoon and night, she was having full-blown flu symptoms with fever and aches over every inch of her body.  Monday morning she still felt weak, but felt like we could make the six hour trip that afternoon.  About half way there, her achiness was bad enough that I began to wonder if we weren’t going to have to turn around and head home.  In the meantime, teammates who knew, and Facebook friends were praying.  By the time we pulled into the conference center in Le Puy en Velay around 9:30 p.m., Cherith was feeling very noticeably better.  Her strength was increasing and the ache was gone!  She was able to participate and enjoy the conference through the end, and all we missed was the first evening supper and service.

We had a surprise phone call from the pastor’s wife at our church in downtown Bordeaux.  Pastor Christian had thought that he was going to be well enough to be in church for the Bible study and preaching Sunday morning, but was forced back to bed with a bad migraine and weakness.  The deacon would cover for Sunday school but would I be able to fill in for the message?  I had just enough time to pull the notes for a message I had preached before and skim through them before we left for church.  Seeing a few visitors in the service, we learned that two of them were university students who were doing research for a class assignment as they studied different religions.  As they took careful notes of every detail of the service in this “Evangelical Baptist” church, I prayed for help in preaching.  After the service, I had an opportunity to talk with several there, including the two students who posed a number of questions both on the message as well as on a number of doctrines that churches like ours teach.  It was a joy to share with them from the Bible, in response to their own questions, though their main motivation had been research for a class.  They were welcomed warmly, invited to return, and given our contact information.  May the Lord work in their hearts as they work through the things they heard.

Praise for:

- the university students in church Sunday as well as a friend of one of the members who came with her to church for the first time.

- good health the Lord gave to be able to attend the France field conference, and for very good meetings and fellowship with our team mates and with our speaker and his wife.  The children enjoyed their sessions with their teacher and the two other children their age, as well as seeing their friends from across France.

- God’s goodness and work in Caleb’s life as he celebrated 6 years on April 25, also the anniversary of our arrival in France for ministry in 2007. 

- the opportunity to see one of the families that were in the church in Reims for our first couple of years there, as they were in Bordeaux visiting family and were able to come over for a visit Monday afternoon.

Pray for:

- God to work in the hearts of the visitors who heard the Gospel clearly on Sunday.

- health and strength for each of us.

- wisdom and guidance as we seek to organize and implement the Sunday school/Junior church program at church, and that the Lord would provide helpers to disciple.

- our telephone landline to be connected soon.

- God’s provision for our regular support needs, as well as one time expenses like a lawn mower which we are now needing for the first time.  We are also praying for a table and chairs for the patio where we could entertain guests once the weather warms up.

- our residency cards to be delivered soon.

- Cherith’s Mom and her Aunt Sue Meerman as they travel to Cambodia, visiting a couple of Cherith’s siblings along the way.