We praise God
for answered prayer this weekend, and for His direction of events this past
week. The Lord gave us a full
house Sunday at our Christmas breakfast/program. We prayed for 30, knowing that our space couldn’t
accommodate much more than that.
More than 500 received invitations, some in mailboxes, some through personal
contacts, some through email. The
risk was that either no one would show up, or that too many would come and we
wouldn’t have room for people.
I
must admit our faith was on the small side, and we were amazed at the
response. During the breakfast time,
there were 28 present, the exact number of people we had seating for. Then as we began the Christmas program,
three others joined us, making a total of 31 present at the program. Among those present were neighbors,
parents and children from the kids’ school, a mother and her children from the
Rollerblading club, and more. We
were thrilled to see the room fill up with these precious unsaved souls. After the program the children were
given small bags of candy and a CD of Bible stories, and some took a CD for
children that weren’t present.
Praise for:
- an
excellent turnout Sunday for our Christmas breakfast/program. Cherith and Sylvia (Christy) worked hard
to transform the room for the Christmas celebration and all of the church ladies prepared delicacies. The Lord gave Jonathan’s voice strength to lead the service, and each participant did a great job.
- the
interest shown by many of those who attended, the CD’s taken home, and for the
Gospel seed that has been sown in hearts.
- the many
who prayed this weekend for this outreach, and for God’s amazing answers to
prayer.
- opportunities
to help Mr and Mrs. C. with things at their home and with grocery shopping.
- the special
Christmas cookie bake and decorate party that Cherith hosted for Adrianna and
11 of her friends. We were very
encouraged by the opportunity this gave us to connect with children and
parents. One of the girls came
Sunday with her parents and two sisters.
Pray for:
- God’s
intervention in the CAR, protection of lives, and His abundant grace for
believers. Pray for provision and
wisdom for the CAR World relief effort through BMM.
- the work of
the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the 17 unsaved visitors who were present for
our Christmas program. Pray for
continued contact with those that we see regularly and that we will see these
people return to church.
- C. to keep
coming to church, for his brother F. to return and for both of them to respond
to the Gospel message.
- ongoing opportunities the
Lord is giving us to reach out to those around us.
Our family visited the Christmas market in downtown Bordeaux. We enjoyed walking through the rows of small heated cabins brightly decorated with all kinds of things for sale, from caramelized almonds to hand painted figurines. Our snack consisted of a cone full of fresh roasted chestnuts right out of the pan and another cone a little later of hot churros (Spanish doughnuts). As we left the market to return home we noticed a good sized manger scene on display. I was encouraged to see that the True meaning of Christmas was not forgotten, and that the manger scene was present to remind people. Upon closer inspection, we discovered the the manger scene was missing the most important figure, that of the Christ Child. Probably some mal intentioned prank. However, the message was poignant. There amidst the throngs of people celebrating Christmas this year, we couldn't help but wonder how few there would be that would be celebrating Christmas without Christ, Immanuel, God with us. And we are reminded of the purpose for our being here, to proclaim the Good News of a Savior who was born in Bethlehem so that He could die on Calvary, offering eternal life to all. Please pray for God to use us to this end.
