Praise and Prayer November 30, 2017

Psalm 103:1,2 says “Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”  For Thanksgiving this year we joined several other missionary families from both France and Spain at Bonnie Bixby’s for a special time enjoying good food, warm fellowship and celebrating God’s faithfulness and goodness with singing and testimonies.  We miss our family greatly on special occasions like this, but we are so grateful for the spiritual family that God has blessed us with. 

Our family has continued to fight sickness over the past several weeks, and we are finally seeing some increase in health and decrease in illness in our bodies.  We have been to the doctor multiple times in the past few weeks, and he has been working with us to find a treatment that will knock out this terrible bronchitis and sinusitis infection.  While we have lacked energy and had some miserable days, the Lord has provided us with the strength necessary to be where we needed to be and to fulfill all of our responsibilities.  We are so grateful for our prayer warriors who bring our family and this ministry faithfully before the Lord, and for the help God has provided. 

Praise for:

- God’s blessing of the multi-church Retreat November 3-5, for the strength He gave each of us for the various responsibilities as the hosting church, especially for Cherith who spent many hours each day in the kitchen!  Praise for messages both edifying and evangelistic, for the good children’s program, and for good fellowship.  There were 68 of us present, including the R family and Jessica who came all the way from northern France just for this Retreat.

- the healing that God is giving to our family after fighting sickness for the past two months.

- God’s blessing of the Reformation Exposition outreach this past weekend (November 25-26) here at our church, for the 1500 invitation flyers given out and for the 19 people that came by, including neighbors and unsaved friends. 

- a family who brought their son, one of Josiah’s friends, to the English club last week for the first time. 

Pray for

- all of those who came to the Reformation Exposition, that they will think about the things that they heard and saw, read the literature they received and open their hearts to Christ.

- God’s help with special opportunities for outreach during the Christmas season, including preparing a small program with our English club for the parents to attend.

- God to work in the hearts of several visitors that have come to our church recently and for lost souls to be saved and discipled.

- God to open up a door for us for a new building soon.

- complete healing from the acute bronchitis that our bodies have been fighting for so long. 

- new churches to join our support team, for God’s continued provision for our needs.

Praise and Prayer November 1, 2017

By God’s grace and with His help, we have made it to November!  In the weeks leading up to our trip to northern France last week for my block course at the Bible Institute in Algrange, there were many times that I wondered if I would be ready.  Many of you were praying and with God’s help we were ready for the trip and the notes, quizzes, exercises AND professor were ready for our trip!  We are thankful for God’s protection over the many miles of travelling, as Algrange is in the northeast corner of France and Bordeaux is in the southwest corner. While our family has been fighting a resistant strain of bronchitis and an intestinal flu, the Lord gave me adequate strength for my classes and helped Cherith and the children as they battled the viruses at the home where we were staying.  My students were a retired couple that got saved later in life that has just begun Bible school. Well into their 70s, I was greatly touched by their eagerness to learn all they can about the Bible so they can share it with others and serve the Lord in the time they have left on this earth!

God’s provision for our housing through the kindness of missionary friends gone to the USA for a few months of home ministry saved us from having to cover our own housing expenses.  Since none of the expenses for this trip are part of our monthly budget, we are especially grateful for this provision.  We continue to trust Him for His provision for the travel expenses and other needs as we are functioning with a substantial shortage in our committed support.

Praise for:

- God’s enabling and protection for our trip to Algrange for my class at the Bible Institute.  Praise for His provision for our housing.

- Mr. and Mrs. S., the retired couple now studying at the Bible Institute, and for their desire to serve God and study His Word.

- the time we had at the church in Reims on our trip north, and for the way God continues to build the church, six years after our departure.

- a good beginning for the English Club in October, with a new participant.

- the new signs for our church, and for the revised church website that is now online.  Praise for a woman that has already made contact with us through the website.

- the contact we have with an unsaved family from Reims who has sent their 13 year old daughter to spend a week with us in order to practice English.  Praise too for several visitors that have been to church in the past few weeks.

Pray for

- the restoration of good health, especially for Jonathan, Cherith and Josiah who continue to fight a virus that doesn’t want to give up. 

- the 23^rd annual spiritual multi-church Retreat this weekend (November 3-5) that our church is planning for the first time, including the details for the meetings, the food and the accommodations.  We really need God’s help!

- Pray for God to use the retreat to refresh and impact the lives of all in attendance. Pray for the R. family and Jessica that will be travelling down from the Paris area for the retreat.

- God’s work in the hearts of the unsaved people we are in contact with, both children and adults.