Greetings from Saint Medard en Jalles.  God has blessed us with many faithful prayer warriors through the years, some of whom have partnered with us in other ways as well. We rejoice to share with you some of the ways that God has been working this month.  There have also been some challenges that we continue to face, and we share some of them with you here so that you can be praying for some specifics. 

One of the matters we have asked prayer for in the past is for God’s continued working in the lives of the family that came to Christ last year, as they grow spiritually.  We were thrilled Sunday when we received a message they sent us from Paris in which the parents eagerly expressed their decision to follow the Lord in believers’ baptism.  They had already spoken to the pastor of the local church there.  They mentioned the opportunity they will have to give a testimony “before the whole church” to thank the Lord for having guided them without their knowing it toward Him through the church of Saint Medard.  The message closed with a prayer that the Lord would bring other families to the truth.  Our hearts were so encouraged and we wanted to let you know how God is answering prayer in their behalf.

This Sunday after our morning service, we will be leaving for Malaga, Spain and the Africa and Europe Enrichment Conference that our mission has planned.  Held every three years, this will be the fifth such conference though the first one to include Africa.  It will be the third time for our family to attend.  We look forward to the fellowship with other missionaries, some we haven’t seen in many years, including our former teammates in CAR, the Jewells and the Dannenbergs.  There will be special services and sessions designed for refreshment and renewal in ministry for the adults and the children will be ministered to by a full team coming from a church in Michigan.

Praise for:

- the good news from the R family and for the work God is doing in their lives.

- all of the visitors that have attended our services in January, including several that have returned.  One of them, a friend of Caleb that has been invited many times, came last Sunday for the first time.  On two occasions, we had to set up extra chairs!

- the steady attendance at the English club outreach for the first half of the year, and for better listening and behavior from the “active” kids since we divided into two groups.

- more than one hundred 2018 Scripture calendars that have been given out, including more than fifty at the St Medard market last Saturday to those who were interested.

- the mutual encouragement and blessing provided by the pastors’ fellowship from the four Bordeaux sister churches that meets once a month.

Pray for

- a new building for our church.  The space we have now was nearly maxed out twice this month.

- the unsaved visitors to continue coming to church and for wisdom and guidance in the Sunday school ministry with the new dynamic.

- an evangelistic film outreach planned for March 3.  Pray that we will have sufficient manpower to get out several thousand invitations. Pray for lost souls to turn to Christ, including our Muslim friend in the Middle East.

- continued improvement in our health, especially for Cherith who is slowly regaining strength.  Also please pray for Adrianna who will be having oral surgery to remove four impacted wisdom teeth on February 15.

- safety travelling the 750 miles by car to the conference in Spain this next week, and for its impact on our whole family.

- God’s direction and provision as we seek to replace the tile flooring in our dining room/living room.  A large area popped loose from the cement and has been deteriorating since the first of January.