Ministry update November 9, 2018

The falling leaves and brisk temperatures indicate Thanksgiving is near.  And while our world teeters with unrest and unthankfulness, we are ever reminded of God’s constant faithfulness and of His daily blessings.  Here are some of the ways that God is blessing us here in Saint-Médard.

One of them was the recent visit of our friends from PA, Jessica and Joel L.  

This sister-brother team poured themselves into various projects and aspects of the ministry here and were a blessing both to us and to others in our church.  Both gifted artistically, they designed and prepared flashcards and posters for our English club Scripture theme this year of the 10 Commandments.  

With servant hearts, they helped distribute church flyers in nearby Saint Aubain, weatherproofed a picnic table, prepared Sunday school material, helped our kids with homework and music practice, and did many other things to help and encourage during their time here. 

We are so grateful for God's blessing of the multi-church retreat at the end of October.

We were thrilled to have the R family join us from Paris again this year.  Another special blessing was getting to see the C family again, a family that we have known since our time in Reims but hadn’t seen in six years.  They just recently returned from Guadeloupe where they have been living these past seven years.  

The theme of the messages was “God and my job”.  The speaker, himself a businessman, had put a lot into his preparation and had some excellent and very practical messages.

Adrianna continues to apply herself to her music studies as well as her school.  She continues with the piano at home and is now in her second year of violin lessons at the local music school.  We try to encourage the children to use their gifts for the Lord and last Sunday, we were blessed with a beautiful offertory that Adrianna played on the keyboard (Nearer, Still Nearer).  

Praise for

• All of the help and encouragement that God gave us through our dear friends, Jessica and Joel.
• The multi-church retreat with edifying messages, warm fellowship and great attendance.  
• The medical help that Caleb is getting for his respiratory difficulties.  He has been diagnosed with severe asthma and the lung specialist is working to alleviate some of the symptoms. 
• God’s help for the children to use music for His glory.  Also, praise God for Adrianna being offered a job of babysitting by a family in our neighborhood.  This is her first job outside the home and is a great opportunity for her life to have a further impact for Christ in this family.

Pray for

• Guidance and wisdom in our various ministries, especially as we prepare for Christmas outreach this year.  
• Our continued mailbox campaign with Church invitations in Saint Aubain.  Pray that God would send more visitors and that He would provide a new building for our church with plenty of room for them!
• The doctors to be able to determine the cause of Cherith’s deep cough.
• The children attending the English club and that God would speak to their hearts as we study the 10 Commandments, one by one.
• Time and wisdom in preparing the seminar on church music and worship to give in Slovakia when we travel there in December.

Praise and Prayer October 15, 2018

(Begun in Algrange, October 9)

I am writing from the Bible Institute in Algrange (in the northeast corner of France) where I am teaching a class on the world of the Old Testament to the first year students this week.  

It is encouraging to see the young people that God has brought here who are serious about deepening their knowledge of His Word and gaining ministry experience.  Getting to rub shoulders with the other professors and the new co-director of studies and his family who arrived in July is another of the blessings I am enjoying this week.

While I hated to leave them, Cherith and the kids stayed home in Saint Medard this year where school and other activities continue at full speed!  The boys are fighting a nasty head cold which we are praying will heal without spreading to the others!  Cherith and Caleb will both be seeing the pulmonologist on October 18 to followup other tests for Cherith, and for a first checkup for Caleb who also struggles with a chronic deep cough.

Praise for

• a very good contact with our neighbors at the neighborhood picnic September 9.
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• a very special time with Cherith’s parents, for their help and encouragement to our family as well as to our church as Mom shared her testimony and Dad preached in our services.  Praise for the profitable time that they had with unsaved family in Holland who they met for the first time this month.

• God’s blessing for our special evangelistic outreach and meetings in September.  There were many contacts with friends and neighbours along with others in this town through personal invitation and witness.  Nearly all of 5,000 flyers were given out.  We were encouraged by the help and ministry of our speaker (a pastor from Paris) and four people from his church who worked tirelessly to help this outreach.  Praise the Lord for bringing out unsaved visitors to each of the meetings and for the excellent evangelistic messages.  Our room was full Sunday morning! 

• some encouragement at our church despite the news that we will be losing one of our core families.  We have had first time visitors several of the past few Sundays.  Praise for all who have heard the Gospel so clearly recently. 
• the arrival of Jessica and Joel, dear friends from PA, and for their encouragement and desire to help during their two week visit.

Pray for

• the Bible Institute ministry, for the students and professors, and that God will continue to call others to train for His service.  
• Continued fruit from the evangelistic meetings and that those who have visited would return.
• The multi-church Retreat at the end of this month (October 26-28).  Pray that each one who attends would be blessed and encouraged in their walk and service for the Lord.
• God’s provision for the building needs of each of our Bordeaux churches.  Besides our church needing a permanent place with more space, the three other churches in the region are also looking to God to provide for their building needs.
• The English club outreach ministry that began a new year on October 5.  Pray for us as we prepare and teach and also for the children to be attentive with open hearts.  Pray for us to be able to reach out to some new families.

• Cherith and Caleb, still seeking medical help as they continue to suffer with chronic coughing.
• Bonnie Bixby as she moves back to the USA and prepares for her retirement.  Pray for those she leaves behind here, including church family and mission family.

• Our family as we prepare for a special ministry opportunity this Christmas break.  I have been invited to give a seminar on church music and worship for the people of the church in Kezmarok, Slovakia where Don and LeAnne Waite serve with BMM.  Pray for guidance in preparation and that God will use our family to be a blessing to the Waites and to their church.

August Praise and Prayer

Summer vacation is over and school is starting up again, requiring extra time and energy for Cherith as a homeschooling Mom.  Adrianna and Caleb began 10^th and 7^th grade on August 20 and Josiah begins 4^th grade in the public school on September 3.  How we all need God’s wisdom and strength as well as His guidance in this venture of seeking His glory in the area of education.

Once again the Lord has filled our weeks with opportunities to serve Him here in Saint Medard.  There were added responsibilities at church while our teammates were gone for two weeks of vacation.  On several occasions, we were able to help out one of our neighbors who fell last month. The R family came to town for a week of vacation and we were able to spend time with them over several days.  We rejoiced with them as they announced that a fourth child was on the way.  We watched the film “Joni” together with the family, and talked about her response to suffering.  We had no idea that they would face losing their own baby or that N would be undergoing serious surgery within a week’s time.  Now, this family of young Christians is walking through the Valley, thankfully with the help of their Shepherd.

This past week, a few of us from our church worked over several days to help a young lady (a pastor’s daughter from another region of France) who has just moved into the area for work and had already begun her new job.  She is visiting the churches in Bordeaux to determine where the Lord wants her to be involved.  We would love to see the Lord burden her heart to join the core group in this church plant.

Praise for

•  the opportunities of service God has given us over the past month.
• God’s protection of Mrs. R’s life with the complications with her pregnancy and medical care she has needed. Praise for God’s help in times of trial.
• the safe delivery of K, born to a young couple active in our church, the first grandchild for our teammates!
• God’s protection for one of our elderly members, Mrs. T. who recently fell in her home, and for the healing God has given her.

Pray for

• healing and comfort for the R family, especially for Mrs. R., and that their faith would be strengthened through this trial.
• the preparations for the three-day evangelistic conference September 27-29 with a guest speaker from Paris. Pray for the response of the people of Saint Medard.

J, front left

• J, who has been a faithful part of this work during her time in Bordeaux for schooling, as she pursues theological training in preparation for ministry among university students.
• good interaction and for opportunities to witness as we participate in the neighborhood picnic for our cul de sac on September 9.
• the planning and preparation for various ministries this fall, including Jonathan’s class at the Bible Institute October 8-12.
• the spiritual needs of our neighbor Mrs. S, who fell this summer and for us to have more opportunities to share with her.
• the pulmonologist who is working to find a treatment that works for Cherith and Caleb who continue to have respiratory/asthmatic issues.
• Cherith’s parents who will be visiting unsaved relatives in the Netherlands this month before coming to Bordeaux for a few days with us.

Praise and Prayer July 31, 2018

We returned home Saturday evening from a whirlwind trip to northern France that began on Wednesday.  God gave many blessings, including His protection over nearly 1000 miles of driving, sometimes on roads jammed with vacationers from France, Great Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Holland.  One of the purposes for the trip was to renew Adrianna’s US passport which expires this September.  This will be her fourth passport, and the last one that Mom and Dad have to apply for, as the kind lady at the Embassy reminded us.  While it gives us a twinge of sadness to see the years with our children evaporating before us, we are so thankful for God’s working in Adrianna’s life and for the growth in her love for the Lord and her desire to serve Him and others.  The Embassy appointment went like clockwork and we were on our way just 10 minutes after the appointed time! 

Another purpose for this trip was to visit a number of people, most already saved but some who have yet to see their need for the Lord.  We had a precious visit with our former teammates from Reims, Mike and Elva Farrell and their daughter Emily near Rouen.  In Paris we stayed with Mr. and Mrs. R. and were delighted with the good fellowship in the Lord.  Our hearts were encouraged to see every room in their apartment decorated with Scripture verses!  Our day in Paris included visits with a brother in Christ who had been a student in Reims during our time there and with family friends that serve as missionaries in the greater Paris area. 

On our return home we stopped for a visit with A., another one of Jonathan’s former language study classmates from 22 years ago when he was first studying French in Nancy, France.  Our last contact with A. and her family in person had been 15 years ago when Adrianna was only 4 months old.  Within the last year and a half, we had reconnected through Facebook, but hadn’t yet been able to connect face to face.  We are grateful to renew this friendship and pray that God will use it to bring this family to Himself.  Spiritually, A. is a practicing Catholic who is evidently lacking a saving relationship with Christ.

A. with Cherith and our newborns in 2003

Praise for

• ·      God’s blessing and protection of the four young ladies on the FOF team this year and for their safe return home.
• ·      God’s help for Cherith and for the good turnout for the ladies meeting and Bible study.

• ·      the visitors that we have had in church these past few weeks, at least one in response to a flyer in her mailbox.
• ·      God’s blessing and protection of Adrianna on her two-week trip to Spain for immersion in the Spanish language.  Praise for all of the opportunities the Lord gave her to serve Him, including being asked to share her testimony in church on Sunday morning.

• ·      the arrival of home-school materials for Adrianna and Caleb for the new year, for which a donor generously covered the cost for international shipping.
• ·      a good trip to Paris with many good opportunities to connect with people.

Pastor Goumba with Jonathan (Bambari, CAR 2004) 

Pray for

• ·      our future contact with A. and her family and that God will draw them to Himself. 
• ·      God’s help as we prepare church documents and apply to the local government for recognition.  Pray for God’s leading and provision of a building. Pray for visitors to come and to keep coming.
• ·      preparation and planning for fall church and outreach ministries.  Pray for wisdom in planning for our English outreach to children and beginning a weekly English outreach to adults. Pray that we will be able to build bridges to help us reach the people of Saint Medard with the Gospel.
• ·      Jonathan as he prepares to teach again at the Bible Institute in Algrange in October.
• ·      our two homeschoolers (and their Mother!) as they go back to school on August 20.
• ·      both Cherith and Caleb who are both being treated for asthma to be able to get more relief to their coughing/wheezing.

Mrs. Goumba and Sephora with Cherith and Adrianna (Bambari 2004)

• ·      God’s comfort for Pastor and Mrs. Pierre Goumba in Bambari, CAR who lost two children (including Sephora) in a road accident this month.  Their burden was already great with the responsibility of the Bambari center church, the Bambari Bible school and the great number of refugees that have camped on the mission station.

Praise and Prayer June 29, 2018

I am challenged by Peter’s great faith in our Lord as he cried out to Jesus who was walking on the turbulent sea “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” (Matthew 14:28).  No fear of the storm at that moment, only complete trust in the One who had the power to save him from sinking beneath the waves.  We may not enjoy going through the storm, but we can trust the Master of the storm who calls us to bring us through!

These are crucial times and the battle for the souls of men is one of the most important enterprises that God has given us.  We continue to seek God’s help and blessing as we reach out to the Saint Medard community.  It is His work, not ours. He is building His Church and we are privileged to have a small part in His great work.  THANK YOU for praying, both for us and for the lost souls of Saint Medard and the surrounding area.  Praise the Lord for what He has done, both seen and unseen.

Praise for

• the baptism of Mr. and Mrs. R. on June 17 in Paris, and for the clear testimonies that they shared of God’s saving work of grace in their lives!
• God’s protection and blessing of the four young ladies on the Focus on France missions internship program this summer.  Praise for each of the ministries that they have taken part in across France and for the help and encouragement they have been.

• the good attendance for the American picnic and for all of the help from the FOF team.  Praise for many good opportunities to present the Gospel this year.

• contacts made for the English conversation outreach for adults, and for those who took part in our trial run in June with our FOF team here to help.
• all of the new church flyers and Gospels of Luke that have been distributed in Saint Medard this month.  With the help of the FOF team we have now completed the second mailbox campaign of Saint Medard en Jalles!

• the completion of another school year for the children, including two homeschooled.

Pray for

• Cherith as she leads and speaks for a Ladies Meeting on July 7.
• wisdom and enabling for building on the English conversation outreach to adults that we began in June.  Pray that we will be able to build bridges to help us reach the people of Saint Medard with the Gospel.  
• positive responses to the distribution of flyers and the Gospels of Luke and that God will help us to persevere as we begin to canvass one of the neighbouring communities.
• the Lord to give guidance and help in preparing church documents and in our teaching and preaching ministries.  Pray that God’s Word will impact lives.
• stability and security to return in the CAR, particularly to our former hometown of Bambari where Christians are suffering greatly.
• Adrianna as she flies to Spain July 2 for two weeks of language immersion with a Christian family from the church near Madrid that we visited in February.