Praise and Prayer May 25, 2020

James 4:13-14 says “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” We like to add the phrase “Lord willing” when we make plans, knowing that God is working out a plan much greater and wiser than any that we can imagine.  Even as lives and economies around the world have been  disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic these past few months, our family is facing other life changes reminding us that God is working out His own purposes in our lives and that He is ultimately responsible for us.  

Just one month ago we were thinking, just as we had thought ever since we moved here in 2012, that we would be living and ministering here in Saint-Médard for many years to come.  However, the Lord has shown us that our time in this ministry is over and that He is moving us on.  When God clearly closed the door for us to return to Africa after 11 years there, He clearly led us to France, first to help for four years with the final stages of the church plant in Reims, then to team up with the Christys to plant a church here on the west side of Bordeaux in a town we had never heard of.  All along the way, we have been able to see God’s faithful hand helping and guiding and say with Samuel “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”  Now, as we face an even greater upheaval as a family, as we are uprooted from our ministry, our church family and our home, we are confident that our God, who has led us up to now, remains faithful. He is our Comforter, our Provider, our Help and our Healer.  He had already taught us that the ministry is His and our lives are His to use and move as He pleases.  We knew in our hearts that we would be here just as long as He wanted us here and that we needed to guard against thoughts of our own indispensability in His work.  

After much prayer and hours of discussions, the Lord has led us to make the most difficult and painful decision we have ever had to make.  We have come to agree with our teammates’ desire for our team to separate and for us to leave the continuing of this ministry to them. Together, we realised that philosophical differences along with conflicting interpretations of team ministry make it impossible for us to continue as a team and limit the freedom in ministry that each of us desire.  

So once again we are facing an unknown future as we turn over our ministries, begin to sift through the contents of our house and prepare to put our house on the market.  We are so thankful for the knowledge that the Lord is our Guide, that He is in control and that He is working out His purposes for His glory and for our good.  Our plans at this point are to return to the USA in August, Lord willing, for a year where we will continue to wait on the Lord for future direction and healing. Please pray for His clear direction regarding the next step, especially regarding future ministry for 2021.  Our hearts desire is to know His will and to do it.  We know that this and the COVID-19 pandemic will have an effect on some of the plans that we have already made for meetings.

Praise for

• God’s guidance and sustenance as we navigate a difficult time in our lives and ministry. Praise for the peace that God gives as we cling to His promises.
• God’s help for Jonathan as he distance-taught his class to the four first year students at the Bible Institute (World of the Bible: O.T.), especially with the extra challenges of sharing quizzes and tests.  Praise for the good spirit among the students during Jonathan’s class and for the class being enriched by the fact that all four students had been to Israel!
• God’s healing of friends recovering from COVID-19 and for His protection of our family.
• for the end of the home school year approaching for our three children (5th, 8th and 11th grade) and for Cherith.  They will be finished, Lord willing, by June 12, with Adrianna finishing a dual credit module with BJU by June 26.
• God’s Word that nourishes, heals, encourages and refreshes. Praise for the encouragement and prayers of our pastor back home, and of friends and family.

Pray for

• clear direction from the Lord for our future ministry, especially regarding where He wants us in 2021.  Pray that He will show us if He wants us to remain in Europe or if He wants us elsewhere.  Pray too for His guidance regarding our previously scheduled meetings.
• God to help us with sorting and packing, maintenance projects on the house, and wisdom to know what to keep and what to get rid of.  Pray that the Lord will provide a buyer for our house.
• God’s provision for our transportation and housing needs for our time in the USA.

Prayer and Praise Update April 4, 2020

Greetings in our Lord, fellow quarantiners!  While the world seems almost at a standstill with COVID-19, singing birds and blooming flowers remind us of a Heavenly Father continuing to hold this broken world in His powerful hands as He reaches out again to those lost in sin.  Our hearts are heavy for those who are entering eternity every day because of this virus, who are unprepared to meet God.

We are grateful for God’s blessings and care as we go through this unusual time.  Now into our third week of complete lockdown in France, we are grateful for the goodness and mercies of our Lord.  With all activities outside the home cancelled, we do have more time with our children, though much of it is taken up with school.  We can still enjoy a lovely yard and the beautiful Spring weather.  Our family continues to be protected from the virus, with me going out alone about once a week for groceries.

Our church family is connecting through social media as most of them have either WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.  We are grateful for the  edification, the fellowship and gathering together that is made possible through technology.  Today is the 90th Birthday of Mrs. T. who is off social media but able to be reached by telephone.  We thank the Lord for His care for this dear servant now even more isolated than before.

Next week, I am to teach a course to the first year students at the Bible Institute in Algrange.  I had to cancel my travel arrangements (train and air)  and have been working these past couple weeks to adapt the material to distance teaching/learning and get set up with an online classroom.  

Praise for

• God’s protection of our family and church family’s health thus far. Praise for healing for our teammates and for God’s help for several other friends in ministry that have been suffering with COVID-19.
• The technology available to us that has enabled us to continue to connect with and nurture our folks here. This has also made it possible for us to connect with family and friends in the US and should, Lord willing, make it possible for me to teach my class next week. It is also making it possible for Adrianna to continue violin lessons with her teacher via Skype.
• God’s help for Mrs. T. who is 90 today, and for His helping our other members too during this difficult time. 

Pray for

• Jonathan as he teaches his class to the Bible Institute students this week from a distance (with all the challenges that involves!).  His class is on the World of the Bible (Geography, History and Culture). Pray that we will receive a refund for the airline ticket that was cancelled.
• God’s continued protection for our family and church family, and for continued healing for those suffering with COVID-19.  At least one person in our neighborhood has been diagnosed with it.  
• for the Central African Republic with 8 confirmed cases of COVID-19, where this pandemic could cause great devastation on many levels, if it spreads.
• God’s provision for our transportation and housing needs during our 6 months in the USA, providing our trip does not get postponed due to this virus.

Praise and Prayer update (COVID-19)

President Macron addresses the nation

As our world faces the world-wide pandemic of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) we are seeing people respond in so many different ways.  And though this virus has brought with it so much death and loss we know that God is sovereign and working out a greater plan that is for good for those “who love God” who are “called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).   Besides causing people to contemplate death and the necessity to prepare for that event (which, apart from the rapture, is coming to everyone), the faith of true Christians is being tried and tested like never before (and according to Peter, that is “much more precious than gold that perisheth”, I Peter 1.7).  And one of the greatest privileges we have as Christians is to meet together “at the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb.4.16).  So while government, safety and medical restrictions may keep us apart physically for a time, there is nothing that can hinder our meeting at the throne of grace.  Perhaps the Church (both local bodies and the universal Church) will be drawn even closer to its Head as well as to its other members.  

The pasta aisle in our supermarket

Thank you for your prayers for us here in Bordeaux, France. We want to give you an update as to how we have been affected.  As the numbers of confirmed cases has risen over the past week, our ability to circulate has quickly come to a halt.  As many ignored safety measures that the government had urged before the weekend, on Monday President Macron gave the directives that France is now on national lock-down. Only movement for work, health or necessary food is allowed and must be accompanied with an official declaration on a form provided by the government.  Even doctors’ appointments that are not urgent have been cancelled.

We have been able to keep connected with our folks through the technology that God has given us.  On Monday I was able to get a prescription filled for E., our oldest member who is 92.  Our church has a WhatsApp group that has become more active as members share Scriptures with promises and encouragement as well as prayer requests and news.  Skype permitted my regular “meeting” with my friend in the Middle East this week and God gave me a couple opportunities to witness to him.  

Our teammates self-quarantined with low fevers (though unable to be tested) since their return from Israel March 10.  They continue to recover, as do others of our missionary colleagues that have tested positive for this virus.  We are still as we were.  Due to her serious respiratory problems, we are trusting God to protect Cherith (and thus our family) from this virus.  She will face some greater difficulty breathing as her weekly respiratory therapy session is one of the things that has been cancelled.  Though it never resolved her issues, it did bring some relief.  Since our children are homeschooled, Cherith is able to keep up with their schooling which means that their days are not much changed.  Of course Adrianna’s violin lessons and groups with the music school are cancelled and none of the kids have their sports.  The music theory teacher is trying to figure out a way to have class at a distance.

Praise for

• God’s Word and promises, for bringing good from what looks very bad and for the privilege we have to come boldly before the throne of grace to find mercy and grace to help in our need.
• God’s protection thus far of our family, for the wisdom He is giving government leaders and for all who are cooperating to stop the virus from spreading.
• the technology available to us to keep contact and minister though we are unable to meet physically.  

Pray for

• God to accomplish His purposes through this global pandemic, both in the lives of believers and in the lives of the unsaved.
• Complete healing for our teammates and other BMM colleagues who are suffering.
• God’s protection for our family and our members, including elderly and those with respiratory issues.
• Wisdom and creativity in ministering to those around us as well as for Cherith and the kids with their heavy schedule.
• God’s provision for our transportation and housing needs during our 6 months in the USA, providing our trip does not get postponed due to this virus.

Praise and Prayer February 29, 2020

As our world faces storms of various kinds, we thank God for the assurance of His presence and help for each person who puts their faith in Him.  I love the words of the hymn “Day by Day” written in Swedish by Caroline Sandell, the “Fanny Crosby of Sweden”.  The second verse reminds of some promises God has made to us that we must remember and believe. And Caroline knew the truth of these words as she had witnessed the tragic death of her own beloved father.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,

With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,

He whose name is Counsellor and Pow’r.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that on Himself He laid;

“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”

This the pledge to me He made.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Saint-Médard-en-Jalles.  Through particularly challenging times, God continues to provide strength and blessing.  Our numbers at church fluctuate from week to week, but we are grateful to see evidence of God working in hearts.  S continues to grow spiritually as she faithfully attends Sunday services and continues regular Bible studies with Cherith. Her 12 year old daughter also shows spiritual growth as she listens attentively to the Sunday sermons and actively participates in Sunday school and English club.  L, who has been searching and attending services fairly regularly for over a year has recently found assurance of her salvation, though still struggles in many areas.  An elderly lady with a strong Catholic background has visited our church a few times with a friend.  She has asked some good questions and is obviously thinking. 

Praise for

• God’s presence and help as we navigate the storms of life.
• the completion of the mailbox campaign  outreach in the neighbouring town of Le Haillan. Praise for a visitor from another neighboring town responding to an invitation in his mailbox!

• L’s salvation and for other individuals making spiritual progress.  Praise for Mrs. T and her joy in the Lord though her physical strength is so limited and she isn’t able to attend services.

• small improvement for Cherith’s respiratory system after 6 weeks of special treatments.  
• completing our meeting itinerary for the 6 months we will be in the US for home ministry/furlough (August - January).  Lord willing, on this trip we will be able to visit each of the churches that are partnering with us.
• the Dunlop family that will be coming to help for a month during our absence.

Pray for

• God’s grace for us with a heavy load of church ministries this weekend filling in for our teammates who are away.  Pray for grace and strength for each day and challenge.
• a door to open for our church to be able to move to a more permanent and practical building.
• continued healing for Cherith’s respiratory system.
• a young man, Y, from our sister church in Pessac who was baptized this month. Pray that God will continue to work in his life.

• God’s provision for our transportation and housing needs during our 6 months in the USA. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  As we embark on a new year, it is a real comfort to know that no matter what is going on in our world globally, nationally or personally, we can be sure of at least one thing: God “crowns the year with [His] goodness” (Psalm 65:11).  And His goodness is so evident as we look at the past, present and future.

The holidays again provided us with opportunities to share homemade goody bags and Scripture calendars with those around us.  One of the couples with whom we have had the least contact invited us into their home for a brief visit and willingly received our gifts.

God gave us refreshment over the Christmas season through the cards, letters and skype calls from distant family and friends as well as through the loving gifts we received.  Our friends and missionary colleagues, Don and LeAnne Waite with their daughter Vivian came from Slovakia to spend 12 days with us for a delayed Christmas break in January.  

While most of us came down with a nasty flu during their visit, God used their time with us to refresh us in many ways.  The boys enjoyed immensely the opportunity to set up shop and do woodworking with “Uncle” Don, a skilled craftsman.  

Since LeAnne’s sister is married to Jonathan’s brother David, our kids also enjoyed their time with their “cousin”.  Our church benefitted from their visit as Don challenged us from Psalm 119 and they both shared their testimonies with us and presented their ministry.

We continue to work on our itinerary for a 6-month furlough/home ministry trip beginning early in August this year.  Our desire is to connect with as many of our support team as possible during that time so we anticipate much travel.  Having three kids homeschooling will add a challenge so we know we will need God’s special help.  We appreciate prayer for our preparations for this ministry and that the Lord will guide and provide concerning a means of transportation and housing near Grand Rapids, MI for November, December and January.

Praise for

• God’s faithfulness in crowning each year with His goodness.
• the blessings God gave our family over the holidays and for special opportunities to share with others. 
• the visit of the Waite family and for a refreshing time despite so much sickness. 
• A good finish to the first half of the year of English club with a special program for the parents that could join us.

• the healing of Caleb’s broken arm and that he has been able to return to sports activities this month.
• Adrianna’s good progress on the violin and for opportunities she has had to play in our services and in music school concerts.

Pray for

• God to open hearts to His Word, and bring conviction and salvation to the unsaved and that He would give growth to the believers. Pray for those in attendance who need to make decisions for Christ.
• Pray for wisdom and vision as we study and prepare and that we will be relevant in the way that we present God's Word.
• a door to open for our church to be able to move to a more permanent and practical building.

• God to bring healing and relief to Cherith who is undergoing treatments for acute sinusitis.
• God’s help as we plan for our furlough/home ministry later this year.  Pray for His provision of a vehicle for all of the traveling we will be doing in the 6 months we are home, and also for His provision of housing.

Merry Christmas!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” The bustling world around us seems to know so little of the Gift God gave so long ago that brings eternal life to all who believe.  How vital it is for us to keep Christ at the center of our own celebrations and to seek opportunities to share with others the Good News of the Savior’s birth.

On November 24, our family had the unique privilege of participating in a Central African gathering here in Bordeaux.  The group meets several times a year to pray for the CAR and to sing and study the Bible together in Sango.  

Ironically, it was while Caleb and I were in Bangui that one of the couples leading the group came to our church in Saint-Médard to invite me to preach at this service.  We were amazed by the large group of Central Africans that had gathered and I was thrilled with the opportunity to preach to them in Sango.  

Cherith was also delighted to use her Sango.  She saw S (with Cherith below) at the meeting, a lady she had just “happened” to meet in the hospital waiting room the preceding Friday as Caleb was having his cast removed.  Cherith had overheard her talking on the phone in Sango there in the waiting room.  When Cherith greeted her in her own tongue, her eyes got wide and she exclaimed to her son “This lady is one of us!”  They talked about many things including the meeting that Sunday.  

Our family will be travelling to Anglet (near the Spanish border) this Sunday where I will be preaching in the morning service and our family will take part in the Christmas Concert outreach in the afternoon before driving home that evening.  The Cheloudtchenkos (BMM colleagues) and the church there invited our family to help with this musical outreach.  With Cherith at the piano, Jonathan will be leading the choir which includes our children.  Adrianna will be part of a violin trio and also accompany a violin duet on the piano.  Additionally, we will also be singing an English Christmas carol medley and Cherith and I will have a piano duet.  We have been practicing here at home and have been able to join the Anglet church for two practices (November 10 and December 5).

Praise for

• good attendance of our special Christmas breakfast and service last Sunday (25), and for the work God is doing in hearts. Praise for the children attending the English club and for their good attention to the Bible lessons. 

• our Thanksgiving celebration as we hosted a gathering of 26 people, mostly missionaries from this area and as far away as an hour beyond the Spanish border.

• the good week that Adrianna and Caleb had at the MTR (Missionary Teen Retreat) in Spain last week, for the good fellowship with Christian teens (a rarity for our children) and for the spiritually challenging sessions.

• the good healing of Caleb’s arm after being in a cast for over 9 weeks.

• for the opportunity to share in a children’s church group in Connecticut over Skype !

Pray for

• God’s blessing on the Christmas outreaches, and for people to respond to the Gospel, both here in Saint-Médard and in Anglet.

• the ongoing Bible studies Cherith is having with S, and for the weekly contact Jonathan has with his Muslim friend.
• L’s salvation and for her adult daughter to begin to attend church with her.
• God’s provision of a larger building for our church, and for sufficient funds to be able to rent it.
• Cherith to get relief from the respiratory issues she suffers from.  She will be seeing another specialist Monday.
• the many details concerning our planned furlough/home ministry next year.  Pray that God will provide someone to replace us and for His help in the scheduling of meetings.

Praise and Prayer Update and CAR trip

Your prayers for us have been greatly needed over these past several weeks and we appreciate them so much.  So much has happened and we are grateful to the Lord for all He has done in both France and the Central African Republic.  Thank you for your partnership in this ministry.

On September 29, we held the baptismal service for S and Josiah in the rented building of a church in Bordeaux.  Of all who were invited, at least 25 from the outside (unsaved and unchurched) attended the service and heard the Gospel clearly presented in song, testimony and message.  Both of S’s children came for the event, though her husband did not.  We were also joined by believers from our sister churches in Bordeaux, bringing the total present to nearly 60.  

Despite breaking his arm (a displaced fracture) on September 18 and needing to have the arm reset twice during the following weeks in an attempt to get the bones better aligned, Caleb was able to accompany Jonathan on his trip to the Central African Republic from October 11 to 26.

Our gracious hosts were BMM colleagues, John and Paula Dannenberg.

We thoroughly enjoyed the many opportunities to serve God again in this land that is such a part of our lives. There, Jonathan taught two block courses on music ministry and the heart of worship in the Bangui seminary, currently meeting on the mission compound.

Besides seminary classes in the morning (40 hours total), he also taught classes in the afternoons (over 16 hours) to a group of music leaders from area churches.  Those classes, held in a local church across town, also focused on defining worship and the importance of a heart for God in our music ministries.

Jonathan also had the joy of preaching in local churches, twice in French services and once in Sango.

Caleb, despite his broken arm, enjoyed serving in various ways, including cooking, cleaning, counting a special project offering and folding the booklet covers for a lesson manual.  He also attended some of my classes.  

Leaving CAR October 25 was difficult, but we were so happy to get back to our family in France on Saturday.  God provided rest and strength for a full Sunday of ministry the next day.  

Praise for

• The baptism service of Josiah and S on September 29, and for all the unsaved that attended and heard the Gospel.
• God’s help and protection for Jonathan and Caleb on their recent trip to CAR and during their time there, and for His help for Cherith, Adrianna and Josiah as they remained in France.
• All of the opportunities God gave us to serve Him and His people in CAR, and for a number of vendors and taxi drivers we were able to give tracts or CDs too.
• The beginning of a new year of Kids’ English club ministry, and for two new participants who came first to the VBS program that we had last summer with the Benedicts!
• God’s direction in P’s life and for providing him with work in Toulouse, though we would have loved to have kept him here.

Pray for

• God’s working in the hearts of those who attended the baptism service.
• The church in CAR in general, and for the FIBAT ministry in particular.  Pray for finances to become available for the continued construction of the new Seminary campus buildings.

• Our church to continue to move forward after losing P who had been such a help for the six months of his internship. Pray that God will send us others who will be burdened to help.
• L’s salvation and for her adult daughter to begin to attend church with her.
• Our family as we prepare to help a sister church in the Basque region with their Christmas program.  We will be travelling to Bayonne for a musical practice on November 10.
• The correct and complete healing for Caleb’s broken arm. 
• God’s provision of a building for our church, and for sufficient funds to be able to rent it.
• Cherith and our children as they work through their schooling each day.  Pray that God would open their minds and help them with their learning.