Praise and Prayer for April 16, 2012

God blessed the Resurrection Day celebration at church as a good group of people gathered for the services and the fellowship dinner.  There were seven children in junior church and at least 35 that stayed for the dinner and afternoon service.  I had been asked to speak in the afternoon service, but as the time went by I began to be concerned that if we didn’t start the service, people would begin to leave.  However, it seemed as though everyone was content to be with their family in Christ and I didn’t see anyone leave before we began the afternoon service.  For our family too, so far from our own families and friends back home (in MI, PA and Reims), the Lord surrounded us with a loving church family with which to celebrate this special day.  I shared some of the facts that are true for us today because Christ is risen from the dead.

As a family of five with three children, doing laundry is a regular part of most days around here.  Last week the washing machine that we had bought used from a friend in 2007 died in the middle of a cycle.  After researching washing machines for a replacement, we purchased a new machine that should be delivered this Friday.  The growing pile of laundry has necessitated two trips to the Laundromat thus far, reminding us through the time and money spent why a washing machine is such a blessing and help to us.  On one of those trips, Adrianna came along and we were able to do her Science lesson while we waited for the laundry.

Praise for:

- God’s blessings for our Easter celebration at church, including a lovely presentation by our small group as they shared the message of Easter through song.  We were encouraged by testimonies last Sunday of how God had blessed others through the Easter services.

- the good opportunity that Cherith had to visit with one of our neighbors as they went to the town market on Saturday morning together.

- healing for several of us who have fought a bug, especially Caleb who has had a fever and an infection in his eye. 

- a time of fellowship and encouragement with our teammates on Easter Monday as we shared a meal together at the Bixbys’ house.

Pray for:

- several visitors to the church downtown to return, and that the church would see growth.

- guidance in our involvement at the church and as we work with the Sunday school program.

- a sister committed not to work on the Lord’s day who is now (after several years with the same employment) being threatened with the loss of her job if she will not work Sundays.

- Cherith’s Grandma Hovingh who was hospitalized Friday evening in Grand Rapids, MI for stroke-like symptoms.  Pray too for Cherith’s Dad (Hubert Broeckert) as he leaves Wednesday for Cambodia and for her Mom as she follows April 25.

- the Lord’s provision for our support needs, and for unexpected expenses like a new washing machine this week.
- traveling mercies for us and each of the others attending our France field conference this next week (April 23-26), and for the Lord to bless in the Bible-hour sessions with our speaker as well as in the business meetings.

Praise and Prayer for April 4, 2012

The dust is beginning to settle around here as we adjust to our new surroundings and get more involved in the ministries.  There are quite a number of boxes of books to unpack and there has not been time to organize the office yet, but we are enjoying the organization that has come to other areas in our house and lives.  We were very surprised when our new sofa arrived at the house in umpteen pieces waiting for us to put it together (thanks to IKEA’s we make it, you assemble it furniture!).

The Lord has continued to give us good contacts with neighbors.  Last Friday, one neighbor took me to meet another couple down the street who had honey to sell.  They kindly invited us in for a visit and were interested in what we are doing here.  The children who have been working hard on school enjoyed an annual Carnaval parade in downtown Saint Medard en Jalles where we saw many other families taking part in the festivities.  On Saturday, our family worked together to plant flowers in window boxes and in the back yard. 

God is blessing the work at the church downtown.  On Friday evening, there was a special speaker for prayer meeting.  Audrey, a senior at the Bible Institute in Algrange who is from this church, shared her heart as she presented the mission work in Congo (DRC) that she and her soon-to-be husband will be involved in.  

Our family took the bus and tramway to get to church to avoid driving in traffic and it still took 2.5 hours total to get to and from church.  Sunday, I preached in the morning service on the errors Pilate made in his response to Jesus.  There were two visitors in attendance.  This Sunday there will be a special Easter service followed by a fellowship dinner.   

 
Praise for:

- continued progress in settling in to our new home and ministries.

- the opportunity to have our teammates over for dinner (our first guests) and a time of prayer.

- the opportunity I had to lead the Bible study in Merignac this evening and for the 8 people present. 

- God’s help as we learn the best ways of transportation to get around this large, busy city.  Praise for God’s protection.

- the Easter cards we sent out today to a number of our friends.

Pray for:

- the Easter program and fellowship dinner this Sunday.  Pray for a small group of us that have been practicing a special number to share.

- hearts to be touched with the message of Easter.

- continued contacts and the building of relationships that the Lord can use.

- the preparations for our France team conference (April 23-26) and for our speaker coming from Germany this year.

Praise and Prayer for March 15, 2012

Several weeks have passed since our last update and we need to share with you how God has been working and answering prayer.  We are so thankful for your prayers for us and know that God has been responding to those prayers!  As we continue to settle into our new home and ministry, we trust that more frequent updates will again be possible.

Our trips in February from Reims to Bordeaux, and also to Malta for the enrichment conference, were fairly smooth and without complication.  Even as we experienced some sickness, we could see the Lord’s hand.  As the stomach flu went around in both cities, we fretted about time we couldn’t afford to lose if we caught it as we raced to care for details and packing related to our move.  When I did catch it, it was after we had been given the keys to our new house while we were waiting at the Christys to leave for Malta a couple of days later.  With nothing to pack, I was able to recuperate restfully and was ready to go by the time our flight left.  

The Lord blessed our time at the conference as we enjoyed the messages and the sessions with the special speakers and the fellowship of many others ministering around Europe.  The ministry of four young women who volunteered to come and work with the children was a special blessing to our children.  All three of our kids also enjoyed their new friends from all across Europe.

Saying goodbye to our church family and friends in the neighborhood was difficult and there were tears.  Several members of the church family came by to help with cleaning and moving things and we enjoyed the precious fellowship of these brothers and sisters in Christ.  A few neighbors also came by to say goodbye and express sorrow at our departure.  We pray we will be able to maintain contact and continue to share God’s love with them and that they will respond to it.  Although leaving Reims was hard, the Lord has given us a warm welcome into our new neighborhood and ministry.  A city of nearly 28,000, Saint Medard en Jalles is a fairly calm town just a few minutes west of the bustling city of Bordeaux.  We have had a warm welcome by neighbors on all sides.  Administratively, we have been working through the myriad of details necessitated by a change in residency in France.  Among other things, we are still waiting for a telephone line to be installed to the house.  For now, email and Internet connection is at the local golden arches and through the cell phone hotspot.  The containers and cartons are beginning to clear out as things are unpacked and organized into our new though small house.  The Lord provided through our landlord a little shed in our yard that has proved to be exactly the size we needed to store the things as we work our way through them.  We continue to be amazed with God’s attention to details.

It has been a joy to begin to work with our new teammates in both the work in Merignac as well as the work in downtown Bordeaux.  We are thankful for the quality people that God has given us to work with, and for the people that He has sent us to minister to.  There is much to do and workers are greatly needed.

 

  Praise for:

- God’s protection in travelling and in our move, and for His help as we settle into our new home and ministry.

- the refreshment and blessing we enjoyed (and needed) in the middle of our move as we attended the conference in Malta.

- good contacts as we left Reims as well as in our new neighborhood. 

- opportunities God is giving us to minister in Merignac and Bordeaux.

- the good progress in taking care of administrative details relating to our move.

- the health and strength that God has given.  Praise that the tests Cherith underwent this past weekend in an ER in Bordeaux showed her heart to be very healthy (symptoms were likely caused by a pulled muscle and stress).

- an increase in our support level bringing our support level to around 86%.  Praise for our home church and for two individuals who have begun to support us.

Pray for:

- the building of good relationships with our neighbors and with those we are ministering to.

- the Bible study and outreach in Merignac, held every two weeks.  Pray for wisdom for our outreach and that those who have received tracts will read them and allow God to work in their hearts.

- the church in downtown Bordeaux where we are also helping out in several areas.  Pray for some families with children to start to attend.

- the remaining details for our settling in, including a phone line to be installed and the transfer of our residency permit file from Reims to Bordeaux.

Praise and Prayer for February 8, 2012

Praise the Lord for leading us to a house in Saint Medard en Jalles, a small town outside the busy city of Bordeaux located just a few minutes from Merignac.  After visiting several more houses, we called the owner of this house to let him know that we were interested.  We knew very well that he could also turn us down so were relieved to learn Thursday that he was happy to rent to us.  Later we learned that he had called our current landlord in Reims and been given a very positive overview of our nearly 5 years as tenants here in Reims.  We are so thankful to the Lord for opening this door and pray our presence in the new neighborhood will bring glory to Him.

We drove home Friday after signing the contract with the new landlord.  The Lord gave us a good trip with beautiful weather for travel – all the way up until we entered Reims at about 8 p.m. under falling snow and slippery roads.  There are many details to care for this week before we return to Bordeaux Friday.  We are trying to arrange our move for around February 23.  We appreciate your prayers as we work under pressure these days and try not to forget important details.  These include getting estimates from moving companies, making arrangements with consignment shops here in Reims to take large furniture that we won’t be moving, ordering a telephone line at the new house, contacting utility and insurance companies to stop service in our current apartment and begin service at the new house, disconnecting and packing all light fixtures, etc.  On Friday, we return to Bordeaux and on Saturday we will go through the new house and receive the keys.  In the middle of the move, we will be attending the EEC (European Enrichment Conference) with our mission in Malta February 13 to 17.  We trust the Lord will minister to each of our hearts through the messages and seminars as well as the fellowship that we will enjoy.

Praise for:

- the small house that the Lord has given us near Merignac.

- safety in traveling, for dry roads, and for a warm apartment with the freezing temperatures outside (between 15 and 25F).

- well-attended services on Sunday here in Reims, including 20 at the Sango service.

- our car starting again after a scare this weekend.  The motor was immobilized Sunday night after I dropped off a family and I had to walk home.  After replacing the battery in the remote control key, the motor was unlocked.

- continued contacts and opportunities to witness here in Reims.

Pray for:

- wisdom and guidance through all of these moving details.

- for continued health and strength for these challenging days, for Adrianna and Caleb as they do school.

- God’s protection with all of this travel (by car and by air).

- for the enrichment conference in Malta next week.

- God to use the time we spend with church members here in Reims before our move.

- God’s provision for our needs.  We have a number of exceptional expenses related to our move.

Praise and Prayer for January 30, 2012

We are thankful for all that God has done for us during these many weeks since our last post.  Our time of home ministry is now history and we are back in France.  God’s protection and care were evident through the nearly 20,000 miles driven.  It was a blessing to be able to spend some precious time with my Mother before the Lord called her to her heavenly Home on October 24. 

We arrived back in Reims, France on January 18 and had a very special reunion with our church family there.  We were so encouraged by our brothers and sisters in the church and to see all that the Lord continues to do among them.  On Tuesday, January 24, we crammed into our little car to drive here to Bordeaux to go house hunting.  Our teammates, Ed and Sylvia Christy and their daughter Jana are our hosts, and have so graciously given us their bedroom and even the office for the kids to sleep in at night.  Our house search has gone on in earnest since then.  The market is hard, and we have already been turned down for one house that we thought would be ideal. 

It has been good to be in Bordeaux and get involved in different activities and ministries here during this time: the bi-monthly Bible study in Merignac on Wednesday evening, the Friday evening prayer meeting with the church in Floirac where the Christys have been working, a pastors prayer breakfast and Bible study on Saturday morning hosted by the Christys, and the Sunday service at the Bordeaux church where we will be helping out.  We had a special Raclette dinner Sunday noon at the church with the pastor’s family and some of the other leaders.  This dinner from the French Alps is composed of a special cheese melted at the table and poured over potatoes with sliced ham and French sausage. 

  Praise for:

- the safety and care the Lord gave us over a very full 6 months back home.

- a good trip back to France and here to Bordeaux.

- the special reunion with friends and church family.

- the health that God has given our family through these busy times.

- the appointments we have been able to make for looking at houses in the Bordeaux area.

- good opportunities for fellowship and connecting with the work going on in the area.

Pray for:

- God’s provision of a house for our family soon in just the place where He wants us to live.

- for continued health and strength for these challenging days, for Adrianna and Caleb as they do school.

- for all of the details surrounding our move to Bordeaux.

- for the enrichment conference in Malta scheduled for Feb. 13 to 17, right in the middle of our moving month.

Praise and Prayer for November 24, 2011

As these packed weeks continue, today we are driving the 600 miles from PA to Grand Rapids, MI where we will be, Lord willing, for the next few weeks.  We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with our families tomorrow at Cherith’s parents’ home in Allendale, MI.  We will be missing my Mother, however.  However, we are reminded at this very special time of year that we truly do have much for which to be thankful.  God’s faithful care for us over these past few weeks are only one of those blessings.

The funeral/celebration services for my Mother’s life, service and promotion to Glory were held in Grand Rapids, MI and in Springville, PA.  The Lord gave travelling mercies to us (and to my brothers and their families) as each of us made the round-trip between the two places.  For us, that included safety despite a flat tire when we picked up a nail on the highway near Imlay City, MI.  Celebrating Mother’s life was truly a joy (despite the tears), and it was a blessing to share with all who were present at the two services, most who had a close tie with Mother.

The Lord has blessed our travels and our meetings in PA, and only our final scheduled meeting remains on December 4 in Marne, MI.  We praise the Lord for the help and strength He has given, and for the good fellowship and all of the gracious hospitality that has been shown to our family. 

  Praise for:

- another year the Lord has given Cherith which we celebrated Sunday.  Praise for God’s gift to our family of a wonderful wife and mother to our children.

- safety in travelling, for precious times honoring God in celebration of Mother’s amazing life, and for God’s comfort and healing for our hurting hearts.

- the opportunity we’ve had to be in our home church in PA for several services, and that Cherith could participate in the Ladies’ Craft Day outreach, with 166 women in attendance.

- all the progress we made in going through our belongings in storage in PA.  The Lord gave extra strength and wisdom, which we so desperately needed for all the sorting, moving, packing, etc.  Praise for help with watching our kids so we could work.

Pray for:

- for our final meeting Dec. 4, for our time with family, and for the time with our Grand Rapids church family.

- continued healing and comfort for our hearts (and my brothers and their families), and for the Lord’s help as we work through Mother’s things and her affairs.

- the Lord’s guidance as we look for housing in Merignac (near Bordeaux, France), and for all the arrangements to be made in these final weeks here in the US.

- God’s blessing on our ministry partners and that God would raise up new churches and individuals who share our burden to partner with us through prayer and financial support.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Praise and Prayer for October 31, 2011

After praying for my Mother through all of the suffering she has faced these past months and years, she entered the gates of her heavenly Home on Monday, October 24 into the presence of her Lord and Savior whom she loved and served throughout her earthly lifetime.  Our hearts are filled with emotion, both of grief for our loss and of joy for her gain as we move through these days.  Your prayers for my brothers and me, for our families and for all of those who knew and loved Mother during this time are much appreciated.  As I type, we are travelling back to Michigan to help with some of the arrangements and for the funeral service there Thursday evening.  Lord willing, we will return to northeast PA on Friday for a funeral service and the burial there on Saturday.  Her body will be buried beside my Father’s not far from Springville, PA. 

While my Mother’s promotion and this trip comes as a surprise to us, we are comforted by the knowledge that these events do not come as a surprise to our loving Lord.  We know that He has known the number of Mother’s days since before she was born (Psalm 139; Job 14).  In His wisdom and love, He had arranged for us to receive the word of Mother’s promotion while in the home of long-time friends of our family, at a church that has partnered with my family in ministry for more than 50 years!  God surrounded us with His love in tangible ways.  He continues to give us the comfort and healing that we need.  Mother has been a major partner in our ministry through her interest, prayer and financial support since the beginning.  While her input into our lives cannot be replaced, we pray the Lord will use her example to raise up many who will pray, give and go in response to God’s love and claims on their lives, just as Mother did.

  Praise for:

- the generous special gifts that have been given to cover extra expenses that we are having.

- protection in our travels between PA and NY.

- the good preaching and spiritual refreshment at the Couples’ Prayer Advance in Lancaster, PA.

- Mother’s life and fine example, and for God’s answer to prayer for her healing.

- the evidence of God’s love and care during these days of sorrowing (Ps. 23:4).

Pray for:

- travelling this week to and from MI and for the services that will be held in MI and PA celebrating Mother’s life, her service for the Lord and her promotion to Glory.

- continued healing and comfort for our hearts (and my brothers and their families), and for guidance in the days ahead.

- a new wave of those who would respond to God’s call to pray, to give, or to go, and that Mother’s life would continue to bear fruit through the lives of those whose hearts have been touched by her testimony.

- God’s blessing on our ministry partners and that God would raise up others who share our burden to partner with us through prayer and financial support.