Baptism Day !

Today was a very special day for us here in Pessac. Corine Oulai was baptized. She has been saved for several years, even before her marriage but had never been baptized. She really wanted to be here before they leave for Ivory Coast because this is where she was saved. We had our regular Sunday and then had a special meeting in the afternoon. Several of her unsaved friends came.

"Grandparenting"

Since our own grandchildren are so far away and we don't see them often, it is a treat to be substitutes once in a while for others. This weekend, Ando and Lala had to be gone on business so we are keeping their three children. It is the first time that they have been away alone for over 9 years! We are enjoying the kids and we trust they are enjoying each other. Continue to pray for the Razafindrabe family as they have some important decisions to make in the near future.

The Parker Family Concert

Sunday we had the privilege of having the Mark Parker Family with us. Both Dr. and Mrs. Parker are on the music faculty at BJU and the two girls are exceptional musicians, too. In the morning service, Mark preached (in French!) and they presented several specials. We had a concert at 4pm. It was great! We were happy with the crowd and especially thrilled that several neighbors came as well as the owner of our house.

...and then they were gone!

...the dining room, the bedroom, the kitchen!

Singing in town, taking the tram home and then having a Bible study with Bob.



Watching the sunset at the dune de Pyla. Gina, the German girl who was saved here two years ago, was their guide.

Saying good-bye this morning. Have any of you ever had 21 guests leave all at once and your house be cleaner than it was when they arrived? Come again, Youth group of the Guetli!

We had a wonderful time. Now to get ready for the next event...

Youth Group from Switzerland Arrives!

Yesterday the youth group from the Guetli in Switzerland arrived to spend a couple of days with us. In a matter of minutes, they had transformed our yard into a camping ground. They came well prepared with lots of homegrown food. The boys slept out in tents and the girls were in our meeting room. We already have three girls there--Donna, her friend Jeanine
and Gina, a German girl here visiting.

It was Tuesday night, when we regularly have our prayer meeting so they joined us. The 22 Swiss far outnumbered our small group, but we really enjoyed listening to them sing and share testimonies. What language did we use? Well, it was a mixture of French, English, Swiss German, German and Hand!


We dearly love these people. Learning from others of different cultures is one of the blessings that we have as missionaries.

An "Old" Student comes to Visit!

Today we were thrilled to have Jean Jacques Bouka Bouka come for a short visit. In 1992, he came as a student to Bordeaux from Gabon. Also that year, we moved to Pessac and started the church. By January we had 3 faithful students--Jean Jacques being one of them. In 1998, he went back to his country where he is working in a government post. It was exciting for us to see him again and to catch up on all that the Lord is doing in his life. He enjoyed seeing the few "oldies" that are still here from that era!

A Friend and Co-Worker is with the Lord

During the night, John Stauffacher went to be with the Lord. He and his wife Margaret have been working in France for over 40 years. In many ways, John was the "solid rock" on whom the French team counted. Bob regarded him as a close friend and mentor. He will be greatly missed by all. Pray for his wife and children (all 3 grown and married and living in France). We plan to go up to the Paris area for the funeral on Friday. Pray that we have a safe trip up and back in one day. In less than 9 months, our field has lost two leaders of wisdom to cancer. Dan Lacey passed away in November.