The Joy of watching your Grandchildren discover the Joy of Giving!

Christmas with the family was wonderful but we will never forget when Micaiah gave his Dad the gift that he had for him. He had heard his Dad say a few weeks before that he wished he had some gloves for the cold mornings. From that moment on, he knew what he wanted to get him. He was sooo excited to give them to his Dad. Priceless moment.

Some more pictures!

The Voyage of Christmas!

Today we had the third and final performance of the Christmas Cantata "The Voyage of Christmas." It has been a long but fruitful "voyage" for us as we, along with others, have worked on translating, printing, practicing, getting costumes, etc.

We were really excited this evening as the room was filled. Many of them were visitors. Our neighbors were here as well as the owners of our house and many friends of church members. Thank you so much for praying for this outreach.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Christmas Cantata

Since August we have been working hard on the Christmas Cantata-- translating, printing, practicing, etc. We are doing "The Journey of Christmas" by Glenn and Jan Christianson. Our two sister churches are deeply involved, too. Saturday will be our last big practice and the first performance will be at the downtown church on Sunday. The next weekend there will be two more performances-- the church on the Right Bank Saturday and then Sunday, Dec. 19th here at our church. Please pray for this outreach. We know that the owner of our house will be here with his wife and hopefully some other neighbors.

Thanksgiving at 162bis!

Last Friday we had our annual Thanksgiving meal with friends and family. It is the first time in many years that we can add "and family!" What a wonderful day we spent as 23 people shared a delicious meal together (traditional turkey, of course!) and a time of singing and sharing the blessing of the last year. The Lord has been so good to us and we are grateful for His faithfulness year after year. We trust that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.

Three Church Retreat- 2010

Over the November 1st holiday weekend, we had our annual "Three Church Retreat" in the château near Tonneins. There were 90 people this year and there was an excellent spirit. The speaker was a retired French teacher. His messages on the book of James were very encouraging and convicting!
Bob did two workshops while there. The first one was a choir and the group sang for one of the services. The second one which he presented two times, was on "Simplifying your Spiritual Life." He based a lot of it on the book by that title by Donald Whitley. We had just finished reading it together.

This post is late since I have been battling a virus since coming back from the retreat, but we wanted to let you know that we were blessed by it again this year. We had 30 people go. One young Hungarian couple went who are non-believers. The young man comes from a Pastor's family and knows the Gospel clearly. Please pray for them.

English Service

For many years, we have had an English service once a month. We often have visitors-- students who just want to hear something in their mother tongue or students who just want to learn more English. This past Sunday one of our visitors definitely caught our eye-- he was 6ft.10in. tall! Now our son Tim is tall, Dan Seely is even taller but they were both looking up!
Actually, the young man is an American who plays on a professional basketball team here in Bordeaux. He was one that "just wanted to hear something in his mother tongue" but we are praying that we have many more opportunities to share the gospel with him.

Special Visitors!

It has been our joy and delight to have our brother and sister here for a couple of weeks. Steve, Bob's brother, and Donna, my sister, are one of the main factors that the Lord used to lead us to France years ago. This is the first time that they have been back here to visit in many, many years. We had a great time together and were overjoyed to see them enjoying the "old" and the "new" things here in France. Steve was able to preach here at our church one week and then last Sunday in the church that he started near Paris.

Baptismal Service!

On Sunday, September 19th we had a baptismal service for Tsiry, the son of one of our families. It was a big day. Over 100 people came to the afternoon service. Tim and Elisabeth Knickerbocker were in town so he preached. Tsiry had surrendered his life 100% to the Lord while at their camp last summer (Camp Arc-en-Ciel). Afterward we had a wonderful time of fellowship.

We are so thankful for the work that the Lord is doing in the families of our church. Two other young people were saved this summer.

Please pray for Christian families as they endeavor to raise their children for the Lord in a very hostile environment.

A Day in the Country!

The first Saturday in September about 25 of our church people went out to the new home of the Licois family. It is almost an hour away, but the drive was well worth it. We had a wonderful time together-- playing games, sharing in the Word and eating a great meal. The Licois wanted to thank the Lord for giving them a large home where they will be able to entertain more.

Replacement Ministry in Draguignan

One of our fellow Baptist Mid missionaries and his family went home for a short furlough this summer. They asked Bob to replace them for 3 weeks. Since Timothy could replace us, we came here to the southeast corner of France. Sunday as soon as church is over, we will start home. It has been a rewarding experience for us to get to meet a small congregation (smaller than ours!) and to minister them. They have a beautiful church building.

It has also been fun to get to know another corner of this beautiful country. Draguignan is about 45 minutes from the Mediterranean Sea and about an hour from Italy.

One of Bob's major "projects" while here was to translate the cantata "The Journey of Christmas" by Glenn and Jan Christianson. He is just now finishing up the last song. There is still much work to be done before it is completed and ready for the first practice the end of September.

The Dan Seely Family arrive in Bordeaux!

Yesterday we were able to greet the Seely Family-- BMM missionaries to Cameroon, where they have been serving already for two years. They are coming here for their French studies. We are excited to have them and to have them a part of our church for the next year. They are the same age as Tim and Ruth with 3 small children-- so you can imagine the excitement around here! Pray that they will be able to find housing soon and get settled in before school starts. We are leaving in a few minutes to go to Draguignan to replace a fellow missionary for three weeks, so the burden of installation will fall on Tim and Ruth.

Bike Hike!

On Thursday 17 brave cyclists went on a bike hike. They went 23 kilometers-- quite a distance for many of them. The youngest was 5 (although she rode on the back of her Grandpa's bike!) and the oldest was her Grandpa. The weather was gorgeous , the scenery was beautiful, and the fellowship was great. After a picnic lunch and a short devotional by Lala, the men went and got the cars to bring everyone back home.

Fun Times--July 4th and 14th!

Summer is always fun since it is different from the regular routine of the school year. This summer has been extra nice for us as we have been able to spend time with family. You can't imagine how many times we thank the Lord for His gracious gift to us in getting Tim and family a house just down the street.

We celebrated the 4th with the family, but the 14th (France's National Holiday) we hosted a picnic for our sister churches' pastors and their families. The reason behind the picnic was so that Ken and Joan Jensen (bottom left) could meet everyone. Ken Jensen is the director of the mission that Tim serves with. It was such a success that we all decided that we should make it a tradition.

Surprise Visit!!

What a delight we had last Tuesday night when Luc and Brigitte and their two girls showed up in prayer meeting. They were our pillar family for several years before they left for La Reunion 13 years ago. They come back to France for a visit every few years and it is always a joy to see them. It is an encouragement to see the fruits of the labor here continuing to grow in another part of the world. Miora and Mialy have both finished High School now and we would love to see them back here as University students!

Joys of June!

This has been a full and joyful June for us! Starting with the Ladies' Banquet that we already blogged, the month never "let up". We went to Limoges one weekend to visit our dear friends, Mattieu and Jeanine Desilles. They now have two children. Bob was able to preach for him on Sunday. Squeezed in were family highlights when Micaiah turned 7 and we remembered what a thrill it is to walk over to a grandchild's house for his birthday! Then Donna came for two weeks. Happy to be home, she, too, was excited that she could meet her youngest nephew (and spend oodles of time with the Micaiah and Miriam). Christy Elmer Gascho came for a quick two day visit from Czech Republic. She and Donna, mk friends almost from birth, spent time catching up on the last 18 years since Christy's family were in Bordeaux with us for 9 months. The Musical Mission Team from Bob Jones University were with us for 2 days. It was the "Fete de la Musique" so they were able to sing on the walking street downtown. Tuesday night we had a concert here and were excited as we had several visitors. The last big event for the month was a visit from Derek Pin Harry. He was Bob's "right hand" for many years and has been back home in Mauritius for 2 1/2 years. It was great to catch up! Oh, yes and we did have a church family night with good food and fun fellowship. June was a month of blessings.

Mother/Daughter Banquet 2010

Saturday, June 5th was our annual Ladies Banquet. This year the theme was "An Instrument in His Hands." Kristi Colas, a young missionary from Rouen, France, was our speaker and did a wonderful job exhorting us from II Tim. 2:21. She and her sister, who is visiting from the states, also provided lots of the special music. There were 30 women present with several first time visitors. Our church has had some disappointments lately and we were so thankful for the sweet fellowship we had together. We personally were excited because two of our neighbors were present. It was a busy but blessed day!

A Swiss Wedding!

Many of you will remember about 10 years ago when a young man named Nati came to live with us for about seven months. Our challenge at the time was to help him put down some solid stakes in his Christian life. It was indeed a challenge-- for one thing, when he arrived he did not speak either French or English. Today he speaks great English and is a missionary with the group in Switzerland where he grew up. He has made many trips to Ethiopia as part of his mission work, as well as a myriad of other things. Last weekend, we had the privilege of attending his wedding near Zurich, Switzerland. What a joy to see him serving the Lord with all his heart and taking for a wife a sweet young lady who loves Him, too.

Ascension Day Picnic

Here in France, even though they strongly believe in separation of Church and State, they still love all of their religious holidays! Thursday,May 13, was Ascension Day. Traditionally, the church has a picnic at a park about 45 minutes away. This year as always, the food, fellowship and fun were all great.

Bible Quiz Champs!

Last weekend our "sister" church here in Bordeaux sponsored a Bible Quiz. Our kids studied hard the book of I Thessalonians and came home with first prize! We were very proud of them. There are two university students in the group and 3 high schoolers. We are looking forward to hearing them recite the entire book soon.

This is just a reminder to pray for the children and young people in our church. It is not easy to be a Christian in secular schools any where today.

BMM Missionary Conference in Germany

Last week was our annual Baptist Mid Mission's Family Conference. This year we met with the German Team in Mainz, Germany. What a treat! Not only did we enjoy a wonderful conference with Pastor Randy Gilmore from the Indianapolis area but we were able to see some historical sights, too. In Mainz, there is a museum about Gutenberg and his press. Not too far away in Worms we were able to see a monument in honor of Luther and other reformers.
A highlight of the conference was the presentation of a page of the Gutenberg Bible to Roger and Jean Reisacher who are retiring after many years of missionary service here in France.

Easter!

Today was a very special day for us here in Pessac. The morning service was planned to center around the great truths of the Resurrection. The choir sang and an instrumental group played. Then instead of eating together as we normally do, we split up into 4 homes. So that the adults could enjoy the meal and fellowship, we keep the 4-10 year olds at the church with us. I am sure our group was the liveliest one! The second picture is of the group that ate at Tim and Ruth's home.

Christian Fellowship!

We all need fellowship with other believers. We do a lot of that with the people in our own church but from time to time, we have the joy of fellowshipping with other missionaries and pastors. This has been one of those weeks. On Monday, we enjoyed a meal with the Christy family, BMM missionaries who have a church here in Bordeaux. Tim and Ruth and their children were also invited by Ed and Sylvia for a great meal and evening together.

Last night we had Ando and Lala and their 3 children over for a meal. It was good to catch up with them after our six months away. Some of you might remember that their oldest son Tsiry was with us for a month in the states.

Then this morning was the monthly pastors' breakfast. This time it was at our home. Normally, there are five pastors who come but one was unable to make it this morning.

At noon, a former student from 1998 came for a four day visit. Susan was almost 50 when she came to Bordeaux to study French. Pretty brave of her. And now 12 years later she is back for a visit.

Tonight is a regular soiree, but Ruth and I are making tacos for the group. Normally, they make the meal on Friday nights but we thought they needed a treat and a break :-)

Tomorrow morning there is a men's breakfast here at church. This is a first for us.

And then it is Sunday with all of it's normal responsibilities.

Full week-- but one full of Christian fellowship!

Repas Agape 2010!

Last night was the annual Repas Agape. Since we had just returned from the states, there was not a lot of time to plan, but we are thankful for the great help we had to pull it off! It was a great evening. We were fewer students than in year's past, but we had many first time visitors. Bob emceed the evening and Tim preached. Several of the visitors promised to come to church tomorrow so please pray that the do!

Back Home in France!

What a joy to be back home in France after six months in the states...and the joy was more than doubled to be met at the airport by family!!! Here we are meeting our newest grandson Zacherie. We were, of course, just as thrilled to see Micaiah and Miriam and their parents!

Bob boarding plane from DR to Haiti!

Please Pray for Haiti and our son Bob!

Our oldest son Bob is on a plane right now that is headed for the Dominican Republic and then Haiti. He was asked to go along with a team of eight doctors, some of whom are Haitian. His role is to to be the chaplain. It was a door of opportunity that opened quickly for him. After Bob's church collected over 1/4 million dollars worth of supplies for this group, the head doctor said, "All we need is a chaplain who speaks French." When Bob replied that he spoke French the man was elated. He said "You're our man!" You can keep up with the news here, but we as parents would appreciate your prayers as they go into a very volatile and potentially dangerous situation. He will be there for two weeks (and during that time we fly back to France!).