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!