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.