Today I finished the second day of a conference with our family ministry, Famille Je t’Aime, for a church in Brittany on the theme Raising Children. We had two sessions yesterday and then I preached this morning on the importance of blessing our children. The response was very encouraging. One man commented that he thought all parents should be required to attend a conference like this where they are asked to work on some practical ways of developing their relationship with their children. Pray that the Lord would indeed help these parents to implement their plan they developed during the weekend.
Margaret left on Thursday for three weeks in the US. She will be sharing in a couple of churches and also meeting our grandson, Collin Alexander Howell, for the first time! Pray for her as she travels from Atlanta to Orlando, then up to Nashville to visit Nathan, Collin and Amanda, before heading back to Atlanta to return home April 7.
Next weekend I travel to eastern France to Lautenbach where the main office is for Famille Je t’Aime. I will be attending our board meeting and the General Assembly, which is the annual meeting of those who support and share in the ministry. We’ll be celebrating on Saturday evening the 20th anniversary of the ministry! Thanks for your prayers as we will also be making decisions about some future plans for ministry among families in France, as well as expanding into the larger French-speaking world, especially opportunities which are opening in Africa.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thanks, Lord, I needed that!
Last Sunday during our house church meeting one of the men in the group had a word for us and wanted to pray for us. It was very timely- all the more so as he began to pray over us. He basically said that the Lord knew our hearts were broken and He was shedding tears, too, over broken relationships. He then went on to pray for us to not be discouraged, that the Lord would help us be faithful and that He had a design in all things- including pain, disappointments, and tears. This was such an encouragement since this man is related to the couple that just left over unresolved conflict!
I spent an encouraging week attending two conferences. The first is a yearly meeting of missionaries and field leaders. This year we were 48 from about 20+ different missions. It’s a one day retreat where we share what we’re doing, resources that might be helpful, and events others could benefit from knowing about. The other conference was for church planters in France. This was a group of about 60 missionaries and French pastors who met for training and encouragement. The speaker was a Belgian pastor who has started an emerging church. He was challenging us on our concepts of church (are they manmade or Biblical?) and our ability to adapt and adjust to meet folks in a rapidly changing culture while maintaining Biblical principles. Encouraged to see that we are doing some of the things he shared, and challenged to incorporate other ideas. (i.e. using all 5 senses in our worship meetings)
I spent an encouraging week attending two conferences. The first is a yearly meeting of missionaries and field leaders. This year we were 48 from about 20+ different missions. It’s a one day retreat where we share what we’re doing, resources that might be helpful, and events others could benefit from knowing about. The other conference was for church planters in France. This was a group of about 60 missionaries and French pastors who met for training and encouragement. The speaker was a Belgian pastor who has started an emerging church. He was challenging us on our concepts of church (are they manmade or Biblical?) and our ability to adapt and adjust to meet folks in a rapidly changing culture while maintaining Biblical principles. Encouraged to see that we are doing some of the things he shared, and challenged to incorporate other ideas. (i.e. using all 5 senses in our worship meetings)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Relationships are real life
These past couple of weeks has been interesting contrasts in relationships for us. We just said good-bye on Thursday to some new friends, Chris and Scarlet, from Tallahassee, FL. They were here from one of our team churches to see what we are doing and explore the possibility of sending a couple of short term mission teams. Their week included working alongside us in our weekly routines, visiting our house church last Sunday, and, of course, a day in Paris to see some of the sights, but mostly to experience some of the culture and learn a bit of the spiritual landscape. (How can we do that without also experiencing another part of the culture: crepes and croissants and coffee?!)
We had a delightful visit and were helped and encouraged by their presence for a week. On the other hand, we’re going through a painful potential loss of relationship with someone in our church fellowship. We discovered recently (again!) that communication in any language is a real challenge. We’re walking through a conflictual situation that appears to be heading towards someone leaving our fellowship over unresolved issues. We’re sad, though peaceful, since we’ve tried to follow through with reconciliation even though it hasn’t come to fruition.
So, you can see that living in another culture doesn’t change the dynamics of relationships.
As we discussed in our Bible study this morning in church, relationships are the true test of our faith, allowing us to put into practice what we believe. Pray for us that the Lord Jesus would continue to transform us more and more so that we reflect his image.
Be blessed, Andrew
We had a delightful visit and were helped and encouraged by their presence for a week. On the other hand, we’re going through a painful potential loss of relationship with someone in our church fellowship. We discovered recently (again!) that communication in any language is a real challenge. We’re walking through a conflictual situation that appears to be heading towards someone leaving our fellowship over unresolved issues. We’re sad, though peaceful, since we’ve tried to follow through with reconciliation even though it hasn’t come to fruition.
So, you can see that living in another culture doesn’t change the dynamics of relationships.
As we discussed in our Bible study this morning in church, relationships are the true test of our faith, allowing us to put into practice what we believe. Pray for us that the Lord Jesus would continue to transform us more and more so that we reflect his image.
Be blessed, Andrew
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
