| Better (very) late than never! I had so wanted to send this out last week before embarking on this last weekend because I knew it was going to be a full one and, in general, I have this feeling that fullness is designed to be bathed in prayer and lived in a way in which we actively seek the intersection of eternity in our time/space whirlwind. No matter...we found found that intersection repeatedly anyway! God is good! Angela and I finished up our 2-week spring break with this long, full weekend on the road. We spend the first part with some South African friends from language school in Albertville, who have taken up residence near Aix-Les-Bains near the spectacular French Alps. They are in the beginning stages of growing some web-based businesses and I have agreed to supply their IT support. So, for me this was a "working reunion" with the husband and for Angela a time to catch up a bit with their family and to glimpse a bit of her own future while observing the wife as she taught English to French adults...a brief time but full. Afterwards, we drove about an hour west near Lyon to participate in a "worship conference" with a movement called France en Feu (France on Fire). This proved to be a rich intersection of spiritual renewal, vision "injection", renewal of many relationships from across France and a forging of new connections and relationships...basically my cup of tea completely. There were 7 of us from our church who went so there is also a local continuity with how we see God moving across France. Again, connection with a larger context has always been something that speaks deeply to me. So, thank you Lord for a weekend where You weave together these two strands of "work and ministry" so well and give us a hint of Your fullness to come. As to your praying in April: - Angela finished her certification course to teach English as a second language. She passed with flying colors! Bravo!
- The planning of the high school continues. Some of the ideas are starting to become more concrete. We had an addition in the last meeting whose involvement was very timely as it injected new energy and new perspective to the many challenges faced in this endeavor. Thank you Lord!
- While my "business" is seriously "small-time" at the moment, I do see some order being established in the administrative aspects and I find this very encouraging. I see in Genesis 1 that bringing order to chaos is one of the things that God models in the Creation (light into darkness, life where there wasn't any and order into chaos). In the world of IT, bringing order into chaos is what it's all about and I'm energized to connect with that truth both in the work itself and the organizing of the administration of the work. A long way to go, but it's encouraging!
- Our time with the Swiss church ended up being more connected than we had anticipated. In fact, they held their retreat/camp at a Christian retreat center not far from us and had planned to have all their meetings there as well. They discovered, however, that they did not have access to use the meeting room at the retreat center as they had planned. So, in a last minute scramble, all their meetings were in our facility. They basically took it over for a week. So my involvement changed a bit. I still contributed to certain worship times, but also helped them in the installation of all their sound gear and then the re-installation of all of our sound gear for our 4-hour worship tabernacle the day they left! It was a rich week of solidifying our many relationships with this church and the people in it. I see some important opportunities to work together with them in the future.
- The not-yet-ended saga of passport renewals seems to have a light at the end of the tunnel. Despite text that would suggest otherwise on their web site, it turns out the US consulate in Strasbourg can satisfy our needs without us having to travel to Paris or Geneva. We have a trip planned there for Friday, May 22nd and will be very grateful to get this convoluted and somewhat expensive chapter behind us...though I'm still looking for what this struggle was all about!
- We had a very good meeting a couple weeks ago with the EuroTeam supervisors for the construction teams coming in June. We're excited to be able to work with them and begin what could be a long-term relationship of ministries. They provide a great experience for those seeking to serve in practical short-term missions that marries well with the more long-term activities that we're involved in here.
- One of the directions to come from the worship conference this weekend is a renewed vision
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- Filling and being filled - One thing we heard this weekend at our worship conference was about the need to "go out filled up" and that God's presence in the streets through us is something that "spills over" from our concentrated time in His presence. In a time of sharing and prayer that we had amongst the people from our church in attendance, it became clear that launching the beginnings of a house of prayer (i.e. something more "constant/regular" in prayer and worship) is something for right now, not much later. This is something that has lived in our hearts for some time and we look forward to advancing in such a project. At the same time we realize that we need to be filled ourselves during this season where schedules are in tremendous flux and demands on our time are high. Please pray for the concrete advancement of God's project (not necessarily our conception) and advancement in our own struggle for rootedness in God's presence when "routine" is not lending a helping hand. Pray also for Angela and I to know how to come together on our involvement in the project.
- Prophetic worship - Next Tuesday-Friday our church is hosting a prophetic seminar and we are doing the worship and coordinating the technical support. Please pray for anointing and discernment and physical strength in what can often be a demanding week.
- Circling the wagons - This Friday and Saturday, Angela and I will be in a mini-retreat with the rest of the leadership of the church that we call the "larger circle". This is a time of relationship building and waiting on the Lord for direction in so many areas where we feel that God is taking the church. The logistics of the weekend already look more tiring than refreshing to us. Please pray for God's perspective of this time to be rooted in our hearts so that we might fully participate. Pray for God to lead us all in direction for the coming months.
- Creative Business - As I mentioned, my desire in launching into activities "for pay" is that this would line up completely with God's creation mandate in Genesis 1:28, both in general as a human and specifically as me. I've not always seen this context in my career in the past and I know that my understanding now is still in its infancy. Angela also seeks to to eventually enter into the context of work-for-pay with English teaching. Our desire is that all that we do be part of what God is calling us to here, not simply a way to finance what God is calling us to. This is a very important focus because getting this wrong in our culture is so very easy. Please pray for life-giving revelation as to how to walk out the call of God in our lives in its entirety...both in activities that are volunteer and those which are for pay. Pray also that all of our endeavors would be imbued with God's creative unction.
- Administrivia - Our new immigration situation comes with certain privileges, and those are unlocked only through exploring the often burdensome and labryinthian French bureaucracy to sign-up and find out what exactly is on offer to us. It's a bit of "tail-chasing" that neither Angela nor I relish. It would appear, however, that part of our material provision in the coming season would be connected to our privileges as long-term French residents. So, as responsible stewards of what God has given us, we need to dive into this bureaucratic mud again...ugh! Please pray for our energy and organization skills to get this onerous task under our belts.
- The 30,000 Euro Question - For the renovation work at school in June, there is a need of about 30,000 euros for materials. There is a small strip of land that the school is selling to the church on the adjacent property for approximately that amount. For us to be ready in early June to start work, there is quite an administrative path to follow in the sale of that property and the agreement of the bank to let us have those funds for the materials instead of paying on the mortgage, etc. Please pray for favor and smooth movement of bureaucratic (there's that word again!) wheels in the sale and proceeds of this property in the next few weeks!
- Teachers + Students = School - Part of the reason this work needs to get finished this summer is to make room to start the high school in the fall. The meetings have been progressing to establish the "shape" of the high school according to the mandate that we feel God has given for creating an environment of discipleship "disguised" as a high school. As we move to more concrete planning, there are places where we need to see God work or it won't work (which, of course, is where we all need to live all the time)! This month, some teachers will be visiting the only existing Christian high school in France to answer practical questions of how they operate. Additionally, we need certain teaching slots filled with qualified teachers and a student body. On the 20th of May, we will be presenting the high school vision to prospective students and parents. In the elementary and junior high, we clearly present the vision and values of the school and simply ask the families to be "OK" with it...not necessarily be believers. Our vision for the high school, however, is a place for students who have already engaged personally to walk with Jesus and want to go further. We want it to be a place of discipleship where they learn practically about God's Creation and their place in it. Please pray for the right teachers to be available and the right families and students to commit to the school.
- Gesundheit - Both Angela's and my physical strength have not been at their peak lately. There are times when we feel that we are not "growing old gracefully" and the enemy's lying whispers can weigh us down quite a bit. Please pray for a tenacity to proclaim God's truth in the face of discouragement and discernment for changes we need to make.
I can't tell you how much your partnership in prayer means to us...Thank you!
David |