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Happy Thanksgiving and Joyeux Noël!
It's a little early for Christmas but it's certainly on our mind these days. We had a fun and special lunch for Thanksgiving here at the school (it was a normal school day for us all, of course) and that has launched us into the holiday spirit. And...having snow-capped peaks out your window doesn't hurt!
The holiday season is a time (at least for Americans) that begins with thankfulness and emphasizes close relationships. In light of that, I want to say Thank You!to each of you who have committed to praying for us. I can tell you right now that it works!I think back to some of our prayer requests recently and I think that all of us have seen breakthroughs and/or felt the support. It takes God's daily grace and protection for all of us and you all have been a vehicle through which that has flowed.
Noah is doing noticeably better with school and French. Rachel is being more challenged in her academics in a very positive way and some of her French classmates are beginning to notice her now. Our British car has been accepted as a car that can be registered here (a potentially big hurdle). Angela had a great time delivering her devotion to the rest of the school in French. The arrival of our friends and more of our stuff from Scotland has made a big difference in making our apartment more livable. We received a big financial gift after several months of relatively sparse financial support.
Most importantly however, I see God speaking to our hearts in the midst of this time in our lives. That is a great comfort to sit down with your Bible or journal and know the presence of the Lord...regardless of the circumstances or present challenges.
On to prayer...
This month's prayer topics:
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Health: Health continues to be a significant issue for us and others here at the school. The on-campus nursery/preschool went from about 15-20 down to 2 at one time this last week. Parents of younger kids are alternating with their spouse to miss half days of class to be home with their sick kids. Angela has had some more headaches and that disrupts all of our lives. Only Noah has escaped having a cold in this house. Pray that his escape continues! Pray for the families in the school (including ours) to be strengthened to be able to fight off colds and flu. The weather has been above normal in wetness lately and it's starting to get cold so we have to fight the weather as well when going to/from school and running errands.
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Celebrations: Those of you praying in the first part of the month can be alerted to the 1st and 2nd of December. On the 1st (tomorrow!), Angela and I are taking Rachel out to dinner and the dance musical "Lord Of The Dance" to celebrate her becoming a woman. It will be a special time just because of the significance of what we're celebrating. Pray that it would be a time where Angela and I could really impart God's heart for Rachel to her. On the 2nd, Noah turns 9! (and his aunt Jane turns...well...Happy Birthday Aunt Jane!) He, of course is thinking only of the zillions of toys that he wants. I've noticed however, a lot of growing in him this year. I pray that we can let him know how proud of him we are and that it can be a special day for him.
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Christmas: We really have no clue as to what we're going to do during this time. We have about 3 weeks off during this time. Obviously, we want Christmas to be special for the kids and for all of us a as a family. Pray that we spend this time wisely and it a way that makes it memorable.
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School Exams: Before our Christmas break begins, we have 3 days of exams as it is the end of the trimester. It's really a way to mark our progress and there is no eternal significance to the tests! Nevertheless, Angela and I want to learn French well and do well. So, the week of 16th, pray that we would acquit our selves well in these endeavors.
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Church: Our health problems have had us home about 1/2 the Sundays! So, we've visited 3 churches and still are not settled. Church is not just a place to be on Sunday, nor is it just a place for us to get filled up on Sundays (especially as our comprehension is a bit shaky!) I think, however, it's a significant place of connection for us, even if we don't stay in this region. We see our call initially as focusing more on the church in France than on evangelism specifically. So being planted in a French congregation will give us insight into the life of the church in France and what God is doing here.
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Car: Our car still has to pass technical inspection here and we pray that it is not a big issue! Also, it's just plain hard to get over to one of those places with our schedule. Things are not open here as much as in the States and our school schedule tends to match their opening hours! This has been a long bureaucratic morass for me, so pray that I walk in God's grace and persevere!
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Thank You and God Bless!
David
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