So busy, so blessed

The past few months have been a blur. Honestly, upon reflection, we have probably been way too busy at times. But it is hard not to be with so many good things going on, especially now, as we begin to pack up boxes and get ready for the first big move, this one back to Ohio (not that we’ve actually started that yet, ha). There is so much we are transitioning out of and so many people we are saying goodbye to. Not goodbye goodbye, but goodbye to seeing them everyday or on a weekly basis.

Our time here in Mass has truly been so busy and so blessed.

We have worked hard at growing as followers of Jesus and as a married couple. Ryan has received two graduate school degrees, we have worked hard at our jobs, and poured into our church, and learned so much from all three; school, jobs, and the body of Christ. 

We have learned how to love each other better. We have learned how to make friends, how to serve and how to be served. We went from having no friends here to being surrounded by great ones, many who now feel like family. Through the modeling of awesome people, we have learned how to ask better questions, and really care about the answers. We have learned how to cook better, somehow, and to open up our humble home. Lately, we have only been eating at home once or twice a week though, because amazing people have us over to feed us, and love us, often even when they know we are about to ask them for money. It’s truly awesome and humbling. 

We have seen God provide for us physically, spiritually, monetarily, and relationally time and time and time again. We have known times of plenty and times of want, but even when we had want, we actually still had plenty. We have walked through a church division and seen how God’s will for His church bursts forth from the ashes like a phoenix, sometimes slowly as He restores the brokenness, but His love and His plans prevail, but even in that, it is up to us to allow Him to use us for His purposes.

We have seen God’s confirmation that He is leading us to start new communities of believers in France. We saw it in Ryan’s first week at Seminary, when a famous African Pastor spoke with clarity and conviction that their vision matched our own, to plant new churches in every major city in Europe. We saw it when we raised over $10,000 in 3 months, to go to France for 7 weeks and see first hand what church planting in Paris looked like, and again when my job allowed me to take the full 8 weeks off to go. We saw more confirmation still when we applied and were accepted to join World Team (after a rigorous screening process called RACE) and then a couple months later when we were invited to join the team in France. We continue to see it, with each and every new Partner that joins our team along the way. 

So I guess what I am getting at is, dang, we are blessed. As we look forward to the next step of moving to Ohio there is excitement, and honestly some relief that we won’t be quite as busy, but the Lord has truly done so much and grown us so much during this season, so there is much sadness too. I hope that our friends in Mass know how thankful we are for them. They have made these 5 years some of the best of our lives so far. 

Pray for the first Gospel Café

As you know, Ryan and I are still in the U.S. and actually are quite busy with preparations because next month (literally 1 month from today) we are moving back to Ohio. We will be there until God provides all the financial and prayer partners we need before we can go to France. 

One of the encouraging blessings during this time, though, is when we get to connect with our leaders and teammates in France and hear about the work that is happening there, and lately there has been a lot going on. I wanted to share about one new ministry starting this week in Versailles and ask for your prayer as our friends and teammates begin this new work. 

It is called Gospel Café. The basic concept is quite simple, once a month there will be a Gospel concert, put on by a couple of our teammates with the help of some great musicians (side note: Gospel music is actually quite popular in France and brings many people together, Christians and non-Christians alike). These events will be a great way to meet new people and gather with existing friends. There have already been many answers to prayer in this new venture, the biggest one being just a couple weeks ago when the leaders found the perfect Café, literally across the street from the Palace of Versailles, that is excited about hosting the events and is doing so for free. This was after our teammates visited dozens of other Café's and were initially even rejected by this one, but God proved faithful and gave them favor in the eyes of the Café owners.

The first Gospel Café is this Thursday, October 18th. Please pray with us that it will be a great success and a great way to meet new people that can hear and learn more about Christ's love for them and to also meet existing Christians who are searching for a community to plug into.