"I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)
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Another Week
5 February 2012 | by Michael
By God’s grace we’ve made it to another week in France. This past week, perhaps, has been our most difficult yet emotionally because the pressure we feel has increased. But we can also say that we’ve experienced God’s sustaining strength more this week as well. His comfort is a ballast for us, and we thank him for his kindness.
Last Saturday Michael was blessed by attending a local pastor’s fellowship.
Liz and I both started classes this week. Each of us is taking 16 credit hours. While our language school isn’t exactly Harvard, it is somewhat overwhelming to sit through a two-hour class that is entirely in French. On Wednesday I (Michael) was thinking during class that I couldn’t remember what I had eaten for lunch (thoughts provoked by a rumbling stomach). And then it dawned on me that it was just 12:30 and that my lunch break was just about to begin! The 4 hours of class that morning had required so much concentration that I felt as though I had put in a full day. Liz’s classes are similar. Her longest day is Thursday. She has 7 hours of classes that day. Both Liz and I have classmates who need the Lord. Several people in Liz’s class are from the US. Michael’s class consists of several South Koreans, 1 Japanese student, 1 Vietnamese student, 1 Slovakian student, 1 Romanian student, 1 Georgian student (the nation), and 1 Brazilian.
Michael had a first-in-France moment when two Jehovah’s Witnesses came to the door. They had called earlier in the day and asked if Michael believed that God’s Word was relevant for today. The way the caller responded left Michael thinking that he had spoken with someone from an Evangelical group. Later Michael found a Jehovah’s Witness tract in the box. Then the Jehovah’s Witnesses came for a personal visit. Michael gave them the gospel. When they expressed a desire to study together, Michael told them he would meet them but that they needed to know he was trying to convert them. We’re grateful for this opportunity and pray for more.
We’re still trying to register our van. We lacked one more document, but that document came in on Friday evening. So Michael should be able to take care of registration on Monday. We also have finished our visa application obligations. We traveled into Bordeaux this past Monday to undergo physicals. The doctors checked our eyes, our mouths, our lungs, etc. to make sure we didn’t bring any nasty illnesses into France. Thankfully, we passed with flying colors and now we are legal for a year in France.
We’re grateful for the way God has worked out our schedule. Liz and both have Friday’s off school, so we’ve scheduled a one-hour date each Friday morning after we drop off Viviane at school. We’ll be reading When Sinners Say I Do during these dates to help us talk and grow in our relationship.
This Saturday our family took a couple of hours to do some fun things. We started off with a treat from a local Patisserie–coffee, chocolatines, and madelines. Then we took the girls to a toy store to buy some toys with money they received for Christmas. We finished off the day with a lunch at McDonalds. This particular McDonalds has a separate building that houses the play area. The girls enjoyed the time of running around and playing.
We’ve finally had some real winter weather here. The week ended with the temperature dropping to -8 celcius. And then we woke up Sunday morning to snow. We’ve enjoyed it while it lasted. Apparently, snow in Bordeaux isn’t all that common. So we may not see much more this winter.
Thanks for praying for us. We’re heading into another busy week of school. Also, if you think of it, pray for Michael as he prepares to teach in the English service this coming Sunday.
Bordeaux–Weeks 2, 3, and 4
26 January 2012 | by Michael
“You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Cor 1:11).
We are so grateful for the many of you who have let us know by email, skype, Facebook, or phone that you have been praying for us. One such person expressed his desire to be of more help, but then followed up that his best help is through prayer. That sentiment is true and in keeping with the verse above. Thank you, again, for helping us by asking God to work for us. He has answered your prayers.
The past several weeks have been very busy with settling in tasks. We’ve gone out shopping numerous times to grocery stores, Walmart-type stores, Ikea, clothing stores, a thrift store, and Big-lot type stores. We’ve also shopped online at amazon.fr, leboncoin.com (like craigslist), and an online grocery store. Before you conclude that all we do is shop, let me explain that we’ve also made multiple trips to the mayor’s office and our bank, taken Viviane to a French doctor for her allergy, met with the school doctor about her allergy, taken placement tests at the university, looked for an apartment, continued the visa process, applied and been accepted into an association of Independent Baptists, applied to be accepted into the social security system, and tried to carry on a semi-normal life at home.
We’re grateful for how the Lord has worked out the purchase of a van for us. It is a 7 seat van that gives us plenty of room for the family. For those who care, it is a 2003 Peugeot 807 2L Diesel (complete with a whopping 7 horse power–obviously they calculate things differently here) with about 50,000 miles. It has a 5 speed manual transmission, so Liz will be brushing up her skills with a standard. It has an 80 liter tank for diesel (I put in 79.21 liters yesterday!).
We’re also grateful for the Lord’s provision of bikes for Viviane and Adeline. The Seeleys (a missionary family who was in France for a year to improve their French) left these bikes with the Bixbys and the Bixbys passed them on to the girls. They’ve had such a good time with them, and we are grateful for those who have been God’s instruments in bringing this joy to them.
Liz, Carissa, and I have taken our placement tests for French classes. Liz and I begin day classes on Monday. We should find out our placements today (Thursday around 3:30 pm our time). We then have a meeting on Friday to meet our professors and to prepare for the semester. Carissa will take night courses that meet twice a week.
We’re grateful for the opportunity we had to make some acquaintances at school during our placement tests. Most everyone we met spoke English, and several were from the US. We are praying that God will give us grace to be a blessing to our classmates as we show and tell them about God’s love for them in Christ.
The Lord has also provided an apartment and an apartment mate for Carissa. She received the keys yesterday. Today she and Liz are out getting some of the necessities. We’re also currently looking for a stove/oven and a refrigerator for the apartment.
Viviane continues to enjoy school, although now she is a little more clingy when dropped off in the morning. She told me the other day that she wanted to learn French so the others could understand her. I know that it is difficult for her to not be able to communicate, but she is doing very well. Each day she tells us she doesn’t remember anything she’s done or learned at school, but the other day she counted to 20 in French. So its obvious that she’s learning something. Adeline asks almost every day if she can go to school when Viviane leaves. I think she is ready, but I’m not sure the school is. Mathieu is growing and doing well.
Liz and I are doing well. We feel the ordinary pressures of life plus the expected pressures of crossing a culture. We are definite outsiders here since we don’t really understand most of what is said. Please pray for us as we are forced to depend on God and others to carry out normal functions in this society.
I apologize for the disorganized, stream-of-consciousness flavor of this update. My aim is to update more often with better written posts in the future, but right now I’m just grabbing minutes here and there to keep you in the know.
I’ve tried to post a few pics to our Facebook account as well to let you see what is going on.
Thanks again for your partnership and support.
Excitingest Day!
11 January 2012 | by Michael
It’s official. Viviane had her excitingest day today! We’ve been planning for quite a while to enroll Viviane in a French school to help her adjust to the language. As the day approached, however, I must confess that I was growing anxious about how Viviane would respond to being by herself in a French school. My greatest fear was that she would shrivel up when she realized she had no idea what anyone was saying.
As usual, though, God worked above and beyond for us. We were initially disappointed that Viviane would not be able to attend the same school Micaiah and Miriam attended, but we knew that the Lord would do everything right. Monday afternoon Liz, Viviane, and I went with Mr. Bixby to visit the school she was to attend. We had an interview with the directress of the school. She was very cordial and professional. Viviane behaved shyly toward her, but didn’t seem to be bothered by the whole thing. The directress then introduced us to Viviane’s teacher, Arlette, who immediately put Viviane at ease by kneeling down and welcoming Viviane in English. Viviane responded immediately to Arlette’s kindness with hugs. Liz and I were so grateful that this initial meeting went so well: Viviane left the school saying that she “could not wait” for school to begin the next morning.
On Tuesday morning we woke Viviane up early so she could have a good breakfast before her first day as a student. There is a 10 minute window during which we can escort Viviane to her classroom. After those ten minutes, the gates close and we have to call the office to ask for someone to let us in. We arrived early and helped Viviane get to her classroom. Arlette had welcomed us to stay for a while, but Viviane did so well that we thought it best for us to leave immediately. It was strange leaving Viviane at school for two reasons: 1) we’ve been together all the time for over 4 years now and 2) it is hard to believe she is old enough to go to school.
The short of it is that Viviane loves “school.” She had play time, did crafts, sang some songs, and had nap time. We picked her up for lunch and held open the option for not returning for the afternoon, but Viviane was so excited that she asked to go back. Thank you for asking God to make Viviane’s first day of school go well. God answered your prayers.
Bordeaux-Week One
6 January 2012 | by Michael
Of course, I could have labeled this post: Bordeaux-Weak One. There is nothing like living in a new culture to make me feel very weak, but God has been very kind to us through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bixby and Tim and Ruth Bixby. Each family has opened up their homes to us, lent us their vehicles, fed us, and translated for us. We are indebted to them for their love to us.
We’re currently living in Pessac, a city that is part of the Bordeaux metropolis. It is a nice town that is close to any and every type of shopping we’ll need. The Lord’s mercy is manifest in the fact that we can walk to the church building and to the university where we’ll be studying French.
It seems that our bodies are beginning to adjust to the new time zone. The kids are sleeping through the night for the most part. Liz and I are beginning to lose the sluggish feeling we’ve had. Of course, some of that sluggishness is due to the fact that we’re up until midnight or 1 am each night talking or preparing for the next day.
So far the Lord has helped us open a bank account here in France (3 trips), send in paperwork for our resident cards (1 trip to police station/1 trip to post office), apply for social security and insurance here in France, apply for Viviane to begin pre-school, request a rewards card at a local grocery store, and begin looking for a van. We’ve purchased some necessities as well: car seats for the kids, a gps, a high chair, a pack-n-play, and chocolatines (if you want to know what these are, come and we’ll introduce you to them-it’s worth it!).
Although we face times of questioning our sanity for uprooting our family and moving to France, we are beginning to feel somewhat more at ease while out. Usually we can communicate what we mean using our limited French and relying on others’ limited English. We look forward to delving further into the culture so that we have opportunities to tell people about God’s great love for them in Christ.
We want to say a big THANK YOU to all who have written to express to us that you are praying for us. God has used you to build us up in our faith. We’ll keep you posted about how this story unfolds.
In France!
3 January 2012 | by Michael
I’m having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the fact that I’m blogging from France as a resident and not as a visitor. The wait for the day to relocate seemed so long, but the move and all the preparations for that move flew by at light speed. We find ourselves shaking our heads as we try to come to grips with the fact that our long anticipated goal is now at hand.
The following synopsis of last year should reveal how God has worked on our behalf:
1. We arrived back in the States on January 25, 2011 after spending a month in France planning with Tim and Ruth. We were excited about the possibilities, but uncertain about funding for the mission. At that point, God had given us only 60% or so of our needed financial support.
2. We traveled for deputation meetings from January until September (with several weeks off in the summer) when we took two weeks off for the birth of Mathieu.
3. On September 19, we met with Ken and Joan Jensen of EMU to discuss our proposal that we leave for France in December of 2011. We had submitted the proposal to them, our church treasurer, and one of our pastors. This proposal grew out of developments in France that made it possible for us to spend our first three months in France in Tim and Ruth Bixby’s home. Also, our general fund at EMU had grown to an amount that allowed us to cover passage costs and supplement the lack in our monthly financial support. Our church leadership was positive about our proposal, and EMU gave us provisional permission to begin the process of obtaining a visa. EMU expressed a desire that we our support level increase to 90% before we left for France.
4. On September 20, Mathieu was born healthy. I began traveling two weeks later for deputation meetings in SC, MD, PA, and KS.
5. On October 31, we all traveled to Atlanta, GA, to apply for our Visas. God helped us find the appropriate building and protected us during a couple of dangerous situations. We found the consulate workers to be friendly and helpful. After an hour and a half we left the Consulate needing to obtain three documents.
6. On November 12, we received the final piece of information that we needed to send to the Consulate so they could begin processing our visa applications.
7. On December 2, we received our Visas! This was a special blessing because they arrived in time for our family’s commissioning service on December 4.
8. On December 6, we traveled to Atlanta to join Carissa (our nanny) for her visa application appointment. The appointment went well, but she was required to obtain three more documents.
9. On December 17, Carissa received the final document she needed for the Consulate to process her request.
10. On December 19, I dropped Carissa’s final document off at the French Consulate in Atlanta.
11. On December 26 and 27, we packed our checked baggage.
12. On December 27, Carissa called to inform us that she had received her visa (in less than 2 weeks that included the Christmas holiday)!
13. On December 28, we all flew out of Atlanta for Bordeaux. We are praising God that we have over 90% of the financial support we need.
14. On December 29, we arrived safely in Bordeaux.
The rest of the story remains to be seen.
Visas Received!
2 December 2011 | by Michael
We opened our door around noon today and found our approved visas waiting for us! We are so thankful for how God has blessed us with the opportunity to move to France in order to display and to declare his love for the people of France. Thank you for your faithful prayers and for the messages you’ve sent us ensuring us of your support. We feel our need of your partnership as we transition into a new phase of our lives.
Holding the visas in our hands makes our departure for France seem so much more real than it has. We’ve tried to stay busy with pre-packing and packing while we were waiting to receive our visas because we knew we would be pressed for time. But now we feel a whole new level of pressure to pack, clean, and visit family and friends before we leave for France. We know the Lord will help us through this time, and we ask that you would pray that we would be efficient, diligent, and Spirit-filled as we put the final touches on our preparations to leave.
I’ve included a few photos from the past few weeks that encapsulate some of our efforts at preparing to leave for France.
Lanier Theological Library
18 November 2011 | by Michael
Today, I had the joy of visiting the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, TX. This library is a private collection made available to the public free of charge due to the generosity of Mark Lanier. My host, Ricky Altizer, thought I would enjoy it, and he was right. Not only is the library impressive in its size (at least 50,000 volumes with a capacity of over 100,000) and scope (a broad array of theological, biblical, and textual works), it is housed in a beautiful building that models libraries around Oxford University.
A few of the library highlights: (1) a facsimile of the Dead Sea Scrolls [1 of 9 in the world], (2) a facsimile of Codex Vaticanus, (3) a large reference library, (4) study rooms, and (5) coffee.
Lanier has also built a chapel near the library that replicates an ancient church building in Turkey dating from AD 500.
Although this library is not a lending library, it is open for use by the public. I know where I’d spend my study days if I lived in Houston!
Consulate Appointment Update
1 November 2011 | by Michael
We know that each of these blessings came from God in response to your prayers. So, thank you. The Lord has also worked in such a way that we will be able to see him work in new ways. The Consulate requires that we gather two documents before they will process our request. The first document concerns our insurance. We use Christian Medishare. The consulate worker expressed doubt that Medishare would be accepted. He also required that we get a signature for the generic letter of coverage that Medishare sent us. Second, The Consulate requires that we receive an invitation from the Protestant Federation in France. Tim and Ruth also faced this obstacle when applying for their visa. The Protestant Federation is a broad group in France. They were not willing to invite Tim because no churches we are involved with are part of the Federation. So, we shall see what God does.
Please continue praying for us concerning the visa process. Ask God to give us wisdom about the insurance question and about an invitation to France. Please also ask God to give us favor with those responsible for granting visas.
Thank you.
Meditations in Mark (2:18-22)
29 October 2011 | by Michael
Fasting had become an essential mark of external piety in Jesus’ day. That is why the questioners of verse 18 approached Jesus about this “lack” in his disciples. There was an unforgivable breach of religious decorum that needed to be corrected. Jesus’ response to this “correction” consists of 1) the reason his disciples can’t fast and 2) illustrations to back up his point. The marital metaphor Jesus uses has broad implications for who he claimed to be, his knowledge of the coming cross, and the relationship of his followers with Judaism. But the main point of Jesus’ answer lies elsewhere: my disciples don’t fast because it isn’t fitting for them to do so in my presence. Why not? Because Jesus is the object of their delight. Who mourns and abstains from good things when in the presence of one he loves?
Let’s focus on two different applications this passage has for us. First, this passage says that Jesus’ disciples would fast when he had been removed from them (v. 20). Does fasting find any room at all in our thinking about the Christian life? Now it’s obvious that Mark did not include this passage for the purpose of establishing a system of Christian fasts, but that doesn’t mean that Jesus’ answer has no application for his followers today. Chronological distance doesn’t make irrelevant the clear statement that “they will fast in that day” (v. 20). How can fasting play a part in our spiritual walk?
This last question leads us to the second application of this passage. We must understand what underlies fasting if we are to know how fasting can benefit us spiritually. Jesus said his disciples couldn’t fast because he, the bridegroom, was in their presence. Jesus brought joy and delight to his followers, so it would be unfitting for them to fast and act mournfully while they were with him just like it’s unfitting for a group of bridesmaids to mourn on their friend’s wedding day. With that picture in mind, we can now grasp that sadness underlies fasting. Jesus’ disciples would fast, but only because he was no longer with them. Fasting is an expression of longing. Are we longing for Jesus’ presence? What are the things that dampen our longing for him? What are the things that fill our life with surface-level joy and contentment so that we forget that our only real contentment is found in Jesus? Do we see that a lack of fasting reveals much about us? It shows that we are not longing for Jesus’ return. Lack of fasting is a sign that we are content with the now—the food, the drink, the entertainment, the goals, etc. We should ask ourselves, “Are we grieved because we are not in the presence of Jesus?” If we must honestly say no, then we need to ask for forgiveness and for help to see things in a proper perspective. If Jesus really is all that thrills our souls, then we will be grieved until we are in his presence. Fasting is an expression of that grief and longing. When we engage in this type of fasting, the hunger pains remind us that you should be longing for the Lord’s coming. This type of spiritual hunger glorifies the Lord we love and protects us spiritually.
How does fasting lead to spiritual health? Fasting is not a magical tool. We don’t get points or climb the spiritual latter by fasting. But fasting can help us stay focused on the Lord’s return by physically reminding us that food and other good gifts don’t satisfy us completely. We have to return again and again to be satisfied by temporal gifts, but Jesus, God’s eternal gift, satisfies completely. Remembering this fact is the difference between Paul and Demas according to 2 Tim 4. If our longing is for this world, we will abandon Christ when following him is uncomfortable. If we desire Christ’s return more than anything, we will finish our course in faith even when it’s difficult. So what do you love? Let fasting help you remember.
Praises and Prayer
27 October 2011 | by Michael
We are grateful for all of you who have prayed for us concerning a departure at the end of December or the beginning of January. The Lord has been working, so we have several reasons to give praise:
1. God has burdened individuals and churches to give one-time gifts to us. In the past month, we’ve received $6,900.00 to help cover moving costs.
2. We have had encouraging meetings this past month, and God has kept Michael safe during all of the trips.
3. We’ve seen our support increased to 82% due to an individual and a church that increased their monthly support.
4. We’re scheduled to meet with the French Consulate about a visa.
5. We’ve been accepted into language school in Bordeaux for this coming Spring semester.
We still ask you to pray for us about the following:
1. We need God to provide additional monthly support. Currently we have 82%.
2. We need God to give us favor with the French consulate.
3. We need God to give us strength for and wisdom about packing.
4. We need God to provide for our nanny’s support.
Thank you for your ongoing care for us. We praise God for you.