January 31, 2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May this find you enjoying God's presence in your life. We thank God regularly for your faithful unwavering support. Please rejoice as you read the highlights of what God has been doing here as the New Year begins.

Last week we began a new Bible study in the Gospel of Luke in Portuguese. Rosana is Brazilian. They moved into our neighborhood last year. Rosana's husband, Claudio, works for a Brazilian company that does business in Europe. She speaks only Portuguese. He speaks English as well. Rosana is thrilled to be reading God's Word for herself. She hopes that her husband will join us in studying the Bible. We have been able to spend a fair amount of time with this family and had opportunities to share what we believe. Would you take time now to pray for them?

Another promising encounter took place about two weeks ago. As folks were leaving our house after Sunday morning service, Alain, our next door neighbor, called to me over the hedge and said, "We would like to have you over for dinner this week." Alain had entrusted us with a key to their house on two different occasions during the past year so that we could keep an eye on things and water their plants. The request to watch their house came as a surprise to us as our contact previously with them had been a few words exchanged over the fence. We had not seen much of them lately either, so we gratefully accepted the invitation to dine with them on the Friday following the invitation.

We had been in their home for about five minutes when Alain said, "So, you're a pastor, what kind are you?" I responded, "Baptist." He then enquired about the differences between the Catholic Church and Baptist Church. This gave me an opportunity to explain about salvation through Christ alone, by grace, apart from the church. Later on, during dinner he volunteered, "I would like to believe, it would be reassuring, but I don't think that humans are any different from the other animals, only smarter." This, of course, led to a lengthy discussion. We talked about God's revelation in the Bible and the evidence for its truthfulness. Before long they had taken out a two-volume, highly decorated, illustrated Bible and the discussion continued. They volunteered to come to Sunday services sometime. Alain and Anne are typical French; they live a comfortable lifestyle but are very unhappy.

On the same weekend, Nathalie told me at the end of service, "It's over." She was referring to her decision to stop dating an unsaved man that she had been seeing for eight months. This is an answer to prayer. She has also been spending time with Claire, a lady who used to live across the street from us. Nathalie has been encouraging Claire to come to church with her. We are encouraged to see Nathalie growing spiritually.

Attendance has been up recently in our Sunday services and our various Bible studies are going well. Judy is teaching English again in the public school. She does this free in two third grade classes. It is an open door for her to build relationships with people in our community.

Thanks again for your prayer and support. Remember us and the cause of the Gospel in France as you pray. And, be watching for people around you who need to hear the Good News.

In France for Christ,

John and Judy Hatcher