September 1, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Though today is not Labor Day as it is in the U.S., it is the beginning of the new school year and we are shifting back into school year activities. The months of July and August are generally quite a bit calmer and this allows us to do other things that we do not have the opportunity to do during the school year. This includes getting to have more contact with our neighbors because of their vacation from work and because the longer days gives us the opportunity to see them out in their yards. We also get invited to summer time gatherings and at these we have made a number of new acquaintances.

The Lord has opened doors for us to tell these new friends what we are doing and witness to them. Because we live in a neighborhood that is primarily rental housing we have a high rate of turnover. Because of the nature of the industry in our area it is also a very international community. In addition to a number of families with roots in our area, we also have been in contact with new neighbors from Brittany in northern France, Brazilians from the State of Amapa near French Guyana, French from Normandy, and Swiss. All of these are near neighbors.

Our greatest opportunities for outreach come from these informal non-church activities. You can use opportunities like this as well. You, who support us, live in many different types of settings. Some of you live in big cities, some in small towns, some in apartment complexes and some in rural settings. Being friendly, and building relationships with people is the best way to share the gospel. The book of Acts tell us the, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” (Act 9:4)

In the context we find that these who “preached” were not the pastors. In fact, the church of Antioch, which became the sending church for Paul and Barnabas, came into existence because of this activity by Christians just like you! Church buildings and pulpits are not mentioned once in the New Testament yet we have really come to see them as the primary tools for proclaiming the Gospel. Maybe God has put some other good tools in our hands. I am not against pulpits or church buildings, they can be quite handy!

During the month of August we enjoyed the visit of the five members of the Schuetter family from Evansville, Indiana. They are members of the Emmanuel Baptist Church of Evansville and were our neighbors before we moved to France.

Philip, Amanda and their children returned to France three weeks ago after spending time in the U.S. visiting their families. We are very thankful that the Lord sent them here to serve together with us. Judy, Amanda and Angela have been working hard to be ready for the extra children who will be attending with the return of those who have been out of town for vacation. We will now be having three regular children’s classes. This is about all that we can have during the winter months as we hold services and Sunday School in our home.

We are thankful for the offering collected by the children who participated in the Vacation Bible School of New Testament Baptist Church of Penntown, Indiana. This offering is to be used for purchase of French Bibles for use in our ministry. It is always encouraging to us when churches lead their young people to be involved with missions.

Until next month,

John and Judy