October 24, 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday. We hope that the Conference this year is a blessing to all who attend. We have much for which to be thankful including the privilege of being Ambassadors for Christ here in France. We have had new doors of opportunity recently and new participants in Bible studies and Sunday Worship.

Last week we had two new ladies at the Bible study in the city of Mazere. They came with Francine, who was back after not coming since the beginning of summer. The town of Mazere is a one hour drive when there is no traffic. The Bible study there is on Thursday evenings in the home of a Baptist young lady who moved there with a job. There is no Baptist church in this city or any church that even preaches the basics of the Gospel. In this study we are going through the letter to the Romans. When we discussed the fall in the Garden of Eden, Francine immediately said, “But that’s a myth.” When we mentioned the justice of God, another lady said, “That’s up for debate.” I am amazed that they keep coming when they believe so little. But, we have hope that God will change their hearts has He has others. Alain, a man who comes to this Bible study, was an atheist before he was saved several years ago. So, there is the other side of the coin. God gives life!

This week we had two Brazilians come to the Thursday morning Bible study in our home. It was their first time and they showed a good interest. Rosana, the lady, said, “I don’t think that it is by accident that we moved in near you.” I agreed. We love these divine appointments. And this is one of many.

One of these divinely orchestrated appointments has gotten Judy back in the public school where she is donating time teaching three English classes each week to third graders. This is the third year that she has done this. We “ran” into the teacher in whose class Judy taught four years ago when we ducked into a store to get out of the rain. To Judy’s surprise the teacher’s daughter, who was with her, had been a student in her class last year. This teacher, who is now a special education teacher, took the initiative to get Judy an interview with the new principal to get her set up to teach English in Third Grade. It is a great opportunity for building relationships with students, teachers and parents.

Alain, jokingly, said last week, you speak in tongues. It sure seems that we are doing a lot of that. Our Sunday meetings are in French and English. On Monday night we have an English Bible study. On Wednesday Philip and Amanda have one in English. Our Thursday morning study is now in French and Portuguese. The Thursday evening study is French. So, we are speaking in tongues, but we are not Pentecostal or Charismatic! The Bible studies are not only in different languages, they are also in several different parts of the Bible. We have Bible studies going in the Pentateuch, Judges, John, Romans and Ephesians.

The growth of the believers and their taking on of responsibility is very encouraging. Angela, one of the ladies, is to begin teaching Sunday school. So, we have a lot for which we are thankful. Thanks for giving and praying. To God be the Glory!

Serving with you,

John and Judy Hatcher