42 days down and counting

These past few weeks have been wonderful. There is some much that I could say about our first month here in language school but for time sake I will hit the high points…

Our classes are going great and the education here at Les Cedres is quality. We are full in to the French language learning process and all the “new student” nervousness is long gone. It is a challenge to keep up with the pace of the class but with much prayer we are doing well. Thank you so much for your prayer support in this area.

Here at the school there is a Baptist church and Maridith and I have enjoyed our time meeting with these believers. I must say that these people have added so much to our time in France. We have learned a lot through the people that God has brought into our path. Christianity is very different in a country that is only 2% Christian. It is shocking to think that France has fewer believers than much of Africa. My eyes have been opened to see that there is a lot work to be done here in Europe. The gospel must retrace its steps through these post-Christian countries that once facilitated the spread of Christianity to the world. But we have seen so many encouraging things here in France as this faithful 2% stands strong in the face of so much adversity. I went to a bible study in the home of a man in Massy the other day. It was amazing to see the men and women there, though few, strong in heart and dedicated to the cause of Christ. Pray for Maridith and I as we seek to take part of the work of Christ here in France.

God has also given us much to do and many people to share His love with. I have made a very good friend here in Massy. His name is JM. He has done so much for me in the way of language help. But our conversations go much deeper than verbs and pronouns. He is a man that loves God dearly but has had a very difficult life. Pray that I will be an accurate expression of Christ to JM. In fact, when I get through with this update, I will be going to meet with him.

There are many here at the school with whom we have been able to build good friendships. We are continuing to have people over for supper and that is going really well. Last night, Maridith made some amazing fajitas for our friend John. He is from the mid-west and a wonderful fellow. Also as a matter of prayer, you can pray for our interaction with the people we run into at a particular place in town. It was there that I got into a great conversation with a North African man. He is of the major religion in North Africa. We talked about many things and he mentioned a bit about God. Before I left I had him teach me a bit of Arabic. We all had a lot of fun with this. I hope to see this man soon and resume our conversation. This past week we had a wonderful and much needed visit from our friends Dewayne and Becky Smith. We took some time and visited Paris. Then from there we had an amazing opportunity (thanks to our friends) to visit the North Coast of France. The trip took us to the little town of St. Malo with its accent ramparts. From there we followed the coast to the beaches of Normandy. We found ourselves on Omaha beach the next morning and the American cemetery that evening. The emotions that we felt were indescribable. I have to say how overwhelmingly proud I was of our young men and their courage to fight in a land that was not their own and to die in order to free a people they did not know. Praise God for the liberators of France; one of whom I call my friend. We mustn’t forget the sacrifices made nor the lessons learned by these great Americans. Maridith and I would like to say thanks to the Smiths for making such an unforgettable trip possible for us.

The next few weeks will be tough. We will start mid-term test next week. Please pray for this. Also much is being done in the preparation of Echelon. There are hundreds of hours of research that go into launching a team like this. Pray that we will all follow the Lord in His endeavor -- for we know that it is His work and that we are His laborers.