Hello Friends,
We’re writing this email from a table next to our tents. For three of the past four weeks we’ve been living outside - two weeks of camping for our family holiday and now we are serving as camp pastors on a site, l’Orangerie de Beauregard, run by friends who are part of the Bless Network. Please pray for us as we pray for and encourage the staff team and seek to be a peaceful and hopeful presence among the 100s of Europeans camping all around us. It is a great reminder of the opportunity here in France - so many amazing people who do not yet know the transforming love of God in Christ Jesus.
4th of July Concert
As part of the Nashville-Caen Twinning association, we had the privilege of playing a concert at a Fourth of July event on the Lawn of City Hall, Abbaye aux Hommes, in the center of Caen this year. It was our biggest show yet! We were played to a crowd of about 150-200 in the open air, we played a little country and jazz, plus Amazing Grace and the Goodness of God. It was a privilege to play out over the city in such a significant place. God continues to give us new connections with people in the city through this partnership.
Summer BBQ Series
Summertime in France is a difficult time to gather as church as many people go on holiday or visit family. So for Caen church, we are getting together at different houses for a BBQ, games and fellowship. We hosted one night in June and had a great time this last Sunday hosting around 20 people for BBQ chicken and a corn hole tournament. We plan on having another gathering at our house in August.
Not Finished Yet, a Podcast series!
During the pandemic, Tom worked on a podcast about identity with his friend Josh Summers. Josh and Tom were roommates in college and since then they’ve each lived mostly outside of the US (Josh in Asia). This podcast, called Not Finished Yet, is a series of conversations about who we are and what is shaping us, from a Christian perspective. It’s been a lot of fun to record and along the way we’ve realized just how much we’ve learned about ourselves by living in foreign cultures. I hope you’ll give it a listen. Click here to listen…
Camping and GEM AC
This week we are serving as camp pastors for the l’Orangerie de Beauregard in Villedômer and attending Greater Europe Mission’s Annual Conference online. We are excited to have a week being Family on Mission, where we will lead prayers every morning, lead worship and preach at the church plant on Sunday. We are also playing a concert for the campers during the week and looking for opportunities to speak about the hope we have in Jesus. There are also online sessions during the week we will be participating in with our missions agency. Tom will be leading one of the meetings in his role on the France Field council.
Answered Prayers & Family News
Health
Elodie had her tonsillectomy at the end of June and she did brilliantly. She was so brave, the doctor was so impressed that she didn’t cry and was very cooperative before the operation. She has been sleeping quietly through the night and she is hitting a growth spurt! We are so grateful. Tom’s dental situation was resolved after several visits to the new dentist. We had “corona monday” this week where he received his second vaccination and he got his permanent crown on his tooth. Everyone else seems to be in relatively good health and as of this week, both of us are fully vaccinated which is coming just at the right time when, as of August 1, France is requiring people to have a health pass (meaning fully vaccinated or a negative PCR test within the last two days) to go shopping and to restaurants, museums etc. As we all know, the situation is evolving daily!
Family Vacation
We had a good wind down to school for the kids at the beginning of July. There were some tears on the last day from some of their friends knowing that they were transfering to a new school but we are hoping to remain connected with them since we are staying in the same village. We had a nice camping holiday in Brittany and at the L’Orangerie. Brittany was cold and rainy, we had car trouble but God blessed us with some amazing coastal walks and we brought a space heater so it was a cozy camping time. The second week at l’Orangerie was very hot and we spent most days in the pool and exploring the area. We also took a long awaited trip to the Zoo, Parc de Beauval, which was the twins’ birthday present from May when we were still in lockdown.
Preparing for the Rentrée
The kids start their new school, Cours Notre Dame, on September 2nd (Elodie’s 5th birthday). This school is a 15 minute drive from our village and all of the kids will be making the change. We are hoping that they will find more academic engagement and support at this school, as well as more freedom to speak about their faith, as it is a catholic school. Here is a little video that introduces the school, it gives a good feel for those of you who are interested!
Thanks
We are grateful for you, our partners in friendship, prayer and in financial support. We are privileged to be partnered in the Gospel with you and we hope and pray that you feel the blessing of the Lord on you today.
