Dear Friends and Family,
Joyeux Noël! We hope you all are well during this Advent season and looking forward to warm Christmas gatherings with friends and family. We know it has been a while since our last newsletter so we are looking forward to bringing you up-to-date on the happenings with our family here in France.
Travels
2022 (like for many people in this post-pandemic time) has been a year has been full of travel and connection with our friends and family abroad. We were thrilled to get to the UK in the spring after a two year postponement, where we connected with friends, partners and Christ Church Chorleywood, our UK sending church. We then spent two months this summer traveling all over the USA, putting over 3,500 miles on our 2006 Toyota Sienna. We spent time Chicago, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee. We attended two big family reunions, spent a week at GEM headquarters for a time of debriefing in Colorado and we shared at our US sending church, the Gate in Tennessee and Joanna’s parent’s church, Pee Dee Baptist in Arkansas. It was a lot of movement for us a family, but so good to spend time in person with people that we love. It was a privilege to see so many of you face to face and share about what God is doing in France.
Grateful for You
Our biggest reflection from this past summer is how grateful we are for all of you. The time that we were able to spend with some of you was sweet and far too short, but even so, we felt deeply impacted by the people God has put on our team to support us in prayer, friendship, and partnership. You all are world class and so important to the work God is doing here with our family and in our community. Thank you for being for us, we could not do this without you.
Sabbatical
Another key reflection from this last year has been that we were in desperate need of a rest and that we have been doing too much. As a result of this, and in following the good counsel and encouragement of our GEM leaders, Tom has stepped back from his leadership positions and we have taken a sabbatical this autumn. During this time we have had three goals in mind: heal, rest, and retune.
Heal
We have had lots of help from GEM’s member care department and others to lead us through a process of recovery from the past five years of chaos, health issues and trauma. We also have been reading through a book that our dear friends, Jenny and Evan Owens, wrote called “Healing What’s Hidden”, that helps you process with the Lord the impact of past trauma. We have done a great deal of inward work on our hearts and in our family.
Rest
In the name of rest, we have taken a break from our regular involvement in ministry, hosting and communication. We also took a family vacation in October to Italy. We realized that most of our family vacations were usually centered around a ministry event and we felt that taking a true break for us as a family would provide some needed rest and recovery. Plus, it was Eli’s long time dream to go to Italy and we were able to make that a reality! We ate lots of pizza, pasta and gelato and walked through vineyards and old villages. We brought our sketchbooks everywhere and saw some amazing art and architecture. It was a sweet time.
Retune
Also during this sabbatical we have been seeking realignment with what God has called us to do in France. As we’ve looked back with gratitude on all God has worked in and around us these past 5+ years, we’ve felt a strong confirmation of our call to continue joining in His work here in France. There is such opportunity for us here and as we come out of our sabbatical in January we’ll be seeking to focus in on the particular work that God has prepared for us. We have our ten year visa approved but we are still waiting to get it in hand - please pray!
Advent
So that brings us up to date! We are still in the process of discerning exactly what January will look like once we have completed our sabbatical. We are not traveling for Christmas and are looking forward to spending time with our family and friends here. We have been going through the She Reads Truth advent study as a family this year and we are getting to explore deeper themes in the Christmas story with the kids as they get older. Plus we are rewatching the Chosen, which is a series that brings life to the journey the disciples went on with Jesus. It is a joy to see the gospel coming alive to our kids in a new way.
In taking the time to look back and give glory to God for His work in and around us, and His presence with us, even in the toughest times, we’ve been struck by His care for us through you. You have been comfort to us and provision for us to take the time and seek the care we need. You’ve held us up in your prayers when we would not have been able to stand on our own. We are so grateful for you, and we pray that you would know the peace, joy and love of Jesus Christ incarnate this season.
Gros Bisous,
The Appels
PS - We will be sending our Christmas cards virtually this year so watch your inboxes for a fun family-focused Christmas letter next week.😊
