Dear Family and Friends,
Wherever you are, we are thankful for you and hoping you’ve had a fun and restful summer! Our family is just wrapping up a month of visits and visiting that took us to the UK, Germany, and the Loire valley in France and included hosting some dear friends here in Normandie. All told, we’ve had two days of being home with just our family in the past month – whew! Some of this time was vacation and some was work, but the sweetest part of it all was the encouragement that comes from being with people like you.
Our Bible verse for this summer as a family was from 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” We had post-its for each of us to note times where God has been with us throughout our busy summer season and we posted them on our “God with Us” wall to remind each of us of His faithfulness.
God is faithful and it is amazing to join in the Kingdom work He is doing here in France. We want to share some specific points of praise/brief stories with you (as a list) in a moment. At the same time to answer the questions: how we are doing? how we are feeling? The next couple of verses in 2 Corinthians are pretty accurate: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” It feels tough on many fronts right now, so we’ll include a list for prayer as well.
Praises:
Praise the Lord for new partnership with Grace Church in Dover, DE. This formal mission’s partnership is a huge encouragement and answer to prayer. It means increased prayer and financial support as well as potential for mission’s teams. Personally, for me (Tom), it is humbling to be counted a mission’s partner at a church that so deeply formed me.
Praise the Lord for opportunities to minister through music both inside and outside church walls. We led worship at Blesstival this year, The Bless Network’s annual gathering and we played a collaborative show for the Fête de la Musique in Caen at Keys Coffee House, with Silas playing for the first time in public. Tom was asked to play guitar in the worship band at GEM’s Annual Conference in Germany and we were invited to lead worship in a French church in Ambroise this August.
This summer we’ve played four shows as a duo, at which we’ve been able to speak and sing about Jesus. There have been good conversations afterwards, opportunities for ongoing relationship and evidence of people moving nearer to Jesus. We tend to close our shows with ‘Amazing Grace’. At our 4th of July show, as soon as we started playing this song a frenchman’s head popped up in the crowd and he started moving towards the front as if drawn by a magnet. Soon he was standing next to Joanna and looking at the words on her music stand as if to verify that he was really hearing ‘Amazing Grace’. It clearly meant a lot to him. Joanna invited him to sing with us and he hopped on a mic for the final refrain. We don’t know exactly how God is moving in moments like these, but it reflects a truth that we’ve seen again and again in France: God seems to work through music and art to change atmospheres and shift conversations from the head to the heart.
Praise the Lord for opportunities for Joanna to minister through painting. At an art show at the beginning of this summer Joanna displayed several works. One piece of an abandoned church, opened up many conversations about faith in France. We will share more about this painting in our next email. Joanna also showed two paintings at GEM’s Annual conference art exhibit. One of the Parting of the Red Sea and one of Jesus Calming the Storm to speak to the theme of « Together », which was the theme for the conference.
Prayer Requests:
Family health – Elodie has been struggling with enduring stomach pain for the past 6 months or so. This is becoming worse over the summer. Please pray for her healing and for wisdom in navigating the medical system here.
School re-entry – Reuben and Eli start at “college” which is what they call middle school here in France. This spring brought some significant difficulties at school, especially for Eli. Please pray for friends for all of the kids, for peace and help as they navigate school in a very different culture, and for wisdom for Joanna and I as we communicate with school leaders and teachers and seek the best educational options for our kids.
Friends - Please pray for several good friends Tom has made in his badminton club. Tom has had deep gospel centered conversations with four guys this past year. Each friendship feels like it is deepening and we have a strong sense to pray for salvation this year.
Leading Worship - Joanna and Tom are leading worship at a regional training for “Maisons Locale de Prière” (Local Houses of Prayer). This is on September 23rd.
Ministry Opportunities - We are entering into a new season where we have a lot of opportunities to run after vision that God has given. Please pray for wisdom for us as we choose when to say « yes » and « no ».
We want to hear from you!
Even as I write this, I wonder how you are doing. I’m certain we aren’t alone in facing challenges as we seek to walk in obedience to God’s purposes and plans. Please do feel welcome to write back and let us know how we can be praying with you too!
We pray God’s peace and blessing on each one of you.
Love,
The Appels
