Dear Family and Friends,
A new school year has begun and we are looking forward to see what God does this year in Caen! We had a full summer with our big trip to the USA and we are now already in the thick of the rentrée, finding new rhythms and purpose. When life is full on, in French you say it’s “chaud” which means “hot”. This summer has been chaud in both temperature and busyness with travel and visits! We are looking forward to the season change, starting our sabbath and work rhythms anew.
Summer in the USA
What an amazing and full summer we’ve had! Thank you so much for praying with us as we traveled, visited, and shared about the work God has given us here in France. It was such a blessing to see so many of you and our family especially benefited from good time spent with grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. We’re grateful that Elodie was able to have a successful surgery and she continues to breath much more easily! Along with this breakthrough for Elodie health-wise, she made the decision to be baptized! We had a family baptism in Tom’s parents pool on Aaron’s first birthday - so much to celebrate.
Our connections with churches and time reporting about how we see God at work here all went well. Joanna and I also appreciated the time we had reflecting on the past ten years or so of ministry life in France during a debriefing week. We saw so many answers to prayer and ways that God surpassed our expectations. Thank you again for praying with us and for your support for our family on mission here in Normandie.
It is good to be home. The summer filled us up in many ways, but it was also exhausting to travel so much and stay in many different places with our rather large family. It’s been good to get back into rhythms of work and rest. We’ve taken time with the kids to pray about our hopes for the year ahead as well as our priorities in ministry work and projects. We also enjoyed hosting some good friends from the UK and the US in August.
La Rentrée (Back to School)
It is the rentrée (the start of the school year) this week and all of our kids are making a good start so far. Please join us in praying for them, especially about relationships which can be tricky in middle school. Elodie is now taking the bus with her brothers and we have started having two days a week where Aaron is being looked after by a friend to help him learn french and so we can get a little work done together. These are big changes!
We are also starting back into our associations. Over the years, these weekly connections through sport and art have been among our best places for building friendships and proclaiming the gospel. We’re praying that this year might be a year in which many of these wonderful friends turn to Jesus and receive life made new in Him.
Specific Prayer Requests
The Druense family have arrived, and it’s been good to get to know each other as families. They are settling into Caen and getting their kids started in school. Please pray for good beginnings for them and connections with neighbors. Please pray for us as we seek the Lord together about working rhythms and how we can best support and encourage each other as missionaries working in the same city. We are meeting with our national leaders here in Caen this month to pray and plan.
We have been dreaming for a while of leading an “Alpha Couple” course with a small group of friends. This is happening – starting September 18th! We will host in our home and go through a seven week course built around strengthening the relationship of the couples.
I (Tom) am traveling to the UK for a few days to attend the funeral of a friend. Please pray for safe and smooth travels and for Jo and the kids while I am away.
We have been saving and researching and we’re hoping to find a van to purchase this month. Please pray for the Lord’s direction in this big purchase.
This year feels exciting to us. We are taking time to consider how the insights we gained from our debrief in June can influence our ministry going forward. We are prayerfully prioritizing the way we spend our energy and time so that we are well and effective in ministry for the long term.
Gratitude
One of the big take-aways from our summer was gratitude. Every meeting we had, every interaction with friends and family, left us feeling so blessed and grateful for the amazing people in our lives who love and support us. Our hearts are full. We’re so grateful for the Lord’s leading, and for this work we’ve been given to do. It is wonderful to walk in it together with you.
