Hello Friends and Family,
We are thinking of you and praying for you as we write this. The progressing war in the Ukraine has cast a shadow over Europe. Memories of the second world war returning fresh to hearts and minds. Especially here in Normandy, a region that has lived under enemy occupation and whose landscape was decimated by the war. Many are shocked that the peace in Europe has been disturbed after almost 80 years when so many measures have been taken to maintain it. Our hearts are heavy as we watch the events unfolding. We gathered as a church this past Sunday and stretched out our hands towards the Ukraine and prayed for peace, for God to do miracles and for His name to be glorified in the midst of such chaos and crisis. Please continue to pray and intercede for Ukraine, for Russia and for Europe.
Appel Update
We had a nice Christmas at home, baking and staying in our pyjamas all day. We had two Americans over for our Christmas dinner and spent time the week following with various friends and neighbors. After school began, we all became quite ill with a bad case of the flu. The kids had a rigorous covid testing procedure to maintain school attendance so we were testing at home regularly, and each time we were negative. It took us all a few weeks to recover fully from that sickness. At the end of January, we were able to engage the Seven Stories School with the Bless Network, Tom led worship and did some teaching for a group of about 15 staying out at Bethanie for a week.
We also managed to go on a family vacation for a week at the beginning of February. We went to a Center Parcs Resort in the Loire Valley. It is a residential forest where there are some restaurants, activities for kids and families and a ginormous indoor water park. We really enjoyed the time away. One highlight for us was that we were just a half an hour away from the 1000 year old church Tom and I visited 15 years ago, the church that we point to in our story that was the beginning of our call to France. It was so powerful to be back there, 15 years later with our four children and worship together as a family. It is confirmation again that God is good, faithful and has plans for each of us.
The last day of our vacation was a bit different as I (Joanna) took a home test for Covid and it was positive! I had felt cold-y, but realized I was unable to smell things for a few days so I thought I would test. We left our vacation and all took PCR tests to figure out how we were supposed to manage the next week of work and having the kids home from school in the house with us. Everyone but me had negative results, but Tom tested positive two days later. We tried to isolate at home, wore masks, and didn’t touch or eat with the kids for a few days. It was bizarre, but none of them caught it! Thankfully, it was fairly mild for both Tom and me.
We have returned to school, to work, and to life again after this strange period of sickness and the pandemic. Things are starting to open up again as the covid numbers are falling and restrictions are being lifted. This past Sunday, we had a family service at our building in Caen for the first time in two years! We had american pancakes and bacon, Eli and Tom created and led a quiz, Reuben and Silas were in the worship band and I gave a talk about Genesis 14, when God delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh taking them through the sea. It was a really nice time to be together across the generations and have fellowship. We had around 35 people there and it was quite tight! We are still praying and searching for a location to rent so that we can continue to have family gatherings like this one.
Appels on the Move
So it seems that with the pandemic winding down, travel is opening up for us over the next 6 months. We are planning two big trips to our former home cities and we would love to connect with as many of you lovely people as possible!
England, April 9-16:
After two years of waiting, we will be visiting Chorleywood from April 9-16! We will be at Christ Church Chorleywood at each service on Palm Sunday, and we are available for the rest of Holy Week to connect with you if you are in the area. We would love to see you and we are so excited to return to a place that means so much to us. Please email me to let us know if you would like to get together!
USA, July 6-August 26
We will be doing a grand tour of the US this coming summer! We will be seeing family and friends in Denver and Nashville and we would love to see you!
We will be in the Denver area from July 9-16
We will be in the Nashville area from August 6-20
Again, email me if you would like to get together in the USA!
Thanks and a Video
We hold these plans lightly, and up to the Lord in hopes that they can happen after the delays of a few years. We thank you for your continued support of us in our ministry here in France. We feel privileged to be a part of what God is doing in our community. We made a five minute video that gives a summary of what we do and where we see God moving at the moment: https://youtu.be/qC_bWxkVB6Q
Thank you for your prayers and support. Sending our love,
