Did you know that we’re starting week #39 of 2015?
Week 38 was pretty cool, if I do say so myself…

Ziplining & Bonfire

Last Sunday after service, we embarked on a much anticipated afternoon!  We’d planned a youth outing which included 4 hours of ziplining, followed by a bonfire back at the church for roasting marshmallows and hot-dogs (generally uncommon for most European kids).

It was a bit of a task because I was the only participating adult that day… so it involved balancing the younger ones’ need to remain on easier courses and the older ones’ longing for death-defying heights!  We struck a good balance. There were 9 kids in total which was awesome!  First time we’ve had that many since the Spring.

Between the “Tip-toeing through the tree-tops” and “fire-side fun”, it was a great bonding time for this group of kids.

Mid-week Prayer

Our midweek service is typically a Bible Study format. This week, however, we did something a little different:

We’d been looking at prayer for the past couple of weeks, so we took a time and focused on prayer. Each one present wrote down a couple of key prayer requests, sealed them in an envelope and we’ll open them up in several months to give God glory for answering specifically.

Each one prayed on their own for 30min or so, then we came together to pray corporately. We prayed for the requests that had just been made and then capped off our time by praying around a map of the US (where we’ve been tracing the Brochu’s deputation travels). Specifically… we focused on Nashville, TN where Thursday night was the Global Missions service, the outcome of which would impact the Brochus return.

#IAmGlobal

That Thursday night service was incredible. I caught the livestream which, with a 7hr time difference, meant that church for me began at 1:30am and went until after 4:00am (four late nights all in all and coffee has been my friend!).

Back to Thursday… I could listen to Bro. Mooney preach for hours! Pictured from the livestream are France’s two currently-deputizing missionary families, the Brochus and the Nowackis, on the platform. Results of the incredible #IAmGlobal offering are as follows:

• $3,2 million dollars pledged
• 22 missionaries return to the field
  (including the Brochus & Nowackis)
• Combined 7 years of deputation travel eliminated.

We serve a great God and are part of a great body of believers!
I’m THANKFUL for the family of God.

Impact for us?

The next logical question is:
“What does an earlier return for the Brochus mean
for the length of OUR time in France?”

The short answer:  it’s a bit soon to tell yet, but we do know this:

• Generally speaking, we feel like we’re just getting settled in!
• We’d mentally prepared for 2 years and don’t foresee a return before then.
• Interrupting the kids’ school year is not ideal so any return would likely happen outside of the kids regular school year.
• There’s still lots of work to do in France… So for now, keep giving and keep praying.

Fall Garden

In other news… I planted lettuce in the garden this week (surely different from back home). I turned over a small plot in the backyard so it’d be better ready for next Spring and when my neighbour noticed it, he asked if I’d like some lettuce: He was thinning out his and assured me that we could easily have another month or two of growing season. Very excited to see what comes of it.

Aside from our itsy-bitsy plot… our neighbours – on either side – have blessed us several times (including again this week) with overflow from their gardens: a couple baskets of tomatoes, apples, parsley, basil, zucchini, rosemary, cherries, and lots of tips. I love having such good relationships with our neighbours… they’re a little bit like family really.

À bientôt…

That’s it for today. Whether you’re reading this from home over coffee or in a plane somewhere on your way home from General Conference… thank you for checking in again this week. Let what you read inform your prayers for France and for us!