What a great week we have had… The Lord is good and I’m glad to share it all with you for a few minutes this morning. If you’re joining us fresh out of General Conference… a very special welcome to you!
Fellowship Picnic
Last Saturday at our area fellowship there was representation from seven different churches; four in the west (including ourselves) and three from the Paris area. Each group shared a few songs in worship, there was a new convert from Bordeaux who shared her testimony and I spoke from Joshua 1 on having a vision for the territory that God has called us to conquer… in our case, western France.
Two Baptisms
We’d expected two baptisms from the fledgling church in Sables d’Olonne but as the day wore on… we didn’t see them. They’d had GPS issues and a trip that should’ve taken 2.5 hrs took more than 6, but the group of over 20 eventually arrived just as we began to eat.
It would’ve been a shame to make such a long trip and completely miss worship and teaching so rather than just doing the baptisms, we had a time of worship and another short message prior to baptizing the two ladies.
It meant a lot to them to meet for the first time with so many other Christians and you know what… it was really, I mean really great to see our sanctuary standing room only and to see two people baptized in Jesus’ name: sins washed away and the ability to start anew!
Thank you Lord for a great day!
General Conference
This past week was General Conference in Indianapolis, IN. Last year I stayed up every night to watch the services which, given the time difference, was no small feat.
This year, with another 6-hr time difference (service start at 1:00am), I limited myself to the Global Missions’ #IAMGlobal service on Wednesday evening.
I don’t know that any service viewed online will compare with the service we experienced first-hand in 2014… but it was still good “be part”…. virtually speaking.
I’m thankful for Director of Global Missions, Rev. Bruce Howell. He is passionate about missions but has, on various occasions, taken time to encourage me personally as well. There was a time where a wound from his ministry-past spoke healing to me and it means a great deal when leaders don’t only lead from a distance, but up-close as well.
Change in seasons
I’m not sure what temps are like where you’re at today, but we’ve started seeing cooler mornings here (down as low as 10C / 50F), meaning that the scarves and vests have begun making their appearance when we take the boys to school.
Fortunately though it can still get into the mid-twenties (mid-seventies) during the day. On Thursday, while waiting for the boys to be done school, Liz, Sophie & I took advantage of the nice afternoon and strolled down by the river, onto Cognet Island, where the girls dipped their feet in the water.
It’s actually rare for us to do something like that.
Having the boys in school is a real departure for us, it means a different daily routine and a much more quiet house. Still though, we often manage to be occupied with this or that as opposed to taking advantage of downtime to do things together. We need to do better in this area.
Once they were done, we all strolled back across our bridge and headed home…
Housekeeping Note:
If you would like to support us financially (on a regular or semi-regular basis) it is very important to use our PIM form or at least be sure to indicate the correct account number (171805).
Why?
Because there’s a Mike & Lisa Long who are missionaries in Zimbabwe, Africa (Go figure… we’re “Mike & Liz” and they’re “Mike & Lisa”). This week, one of our semi-regular supporter discovered that their support, intended for us, had been mis-directed to Africa-Mike Long since 2015.
This isn’t the first time and likely won’t be the last (it’s inevitable given the similarity in name) but it’s worth the reminder.
You are part of last Saturday’s fellowship and you are part of the two ladies getting baptized. We are simply an extension of the North American church and Christians like you who want to make a difference in France.
Thank you!
If you are not currently a financial partner in mission, we need your help.
Click here for info
AIM Long 