Several weeks ago, when all of you in North America were posting pics & messages about the amazing mothers in your lives, I wasn’t not posting on purpose… here in France, Mothers Day is tomorrow.

It’s always a bit of a challenge for us to keep things straight. While Fathers Day is the same date in Canada, Belgium and France, Mothers Day is not – Leaving us, each year, trying to remember which holiday is on which date in which country.

Spoiler alert: It usually leads to a Google search, just to be sure!

Back to Church

So the big news last week was that we were able to get back to having service in the church building again…. a luxury that one never really considered a luxury prior to the whole Covid-19 situation.

We were sporting new headware because it’s tough to lead worship and preach from behind a face mask. One of the things that you’re beginning to see here fairly regularly are people opting for face shields instead.

I must admit… it’s waaaaaay easier to deal with than a mask: easier to breathe and no foggy glasses.

We are thankful for the chance to return, but do not want to simply “return to normal”… We want to go beyond normal! Lord help us!

Timo… heading to “Optique”

Two weeks ago I shared with you that Sophie & Dominic had gotten confirmation on their post-secondary education choices. This week was Timo’s turn.

For the longest time, Timo thought that he was wanting to move towards work in the baking / pastry field. Through his work placements this year and thought about the work schedule of bakers (very early mornings and every weekend), he’s opted instead to work towards the optical field. His school offers a specialized high school program in optician education and he was accepted into the program, so he’ll be specializing in that beginning in September.

He’s the top student in his class.
We’re very proud of this future optician.

Under the Umbrella

It rained several times this week, and it was very welcome because it brought moisture to the ground along with cooler temperatures.

I happened to capture all three kids huddled in Sophie’s window, talking about life and enjoying the pitter patter of rain drops on the leaves of the neighbouring cherry tree.

Confinement has brought them closer still.

Reaching Out

Because of limitations with our building (feels like a never-ending story) we are unable to do a number of things in terms of outreach / publicity. So we’re trying something new and have launched a church instagram account.

The goal is to associate bible verses with photos of the city I’ve taken in such a way as to populate some of the municipal hashtags & location searches (allowing people to find us that way) and present them with a thought from scripture.

Think of it like a long-distance, micro Bible study with complete strangers. The photo illustrates the verse and the description give context.

If you’re interested in French Christian content, please give us a follow and some likes to help build momentum.

It’s such a small thing, but if Covid-19 & Confinement taught us anything, it taught us the need (and value) of finding different ways to connect with people. And if it helps us to connect to one more person in Châtellerault than we otherwise would have… it will have been worth it. Pray to that end.

Thank you!

I’ll leave it there for today but THANK YOU for dropping in to connect with us & to connect with what God is doing in western France. Slow & steady wins the race!

God bless you this week!