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!
Last week you’ll recall that l’Île Cognet is what put “exploration” into the 
Remember back in July when we were excited to welcome a Beagle pup, named 
On Thursday, Liz spent a few hours at the church with one of our ladies who regularly cleans the building. Afterwards this sister came to the house and joined us for supper.
After dropping Miranda at the airport hotel, we headed to Melun 
First stop… “Forever 21” a clothing shop she knew of on Rue de Rivoli… where she eventually scored a few deals. One of the biggest treats that we walked out with though, was the company of two friends – Angela 
One of the things that was pretty cool 
Monday morning we had breakfast at the hotel with the Wallaces before heading into Paris for a quick visit to the Arch of Triumph. It’s one thing we’d not yet done and Liz’s friend Milena was still in town so we got to do it together which made it extra special.
Yep…. eighteen! They arrived with about 40lbs of other things. Let me explain:
We weren’t only glad to get the goodies that she brought, it was also nice to spend time with a familiar face from home. Milena was one of the first folks that Liz got to know when she began at Air Canada 18 years ago.
We recently got a couple of other things from North America as well:
A few years ago, Liz & I translated Bro. Timothy C. Mitchell’s 
Ahh… at last. The kids have been getting to know two kids who’ve been spending lots of summer-vacation time with their grandparents, who live across the street from us. Last night they went for an evening swim at the same lake where 
If you find yourself in open water and the wind kicks up you can easily get in trouble given the canoe’s shape and the way they ride low in the water. The canoe will rock & roll with the crests & troughs if you remain parallel with the waves and, if they are rough enough, you can easily capsize. Still, it’s not impossible to safely navigate such water… the secret is to drive the canoe into the waves… crossing them perpendicularly. In this way they slice the waves, rather than being victim to them. We would do well to face trial & difficulty head-on as well: Tackling and mastering it rather than hesitating and falling victim to the agitation that it can bring.
AIM Long 