I think it’s fair to say that, with the exception of taking down the Christmas Tree… this was the week that we officially “wrapped up” the holidays. Today I’m teaching at Bible School but here’s the rest of our week.
Belgium & Family
On Monday morning, we packed up the car and headed north. The first 3.5hrs got us as far as Melun where we dropped off Jacques, our “over-the-holidays Collie-dog“, after which we drove another 4hrs or so to Belgium where we spent a night with friends before surprising Liz’s parents – who did not know we were coming. Liz had prearranged it with her brother. They were well & truly surprised!
While there, the kids got to eat “mitraillettes” which they love! Why are they called mitraillettes (which means “machine guns”)? Lemme explain how they’re made & you’ll understand why:
– take 1/2 baguette
– insert sausage / meat of choice
– fill to overflowing with french fries
(or bullets)
Voilà! …another Belgian treat.
(besides the more commonly known waffle)
Vimy, France
On our way home from Belgium, we took a 30-min side trip to see the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge, commemorating the 60,000 lives lost during WWI. It’s one of those places that I think every Canadian should see at least once.
More often than not, Canadians are seen as understated on the world stage, but this sprawling monument of grand proportion defies that stereotype.
6,000 tons of glistening white limestone tower 27 meters above the highest point of Vimy Ridge, overlooking the Douai plain.
It was Canada’s victory on this critical battlefront that established Canada’s nationhood on the world stage… it was no longer just another British Colony.
In the Trenches
The last photo above is one of Liz and the kids in some of the trenches at Vimy Ridge. It’s a fitting image of how we see ourselves here… in the trenches & on the front lines. We see the fighting in the spiritual realm around us, we stand just as much chance at seeing shrapnel fly by as we do to take new ground.
We, just like you, are in a battle… Lord help us to maintain the ground that has been won and to follow your direction to take new ground as well.
Prayer & Fasting
The UPC of France is joining with UPCI churches all around the globe in making the month of January a month of prayer and fasting in an attempt to refocus our attention on the Lord and on the building up of his kingdom. The theme of the month is: Follow… for if we will follow the Lord Jesus, growth with result: personal growth and church growth alike.
Financial Support
New monthly partners needed in 2016
As I mentioned last week, we need to renew and expand our financial base as we look forward to the Brochu’s return in March.
Will you support us financially in 2016? … Click here.
Also… if you’d like to receive our two special eBooklets (Top 15 in 2015 & Building Engaged Youth, Building Missionaries, through Short Term Missions), Click Here. I’ll send them to you immediately when you subscribe to our monthly newsletters.
Thank you
Thanks for stopping by today. Let all that you read inform your prayers for us and for the work in France.
My involvement in IBF, gives me a chance to get out of Châtellerault each month; to see other places and spend time with different people. Pastors can relate to this and particularly home-missions pastors… sometimes you need to connect with people outside of your local congregation.
This weekend is our 7th in a row to be out on the open road… and there are a few more to go! We’re racking up kilometers on our 2007 Ford Freestyle and changing the oil more frequently, but there are a number of benefits that outweigh any cost.
Although pastors frequently see each other at conferences, the contact is often “in passing.” Less frequent are the opportunities to sit across the table from each other, as families, often in the home.
As a kid, I often went on drives with my grandfather. A plastic-wrapped roll of peppermints was on the dash of the 1978 Chevy Suburban and we’d find a country road to follow. Sometimes he’d be headed rabbit or partridge hunting and sometimes it’d just be for the drive… but he always had his eyes open for bottles or cans that could be traded in at the local bottle exchange (that’s how he paid for my first 5-speed bike).
We’re thrilled to take part in Missions Conference at Capital Community Church in Fredericton, NB with Rev. Raymond Woodward and Rev. Jack Leaman. These men were leaders in the Saint John church when we came into Pentecost in the mid 1990’s and both have been important influences in our life and growth. We’re honoured to be with them and with Rev. Bruce Howell, General Director of Global Missions for the UPCI.
thanks to an ongoing community outreach. Then, at around 9:00pm we set out for a 3hr drive to northwestern New Brunswick.
This church is predominantly French-speaking, although there are some English-speakers in the mix as well. Rev. Keith Carter has been leading the church for the past couple of years but will be relocating in October, leaving the church looking for a new pastor.
We arrived at the back entrance to the White House… well not literally the back door…. the back, heavily guarded gate. We walked to the White House gift shop and dropped a bit of cash at the till in exchange for a few souvenirs and then headed to the south lawn of the White House, over to the Washington Monument down past the War Memorial and on to the Lincoln Memorial
Rev. & Mrs. Jerry Staten pastor the church in Washington and we connected with them upon arrival. We were able to join them for their “Evanglize D.C.” prayer-focus meeting on Saturday morning where some 40+ people had gathered. Later that day, we joined them for their Spanish service “Esperanza Viva”, and of course for church the next morning.
Part way through the tour, the kids were thankful to be escorted first to the candy-stash closet where they got to fill a ziplock bag full of goodies, and secondly to the Missionary Kids’ Lounge where they could hang out and play Wii 
The next day saw us head to downtown St. Louis where we would see St. Louis’ famous landmark, the Gateway Arch.
Exploring God’s Word for the then Home Missions Division.
The kids got to spend lots of time with their friends Winston & Olivia Wojciechowski, whom they’d only met in November 2013, at the French National Youth Convention…. but even then, they hit it off so incredibly well it was amazing.
AIM Long 