"Great are the Works of the Lord!" -Ps. 111:2

     It occurred to me recently how the events of one Sunday morning in Beauvais, France changed the course of the last 8 years of our lives!  One "chance" meeting with some guest missionaries from World Team (David and Kathryn) and the direction of our lives were changed forever.  How long had God been preparing us for that day, that time in France, arranging every circumstance and experience just right?  And of course, neither one of us woke up that morning with any clue about what was to come that day. 

     This reminds me that God is always working and most of the time in ways that we can't even see.  He is so good, so faithful, and worthy of our trust.  That's why the call to "walk by faith" (without knowing what's around the corner) is not an unreasonable request.  We can trust the the One that is leading us, always moving, working, preparing.  And so, with each passing day our hearts long for France, and yet we know God is making preparations in our hearts, the hearts of people here, and the hearts of the French and we trust in His plans. 

     So what preparations is He making in us right now?  I think He's developing in us perseverance in prayer.  I ran across this seemingly random verse the other day that I can't get out of my head.  Some Israelites approach Jeremiah and ask him to inquire of the Lord on their behalf and Jeremiah agrees.  Then vs. 42:7 "Now at the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah."  Jeremiah's whole purpose is to be God's mouthpiece, to declare the word of the Lord, and he had to wait 10 days for God to answer him!  I just assumed he had a direct line to God, lol.  But how long before I would have given up on the matter?  Then the sermon from Sunday was on a parable in Luke 18 in which an unrighteous judge is moved to act because of the persistent petitions of a widow.  How much more is our heavenly Father moved, who desires to give good gifts to His children, when He hears the cries of His people? 

     We're in that process now.  We're in the middle of that "ten days," waiting for God to respond.  And we know He will, in His time.  In the meantime, Lord, teach us how to pray!  For we know that perseverance in prayer will be essential to seeing You do an amazing work in the hearts of the French people that have been blinded to the truth.  So our 40 days are up, but please continue to persevere in prayer with us.  He is working! 

     Let me take a moment to celebrate everything that God accomplished during our 40 day prayer emphasis: 

1. We were able to share at 3 churches in the region and met with 2 small groups from various churches in the area.  
2. We've been given the open door to meet with at least 3 other local pastors soon.  
3. We've established our first official church partnership with Fayette Baptist Church.  
4. We had about 75 people attend our "soiree" at Bartlett Hills that heard about the need in France and how one could partner with us.  
5. We raised around $4,500 towards our outgoing expenses.  
6. Meanwhile, our outgoing need was cut by about $10,000 due to a change in our pre-field training course requirement.  
7. We saw at least 23 people/units commit to partner with us financially on a monthly basis, taking our pledged monthly support from about 26% to about 32%.  
8. We added about 40 new contacts to our database to receive our newsletters. 
9. And we still have many open doors yet to pursue! 

P.S.  Pictures to come soon!  

Outside "My Own Little World"

I have always been someone who often shows love by giving gifts.  I have to stop myself from buying everything that I see that might be perfect for someone I know and love.  I'm pretty sure I get this trait from my mom.  She loves to spoil the grandkids (and their parents :) ) with all sorts of small gifts that just shout "this would be perfect for...!"  I have not, however, always been good about seeing the bigger picture and the needs all around me.  I get so caught up in my own little world of people that I forget that there are others out there who may need me as well.  Much of that perspective has changed as I have entered into the world of support raising.  I have found myself on the other side, asking people to have a passion for God's call on my family and to share their prayer as well as financial support.  And, I'm not gonna lie...it has been TOUGH!  I have been humbled as I approach people, some that I see often and others that I rarely if ever spend face to face time with and ask them to pray about and consider partnering with us.  I know that not everyone will be called (as only God can call people) to serve with us in this way and I can't let people's responses to my asking discourage me.  At the same time, I can not and do not have any hard feelings towards those who choose not to give to this ministry.  Many are called to other ministries and missions around the world.  We are trusting that God will raise up those only He can, to join with us and we rejoice as He reveals those people to us!  I have felt challenged to become more aware of the needs and the people around me over the last few months.  I have become one of those people who gives money to the charities collecting outside of Walmart or standing in the median on the highway.  I have followed people to the gas station to pay for their gas and given to the homeless in ways that I never imagined I would.  I am not wanting to praise myself, but my God who has helped me to be more aware of the physical and, more importantly, the spiritual needs around me.  My prayer life has greatly increased as I attempt to intercede for those who share prayer needs with me.  We continue to be thankful for those of you that God has called to pray for us and/or to give to World Team, as they prepare to send us out "into the harvest".  Thank you for bearing with us as we have updated daily on facebook sharing our prayer needs during this "40 Days For France".  Tomorow night we are hosting a dinner at Bartlett Hills.  There will be about 80 or so people there who are coming for the specific purpose of finding out more about what partnering with us looks like and how they fit into that.  We covet your continual prayers as we look forward to seeing God move.

*"My Own Little World" by Matthew West