Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Where's spring?

So, I knew it had been a long time since I last wrote a blog...but I was a little surprised that it has been since October! Oh well, at least I've sent out a few e-mails to keep folks up on what's going on.

In the last post I listed my activities and jobs so I won't repeat that here. I will just say that things are going well. In the music schools most of my students are from 7-9 years old. This is a big change for me. I'm used to starting students around 11 years old. So it has been a bit of an adjustment but I like it. I am thankful for my 3 groups at church where the youth are from 15 to 21 years old. And then at Daniel School I have the ages in between. It balances out nicely. Doing a variety of groups and types of music keeps things interesting.

At the end of February we had 3 friends from FOC come to visit. It was a great time of discovery, building connections and releasing God's goodness for one another. Greg, Bobby and Amanda came ready to give and receive. There has already been a lot of fruit from what they released during their time here and from the relationships that were started. It was clear from the beginning of the trip that God had great things prepared because they had a lot of trouble getting here! Chris Abington, who had organized the trip, was unable to come because his daughter broke her arm the day of the trip. Then the three missed every flight because of delays, etc. But they got here and they were in a good mood when they arrived after all of that. Thanks guys, for going the extra mile! I am very grateful to see my two homes becoming more and more connected. I think we will see relationships grow from here on out as the bridge from Arkansas to Alsace gets bigger and wider. One of the people that will be continuing that connection is Deborah Beck. She is a young French woman who will be doing an internship in webdesign in Russellville starting sometime in April. You folks in Arkansas be sure and give her a warm southern welcome and help her feel at home. I know you will. That's who you are and what you do! Deborah is great and she's going to fit right in and have a blast discovering Arkansas and it's culture.

I am happy to say that we are seeing progression in the areas of the school that I asked you to pray about. There have been several financial gifts to the school. It is amazing to see God's provision and His timing. Please continue to pray for a steady stream of financial blessing for Daniel School. Also, we see God's order coming in the leadership and organization of the school. It is a process but things are moving forward. Please keep praying for the school and for Christian education in France and French speaking countries.

Another important event coming up in April is the Love After Marriage (LAM) seminar that our church will be hosting. LAM is a ministry of Bethel Church in Redding. The couple that leads it is coming to teach and two couples from our church are helping to organize and lead. The Leighs and the Becks have both already done the seminar and will be counted on for translation and leading small groups. Thanks for all of you who have already been praying because of my e-mails. Please continue to pray for these couples and for all of the couples that will attend the seminar. This is the first time this seminar will be held in France. It is a powerful tool to heal and equip couples for strong, happy marriages and families.

Personally, I've been feeling the urge to get 'out of the four walls' a bit. After talking with others I think there might be several of us who would like to do Treasure Hunts or just get out and pray for people and see God speak and heal people. I'm not looking to start a program. We just want to see the Kingdom grow and the miraculous in our town.

Like many of you, we are waiting on spring to reveal itself. Winter doesn't want to let go. It may be a little slow in coming but when spring hits it's going to be splendid. I have this same hope to see the presence of God manifested in my church, in my town, in my country and on my continent. Let's go, people of God, let's love God and release heaven on earth!



Prayer requests recap:

~That God continue to grow the Alsace-Arkansas connection according to His desire and plans.
~Prayer covering for Daniel School in all areas and for French Christian education.
~The Love After Marriage seminar the week of April 22nd and the Leigh and Beck families.
~God's Kingdom come, His will be done in our lives and that we can take it to the streets.