Advancing in Weakness – Feb 2019

I spent much of February fighting a virus, so God continues to emphasize my need for a season of rest while He accomplishes things for me! Let’s start with the Valentine’s Day party as an example:

When I started feeling sick Thursday the 7th, I knew it was Spirit-led when I had started cutting out hearts in January! In fact, all of the party details were organized by the time I was bed-ridden, so the only concern was having the energy to pull it off. God made good use of that week to talk to me about a lot of things, like “What’s my motivation, esp. if no one shows up?” That’s when I realized that I had to be doing it for Jesus first and let it go. He was also talking to Manuela, the pastor’s wife, about my situation (being attacked for wanting to celebrate brotherly love after my 3-month hiatus in America) as a highlight of relational issues in our Body that need intercession!

So on Thursday the 14th, David decided the best Valentine he could give me was an afternoon of “gifts of service” on a ladder to lighten the decor load, hanging a dozen garlands 2 days in advance. He also single-handedly hauled over everything from our house that was pink or red and stacked 100 chairs. My coughing fits were louder than any thoughts of romance, but I’d never felt more loved.

Thankfully, Olivia would be home just in time to help me and another young lady decorate the tables on Friday, while David perfected the background music playlists and PowerPoint presentation. My tortured lungs also decided that Olivia would make a great MC for the evening. (Essential oil capsules recommended by the pharmacist were not a miracle cure…)  

Saturday we arrived early for last minute details and waited to see how many would show up. I had planned for 8 tables of 6. We filled 5 tables of 4. And none of my good friends were able to make it, with the exception of Pastor Luc and Manuela. But the ones that did come overcame lots of obstacles to be there and they felt very loved. They brought an abundance of red and pink aperitifs. They expressed appropriate awe when learning that Americans buy 1 billion Valentine cards per year. And they participated wholeheartedly in my original candy heart game. It felt like a cozy home group during the remaining time spent nibbling and sharing around the tables.

I have to say that David, Olivia and I made a really good team and after their final cheers of thanks, we announced that we were too tired to clean up. It could wait until the next day. But everyone insisted that we go on home, while most of them stayed late to do it themselves!  All we had to do was come by later and gather our pile of personal stuff. They also left us a big group thank you note and all the leftover drinks and chocolates! So the love went both ways that evening… and I think Jesus enjoyed it too!

On another topic, I have mentioned wanting to write a children’s book, but though I was motivated, I struggled with the actual content. But the first draft fell into place easily last month and I am even happier with my 2nd draft that happened in just a couple of sittings this month. Self-publishing isn’t an option for me because I want it to be a multi-sensory, multi-lingual board book. But I’m encouraged to learn that France has a strong publishing market, that many publishers are actually accepting manuscripts and that none of them mention the word “agent”!
I believe I’m in the right place to take on this little dream, one step at a time, as God continues to lead and inspire me.

In the same vein, I started my French Sunday school blog exactly 2 years ago and posted my final post last September. It wasn’t until last week that I finally got my first comment from a very complimentary teacher in Strasbourg. She wanted to use my Lord’s Prayer craft for her confirmation class, but spotted a typo and wanted help fixing it. My weekly hits are also slowly climbing – encouraging timing as I start to identify myself as an author!

The last week of Feb was the best one: my coughing stopped and I felt well enough to get outside and enjoy some unusually warm, sunny weather and…
we finally got an email with an appointment to sign for the house!!
It’s hard to believe that it’s actually going to happen after 15 months of feeling powerless to move things forward any faster. Luc and Manuela had it worse: They just lived 9 of those months without a bathroom in their apartment in the chateau (and I never heard them complain once!) The house was gutted last week and today we met together to pray over the renovation phase. Tuesday we will sign the papers and a couple of weeks later, we will meet with the general contractor.
Here’s hoping that this is a prophetic sign that our church building will follow suit!

Resting and trusting, Angela

Joyful January – Jan 2019

We couldn’t have asked for better weather during our short, but sweet visit to Indy this month for the funeral. It allowed for a very good turnout and what a joy to see so many people from our distant past all gathered in one place! The ceremony was beautiful and the highlight was definitely David and Olivia singing “Good, Good Father” as a duet.

The other highlight was experiencing Rachel’s first solo artist exposition of her light and sound creations at a local gallery. We helped set up, attended her opening night and then a private live performance with the rest of the family a few days later. At the same time, she’s launching out on her own this year as a freelance designer – Have a look around at her website majuscule.co !

We want to especially thank our friends, Tom and Wendy, for blessing us with their lovely home, a car and a pantry full of food that made this trip so affordable and comfortable!

Back in France, David continues to juggle the regular ministry responsibilities at church and the House of Prayer with the occasional IT job on the side. His participation in the November 11th WWI Armistice commemorative day of intercession with Germans and French stirred his heart again for European reconciliation work. Recently his search for more steady employment has unearthed the real possibility of working in nearby Germany.  He just tested at a B1 level and would need to be at a B2 to really survive in a German work context, but it’s a challenge that entices him since this was the language he studied 7 yrs in school. However, a remote job would be less taxing at this season of life, so we’re continuing to pray in the best position for him!

I have been in a real creative flow since my return: editing my children’s book (that my girls will collaborate on,) restoring my mother-in-law’s vintage dolls for display and preparing the first Valentine’s Day party for our church. The goal is to redeem this holiday from the erotic “for lovers only” reputation that it has in France. So I’m making garlands, creating a PowerPoint of the history (400 AD to today) and a game challenging them to translate Brach’s candy conversation hearts. Everyone will bring snacks and we’ll sit in small groups at tables and reflect on 20 questions about spiritual and relational love in our own lives, followed by prayer ministry as desired. I’m kind of excited about it.

All these activities accommodate my lower energy levels, but I’ve also come alongside the new cleaning team at church, as well as babysitting in smaller doses. I’ve also been fasting the news for several months now, replacing it with more prayer and viewing testimonies and the exciting prophecies for 2019. This has given me a real joy boost, especially as our church building and house project are in stagnation mode. I am convinced that a positive and hopeful outlook is spiritual warfare all by itself, especially in today’s world and in French culture in particular!

Happy New Year,

Angela

Family Joys and Sorrows – Dec 2018

Merry Christmas Everyone,

Ours was a peaceful Christmas for 2 as guests cancelled and Olivia decided to celebrate back in Indy to keep the ties she made last year.

I’ve just been home two weeks (after five weeks with my parents) and we’ll be returning again on Sunday to celebrate David’s father’s life. He left us suddenly but peacefully on Dec. 5th after 2 years in Memory Care at the retirement village. Looking back, we are so glad that we were able to help care for him 2 yrs ago, when he was much more responsive.

Then my mother had heart pains during my first weekend with them and so we spent it in the hospital while she had a heart catheter done; another confrontation with mortality. No surgical intervention was needed, so we happily went ahead with plans to drive the 6 hrs to Scottsdale the following weekend for a Thanksgiving family reunion and 2 weeks of house-hunting. A big thanks to my sis for graciously keeping all of us in her big new house! Unfortunately, my parents didn’t find anything suitable within their budget.

Longerbone Thanksgiving 2018

On our return to Las Cruces, they showed me the local retirement village options and we viewed more small homes that were in their price range. The one we fell in love with and put an offer on fell through just before I left. But I had an absolutely delightful visit, getting a daily dose of sunshine, hugs and kisses, good food, old memories and mom’s companionship during our many outings. I had the time to get familiar with my parents’ routines, preferences and limitations, and mainly hang out with seniors. All of that helps me be empathetic as we touch base weekly about their continued search.

Las Cruces Home`

 At the same time, the trip felt like a real shift: For the first time, I missed speaking French and I wanted to stay in touch with all of our French friends, sending photos to those not on Instagram, so they could meet my family virtually. 

The trip also reassured me that David and I are making a good proactive decision to move into a smaller apartment earlier, rather than later. Everyone’s bridge loans have finally been approved and the house-signing should happen in January. By the time the renovations are finished, Olivia should be graduated and out on her own.

And finally our visit with Christiane, described in my last newsletter, was also our last. She passed away mid-Oct. and her beautiful funeral was so well-attended that we had to sit in the tiny narthex. (We were just happy to be there because of our conflicting visa renewal appointment.)  I can’t bring myself to delete her string of sweet text messages on my phone, but I also love knowing that she is looking down on us and interceding for France as fervently as she did here on earth. (And we are glad for it – the last terrorist attack in Strasbourg was a little too close to home, as the shooter was killed in Olivia’s suburb.)

Over the Mennonite church entry where Christiane’s service was held, was written Jer. 22:29:  Land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!
Amen!  We want to be here when this beautiful land receives the word of the Lord with open arms!

Happy New Year, Angela

Pure and Undefiled Religion – Sept 2018

I’m walking in my maternal grandparents’ footsteps this fall, caring for the orphans and widows.  In this day and age, where most singles and couples live without extended family support, these terms can apply to a wide range of people. And I think that this is one of the main roles of missionaries worldwide: Being financially supported, our time is more available for the needs of others. Kind of like stay-at-home mothers used to be for society. And because “acts of service” continues to be my love language, even with lower energy levels, Jesus makes my day when He puts together connections in serendipitous ways!

Let me share some recent examples in detail:

I had just delivered homemade soup to 2 English-speaking friends: Ben’s wife was out of town and had a sick daughter. Helen struggles with chronic pain and exhaustion and I launder her bedding twice a month. That day she also gave me her duvet to get cleaned. Ma Belle lives close to the laundromat and dry cleaners, so after checking prices and hours, I went by her apt. and no one answered. Looking at my watch, I realized that she would be walking home from a HoP set at church, so I headed that direction, spotted her and pulled over.

Since I had given away all my soup, I asked if she was hungry. She was, and since it was a sunny day, we headed to McDonald’s and had lunch out on the patio. Out of the blue, she asked me if I would help her deal with her chin hairs because her sister told her, without mincing words, that she was ugly. So we decided to go back to my house where I could give her disposable razors and show her how to shave. Her hair was pretty greasy too, so she took me up on a shampoo and trim as well! Happy day – She looked like a new woman! The root of the problem seemed to be a broken water heater (again) and no shampoo, so before taking her home, we stopped at a discount shop and got cleaning supplies, not only for her body, but also for her apt., since she warned me that it wasn’t in very good shape. Others had told her that her kitchen bins were the problem, but she seemed unable to tackle it. I hadn’t come by all summer, so it was time for a visual.

Upon entry, I was dismayed at the state of the kitchen. Despite lack of hot water and clogged sinks overflowing with dishes, we managed to get the floor and trash cans to an acceptable level of clean, (thanks to her bathtub) in about an hour. Her bedroom was heading down the same path, so I gave her a deadline to get on top of it or else I would come do it myself. I simply cannot imagine allowing all my hard work last year to be wasted. Her pride keeps her from asking, and she doesn’t like me working for nothing, but she admits that my occasional interventions really help her.

I’m putting on the pressure because I’m off to visit my parents for the 5 weeks around Thanksgiving and I want to make sure she’s in good shape for the winter before I leave. This brings us to the biggest crux in missionary life – while caring for others, we aren’t around to care for our own parents. In early September, my parents needed my support for the first time, but airfare and soon-to-expire visas don’t make it possible to fly out on a dime. Jesus got them over the hump, but I feel compelled to go out anyway. I think our family was last together in 2004 and I miss them. I’d also like to help my parents find a place closer to my sister before the next emergency. They are 78 and 82, so I don’t think I’m being too hasty.

Mitzia and real Italian coffee!Another precious moment happened after I had texted Christiane on a Sunday, our friend now in palliative care with lung cancer. I told her we missed her, esp. as she was the most faithful attender of David’s HoP sets and sent her a photo of the latest church wedding (see photo below.) She said that Mitzia, (a real widow) had wanted to come visit her as well, but needed a ride and Manuela (her daughter, our pastor’s wife and part of our house project) was in Israel.  Maybe we could bring her on Monday, esp. as it was a Mitzia’s birthday. That was also a day when the intercessor scheduled to minister to Christiane was unavailable, so we could come without tiring her out.

So I called Mitzia Monday morning. She had no plans and invited us over for coffee beforehand. That morning, I also received cash in the mail from my pen pal (who was returning my efforts to contribute to all the gas she used during our vacation together.) So I ran to the florist for flowers for Christiane and to the bakery for some birthday tarts. David agreed to drive and bring his guitar. What a sweet time of sharing and worship we had that came together so easily, falling on a day when I was also rested and had the energy to pull it off. That’s what makes these days even more special – all these “widows” have more bad days than good ones, so I give Jesus all the glory for orchestrating these moments of mutual blessing.

Mitzia’s great grandchildren are the ones I will be living with, and they fit in the “orphan” category when mom needs extra help with babysitting and after school pickups, esp. when Grandma Manuela is out of town. (I’m really starting to feel like a member of the family now!) And we had another “orphan” over for lunch yesterday: “Ling” married into the church family last year (the 20’s wedding). Since then they have moved from the polluted, noisy city of 20 million in Beijing to an isolated Swiss village of 700! During the week, she lives in the school chateau with her husband’s parents (the pastor’s sister) and takes French classes, while her husband works in Switzerland. The last time we crossed paths, she said she missed speaking English and Chinese food. So we had her over and heard her fascinating life story: A rare first born girl who wasn’t aborted and has a brother, whose parents divorced and left her to fend for herself at around 14. Unwilling to conform to the Asian societal mold, she studied in England for a few years and then found her Frenchman when she returned. The quiet strength of his faith and family has brought peace and stability to her, though God is still a foreign concept. We planted more seeds when she asked why were in France.

All the handsome boys at church, who were Rachel’s age when we moved here, have fallen for and modeled a Christ-like love to orphans like her and won them over just before marriage. It is clearly our church’s most successful outreach program! So for Ling, it’s only a matter of time… Here’s Clementine being overwhelmed by Vincent’s vows of unconditional love that we witnessed this month as well.Vincent and Clémentine

If any of you are near Scottsdale or Las Cruces next month, let’s try to connect! Looking forward to eating turkey in the sunshine this year!

Love, Angela

A Long, Hot Climb – August 2018

The summer felt like a long, hot climb, which is something David and I would never choose to do in the natural, but apparently God wanted to give us lots of opportunities to grow in patience and joy in trials! (But watch Paul, Apostle of Christ to put your petty complaints into perspective!)

Amanda and her honey, goat duck pizza!

A month without a living/dining room was pretty constraining, but the room was presentable just in time to host Amanda, our old babysitter from Denver.  As a French teacher, she comes through every 5 years or so, but we’d always missed each other till now. And boy, did she pick the perfect weekend: Bastille Day fireworks on Saturday night, a casual church service in the mountains and the French World Cup win on Sunday!

A few weeks of repaving our local streets during the summer heatwave was also taxing: Opening windows for a breeze was out of the question with bulldozers inches away and access to our door and parking was a daily adventure. The narrow sidewalk in front of our house was one of the last sections finished and immigrants were doing all the grunt work. I offered to freshen up their water bottles and gave them a hearty “Merci beaucoup” when the last shovelful of asphalt was applied and they walked off into the sunset.

It was also during this time that we drove 4 hours to see our pastor’s only daughter marry, staying overnight in a B&B that couldn’t even offer us a fan. After a lousy night’s sleep, the temps dropped and the magnificent outdoor setting and ceremony pulled us out of our misery!

Olivia got to experience the heatwave the following week as a key player at her school chum’s wedding: 5 days sweating it out at the bride’s parent’s house with 12 others and 2 bathrooms. Her roles included cleaning a dirty reception hall in advance of decorating, decorating, being a witness for the mandatory civil ceremony, leading worship with a band she’d never played with before, keeping the potluck buffet table full and doing the dishes afterwards. A ventilator kept the hall under 90 degrees, but the candles were still slumping over! Thank God she was joined by a great group of friends who laughed their way through it all. (But we made a mother-daughter pact that if she married in France, she wouldn’t do it in the summer!)

In the meantime, we were apologizing for the heat to more weekend visitors – our old friends and supporters, Tim and Sue, with their friends, came through after their ministry time in Switzerland with Athletes in Action. (The baker on our street just opened up an Airbnb this year to make ends meet. So they were able to stay a few doors down and sleep in air-conditioning – they highly recommend it!) Once visitors were cleared and the temperatures dropped, we painted the woodwork in the salon. And the room is finally starting to look the way I envisioned it!

The future M and Mme Vairet!

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that we wouldn’t be vacationing this year, but it seems God always comes through to make sure we celebrate our anniversary! Our American friends, the Byerlys, did a house swap during their summer furlough with the Hinson family from DC and I was their on-call person for any needs. So I did the cat-sitting for a month when the Hinsons traveled to Italy, did an afternoon of babysitting and then house-cleaned at their departure. And they were extremely generous in return. And the couple to whom we gave pre-marital counseling also surprised us with an unexpected big gift! So we booked a cheap flight and flew to Biarritz last week, where we were housed, fed home grown food and generally spoiled to death by Corinne, my pen pal of 40 years. In the end, David was sick most of the week and I caught his bug just before we flew back, so it wasn’t the couple time we had hoped for. But it provided a lot of much-needed girl time, as she is going through a difficult season and really needed a listening ear. Our friendship is becoming more precious with each passing year as she looks to me for more spiritual input into her life.

With Corinne at the Biarritz beach on the Atlantic.

If you ask David, his “long hot climb” this summer has been applying weekly for jobs. For the first time, he’s experiencing a lot of rejection in an unfamiliar business world, which is pushing him to lean hard on God, rather than his own understanding. Corinne was able to give him insight into the French recruiting mindset, and along with our dear intercessors, I am cheer-leading him on, knowing there is a perfect post waiting for him to find.

On a final, happy note, my chronic fatigue recovery has been less of a climb than I thought it would be. 2 months later, good sleep, extra supplements and mega-vitamins seem to be doing the trick! I also noticed that I felt much less achy in Corinne’s newly built house than I do at home, probably signaling mold sensitivity – another reason to move. At the same time, I have been delivered from all chocolate and sugar cravings, mainly because the side effects are so not worth it!

Ready for fall, Angela