On y va!


March 8, 2002 Our last day of outreach in Strasbourg

Dear Family and Friends,

We’re starting with our big news first and going backwards!

In the Leigh version, Hebrews 11:8-10 reads as follows:

By faith the Leighs, when called to go to France, which they would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went, even though they did not know where they were going.

9 By faith they made their home at a language school like a stranger in a foreign country; they lived in a furnished apt., as did other missionaries, who were heirs with them of the same promise. 10 For they are looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God, (that He has yet to show them!)

This was the verse that confirmed our decision last week to jump off our Scottish stepping stone and onto the other side, in the form of a 10-month Christian language school in Albertville, France, starting in September! We realize that we are ineffective in France if we can’t speak the language well, so it is an important step to take, no matter what we do in the future. We will live in a furnished apartment on campus, and the children will walk to the local school each day, starting off with French classes only, before tackling other subjects. They are most excited about a snowy winter – “Yes, we’ll leave our friends, go to school, learn a new language – anything! Just get us out of this rain!!” We will return to Paisley at the end of June 2003 to re-group and decide what is next. Our combined tuition will be about $10,000, and we would like to raise that in one-time gifts during our upcoming visit to the States.

Now to back up, our last newsletter was written mid-outreach. Our students have graduated, and most of them are moving into Paisley for a time as their next step in missions. They will facilitate the next school in May, replacing us, and maybe renting our home while we are in France, covering our housing costs. We are honored to have been a part of the launch of these incredible families into their missions odyssey!

To sum up our outreach, God told us that it would be about dependence on Jesus and relationships. Dependence on Jesus took the form of letting God deal with unsolved logistical issues and financial needs, etc. instead of worrying or solving these problems ourselves. “Relationships” meant healthy marriage, children, and team relationships while living out of our suitcases and in each other’s faces for a month, and relationships and contacts with those in France. In all of these, we had opportunities to encourage, serve and point people to Jesus: Practical in terms of scraping paint and deep-cleaning Ministry in terms of preaching and leading worship Relational in terms of praying for and sharing with people, as well as modeling healthy, loving families – a rare thing in Europe! Strategic in terms of prayer walking and on-site intercession for England and France

And now we look forward to our visit to the States and some overdue quality time with family and friends in a couple of weeks! Our rough itinerary looks like this: March 20 – April 5: Indianapolis April 7 – May 5: Denver May 7 – May 15: Indianapolis
We want to see as many of you as possible, and hope to organize a date in each location for a big get- together, complete with authentic Scottish food door prizes!! We’ll e-mail dates as soon as they are settled!

We close with a reminder that France is the focus of world-wide prayer again this year during the Lenten season, and insightful ways to pray can be found here: https://www.prayforfrance.org/

See you soon!
Angela and David

Posted in newsletter.