Ring out the old, ring in the new – Jan 2020

Happy New Year (decade) everyone!

We’ve written this last newsletter together to better share both our perspectives on our past and future here in Europe.

After nearly 20 years here, returning “home” to the US makes less and less sense. Our home is here now, in southern Alsace at the foot of the Vosges Mountains. And when we move to our new apartment later this year in a house shared with two other French families, we will not only be physically moving deeper into this particular valley, but we will be going relationally deeper as well.

As we’ve become more established here, we’ve seen our missionary financial support by friends and family slowly dwindling. In the summer of 2017, we came to the conclusion that we really had to make some decisions about finances. This was the beginning of a 2 ½ year journey to arrive at a point where we believe we’re to start a new season as of today. During this journey, two biblical models have surfaced repeatedly:

The first is Elijah, where in 1 Kings 17 God tells him to leave his present situation and go where God would assure provision for him in a pretty supernatural way (no people involved). When that provision literally dried up, God told him to change his circumstances again, to one where He would provide for him still supernaturally, but through people. The second is Paul: Acts 18 and 20 make allusions to Paul working at making tents to provide for himself and for others.

Without expounding more here, God spoke to us repeatedly through these and other passages about financial provision and ministry activities. So in 2017 David started applying for full-time employment in his field of expertise. In the meantime, we realized that if we’re going down this path, we needed to close the door on our current circumstances as Elijah did, to walk into the new circumstances where God’s provision would be found. So at the beginning of 2019 we told those who were still faithfully sending us missionary support that this would be their final year of giving.

David applied for about 40 positions, and if there was a call back, the interview process was lengthy. The last refusal came in September after a long process that seemed promising. At this point, it was time to consider full-time tent making in freelance IT work – not David’s first choice, but it looks increasingly like God’s choice. Two significant trips have helped confirm this:

In October, David visited Indianapolis and had a couple of very good conversations that resulted in two new clients. Now David has four clients in the US for remote web development and support work.

Then in November, he attended the annual French House of Prayer conference with the two other co-leaders of our local HOP. This was a life-changing week. The Lord spoke to him several times that week (and continues to since then) about the importance of this part of David’s ministry – the only part that clearly stirs passion in him – and the need to reserve time for it, which freelance work would allow.

David will continue to be involved in worship ministry and lead/disciple our technical team at some level and Angela and David will continue to serve together in the church council. Angela has regained much of her energy and is making income again with childcare and a new English student. She is also making new contacts outside our primary church focus as a volunteer member of a local coop grocery and she still hopes to find a publisher for her children’s board book.

So, the call to live and serve where God transplanted our hearts back in 1998 has not changed. Additionally, God continues the sometimes challenging requirement that we live dependent on Him and not “salary security.” It’s no coincidence that God would have David focus on his call to serve His presence in the House of Prayer when he’ll need it to take new steps of faith. There is much growth ahead!

So thank you for having joined us on this wonderful journey! We hope our stories have encouraged you to bring the Kingdom of our Lord to your own spheres of influence.

And of course, feel free to write to stay in touch with us, follow @mrdleigh or @wannaworship on Instagram or come by if you find yourself in Western Europe!

Signing off,
David and Angela

Fall Festivities – Sept-Oct 2019

Hi Everyone,

My Spirit is really embracing the Jewish festivals this fall and I wonder if the new Hebrew year has anything to do with it: 5780 really stands out to me because it is my current age and the year I graduated from high school. Interestingly, our church has also decided for the first time to honor all 9 of the festivals this year!  This is adding a lot of celebration to our gatherings and brings into stark contrast the Catholic church calendar that dictates vacation days here, but holds no meaning for most people. The Hebrew year started on Oct 1, and it has already been quite moving with the elimination of the ISIS leader, a worship leader running for congress and the conversion of a certain rapper that has “Jesus is King” being declared all over social media!

Jewish Festivals!

David was actually in Indy during 2 of the fall festivals, so I had the liberty to experience them the way I wanted to. That included attending an apple and honey -drenched Rosh Hashanah service led by our church intercessors, personal inner healing time with a new book to continue working on my chronic fatigue, creating paper decorations for the then upcoming Feast of Tabernacles and attending a prayer meeting for Yom Kippur – those in our church with a heart for Israel asked forgiveness for the atrocities committed by the French collaborators with the Nazis during WW2.

In the meantime, David was making lots of good relational connections in Indy and a few of them have led to IT support work since he has returned. He got home in time to organize and participate in the 5 hrs of worship for the Sukkot tabernacle celebration. With most our young adults moving away for training and work in other parts of France and beyond, our worship teams have been painfully reduced. So for one of those hours, we played worship videos (in English with subtitles) and it was so exciting to hear the French singing along! I also love the rare opportunities to sing publicly in English, sensing His presence so much easier.

Unfortunately, our house project has been stalled for the last 3 months, but work should start back up next week. Our young family directing the project has come to the end of their grace with the delays, as this weekend was the original target date for moving in. They had outgrown their apartment long ago and we are thrilled that they have found a spacious, newly renovated house to rent in the meantime. David spent 4 hrs helping them build a huge wardrobe today and babysitting the kids will be much more pleasurable now and even more so when we are all in the same building!

And for our final news, this will actually be my next to last missive. We are entering a new season in more ways than housing next year and we’ll develop that more in our Dec. letter.

Until then, happy holidays!
Angela

A Summer to Remember – August 2019

Hi everyone,

The last time I mentioned my book project was back in March, but things have moved along since then and Rachel finished her beautiful sketches for potential illustrations in late June. So I sent it out digitally to 11 different publishers with a cover letter describing the void that this amazing book will fill and am awaiting replies this fall. One rejection has already come in, so I have officially joined the ranks of thousands of authors! I have plans to write another children’s book with an Alsatian theme once we have moved. “Just keep writing,” as my nephew writer says. I think I will.

At the same time, I was getting emails from a BFA graduate who had reached out to Rachel, needing a safe place to land in France while running from church/family trauma. So for the next 3 weeks I got to be a mother again, making sure she took care of herself physically, while coming against all the lies she believed emotionally from the victim spirit. It was nice to have another young lady in the house, but she wasn’t ready for inner healing and needed to get a job back in her hometown to try to support herself. I hope to see her again when she’s ready to forgive…

During this time we were trying to pre-order our new kitchen, but things really slow down in France in the summer, including our house. Exact measurements were impossible to obtain, (incorporating the tricky roof slope and angles) until the drywall is up, but at least I’ve picked out my styles!

In August, when everyone’s schedule is lighter, we enjoyed lots of relational time with new and old friends and my energy levels seem to be getting better with the help of abundant sunshine! This was a good thing, since there were 2 big pushes to do before the end of the month:

  1. Get Olivia moved into her own apartment for her last year of school (and before our move, where she won’t have a room of her own.) She found a nice roommate in a lovely place and David was able to get the job done in a day with the help of a pro mover from church and a rented van.
  2. Put together as many Lego models as possible to sell at the local flea market, along with lots of other toys from our attic, on Sept 1st (the day after returning from our vacation!) We learned that vintage Lego sells for decent prices on-line, and I was motivated to earn some money, since my part-time work dried up over the summer. Discovering that we still had most pieces to create 35 models was more satisfying than I expected, despite the physical discomfort of digging through drawers and following instructions with heads down intensity. It ended up being a real bonding time with David as well. He could find pieces that I could not and became my superhero many evenings.

Night view from the terraceAll of the above made us very ready for our annual anniversary getaway and Italy had been on my bucket list for many years. We found an Airbnb with a balcony in a tiny village far from tourists 4 hrs away for 30 euros/night and grabbed it. We really needed quality time apart as a couple and it was really special. Knowing French helps to decode Italian, so the language barrier wasn’t as bad as we thought it might be. Instead of touring museums or churches, we went to the best grocery store in the region – Wow! We also discovered the joys of electric bikes, renting 2 to ride around a lake.  We might just need them and use them once we move “up the valley” (hopefully before the end of the year).

Marco's KitchenThe romantic finale was 6 hours at a personal chef’s house for a cooking class and then eating the meal in his backyard woods at a fancy table for 3. (Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were eating us at the same time!) But what a treat to eat pasta you’ve rolled yourself with white pesto you mixed with a mortar and pestle! Lots of conversation with a real Italian chef in English was a great bonus. This was followed by sausages, polenta and Portobello mushrooms. And while he went back to the house to prep the raspberry coulis for the chilled panna cotta, we renewed our vows there at the table. Reciting our vowsThen David gave me a ring that belonged to my grandmother to replace my engagement ring that broke (and stone lost) over Easter – a little detail I failed to mention in my April newsletter! And guess what he presented it in?

A little hinged box that he made of Lego bricks. 🙂


Anniversary ring in lego boxI was undone… and with our vows still echoing in our heads, we’ve been acting like newlyweds ever since.

Love,

Angela

Striking Structures – May-June 2019

Though the Notre Dame fire is old news now, I’m going to keep my promise and talk about it this month, since buildings seem to be the theme since my last newsletter.

When the tall spire of Notre Dame cracked and fell over, most of the world was weeping. But my spirit leapt, as I witnessed the dismantling of a “high place” where freemasonry artifacts were stored as a spiritual lightening rod of protection over the church. I have visited the church a few times, and though it is glorious on the outside, the inside felt like a cold, dark tomb. Are you aware that during the Revolution, the goddess of reason was actually erected on the altar of the church and worshiped?  There are no records that this act has been repented for by the Catholic leadership, so for me, this fire is one that is cleansing strongholds and prophesying revival fires to come!

As our church has always had an apostolic/prophetic emphasis, another detail about the fire also spoke to us: Here you can read about the statues of the 12 apostles that were removed for cleaning, miraculously timed during the week before the fire.

During this time, our church council was reading the book The Apostolic Church Arising by Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler, where there is a great image of how the church should operate in a non-hierarchical way as a five-fold ministry described in Ephesians: The evangelist is the one birthing babies, bringing new Christians into the church, but follow-up is not his strong suit. That’s when the pastoral gifting needs to step in to nurture, comfort and protect this baby. (Many churches with a pastoral leader are stuck here.) But the prophet is needed for the next step in a Christian’s growth by giving them a vision and calling out their destinies. Then the teacher is needed to step in and show them how to walk that out practically. The apostle is overseeing the whole process and decides when to launch that person into ministry. And when that assignment goes awry, as it often does, the pastor comes back around to shore you up, the prophet reminds you not to give up on your calling, the teacher clarifies any confusion that came from the experience and the apostle eventually sends him out again.

Our council wears many of those hats at once as we heal, prophecy, and disciple those in church. We are not actively inviting people to our church until the first phase of our renovation is complete, but if we believe revival is coming, we should be getting ready to welcome lots of new babies! So seeing the spire of independence and pride fall, while the apostles were sheltered, was a confirmation to us that we are on the right track. June was a big push month for getting our church ready for inspection. Though I can’t contribute to most of the labor-intensive work, my personal vendetta continues against the invasive knotweed in the parking lot.

Soultz Parking-Lot Barn Fire

Our New House Newly Painted

We had our own mini fire drama right across the street last month when an empty barn sitting on the back end of our parking lot caught fire. It didn’t even make the local papers, but thank God it happened during the summer months when there are fewer cars vying for parking spots.

Our house project has also really moved forward since my last newsletter:  the new roof is on, the facade is painted and the extension is going up! We visit regularly to pray for the contractor, who handles weekly roadblocks with aplomb, as well as protection over the property and the workers and to connect with the neighbors, who are happy to see this eyesore be transformed!

Our final fun news is that in 10 days Le Tour de France is going right through our daily life: Starting at Mulhouse (our closest city), it continues to Bollwiller (our closest train station), Guebwiller (where the church and school are located), Soultz-Haut-Rhin (us) and Buhl (where we are moving to!)

2019 Tour de France Stage 6 Map

2019 Tour de France Stage 7 Program

A sizzling summer has started early for Europe – praying for cool breezes!
Angela

Spring Joys – April 2019

While David has been fighting discouragement about his job search this spring, this doesn’t negate the fact that this is always my favorite time of year and I’ve been getting lots of encouragement!  Let’s start with 2 special birthday gifts from Jesus last month:

We have a French friend from church who is currently at a helicopter pilot school in Montreal. Out of the blue, she wrote and asked if I wanted to do conversational English via Skype with a fellow French student (a 40 yr old single man) who needed to improve his fluency to pass immigration tests. I hesitated, wondering if we would have anything in common to talk about. And then I had a dream that it went really well. So I said yes, and it has turned out to be a part-time dream job providing pocket money for this season in life, handed to me on a silver platter!

The second gift was being able to wear earrings on my birthday night out and the details are worth telling! My friend Christi had given me a purple hand-me-down designer dress and my mom had sent my grandmother’s amethyst earrings to Olivia. Except that she doesn’t have pierced ears. I do, but I haven’t been able to wear any metal in my ears for the last 20 yrs.  But since they were gorgeous and matched the dress, I prayed for healing, put them on, and wore them all evening feeling like a princess!! The next day I tried on an old pair of my grandma’s diamonds, but the burning and swelling was immediate. Time to visit a jeweler and get to the bottom of this, to see if it’s more than a Cinderella story!

Soon to be our living room, office and kitchen
Soon to be our living room, office and kitchen

This month, the most encouraging activity has been weekly visits to our future home! The interior has been gutted, the outside walls re-plastered and the old roof tiles removed. The debris has been mounting inside and out because large trucks can’t get into our narrow street to deposit dumpsters. Talk about motivation to pray! But just today we got city approval to create temporary access via the fenced and raised county road that our cul-de-sac end butts up against. God is literally making a way where there was no way! The other beautiful thing is that the neighbors on our street are incredibly friendly and eager to chat each time we show up! This has not been our experience in Soultz, so we are ecstatic. (And my parents also seem to be riding on our breakthrough as they just bought their new house to downsize to – Yay!)

My Easter also held emotional breakthroughs: I usually have high expectations of myself to make this day special, whether it is by decorating, cooking or having an amazing Sunday school lesson. The trouble was that no one else did and that made it heavy. This being the first Easter since my fatigue set in, my expectations were re-booted. I felt impelled to attend the local mass on Saturday night and cried through most of it, as I simply received. I attended church Sunday morning empty-handed and left the cross bare. No children were in attendance, so there was no worry about how they were engaging with the holiday. Olivia had been sick all week and was just perking back up, so we ate leftovers after church and watched some of our favorite series together while I slow-roasted a leg of lamb for Easter Monday, also a holiday here. We had invited a retired pastoral couple over who had just officially joined our church council and she had an immobilized right shoulder post-surgery. All I had to do was compose some salads and roast some veggies to go with the lamb. I had ordered dessert from our local bakery. It was simple and lovely. That evening Olivia went back to school and I discovered a TV series about the gospels called The Chosen – Incredible!! As we become more aware of the pagan roots of our holiday calendar, it feels good to let the trappings go. Maybe next year I’ll attend a Seder!

Thoughts on Notre Dame next month!

Love, Angela