Bill and Bobbie and Sabrina and Benjamin at Etretat on the Normandy coast July 2017
In July Benjamin and Sabrina came to France for a week's visit. It was lots of fun to have them and hard to see them leave. And Bradlee will come too, in September for a few days! And all three boys will come back to France one last time for the going-away party we will have for all our friends in November. Bobbie has reserved a neighboring church and planned a big party to receive our friends and colleagues for an evening of fun, reminiscing, and saying good-bye.
I am not a pack-rat (although I might be a pack-mouse). These past few weeks “mean ole Bobbie” is making me get rid of lots of my things! Seriously, we are going through our papers and things, making decisions (many painful) on what to keep and what to discard or sell. Moving to the USA after 34 years in France is a big job. Trying to anticipate what we will need in the next chapter of our lives is not easy. One decision however is easy; we won't be bringing anything electrical. Electricity here is 220 volts; in the USA it is 110 volts. Because of this voltage difference, any electrical appliance big or small from France will not work in America. Over the years I have directed several building projects, and therefore I have accumulated a good number of electric tools. I am sad to have to sell or give them away. Then there are the books, lots of books... I've given away 30 boxes so far, and still have a few more to get rid of.
Bobbie has been working on the shipping, customs issues, ground transportation and storage of our household goods. The container comes to take our things the first week of December. Then we sign on the sale of our house on December 8th, and leave on the 10th. We have bought a 34 foot Fifth Wheel RV and will buy a strong pickup truck to pull it. Our plan at this point is to start visiting our supporting churches and individuals on the east coast and gradually work our way west for six months, retiring from TEAM at the end of June. There are lots of difficult logistical and legal details to still work out.
Thursday we leave for TEAM's All-European Annual Conference in Italy and we are proud and privileged to have 2 of our supporting churches coming to present a great program to the children while the adults are in meetings! In general at our conferences, we conduct our mission business, discuss strategy, receive training, worship (in English), enjoy fellowship and get refreshed. Most years we meet just among TEAM France missionaries, but this year it is for approximately 250 TEAM missionaries from all over Europe. Bobbie has been working hard on the conference planning committee. This will be her last one. She has gotten very good in organizing events over the years, and I know she will miss that part of her ministry here.
The baptism of Marc, the young man in the Guyancourt church, took place on May 21 in a joint worship service with our former church in Montigny. It was a good day of celebration and fellowship with a church meal following.
In June we hosted an outreach, the Music of the Reformation, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. The First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina presented a fantastic organ and choir concert, with a number of first-time visitors.
The church in Guyancourt is continuing with the new leadership taking over gradually. The schedule through the end of the year is established already and I am only scheduled to preach a few more times. The two TEAM couples coming to work in the church are qualified and willing, but there will be lots of work to be done to keep the church growing. In the past few years we lost 17 people for various reasons, some good and some bad. Now 2 families are leaving to take new jobs, and it looks like a single woman will marry soon and move away.
So please pray for:
- Health (physical and emotional with packing up and leaving) and strength to finish well.
- Wisdom for our time in the USA visiting churches and supporters. Pray that God would lead us as we choose where to declare residency, where to store our household for the time we will be RVing, how to plan our itinerary, etc.
- For fellow TEAMers Ryan and Dana Powell and Paul and Missy Robelot as they take responsibility in the Guyancourt church.
- That the church can grow and bring many to Christ and on to spiritual maturity.
- Salvation of our Moroccan family, Habiba and her two children Farouk (boy, 13) and Imane (girl, 9). For immigration papers and an urgent lodging need. The kids will attend a Christian camp in August. Please pray that the devotions at camp influence them toward a real relationship with Jesus.
Thank you all again, brothers and sisters in Christ and partners in ministry for your expressions of kindness and encouragement, for your prayers for us, and for your generous giving to God’s work here in France.
In Christ, for France!
Bill and Bobbie