Bonjour from France (for now),
Today is October 31st, the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation. A friend of mine recently wrote an appropriate word for the day: "On the 500th anniversary of the Reformation we celebrate a perfect gospel given to an imperfect people." The French churches have been celebrating this anniversary all year long with special outreaches, special seminars, etc. Our church hosted an excellent "Reformation music" concert with musicians from First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, SC. And we showed the 2003 film Luther with Joseph Fiennes and had a special restaurant meal together after church.
On Saturday we will have a good-bye party after 34 years living in France. At this point 110 friends will come. Our three boys have come for this last Hurrah. Bobbie has planned on games and speeches and even having everyone sing Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again." Needless to say, we are going through lots of emotional turmoil about leaving this country where God has blessed us so much. I am sure I am sure we will be emotional wrecks after telling our good friends good-bye one last time.
Our plans are to fly to Raleigh, NC on December 10th with our cat, and shipping our dog on another flight. We bought a 34 foot Forest River fifth wheel RV and it has recently been delivered to an RV dealership in Selma, NC. I have been looking online at which pickup truck I will need. The plans for shipping, customs, ground transportation and storage of our household goods are all arranged. Now we are busy boxing up our things to take, and selling or giving away lots of our things: cars, appliances, tools, books, etc. Once we arrive, we will spend a week or two learning to live in our camper, buy the truck, register it and the camper, buy insurance, install a fifth-wheel hitch, learn how to pull the camper, etc. and in January start visiting our supporting churches and individuals for six months. We will sneak in a visit with our boys in Washington DC for Christmas. At the end of June we will retire from the mission. It will be hard to leave TEAM and France, but we are looking forward to beginning a new chapter in our lives.
If you are a supporter or supporting church we will be contacting you as soon as we get our RVing experience working well enough to travel the Southeast. We have been fortunate to have had excellent support over our time with TEAM. An extra blessing was that our support was not all over the country but concentrated in the Southeast. So we will be visiting our churches stretched east and west from Savannah, Ga to Dallas, TX and north and south from Fort Smith, AR to Laurel, MS.
Everyone is asking, "Where will you settle down?" That is a very good question. During our 6 months visiting our churches and supporters, we will be looking to the future. Maybe we will fall in love with an area as we travel. Even if we decide where we will settle down, we don't plan on settling down right away. We are going to take advantage of our RV to head out west and north see our country. And there is Canada to see too! But one day we will settle down, get involved with a local church and a local ministry or two, and I (Bill) want to get involved on a part-time basis with theological and pastoral training in French-speaking countries that need help.
Right now there are still a number of details to finish up my ministry of church-planting in the Guyancourt church: banking, logistics, etc. I preached in my former church in Montigny on Sunday and will preach once more in the Guyancourt church.
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 plan our itinerary, and choose where we will settle down.
- 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 loved the Christian camp they attended in August.
We are grateful to you all for your prayers, encouragements and contributions over these 34 years. You have been true brothers and sisters in Christ as well as partners in ministry.
In Christ, for France!
Bill and Bobbie
Team, France