a church is born

Dear Epaphras,
We thank the Lord our move into the center of Bayonne is over! Our home is proving to be both practical and conveniently located. Both girls are walking to and from school each day. We can walk to the grocery store, pharmacy, gym and downtown saving us both time and gas. And, friends from our church live nearby. Even though this house is significantly smaller (we are adjusting attitudes daily) the 8 hours saved in the car weekly is better used elsewhere! The Lord is giving us a heart for this city – officially founded in the 3rd century AD by the Romans but many, many years prior by the Basque. We hope to start a bi-monthly bible study in our home in the coming weeks. Pray with us for that and pray that God would draw the people of Bayonne to Himself!
InTent – developing leaders
Sara returned last week from her leadership development residential with Pioneers in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Her daily schedule was filled with worship, meditating through the book of Mark, lectures and practicum on leadership topics such as; mentoring, shaping the soul of a leader, globalization in missions and ministry skill development. What an encouraging and inspiring week to share with 20+ leaders from around the globe. Her third and final residential will be held next March in 2016.
Julia’s health
Julia’s health has been overall stable but we need to see a gastrointestinal doctor soon because of increasingly frequent stomach pains. Pray for Julia and for wisdom for us as we are making an appointment with a new specialists in the Bordeaux area. Otherwise, both Julia and Annie are doing great! Annie just passed Sara and is now the tallest woman in the family! All three are beautiful!
Charles and Debra
Pray for Charles and Debra Bavelloni, our french Area Leaders. Debra had gall bladder surgery last Tuesday. She is recovering well and we trust this surgery will be a solution to her constant pain. Her husband, Charles, needs your prayers as he struggles with many leadership issues. Charles will be taking a much needed break in the coming weeks.
A church is born!
Easter Sunday was an historical day in Athens, Greece. This past Sunday, roughly 1965 years after the apostle Paul first preached his famous sermon on the Areopagus (Acts 17), a new church was born. Andrew and Alecia have been ministering to the Albanian diaspora in Athens for many years. This week five families who have come to the Lord had their first official church service! Below is a picture of the elders of this small community of believers. Ask the Lord to add to their numbers weekly!
OK, this was a long update… We will try and get back into a weekly rhythm with shorter updates. Thanks for praying with us and our teams in Europe!