Cru has a number of ministries in France, including one specifically for women. Our teammate Marie Carmen wanted to bless women in France with God's message of life transformation, so the weekend conference Avec Z'Elles was born. A play on words, this not only means women together, but also with wings or with zeal. The illustration used for the transformation God is looking to generate in our lives is the caterpillar becoming a butterfly. The content was marvelous, full of biblical truths and promises. And a butterfly is truly beautiful, eating flower nectar, pollinating as it goes; in contrast to the caterpillar which eats leaves and ravages plants. One gem from the teaching is this fact: butterflies are cold-blooded and use their wings to soak up sunshine, providing necessary warmth. They spend as much of 70% of their day basking in sunlight. We also need to take time to recharge in God’s light! How do you go about this essential activity?
Around 130 women attended the conference near Dijon, and May drove a carload from Rennes. She was in charge of projecting all of the content: presentations, launching videos, and worship. May was behind the scenes, but played an important role. Collecting and organizing the material takes a lot of time, not to mention making everything appear seamlessly on screen. She is very well suited for the task. We're thankful so many women were blessed.
Praises
- for May's parents visit over Christmas.
- that God has increased our support by 20%.
Please pray
- that new people will help close the gap, we're at 97% of our monthly goal.
- for wisdom in planning, we need to organize our time in the States this summer.
Efrem is off to the French Alps on a one-week ski trip organized by his middle school. He is no stranger to skiing, and we're sure he'll have lots of fun. But we won't get to hear from him until the bus pulls back in to Rennes. They aren't allowed any telephones or connected devices, so it is a week completely unplugged from technology and their parents. Efrem was also invited to play flute in a private concert for young musicians last month. He and a college aged girl played a duet of the Concerto of Cimarosa, their bright notes flitting up and down the scale at a dizzying pace. He was even given a cash honorarium - a pro at just 12 years old! In March Efrem plans to compete again at a regional music competition in Plancoët. Hopefully he won't put too much pressure on himself, because last time he competed there, in 2014, he won the grand prize for flutists. Efrem is full of energy and goes jogging with May two times a week. He also continues his baseball adventure, playing at the 13-15 age level. He's on the team Dan is coaching (the Rennes Redwings) and will likely play with the regional all-star team too.
