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La Lumière: November 2022

Newsletters
15 November 2022
La Lumiere
November, 2022
click for printable pdf
Sunrise over Billings
UN
STILL STUDYING, AND LOVING IT

Even in eternity, we will always have more to learn about our beautiful, glorious infinite God. May and I are currently taking Bible classes online, required Cru training. We are loving it! May is taking apologetics, and my class focuses on God's character and the Holy Spirit. It's pure gold. Two of the most insightful chapters in May's reading were from Tim Keller's The Reason for God, where he discusses the problem of sin and the true story of the cross. It's impossible to distill down to a few sentences, but sin is essentially seeking our identity apart from God; we 'deify' other things. This brings about dire personal, social and cosmic consequences. To explain the cross, Keller dives into the essence of forgiveness, how humanly speaking it costs us something to forgive someone, we suffer as we absorb the debt. On the cross God does visibly and cosmically what every human being must do to forgive someone. On the cross God offers his own lifeblood to defeat evil and and accomplish his loving desire to forgive others. God didn't send a surrogate to absorb the debt, he suffered himself.

Dan's class has also been wonderfully insightful, delving into the essence of the Trinity. Although it helps our finite minds to try to characterize the different roles the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have, I find beauty in the blurring of the lines. For example, the Son has the primary role in salvation, accomplishing it through his incarnation, death and resurrection. But the Father plans it and draws people (John 6:44) and holds us firmly in his hand (John 10:29). The Spirit applies our salvation, giving us spiritual birth (John 3:8), and sealing us (Ephesians 1:13). God is always working together in relationship, inviting us into the eternal love the Father and Son and Holy Spirit have for each other.

Carver Park Reserve

A lovely walk in Carver Park Reserve in Minnesota

 

Please pray

  • for safe travels to Bozeman, Seattle, then Colorado.
  • that we effectively carry our responsibilities, even though we're traveling.
  • that the Lord would be watching over Silas and Efrem while we're 4,500 miles away.
Washing dishes

Helping at a church family event in a Billings, no training required!

Game night

A fun night with a missions committee in Billings.

DEUX
CULTURAL OUTSIDERS

We are currently in Montana and enjoying reconnecting with family and friends and churches. And, for the first time in twenty two years we're in a time zone where we can actually watch the World Series! Sometimes people ask us if we feel the effects of reverse culture shock. May made an interesting observation as we were walking the other day. She said, "It's like we're standing still and everything around us is moving on." So we experience an odd combination of familiarity and disconnectedness. Our cultural and contextual references are depleting. One silly example is how restaurant menus have become vague - i.e. Chipotle - and tough to decipher. If you go there often, you already understand what the options are, but we're confused. We don't look like it because we're speaking English, but we are cultural outsiders in a way.

Our Signatures

La Lumière: October 2022

Newsletters
19 October 2022
La Lumiere
October, 2022
click for printable pdf
Colorado Sunrise
UN
BRIEF WINDOWS

It was the first email I received from Abel, but he dove straight into his greatest spiritual need. "I need help," he said. "I have a thirst for Christ and want him in my life." Abel asked me how to take that step of faith. The window into his spiritual journey suddenly opened. I don't know who planted or watered, but it was so exciting to answer his question and encourage him toward Christ. Online ministry provides such unique opportunities, and even though I'm currently traveling in the States, it carries on just the same.

Another person who wrote just this week was responding to an email series studying the gospel of John. She wanted to share how she had seen God working in her life recently and ask for prayer. I normally pray for people I correspond with, and sometimes those prayers are typed into an email response. God knows our hearts, and whether our prayers are voiced or flow from our fingertips he hears them.

Finally, here is a translation of a encouraging email I received from Amar:
I come from a Muslim family, but I had always rejected this religion. Still, I had questions about God. I felt deep inside that there was a God and everything I heard about Jesus Christ seemed closer to the truth. Now, I am scheduled to be baptized in 2023. Allow me to say a big thank you for your website on the internet which gives many answers to my questions.

Sunset in Rennes
Traveling van is back

Reunited with our traveling van.

Pumpkins

The world of pumpkins.

 

Praise!

  • that the van was recovered!

Please pray

  • for safe travels and quality time with family and friends.
  • for the responsibilities we’re still carrying, even though we’re traveling.
  • for Silas in Paris and Efrem in London.
DEUX
MEANWHILE, IN MINNESOTA

Wednesday morning we helped at our church distributing food. The missions coordinator took us out to lunch. When we arrived back at the church May asked, "Where did you park the car, Dan?" My Dad's van was gone! Surveillance video showed a tow truck pull in front of the van, lift up the front tires and drive away. The whole episode took seven minutes. We were thrust into an emotional rollercoaster ride, calling my Dad, calling the police, wondering what to do next. Support started flowing in, some people offered to lend us a vehicle, many prayed for the situation. As the shock slowly wore off I came to grips with the fact that the van was gone. The next morning we received a text message from the missions coordinator. Someone on staff at the church had scheduled to have their van towed the day before, the same color, year, make and model. Ours had been taken by mistake! The two vans had license plates from two different states, which went unnoticed. We were able to pick up the van. Driving it again was a little surreal, yet a great relief. God answered our prayers and showed us yet again that he is lovingly watching over us.

Our Signatures
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