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Baughmans - France - January 2010
January, 2010
??Dear Praying Friends,??
We would like to begin this letter by expressing our wishes and prayers for a New Year blessed with spiritual health and prosperity, with joyful service for the Lord and with watchful anticipation of His imminent return. We had a nice Christmas season with our "family in Christ" since we weren’t able to be with any of our other family members. Our Christmas program went very well with a good attendance. The children did such a good job with their songs and the enactment of the Luke 2:1-20 passage - nothing original, but it never grows old! Bro. Olivier Bourrel, a French pastor, brought an excellent message. Linda had a cold that turned into an ear infection, but the Lord answered prayer and gave her the strength (and her voice) to do all that had to be done that day. Then for Christmas Day we had several Africans, from 3 different countries, with us for our Christmas meal. What a blessing to be able to celebrate the incarnation of our Savior with brothers and sisters from all over the world! Now we’re planning fellowship, edification and outreach activities for this year, so please pray for the Lord’s direction and power in our lives and ministry.?
We’ve seen some answered prayer and the protecting hand of the Lord. One of the African ladies has been in France for over 3 years because of the medical needs of her son, and her husband has tried several times to get a visa to visit her. Well, he finally got the visa approved and is here now on a one-month visit. What a blessing to see their joy as they were reunited! They have 3 children still in Africa and 2 here in France. Please pray that the Lord will work another miracle and make a way for this family to be totally and definitively reunited. A young man in our church (who just became a daddy) lost his job right before Christmas. Against all "odds" he just "happened" to be at the right place at the right time and was hired at a garage less than 3 miles from their home. Then he got a better offer (more permanent, better pay). With the unemployment rate so high, this has been a faith-strengthening experience for this young couple whose desire is to serve the Lord. ?
Winter has brought us more snow and ice than usual here in France as in America and other countries. The Sunday before Christmas church was cancelled because of the snow. (The streets are not treated or cleared in our area). Then another Sunday the roads were icy. As Linda was picking up people for church, she had her first experience with uncontrolled sliding and ended up hitting a small pole on the side of the road. Nobody was hurt and there was only minor damage to the car. This happened only 2 days after another first for Linda - a flat tire, discovered in the parking lot of a store, with a garage at the other end. The tire was fixed as Linda did her shopping. She’s praising the Lord for His protection.?
It has been our joy in recent days to see the Lord work in hearts and lives as His Word goes out by way of preaching and teaching or the printed page. We receive testimonies of blessings received through the Source of Light correspondence courses. And we are always encouraged by those who order Bibles for themselves or for evangelization. Almost 700 Bibles have been ordered and sent out in the first half of January.?
Family news : Our daughter Debbie gave birth to her fourth child, Abigail Faith Davis, on Nov. 27. "Baby-gail" is doing great. It’s looking more and more like her older sister Naomi, who turned two on the same day, will have to have an operation to correct her heart defect. Please keep her in your prayers, and also the doctors who will be making decisions. Clare has been seeing several specialists for various health problems (we’ll spare you the "organ recital"), and may be facing some surgical interventions, so please pray for him and for wisdom for the doctors. Linda asks for prayer that she’ll have more opportunities to witness during the hospital visits and meetings with the other volunteers of the association she serves with. ? As always, we are sincerely grateful for your prayers and financial support. A special heartfelt thanks for the Christmas cards, gifts and letters, which are always a blessing. May the Lord be glorified in your lives and ours as we serve Him this year, and may many souls be saved and Christians strengthened and edified.
In Christ’s joyful service,
Clare and Linda Baughman
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Jose Esquibel, 20/01/2010 |
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