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“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” Revelations: 19:7
Dear friends,
Aline and I returned home from California on Oct.11, exhausted but grateful that our daughter’s Oct.1 wedding went over without a glitch. The weather was perfect for this solemn and joyful occasion. Of course the bride was beautiful! Aren’t they all? We were grateful that our boys and my older sister could be there for this very special occasion. Though we’d been saving for years for our daughter’s big day, we were nonetheless most grateful for two generous gifts from friends which went far to help us with the usual unforeseen expenses. Mille fois merci les amis!
While Anaïs and Eric went on a brief honeymoon to Costa Rica, Aline and I stayed in their apartment for a week and visited the L.A. region a bit while preparing a preaching assignment near San Diego on Oct.9. We spent a memorable day at the Getty Museum—a highlight of our time in L.A., which included an evening visit to the “L.A. Pétanque club” where I played a few games with some fellow pétanque aficionados and even shared the gospel with Rodolphe (originally from Normandy) and Jean (from Dijon). Pétanque opens all kinds of doors in the French-speaking world.
On Friday Oct.7 we drove down to San Marcos (20 miles north of San Diego) for visit with Pastor Tae and Sophie Kim. I first knew Tae in Korea in 1973 when we were both just 19. We met in a Seoul café with some other Korean students and he later came by to see me at the youth hostel where I was staying. I’d just become a Christian a month before and was reading the Bible given to me by an Indian evangelist, but was still struggling with some residual addictions. I nevertheless shared a bit of the gospel with him, but nothing more. We kept in touch over the years, and when I went to study in France where I learned from a letter that Tae had become a Christian. Alleluia! Prayerful Korea is fertile ground for the Word. Meanwhile, a convoluted confluence of factors later led Tae to the U.S. where he went to seminary in the Chicago area. For the past 25 years he’s been a pastor in Methodist churches, first in the Chicago area, and now in S. California.
I preached on prayer at his church in San Marcos, a subject many Koreans take very seriously. As a matter of fact, in his previous congregation near Pasadena, practically the whole church met for prayer every morning at 5:30! His new Anglo congregation, a small but loving group of mostly middle-aged folks, received us warmly.
We left the more temperate climate of S. California (neither heat nor air conditioning hardly ever necessary) and flew back to steamy south Florida. My glasses fogged-up from the humidity as we walked out of the Ft. Lauderdale airport into our perpetual sauna-bath climate. It was back to the routine: preparing for the next series of courses in the isles; our Sunday radio broadcasts; and visits to a few perspective supporting churches. It seems our mission support account is hemorrhaging so I have to hit the road again and present other folks with an opportunity to invest in the Lord’s French-speaking Kingdom.
As I write this, I’m eagerly anticipating a visit to my home state of R.I. (Oct.29-31) where I’ll be speaking in a church and seeing cousins I’ve not seen in years including some non-believers. On Oct.29, I’ll be attending—for the first time—a reunion of my Catholic high school class of ’71. It could be interesting….
Enrollment at the Haitian Bible school here in Ft. Lauderdale where I teach has dropped-off significantly since Pastor Petit (72) had to withdraw following a stroke he suffered at the end of August. Please pray for his health and for the welfare of the large but fragmented Haitian Christian community, both in S. Florida and in Haiti. Some new responsibilities have arisen through our affiliation with the MINTS Seminary program. It involves writing and translating basic theological courses for French West Africa where the church is growing but where teaching material is always wanting. My old high school French teacher would never believe that his erstwhile worst student now spends most of his time working in the language of Molière. Ironic perhaps, but the Lord’s ways are strange indeed. Finally, we’ll need some new financing to cover eventual trips to French West Africa but we’re confident the Lord will provide if He wants us to be involved there. Paul exhorted Timothy to “fulfill his ministry” (2 Tim.4:5). Likewise, we don’t have time to get bored either. We thank those of you who make it all possible. In His service,
PRAISE:
1-Smooth unfolding of Anaïs’+ Eric’s wedding.
2-Encouraging spiritual progress of our sons and a nephew. 3-A steady stream of opportunities to share the faith with French-speaking folk, everywhere we go.
PRAYER:
1- Travelling mercies for forthcoming trips: Winchester, Va. (Oct. 21-23); Rhode Island (Oct.29-31); St. Martin (Nov.13-19);St. Louis (Nov. 25-28); Haiti (Dec.8 11). 2- For the unction of the Spirit on both Aline and me. 3- For the spiritual and professional welfare of our children.
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