"It was 1986, a wintery November morning in Méru, France. Brigitte was late for work which is why she was driving too fast to get to the train station. Her car suddenly spun out of control on the ice and hit a tree leaving her crushed and in a coma for the next three months. A year of hospitalization, surgery and rehab followed as Brigitte’s crushed hips were replaced. Even though she felt lucky to be alive there was always a nagging sense of loneliness that permeated her soul.
Twelve years have
passed. It’s now January 7, 1998, another cold winter day in Méru. Night falls. Suddenly there’s a knock at the
door. A policeman is standing there
talking to her husband in hushed tones.
Other family members gather; screams, commotion, chaos break loose as Brigitte
learns that, Jean, her 21 year old son, has been murdered. It was that day her loneliness was replaced
with hatred and bitterness towards a God who would permit such an injustice.
11 years pass.
During that time World
Team chooses Méru as a new target city and in 2002 sent us there to begin the
work of planting a new church. It
happened on September 13, 2009 – our paths crossed. The Brigitte we met that day was searching
desperately to know God! The anguish had
not extinguished her longing for relationship and meaning. Days later she came to faith in Christ and
was radically transformed by the Gospel.
She forgave her son’s murderer understanding that to harbor
unforgiveness in her heart is to limit her growth as a new creature in Christ. Less than a year later, after watching the
radical changes in her mother’s life, her daughter, Nathalie, gave her life to
Christ and, following her mother’s example, will be baptized at the end of this
month.
The Gospel of Jesus
Christ is still the power of God for the salvation of those who believe!
David & Kathryn
Lohnes
World Team
Méru, France"
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