Joyeux Noel

 HAVE A "JOLLY HOLIDAY"!

This is a super busy time of year, so here are a few quick updates regarding our journey to France...

•  Our current status:  At last check, both our monthly support as well as our outgoing support (moving and set-up costs) are between 40-45%.  We praise God for the progress we've seen this year!  Unfortunately, it's not enough to be able to attend the January pre-field training course we have been praying for.  So, barring something huge from God, we now set our sights and prayers on July when the course is offered again.  Please join us in praying that God would make a way!  Find out how you can help below...
•  Our next steps:  Just after Christmas we will move into a missionary apartment at the seminary.  It will save us on rent and it is furnished which has allowed us to begin the process of selling off many of the things that won't be going with us to France.  Also, we will continue to seek out opportunities to meet with individuals and churches locally and we will begin to increase our communication with our "out-of-town" contacts.  Please pray that the joy of the Lord will be our strength, that we won't grow weary, and that God will grant us wisdom on how to proceed.

Update on T-Shirts

 Sorry for the delay, but the new t-shirts are now in!  If for some reason we don't get yours to you over the next week or so, please let us know.  If you are interested in buying one for $15, you can see a picture of the new design here. 

How You Can Help

Would you consider joining our support team and helping to send us and the gospel to France?
 

Here's how:

1. Give a special, year-end gift from you or your business. 
2. Commit to partner with us financially on a monthly basis (you can check out the different giving options here).
3. Help us spread the word.  We'd love to meet with you, your church, or your small group.

We wish you a Joyeux Noel...and we will be blogging more often again come January, so be ready to be hearing more from us again very soon!

Praises, Prayer Requests and Pledges

 Praises:

• We again had the opportunity to share with Fayette Baptist Church this past Sunday about our call to France.  They are already on board to partner with us monthly as a church and will soon more details. 
• God is doing some amazing things in and through this new church plant!
• Bartlett Hills has officially partnered with us monthly and we are so excited to have our second church joining us in this call to France!                                                                                 

Prayer Requests:

• We will have an indoor booth in the snack room at Bartlett Hills Baptist Church on Friday and Saturday as a part of the Arts and Crafts Festival.  There will be around 100 booths there, so come check it out.  We will be selling all sorts of things: arts and crafts and our new T-Shirts.  Pray that we will also have many opportunities to add people to our contact list.
• On Saturday, we will also have music, photos and caricatures.  It will be lots of fun and another way to share our call.  I know God is sovereign and His ways are higher than mine, but I stress about the "what ifs" such as "WHAT IF it rains?!"  Pray that we will remember that He is in control no matter how it all plays out.

Pledges:

• I have already shared with you our new church pledges.  We are currently at about 38% of our monthly support and 41% of our outgoing support.  Continue to pray that God will call others to partner with us as we are still striving for the January term of pre-field training.  We need to be at 75% to get there.  God is BIG and we can't wait to see how he is going to work this weekend!

Update on the Fete de la Musique

Hi everyone,

    The details are coming together for our music festival on Oct. 20th during the arts and crafts fair at Bartlett Hills.  We could still use some more musical acts and we'll always take any donations of items we can sell at our booth.  ON THAT NOTE, I need to make a correction concerning our last post.  The church does not have the necessary permits to have booths outside this year, so we WILL NOT have any booths outside.  But you can come find our booths in the snack room.  We will also have some original artwork displayed, some of which will be for sale.  Come hang out with us and spread the word!

Fete de la Musique

     France is known for their appreciation of the arts and music.  We saw this first hand when we spent our first year of marriage living in Beauvais.  We discovered that one day every June,  French cities "shut down" and celebrate the "Fete de la Musique," or Music Festival all over town.  Music of all genres and musicians of all backgrounds and ages could be heard on every street corner and in the center of town a main stage was set up in which the "main acts" played throughout the day.  It is definitely a cultural experience ( this video gives you glimpse of what I'm talking about). 

    We thought it would be fun to do a miniature replica of this festival in conjunction with the Bartlett Hills Baptist Church arts and crafts festival on Saturday, Oct. 20th, from 9-3.  We obviously love music and know that many of you do as well and we thought it could also serve as a great venue to spread the word about what God has called us to in France.  We'll have a stage set up outstide, and the pumpkin patch will be open as well so our version of the "Fete de la Musique" will have a "fall festival" feel to it that should be a lot of fun.  We will also have different booths of arts and crafts set up outside that will be donating a portion of their proceeds to our pursuit of the mission field.  We'd love for many of you to be involved.  Here's what we need: 

• A set-up and tear down crew to help with the staging and musical equipment.  (Contact Stephen St. Clair, stephen@bartletthills.net)  
• Different musical performances with hopefully a variety of people and styles of music.  I'm hoping for about 10 different groups prepared to do about a 20 minutes set.  You are also welcome to set up a merch booth outside.  (contact Michelle at chelle374@aol.com)
• We'd also love to have a variety of arts and crafts booths set up outside in which you could display your work and make them available for sale.  You can have the booth for free if you are willing to donate at least 50% of the proceeds towards our pursuit of the mission field in France.  (contact Michelle at chelle374@aol.com or Tessa Harrelson at 901-826-1460)
• Someone that can help develop some promotional stuff, flyers etc... for the non-Facebook crowd.  (Contact Brandon at 901-828-2815)
• A team that can help "decorate" outside.  (Contact Lisa Harrelson at 901-297-9165)

And like always, be in prayer that God will use this event to put us in contact with those He's calling to be a part of our support team.  Please let us know asap if you want to help.  God bless!  

France Friday, 9/14/12

Our "40 Days for France" have come and gone but there's still a ton to be praying for.  Here are some upcoming items for prayer.  We thank God for you! 

Prayer Needs:

• We leave for vacation this Sunday, the 16th!  We're meeting up with John and Donna, Aunt Bev and Uncle Robert, as well as Andrea and the cousins for some time at the beach.  Pray for our travels and that it will be a time of rest, renewal, and great memories made with our family.
• It's actually our anniversary on the 17th as well.  Pray that God will continue to draw us closer to him and to each other.  
• I'm helping to fill a need to lead worship temporarily for about 6 weeks at Fayette Baptist Church in Oakland.  Pray that God will use us there for His glory and that we can build new relationships with families there.  
• I've written a letter to the owner of the company I work for, Top Rx, asking Him to considering sponsoring us.  Pray that God will grant us favor in his eyes.  
• I've also written a letter to the leadership at Bartlett Hills Baptist Church asking them to consider formalizing their partnership with in the near future.  Pray for God's wisdom and direction.  
• Also we're waiting to hear from Love Worth Finding ministries to further discuss how they can be involved in our ministry through World Team.  
• It seems to me that any "faith journey " these days inherently includes finances in some way.  That's true for us not only in our support raising but we are trusting God to provide for our needs while we are still in the states.  He's always been faithful and we know that He always will.  Thanks for praying with us for His providence. 
• On that same note, I've been having trouble with my car for a few months and have not yet found a solution.  Please pray that God will take care of that need. 
• We'll be moving again in January, either towards our pre-field training course in North Carolina or to the missionary apartments at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.  Either way, most of our possessions will not be going with us!  Pray as we prepare for our next move. 
• Also, on Oct. 7th Fayette Baptist is having their "vision night" in which they present their direction for their new church.  Part of their presentation will include their partnership with our church planting efforts in France!  Pray for a unified vision amongst the families there. 

Upcoming Events:

• "Fete de la Musique"- We will have live music and art for sale at Bartlett Hills Baptist Church on Saturday, October 20th.  We are still looking for people to perform and/or provide art.  Please let us know if you are interested and we will get details to you.  Make sure you come by to see us if nothing else!
• We will be having another yard sale in the fall...be looking for more details to come soon.

 Micah takes our love for the beach to a whole new level!  And yes that is Micah when he was Asher's age!  We will see you when we get back.

FRANCE FRIDAY: "No fear!"

This is my crazy son, Micah, who as you can see has no fear.  I should mention that before I stopped to snap a picture, I did frantically run over to make sure that the back wheels would not actually fit down the slide.  He wasn't going anywhere, but he was completely ready to...No Fear!  I am not saying that I want to ride a bike down a slide, but I could learn a little bit about being fearless from him.  God has called us to something that leaves so many areas of our lives out of our control...the biggest and scariest for me being His timing.  Its hard not knowing when we will go or how to plan for the future.  I always thought that missionaries had to be fearless to move to a new culture and language, but I never imagined that they had to be fearless in the process of getting there.  We know that God is preparing us now for all that we will encounter on the mission field.  We thank you for praying for and with us through this growing process.  Here are a few specifics that you can be praying about...

• Brandon met with Cary Vaughn, CEO of Love Worth Finding Ministries.  They are praying about how they can partner with us.
• We have several churches that we are making contact with to see how they might be a part of what God is doing in France.
• We are still doing some follow up from our Soiree dinner as well as beginning the initial planning for our next BIG event, "Fete de La Musique"...stay tuned for details coming soon!
• Continue to pray for the work that is currently going on in France.  The vacation season is winding down and things are getting back to a more regular schedule. 

 "Car je connais les projets que j'ai formés sur vous, dit l'Éternel, projets de paix et non de malheur, afin de vous donner un avenir et de l'espérance."

 Jérémie 29:11

Our "40 Days in Pictures"

"Great are the Works of the Lord!" -Ps. 111:2

     It occurred to me recently how the events of one Sunday morning in Beauvais, France changed the course of the last 8 years of our lives!  One "chance" meeting with some guest missionaries from World Team (David and Kathryn) and the direction of our lives were changed forever.  How long had God been preparing us for that day, that time in France, arranging every circumstance and experience just right?  And of course, neither one of us woke up that morning with any clue about what was to come that day. 

     This reminds me that God is always working and most of the time in ways that we can't even see.  He is so good, so faithful, and worthy of our trust.  That's why the call to "walk by faith" (without knowing what's around the corner) is not an unreasonable request.  We can trust the the One that is leading us, always moving, working, preparing.  And so, with each passing day our hearts long for France, and yet we know God is making preparations in our hearts, the hearts of people here, and the hearts of the French and we trust in His plans. 

     So what preparations is He making in us right now?  I think He's developing in us perseverance in prayer.  I ran across this seemingly random verse the other day that I can't get out of my head.  Some Israelites approach Jeremiah and ask him to inquire of the Lord on their behalf and Jeremiah agrees.  Then vs. 42:7 "Now at the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah."  Jeremiah's whole purpose is to be God's mouthpiece, to declare the word of the Lord, and he had to wait 10 days for God to answer him!  I just assumed he had a direct line to God, lol.  But how long before I would have given up on the matter?  Then the sermon from Sunday was on a parable in Luke 18 in which an unrighteous judge is moved to act because of the persistent petitions of a widow.  How much more is our heavenly Father moved, who desires to give good gifts to His children, when He hears the cries of His people? 

     We're in that process now.  We're in the middle of that "ten days," waiting for God to respond.  And we know He will, in His time.  In the meantime, Lord, teach us how to pray!  For we know that perseverance in prayer will be essential to seeing You do an amazing work in the hearts of the French people that have been blinded to the truth.  So our 40 days are up, but please continue to persevere in prayer with us.  He is working! 

     Let me take a moment to celebrate everything that God accomplished during our 40 day prayer emphasis: 

1. We were able to share at 3 churches in the region and met with 2 small groups from various churches in the area.  
2. We've been given the open door to meet with at least 3 other local pastors soon.  
3. We've established our first official church partnership with Fayette Baptist Church.  
4. We had about 75 people attend our "soiree" at Bartlett Hills that heard about the need in France and how one could partner with us.  
5. We raised around $4,500 towards our outgoing expenses.  
6. Meanwhile, our outgoing need was cut by about $10,000 due to a change in our pre-field training course requirement.  
7. We saw at least 23 people/units commit to partner with us financially on a monthly basis, taking our pledged monthly support from about 26% to about 32%.  
8. We added about 40 new contacts to our database to receive our newsletters. 
9. And we still have many open doors yet to pursue! 

P.S.  Pictures to come soon!  

Outside "My Own Little World"

I have always been someone who often shows love by giving gifts.  I have to stop myself from buying everything that I see that might be perfect for someone I know and love.  I'm pretty sure I get this trait from my mom.  She loves to spoil the grandkids (and their parents :) ) with all sorts of small gifts that just shout "this would be perfect for...!"  I have not, however, always been good about seeing the bigger picture and the needs all around me.  I get so caught up in my own little world of people that I forget that there are others out there who may need me as well.  Much of that perspective has changed as I have entered into the world of support raising.  I have found myself on the other side, asking people to have a passion for God's call on my family and to share their prayer as well as financial support.  And, I'm not gonna lie...it has been TOUGH!  I have been humbled as I approach people, some that I see often and others that I rarely if ever spend face to face time with and ask them to pray about and consider partnering with us.  I know that not everyone will be called (as only God can call people) to serve with us in this way and I can't let people's responses to my asking discourage me.  At the same time, I can not and do not have any hard feelings towards those who choose not to give to this ministry.  Many are called to other ministries and missions around the world.  We are trusting that God will raise up those only He can, to join with us and we rejoice as He reveals those people to us!  I have felt challenged to become more aware of the needs and the people around me over the last few months.  I have become one of those people who gives money to the charities collecting outside of Walmart or standing in the median on the highway.  I have followed people to the gas station to pay for their gas and given to the homeless in ways that I never imagined I would.  I am not wanting to praise myself, but my God who has helped me to be more aware of the physical and, more importantly, the spiritual needs around me.  My prayer life has greatly increased as I attempt to intercede for those who share prayer needs with me.  We continue to be thankful for those of you that God has called to pray for us and/or to give to World Team, as they prepare to send us out "into the harvest".  Thank you for bearing with us as we have updated daily on facebook sharing our prayer needs during this "40 Days For France".  Tomorow night we are hosting a dinner at Bartlett Hills.  There will be about 80 or so people there who are coming for the specific purpose of finding out more about what partnering with us looks like and how they fit into that.  We covet your continual prayers as we look forward to seeing God move.

*"My Own Little World" by Matthew West





On the Agenda:

Last Sunday night, we had the opportunity to share our call to France with Fayette Baptist Church.  They are already praying for us and for France as well as how they can best partner with us.  We appreciate them and their heart for missions. 

This sweet couple is hosting a "cottage meeting" tomorrow night at their house.  Basically, this is an opportunity for us to share with some of their friends who we may not know.  We are praying that God will move some of these friends to partner with us.  If you are interested in hosting a cottage meeting sometime, please feel free to let us know.

Finally, on August 18th, we are having a dinner at Bartlett Hills Baptist Church.  The meal is FREE and anyone who is interested in learning more about how you can partner with us is welcome to come.  If you are interested, please contact one of us for an invite.

Don't miss out on what God is doing in our family as well as in France already.  Find out how you can be a part of it!

Let the Forty Days Begin!

We sent out our July newsletter tonight via email in the form of a video where Brandon shared our heart.  There is also a version in print if you would rather read the highlights.  In case you are not on our mailing list, HERE is the link to the video.  You can also find the printed version HERE.  We are kicking off the Forty Days tomorrow, so get ready to hear from us often as we strive to reach our goal of at least 50% by the end of the Forty Days.  We will be updating you with prayer requests as well as letting you know how our percentages are growing.  We are so excited to see how God is going to work throughout this time.  Check out our prayer calendar to find out more about what's going on and how you can specifically pray for us and for France.

"Plan the Work...Work the Plan"

We met with our accountability team on Saturday night to do some planning for our "Forty Days For France" which should start this week.  BIG things are coming so stay tuned.  We will be updating often!

France Friday- From 25 to 100 in 6

First let me say that I am really excited to be announce that we have in fact reached our 25% monthly support goal, several weeks later than we had hoped, but still it's a milestone for us and quite encouraging. Let me also warn you that you will be hearing a lot more from us over the next few months. We are working on what I like to call "The Plan". Maybe that's because I am, by nature, a "type A" planner. Brandon is officially calling it "Forty Days For France". We are going to spend forty days doing everything we can and getting as many people as we can to join us in reaching AT LEAST 50% by the end of the forty days and ultimately 100% by January.  We found out that our pre-field training will start in the middle of January and we are believing that we can get there.  Brandon will soon be sending out more details via video message, but let me just remind you what these percentages represent.  Our monthly financial needs (which include living expenses, ministry funds, etc.) are $8,431/month.  This also accounts for the dollar/euro ratio.  That means that we need to have $4, 215.50 by the end of the 40 days in order to be at 50%.  That is approximately $2,100 that we need to raise in pledged monthly support.  If you are thinking, "maybe they don't need me..." THINK AGAIN!  We are asking all who can and feel called to give.  Maybe that means $10/month.  We have several people giving that amount.  Maybe that means more.  Maybe you can't give, but you know someone who can.  We are meeting with churches, individuals and groups.  Anyone who is interested in learning more about how you can partner with us, whether that be financially, prayerfully or other ways.  Get ready for forty days of hearing from us more than you might like. ;)  We are going from 25 to 100 in six months.  Find out more about how you can be a part of that!

Family Fest

We missed our France Friday post last week and I am sure you were sitting on the edge of your seat just wondering what was going on.  Yesterday, we had the opportunity to be a part of Family Fest, a camp for families sponsored by the Tennessee Baptist Convention, the Mid South Association and the WMU.  Brandon sang a few worship songs and shared a short devotional before they headed out for their first day of service.  We will be attending their Celebration Night on Thursday and will have a table set up so that we can share more about our call to France and how they can partner with us.  We are so grateful for this opportunity and have enjoyed meeting these mission-minded families.

A Word About Support...

Before we began the process of raising our funds to get to France, I must admit that I was pretty unfamiliar with how support-raising is done.  I definitely did not realize how much work it would take.  It sometimes feels like a job in itself.  It has, however, been an amazing adventure.  I know, now I am starting to sound a little VBS-ish, but seriously, there have been so many exciting moments.  Last night was one of those for me.  We had our first "Chick-Fil-A Night".  I know when we talk about raising support, we generally mean money, but last night I felt so supported beyond the financial side.  We felt the love and prayers and encouragement of friends and family and even people we didn't know standing with us through this process.  We brought in $645 total to Chirck-Fil-A and we got 10% of that.  We also sold several t-shirts and got a couple of donations.  So, at the end of the night, we ended up with about $200.  Since I got to spend the evening visiting with friends, that seems pretty good to me!  Thanks to all of you who continue to support us in so many different ways!  We can't wait for every one of you to visit us in France and see what God is doing there first hand!!! ;)

France Friday...GA's are the BEST!

This past Wednesday, Brandon and I had the wonderful opportunity to share about France and our call with the GA's.  What made it so special for me was that I first felt a call to missions at that very camp when I was in 5th grade.  We had a great time with the girls...  

They had even made cards for our kids, which they loved.  It was very sweet and great being with young ladies who love the Lord and have a heart for missions already.

MONDAY NIGHT is Chick-Fil-A Night.  From 5-8, bring this flyer in to the Millington restaurant and part of the proceeds will go to our funds.  You gotta eat, right???...so why not at Chick-Fil-A?  We would love to see you there.  Look for us if you have any questions or want to know more about how you can be a part of what God is doing in France.

Bon Weekend!

France Friday...How you can GO!

Every year the France team of missionaries hosts a Paris Prayer Conference.  In 2013, the conference will be the week of June 10-17.  You can check out the brochure here for more details.  Brandon had the opportunity to participate in the prayer conference the year that we were living in France.  It really gives you the most clear picture of what the need is like there.

Chick-Fil-A night: you can print this flyer out and take it to the Millington restaurant on Monday night, July 2nd from 5-8 pm and part of the proceeds of your order will go to our outgoing expenses fund.  We will be there to answer any questions you might have or give you more info about how you can partner with us.

Continue to pray for us as we are meeting with new contacts to share.  Thanks and have a great weekend!

France Friday, 6/15/12

We hope you're having a great summer!  It seems like I'm always writing how busy things have been, but the last couple of weeks have been particularly so with the move and the yard sales and VBS this week.  And yet, in the midst of it all, God continues to move and place people our path that have committed to pray and to give.  Thanks for your prayers! 

• Prayer for energy, rest, and wisdom on how to most efficiently use our time. 
• Pray for opportunities to meet with couples or small groups to share about what God is doing in France. 
• Pray specifically for God to raise up people that will commit to partner with us financially on a monthly basis. 

France Friday

Pray for...

F unds to be raised
R est after a busy couple of weeks
A ll the WT missionaries
N ew people to partner with us 
C ontinued perseverance
E very French person who will hear

Yard Sale Update

If you follow our blog, you know that we had a yard sale on Saturday to raise some of our outgoing expenses.  We chose to do one now because we moved this past week and it seemed like a good time to go ahead and downsize.  We also received donations from several people.  Thank you to

• Lisa Tennyson
• Julie Woods
• Charlie and Betty Covington
• Brent Crouch
• Jennifer Holland
• Zach and Erin Robbins
• Emily Wallace
• Steve and Kathy Hogel
• Karyn Allen 
• Scott Blanton
• Leslie Tisdale

for donating items to the sale.  Thanks also to

• Zach and Erin Robbins
• Jennifer, Riley and Emily Holland
• Katie Whitby
• Kathy Hogel
• Tracey Kelly
• Bert Richards
• Lisa and Tessa Harrelson
• Morgan Berry
• Taylor Dodson
• Sothearath Chhim 
• David Herron

for helping with the sale.  We couldn't have done it without you.  Thanks to my parents as well as Lisa and Tessa (Brandon's mom and sister) for watching the kids while we were there.  If I forgot someone, I apologize in advance.  It was a great day, but we were exhausted by the end of it all as you can imagine.

                                                           Karis made this sign.

 At the end of the day, we came away with about $1300.  We thank God for each one of you who were a part of helping it all come together.  We will be doing another one sometime in the future..