Monday, November 23, 2015

How Can You Help France?

After the attacks in Paris a little over a week ago, many people (including me) changed their profile picture using a French flag overlay in order to show support for France. #Prayforparis was seen all over social media...

Later, I read an article on Facebook entitled "Why I am not changing my profile picture..."  Basically the author was arguing that simply changing a picture and posting a "Pray For Paris" status is not enough.  I both agree and disagree with this.  I, for one, who am not French but live among the French and hope to share the Good News of the Gospel with them, was truly touched and encouraged by the amount of support that was shown by Americans on social media.  At the same time, is that enough??  What real impact is there to temporarily change a picture or post a hashtag?  Maybe you are one of the ones who is wanting to do more.  Well, you can.  Here are some ways you can be intimately involved in the work in France and help bring lasting change to a people in great spiritual need:

  • PRAY- Never underestimate the power of prayer.  If you tweeted #prayforparis, did you actually pray for Paris? Do you know where to start? One great way would be to subscribe to our prayer team by entering your email in the box in the upper left margin. Each month we send out a prayer calendar with specific, timely needs about the work in France. 

  • LEARN- Be involved by being informed.  If you thought that there was no real urgent need for the Gospel in France and Western Europe, think again!  France is not a Christian nation. We are praying that God will use this tragedy for His glory and to bring more believers to Himself.  There have already been several instances where teammates have had unusual opportunities to share their faith with strangers in light of last week's events. You can check out this clip and become a spokesperson for the work in France. 

  • GIVE-  We are in France on a 2-year assignment because we did not yet have enough funding to come as career missionaries.  So we came,in faith, trusting that God would show us the next step in His perfect timing.  During our time here, we have felt completely affirmed in our calling to France.  We believe God is just getting started and wants to use our family here for a very long time. However, without sufficient funding we will have to come home.  If you have been wanting to do more, consider partnering with us in spreading the gospel in France by joining our monthly support team. There is no greater investment than giving to God's kingdom work. Explore the giving options here

  • SHARE- Whether you are able to give financially or not, we would ask you to share our story with anyone who might be interested.  Obviously our reach is a little limited from this side of the ocean but you can help by championing the cause.  Maybe you know someone who is just itching to do more? Would you share our blog? Send us a note and we will get you any resources you might need. 

  • GO- Maybe you want to see firsthand the work in France... which is to see the darkness here but also to see the light that God is bringing through our World Team France missionaries to reach the lost.  There is our annual prayer conference in June (check out the brochure here), but feel free to contact us any time if you want to visit.  We can almost always work something out and I would imagine that flights into Paris will be less expensive for a bit. ;) 


**Stay tuned for the next blog post where I will share more about this sweet face and how bringing home "Petit Chou" (a temporary nickname) fits into the rest of our timeline...

#nationaladoptionmonth