The biggest event of November, at least for me, was the weekend we had on the theme: Jesus of Nazareth: three reasons to consecrate your life to him.
The reasons were: 1) who he was, 2) what he said, and 3) what he did. You'll admit that those subjects gave me a large range of possibilities. But we
focused on 1) his deity, 2) his teaching about love, and 3) his cross. I had the privilege of teaching the three-hour seminar on Saturday afternoon on
those subjects, then preaching again on Sunday morning as a wrap up. On Saturday, we had several visitors (six, I think), for a total attendance of
about 25. One of our Saturday visitors was a young Moslem woman, as it turned out. I say “as it turned out,” because I was not aware of it at the time.
I did notice, however, a few grimaces from the person concerned when I spoke of John 11:25-27 and insisted that Jesus is the only way to eternal life
with God. That some person would have grimaced even more, had she attended the worship service the following morning, when I spoke on John 14:6. I don't
speak disparagingly, for I am becoming more and more aware of the sad realities of the Moslem religion.
Extremists and terrorists (though very real) aside, the majority of Moslems are peace-loving people, and they, too, seek to serve God, as they see
him. But they are looking through the wrong lens. It is up to us Christians to love them enough to share the Gospel with them, in spite of our legitimate
hesitations (I measure my words) concerning the Moslem religion.
Next weekend, several men of the Lyon congregation will travel to a place about 75 minutes from here for the annual retreat of workers in local assemblies.
When we first came to this field in the 70's, only the full-time missionaries attended this retreat. Since then, more and more of the other men of the
assemblies have begun attending, some with their wives, so that it has become a different sort of meeting, treating not only evangelism methods and
projects, but also every kind of subject touching upon the growth and development of local Churches. This year, we will be trying to capture a vision
for the future of French-speaking Europe. Several of us who have been here the longest will be presenting our ideas, and there will be quite a bit of
discussion on this subject. There will be a lot of God-given talent and real commitment in that room next Saturday when we are talking about this: men
of God who have given up good careers in the United States in order to preach the Gospel in Europe ; or others who were born here, who have received
with joy the Lord's words, and whose dearest desire is to see the Church remain strong and become even stronger over the next few generations.
Please pray for these deliberations, that the Lord will give us all a confident vision of what he can do, if we will just not … get in his way.
It has been encouraging to see our Lyon men step up to take over teaching responsibilities. Our co-workers are gone at the moment, so there will be a short
time when neither one of us is here. But the men are assuming more and more of the teaching and preaching burden, as should be the case in any mission
assembly. I don't mind saying how proud I am of these men, who are going to be taking this congregation into the next generation. Their children are
coming along right behind them, to take it into the generation following.
Pam and I are doing as can be expected, physically. We've both — with about half of Lyon — had some sort of wicked cough, lately. Yes, she can cough now,
without hurting her ribs, though she does still feel where the ribs were broken and there are some movements that remain touchy.
We are looking forward to being with Tess and Stephen for their December 21st wedding. We will also enjoy being with Tami and family, and with Tia and
family. It will be, in a way, a kind of family reunion. One member of the Lyon Church is already traveling in the States and will attend the wedding.
And Tess' best friend, Liliane, will be making the trip from the north of France. We're looking forward to a great day! After the wedding, Pam and
I plan to travel from Colorado Springs to New Orleans, where we will spend Christmas with Pam's parents and sister. It will be wonderful to spend
some precious time with them. God is good.
So, then: indeed, the next letter should be sent from the States. The December letter is traditionally one of less news and more reflection, and it looks
like I'll have plenty to reflect on this time (though matter for reflection is never a problem, eh?).
Much love to all of you. We are so grateful for your commitment to this work, and we pray for you daily. May the Lord bless and guide you and give you a joyous holiday season!
Sincerely,
Charles and Pam