I think that I’ve left you all on a cliff hanger for so long that you may have lost interest. My last blog bore some kind of rant about having to pack up again and the potential threat of being spouse-less for six weeks. Thankfully, it didn’t turn out to be that bad. Thank you all for your prayers along the way.
After a really lovely holiday in Switzerland, Andrew sadly did have to leave us for three weeks. As he flew off to join you all in cold and rainy South Africa (to renew his passport), I drove back down to 40-degree Nîmes with the two kids. Those three weeks alone were not easy but God provided an incredible amount of grace which I can only praise Him for. Since then, God has been moving and speaking and I want to share with you three things which we are excited about: (i) How God rocked up powerfully at a church camp in France; (ii) how God has been stirring us to pray for the city; and (iii) what the mandate God has laid on my heart.
The church camp
On the last week of July, the apostolic movement that we are now affiliated with: New Ground (connected to New Frontiers) hosted a yearly four-day camp where all the congregations of the South of France and Francophone Switzerland gathered at a Christian campsite to worship, receive the Word, and hang out together. We were a little apprehensive (because.. you know… church camps can be kind of… cultish haha) but it was actually absolutely incredible ! Besides getting apostolic input which Andrew and I were eager to hear (they have a wonderful heart for church-planting), we witnessed God rock up in amazing and supernatural ways. During the morning and evening services, many people were touched by the Holy Spirit receiving emotional healing and connecting with our Heavenly Father. There were also many people that experienced physical healings. One example is the testimony of a lady that had a double knee injury from a sporting activity and who for years experienced pain and limitations of movement. After receiving prayer, she testified that her knees no longer hurt and that she was able to lift her legs up higher than she ever could !!!
The most incredible encounters though were experienced amongst the children and youth who, after a session with a guy gifted in healing evangelism, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and witnessed miraculous healings amongst themselves. A couple that we have befriended (they have also just moved to the area following God’s call from Guernsey) have four children who all encountered God powerfully on this camp. Their twelve-year old was touched so powerfully that she fell to the floor crying. She then came running to her mother in tears saying: “I’ve just got to get baptised Mummy!” Their teens were amongst the 15 that decided to get baptised in the river that week. Fifteen youth! We’re in awe. In amidst all of that excitement, we also bonded over daily meals and river swims with other families and our daughter was able to strengthen her new friendships with the other children.
Praying for our city
Over the last two months, we’ve started to love this beautiful city which feels like a tourist-magnet in the day turned to a “den of sin” at night. As painful as it is to my flesh to live in the noisy centre, I have peace in my soul that this is God’s will for us in this season. He has revealed to us the spiritually strategic placement of our flat and given us authority to intercede. I’ve spent some time “spiritually mapping” (a term I’ve recently learnt from a intercessor friend) and there seems to be some pretty ancient strong-holds on our street. An obvious one is the Arena (a smaller version of Rome’s colosseum) in which two thousand years ago gladiator fights were held and Christians were horrifically executed by their persecutors. The same spirit today drives a local and venerated bull-fighting tradition (La Corrida) which many consider to be animal cruelty and which I believe is all but outright bull-sacrifice. Without geeking out on all the details that leads me to this conclusion (not excluding all the drama of the Olympics ceremonies), I think that it’s sufficient to say that post-Christian France (and Nîmes) has in many ways turned back to its pagan ways. What is encouraging is that Nîmes is very Christian! Not the American-politics kind of Christian but rather there’s a deep history of Christianity here and I can’t shake the feeling that Jesus has a very long-standing relationship with his Épouse Nimoise (bride of Nîmes). Historically, it’s the hub of Protestant revival and of the Huguenots, and even today we can count 15 thriving churches (and that’s just the evangelical ones!) We are excited and dreaming about how we could serve this city. One idea is to partner with other churches and start a Red Frogs to serve all those partygoers, or to start a 24/7 prayer room, or… or…, but we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. For now, we pray. We pray when we walk up and down our street, or when we sit on our balcony, or when we can’t sleep at night. We know that all good things start in prayer.
Join us in prayer in the weekend of the 13th-15th September when the city hosts it’s bi-annual Feria: a weekend-long festival centred around the bullfighting which quickly turns into a city-wide drunk-fest.
A mandate to equip the next generation:
For over a year, I have sensed God give me a specific mandate for France. I have kept quiet about it, but I think that it’s the right time to start speaking about it. On the camp, God re-affirmed this mandate through a powerful encounter and received prayer.
I’m not sure how, what, and when, but I know that I’m meant to serve children and equip them in the way of Jesus. The verse: “From the lips of children and infants you, Lord. Have called forth your praise” (Psalm 8:2 & Matt 21:16) rings dear to me. There’s a striking lack of children’s church curriculum in France which puts a heavy burden on the church volunteers and leaders to come up with their own content each week. Who knows what might come of tis but I have a feeling that maybe my Theology degree and the Child& Youth Care studies might be useful after all! Please could you keep this mandate in your prayers and pray for the children and youth of France.
Other than that, we’ve spent many hours putting together IKEA furniture and have had the privilege of hosting our first guests from Holland and Switzerland! It’s feeling a bit more like home. Despite bureaucratic obstacles, God has provided miraculously for the children: Our boy will soon be cared for by a lovely nanny in her home with two other boys, and our daughter is starting school on Monday. Please pray for the children as they adapt to their new routine and carers. Our daughter is particularly anxious about the start of school, so we are praying for peace and new friendships.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out. We miss you all very much and will send news again when we have some!
Prayer Points:
> Peace and friendships for the children
> Focus for Andrew’s work and my master’s studies (which we’ve both struggled to do in the cahos of instability)
> the city of Nîmes, the children of France, and for God to continue to reveal His will and heart for this area.
Alive In France 
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