Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Friends and Family,

It is a heartwarming feeling to think of each of you now – many of you preparing for Thanksgiving gatherings this week. Whatever the different tasks or calling God has given each of us, surely the invitation into loving relationship with Him and with one another is preeminent. Although we live a fair distance from most of you, we are so thankful for the sense of community we feel with you. Thank you for praying with us as we navigate trials. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and giving to do this work in France. Thank you for celebrating God’s victory in our lives and ministry with us.

Thanksgiving Update

We have much to celebrate! This past Sunday we hosted our Thanksgiving dinner. This gathering embodies so many of our values for mission here in Normandie. Everytime we host in our home, we seek to welcome and honor our guests. This year, like every year, we unpacked Joanna’s mother’s china and prepared our home to be festive and welcoming. The kids helped with cleaning and prepared special name tags which we prayerfully position at our tables. The kitchen work starts several days before our event as Joanna makes pumpkin purée for the pies and cranberry chutney from scratch along with several turkeys and all the trimmings. We invite our guests to participate in the cooking as well by sending them traditional recipes (someone always wants to try making sweet potatoes with marshmallows – an entirely bizarre combination for the French). During our gathering, we are intentional in giving testimony to God’s work in our lives – which is a natural expression of thanksgiving! After a wonderfully French extended time of apéro (nibbles and drinks), we welcome our guests to the table and begin with a song of blessing.

Then the generous portions of good food are brought out and it is a veritable feast! Tom leads a thanksgiving quiz before dessert and Joanna will often speak about our experience of being welcomed into a new culture as part of sharing some of the first thanksgiving story. Over pie, we take time for each person to share something for which they are grateful. Typically, we do this at table groups as we’ve often had too big a group to listen to each person’s expression of gratitude. However, this year we were a smaller crowd of 20, so we listened as one by one, we voiced our thanksgiving. While this might sound a bit “American” or cheesy, it was a profoundly holy moment as this group of people with considerably different ideas about life and God united in expressing gratitude. It was touching to notice how meaningful it was for folks to be given time to think about and then speak out thanksgiving. People were thankful for different things, but all of them spoke about relationships. Our French guests often mention the unusual warmth and welcome they experience around our table. This is where we see relationships begin and grow. We see our friends and neighbors drawing closer to God. 

Thanks-

Throughout the year we have the privilege of hosting many gatherings at our home. It is one of the best ways we can be family on mission and culturally, it tends to mean we get a lot of invites to go and visit at our neighbor’s homes. Last year, we asked for your help to “set the table” by partnering financially and/or in prayer with us to support this ministry of hospitality. One year on from this invitation, we want to say thank you for your partnership. Although we have faced some unexpected challenges this autumn that has meant our capacity to host has been limited to smaller groups, it has been amazing to see God at work in gatherings of all sizes. Thank you for being united with us in mission and thank you for your care for us as a family. 

 -Giving

This year, we would like to ask you to consider giving a year end gift to help us continue this ministry of hospitality, but also to help defray some unexpected costs related to our children’s health and education. Please know that God is providing for our needs, and we are not in a desperate state. However, we do want to communicate this unexpected cost and invite your help to meet it. Details for how to partner with us financially can be found here. Please feel free to reach out to me by replying to this email if you have any questions or would like more details about this.

 Reuben Health Update

We are so grateful for your prayers with us as we navigated, and continue to navigate, health challenges with our kids. Reuben’s health is improving slowly. This looks like him having some stretches of “good days” where he experiences less pain. He is still experiencing regular “bad days” when his pain level is significant. Thank you for continuing to pray with us for his complete healing and that he will be able to get back into school this year. He has begun online school this past week. This has been a blessing for his daily rhythm and has helped ease the pressure of feeling as though he was falling behind in the school year.

Hometown Tennessee Album out now!

Finally, we are thrilled to share with you “Les Racines” (Roots) the short album we recorded with Tom’s sister and brother-in-law in Nashville earlier this year. This project comes out of many years of seeing God use music and art to move conversations from the realm of intellect into the heart. We’ve been playing shows as “Hometown Tennessee” and more and more folks were asking us for a recording. We’re thankful for a financial grant from the European Bible Institute fund which made it possible for us to record and distribute this music. The album is available on almost all the streaming services - here is a direct link to iTunes, and Spotify, and YouTube music. Our prayer is that these recordings will help our French neighbors draw closer to God and we hope you enjoy them too.

Truly thankful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Appels

PS - Another call for addresses for Christmas cards, please let us know if your details have changed! Thanks.

November Update

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope you are well. We are just back home after a week and a half away. First, we joined other GEM France missionaries at an annual gathering near Paris. It was encouraging and a blessing to connect in person and get to know each other better. We then went to visit a good friend in Lyon and had a week of holiday in Banyuls-Sur-Mer which is a beautiful town down on the Mediterranean near the Spanish border. Due to the health problems we’ve been facing these past couple of months, we almost didn’t go on this trip. Although there were some difficult days as we traveled and were away from home, we’re thankful for the rest and the change of pace.  

November has become a month of gratitude in our family. Joanna is really good about establishing simple practices to help in our family discipleship, and one tradition that has caught on for us is taking a few moments at the end of each day in November to light a candle, pray, and each share something we are thankful for. We are finding that giving thanks is something of an antidote to the stress we’ve felt around health challenges. 

Health Update

We’re thankful to report that Reuben’s health is improving slowly, and that Silas has his cast off and his arm is healing well! Thank you so much for praying with us. We are working with a chronic pain specialist here in Caen and Reuben has started a course of medicine for migraines. He is having a few more good days, but these are inconsistent (he still hasn’t had more than two days in a row without significant pain), and we’ve decided to have him start an online school option for the time being with the hope that he can return to school later this year. Thank all of you who have responded to our emails with prayer and advice, and to those who have joined the whatsapp thread for prayer for Reuben. I’m sorry if we haven’t responded to all the personal messages yet as we have been limited in our capacity. We really appreciate your support while we continue to navigate this health situation. Please keep praying with us for his complete healing and for rest and recovery for our family as the past couple of months have not been easy ones.

Album Release for “Les Racines”

Earlier this year, Joanna and I had the opportunity to record an album. In our seven plus years here in France we’ve been struck time and again by the power of music and art to move conversations about the Lord from the realm of intellect into the heart. We’ve been playing more and more shows these past years as “Hometown Tennessee” and wanted to record some of the songs that have most powerfully resonated with people here to use as a way of connecting and continuing the conversation. GEM got behind this vision with grant from European Bible Institute (EBI) fund to help us record and distribute the music.

We recorded at the studio of Tyler Somers, my brother-in-law who, in addition to being an accomplished artist, is a fantastic engineer/producer. Jenny and Tyler sang with us on a few of the songs and we love the way the project has turned out. We’re releasing the album called “Les Racines” (which means “The Roots” in English) on November 23rd in time for our Thanksgiving gathering. We’ll send another email nearer the release date, but you’ll be able to find the music by searching for it on pretty much any streaming service like Spotify or Apple music. You can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram - Here is a page on our website with all the links you need:

CLICK HERE: LES RACINES

So, mark your calendars November 23rd for Hometown Tennessee “Les Racines”!

Alpha

One exciting way that I (Tom) have been able to share my faith this year is through the Alpha course which is a series of dinners at which people who aren’t part of church or who do not have a relationship with God can come and discuss big questions about life and faith. There is a meal, time to get to know each other, and then a short presentation of a topic like “Why and how do I pray” followed by open discussion. I love these groups mostly because they offer the chance to see God working transformation. It happens right in front of you, around the table as people share their frustrations, guilt, questions, hopes, and experiences. God is present with us, meeting us in our brokenness and healing our wounds. This month I’m helping with an Alpha day away for a group started by Bon Berger, and I’ll be serving with the local Catholic church to help start their second Alpha group. Please pray that I’ll be attentive to how God is moving in these groups and that I’ll be bold in giving testimony to the work of God in my life.

Thanksgiving

One of our favorite ways of proclaiming God’s love for our neighbors is by hosting them around our table. Events like Thanksgiving have been a big part of growing relationships for us, not only because of the events themselves, but also because of the chance to follow up and walk with people throughout the year. The health difficulties of these past two months have limited our ability to host. After praying about what to do this year for Thanksgiving as a family, we’ve decided to host a smaller gathering than we normally do. Even a smaller gathering feels like a stretch right now, so we’d value your prayers with us about it. We’re aiming for November 24th as our Thanksgiving gathering.

In this month of thanksgiving, we are thinking often of you. We had a “family church” service at home last Sunday. Elodie is a budding preacher and loves to pick a passage and share some thoughts about it. On Sunday she read from Matthew chapter 5 in which Jesus declares that His followers are the “light of the world”. Elodie invited us to pray and think about someone through whom God has shone His light in our lives. For each of us, people easily came to mind. People like you – people on this email list! Friends, it is a worthwhile moment to pause and consider how God Almighty works His wonders through broken people like us.

Thankful for you,

The Appel Family

PS: It is Christmas Card Season! Please send me your address by replying to this email if you think I don’t have your current details or if you have had a change in the last year. THANKS!

Prayer Request for Wisdom and Healing

Dear Friends,

We are writing you again in the midst of a very challenging health situation, and while we don’t love having to keep reaching out in these circumstances, we know God has called us together for good and bad times. Our oldest son, Reuben (12) is not well. He has been struggling with poor health episodes for the past year but now he has been sick and unable to go to school for two and a half weeks. He has ups and downs, but he is experiencing pain every day to the extent that he can’t live his normal life.

This situation is frustrating in that, after quite a few medical tests, we have been unable to get to the root of the problem or even have clarity about what’s wrong. In the coming few weeks, we have appointments with a few specialists and likely some more tests to do.  

Please pray with us:

  • For healing in Jesus’ name

  • For clarity about a path forward for Reuben with medical care

  • For open doors or connections that God might show us to help shed light on the situation and help us figure out what’s happening and how to treat it

  • For our Eli, Silas and Elodie as they navigate this at school and at home

  • For Joanna and Tom to operate out of faith and not fear as we seek help

How you can help:

  • Please do be in touch if you you’d like to share something from your times of prayer or any other ideas.

  • We will be starting a WhatsApp broadcast group for people interested in hearing more frequent health updates on Reuben. Please respond to this email with your phone number.

Thank you for praying with us.

Every Blessing,

The Appels

Thank You for Praying for The Appels

Dear Friends,

We are so grateful for your prayers and messages to us over the past week following our email asking for prayer for our son Silas, who broke his arm, and for our family as we enter the school year. What a difference prayer makes! Silas is doing well, he has little to no pain and is managing his cast and entering middle school with a great deal of ease! Praise the Lord! God is at work, hearing your prayers and this is making a difference for Silas and for our family. I was able to do a little art project and brighten up his cast before the rentrée and we got all the kids through their first day which we celebrate! Reuben and Eli started 7th grade, Silas, 6th grade and Elodie started 3rd grade.

Paris Art Exhibit

At the end of July, I (Joanna) traveled to Paris to participate in an art exhibit during the Olympic Games where I shared five original pieces, alongside seven other international artists. Again, thank you for your prayers! The time in Paris was a success! The exhibition was designed to spark conversations about faith and during my time there I met several people and artists. I had some great conversations and was able to share and discuss the deeper meaning behind my paintings. I was pleased that my work seemed to resonate deeply with many who came to the gallery.  

One woman who came into the gallery on her lunch break, was enamored with my painting « the Word Became Flesh » particularly by its composition of pages of scripture. She began to ask questions about the artist and whether I was a Christian. It turns out she also is a believer and works in a director role at one of the big fashion houses in Paris. She was encouraged that there are young artists creating and sharing art that has the positive message of the Gospel. Moved by the whole exhibit, she asked me if I would come and speak to young artists at her church. We connected her in with the Christian artists network in Paris that put on the exhibition, Agapé Hub, and we will see what God does with this relationship! Thank you for your prayers which I’m convinced helped to bring the right people at the right time to the gallery. I’m feeling encouraged and looking forward to getting into my studio this autumn with an aim to work towards another exhibition soon.

Summer Music

As ‘Hometown Tennessee’, we played two shows in August at L’Orangerie de Beauregard, a campsite run by some believing friends in the Loire Valley. These shows were well attended – some campers even came to camp to see us play this year! (We had also performed last year). Both of these shows went very well. We feel that our comfort in sharing our faith authentically, through story and song, has grown this year and it was encouraging to speak with several folks who were moved by the concerts. A young girl at the site liked our show so much she drew a picture of us- our first ‘fan’ art! We were also able to lead worship for the Sunday church gathering at the site which had a record number of people that day! So amazing to see how God is growing His church in France.

The shows we have done in the past few months has emphasized the need for music that we can share easily with people who come and hear is play. To that end, we are working on the release of an album this fall called « Les Racines » which means « The Roots ». More on this to come in our next update!

Points for Continued Prayer:

  • Pray for continued healing for Silas, for his bones and his skin irritation.

  • Please pray for our family as we continue the rentrée. It has been a challenging week for all of us, with tears, sickness and paperwork.

  • Please pray for our working and family rhythms as we enter into the school year. There are several new people the Lord seems to be putting in our path right now, please pray with us for opportunities to proclaim the gospel in word and deed and to love our neighbors well.

  • Please pray for us as we work on the album release, that God would give us kingdom strategy in how we share the music with people here.

Thanks for being with us! Sending our love,

The Appels

Prayer for Paris Olympics Art Exhibition

Hymnal, Humanité rassamblée // Photo: Stephania Osorio

Hello friends,

I hope you all are enjoying the summer where ever you are! I am so excited to share with you about the art exhibition I am participating in this week in Paris and ask you for prayer that God would move powerfully through this outreach.

Humanity Gathered

This art exhibit is called “Hymnal: Humanity Gathered” and will take place at Agape Hub Gallery in the 3rd arrondissement in Paris from July 25th to August 10th, coinciding with the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Here is the description (translated from French):

“When art questions the coming together of humanity at the heart of the 2024 Olympic Games. This artistic project explores the richness of the anthem to deeply question the links that unite us. This initiative offers an immersive exhibition shaped by the collaboration of artists from all backgrounds questioning living and doing together. This experience of multidisciplinary contemplation invites each visitor to become a pilgrim.”

I will be showing five original canvases at this art expo as one of four Greater Europe Mission artists invited to participate in the show. Here are all of my canvases lined up before I prepared them to go to Paris followed by the description that will go along with my artwork:

Canvases from L to R: “The Impartation: Pentecost”; “Awaken”; “ His Hands”; “ Gaze”; “The Incarnation: The Word Became Flesh”

“God gathers humanity to himself. This collection of paintings uses bold colors and unique textures to illustrate the vibrancy of life in the Spirit that God is calling us all to, to live a life in full color, together with Him. In "His Hands" we see God reaching out, open handed, offering His love to us. In "the Incarnation: the Word Became Flesh" we see God, the Father, giving over his one and only son, Jesus, in vulnerability and trust, in order to reconcile His lost children to himself. In "the Impartation: Pentecost" we see God pouring out His Spirit on His people, so that every tribe and tongue would be able to know Him and live with Him. We see the humanity side of this relationship in "Awaken" and "Gaze". The light from above draws us up, to turn our eyes and open our ears to the call to turn to God and accept His love. We, as His children, can be captivated by the Creator and the joy, wonder, and peace we long for can be found by turning to Him.”

I will also be in Paris to work in the gallery from July 29th to August 1st. Agape Hub values the artists being present to discuss their artwork and faith with the people who make their way into the gallery.

Please pray for:

  • The expo to be a place of hope and solace in the city, where people can encounter God’s love and turn towards Jesus.

  • Agape Hub team who is managing the expo from start to finish!

  • Me as I aim to be a witness of God’s great love for humanity and pray that people would draw closer to him because of this expo.

  • Protection over the city of Paris and all the people coming to the capital during the Olympic Games.

  • Tom and the kids at home in Normandy during my absence.

The Word Became Flesh

I wanted to leave you with this piece and hope it will be a powerful artwork during the expo. It is called “the Incarnation: The Word Became Flesh” inspired by John’s words describing Jesus’ incarnation in the Bible. The hands of God the Father reaching down from heaven are made of a collage of pages from the Bible that have references to different names and characters of God on them. The light and shadow is done in a watery layer of acrylic paint. The soft fleshy hands of Jesus are done in oils to give them the subtle and smooth texture of baby hands. The incarnation and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the most pivotal point in the history of the world. God came down to live among us, with us to bring us to Himself. I hope to have captured a small picture of the miracle.

God bless you each one and may you know his love and presence with you.

With love,

Joanna

Freedom Was Won Here

Dear Family and Friends, 

Last thursday marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and it was a big deal here in Normandie! Sitting on our back patio, we watched WWII era planes fly low over our house and listened to the sound of bagpipes drifting up from Pegasus Bridge, the very first spot liberated the midnight before D-Day. Joanna and I played some music for a dinner event this week for the families of D-Day veterans. It was a special event, and amazing to see the way sons and daughters and even grandchildren, continue to celebrate this moment in history and honor the part played by their forebearers. There is a sign on the D-Day beach near us that reads “La liberté s’est gagnée ici”. Freedom was won here. It’s our hearts’ desire that this would be true in our lives and in the assignments God has for us. Thank you for praying with us that freedom would be won in every heart here in Normandie. May we celebrate and honor the liberating work of Jesus and walk each moment in the freedom He has won.

Our US Trip

 Thank you for praying with us as we traveled to the US for a few weeks back at the beginning of May. We had a wonderful trip! It was amazing that family traveled to see us, and we were able to spend time with each of our parents and siblings. We enjoyed a warm welcome at the Gate Community Church (our sending church) and had a lot of fun sharing stories of how God has been at work at a luncheon the Gate put on for us one Sunday. We also had the chance to share at Pee Dee Baptist Church, where Joanna’s parents attend. There are a few consistent experiences that we are noticing on our visits to the US. There’s something called « reverse culture shock » in which the differences in your home culture surprise you. The size of the water bottles everyone seems to be drinking from got me this time. We also find that the act of sharing what God has been working in and through us on mission is a huge encouragement for us. We’ve come back with renewed energy, reminded of the passion God has given us to join in His redemptive work here in France. We also have the not so nice recurring experience of jet-lag which hits particularly hard when we land back in France! Despite about a week without great sleep, we’ve had a full few weeks since our return.

 Local Art Expo

Joanna had the chance to show four paintings as part of her artist’s association’s annual “Salon de Peinture”. Elodie also was able to show some the artwork she has done in her art club this year. Joanna’s paintings sparked a lot of interest and great discussion about faith with people who came to see the works over the two-day event. Perhaps the best moment for Joanna was the deeper conversation she had with several other painters about God while manning the expo. It was one of those moments in which you sense that God is moving. We were also touched that several friends came to show their support. Joanna will be showing four more paintings at a gallery in Paris this July as part of an outreach through the arts during the Paris Olympics.

June - the Month of Music

Playing at the D-Day event kicked off a summer season in which we have several opportunities to play music. We love playing music in our city because in addition to the chance to proclaim the gospel in story and song, we find we have some great conversations and connections with people at these events. Please pray with us about the next two shows for us, at the end of year festival for Elodie and Silas’ school and as part of the Fête de la Musique day on June 21.

UK Trip in July

The school year wraps up for us here around the 4th of July. Soon after that we’ll be ferrying across the channel to visit friends and connect with our UK sending church, Christ Church Chorleywood. We’ll be at all three services on July 7th and there will be a bring and share lunch after the 10:30 service at about 12:15. We would love to see you if you are in the area and are able to come by!



We hope this coming summer is a time of joy and lots of sunshine for you. Thank you for praying with us, and for your support as we seek to walk in obedience to God here in France.

Every Blessing,

The Appels


Anniversary, America, and Alpha

Hi Friends, 

7 years ago, we packed up 18 bags and made our big move from the USA to France with our four small children. It is amazing to see all that God has done with our little family over this season. We are so grateful for all of you who have been with us throughout the journey, for your prayers and support. We feel incredibly blessed and honored to be partnered with you in ministry here.

We’ve recently sent out an email update – if you missed it you can catch up on our news here: Blog-Great is Thy Faithfulness

Even in the few weeks since we sent this out, we’ve had some amazing moments to celebrate. Read to the end of this email for a couple of stories of how God has been working – answers to prayer!   

But first… 

Event in Franklin, TN

Here are some details about our upcoming visit to Tennessee this month! We’ll be spending most of time on this trip visiting family, but we would love to see as many of you as we can!

To do this we’re going to have a lunch/reception at our sending church, the Gate on Sunday the 21st of April following the second service at 12:30 pm. We’ll have some pictures and stories to share about how God is at work here in Normandie.

 We’ll also have time to catch up and pray together. As the Gate will be providing food for this event, it will help us if you can let us know you are coming. Please RSVP by simply responding to this email. We hope you can make it!

 We’ll also be at the Gate on May 5th and we will have space to catch up between and after services.

Music Project in Nashville

As part of our trip to the USA, we are going to be recording a few songs with the help of Jenny and Tyler, Tom’s sister and brother-in-law. Please pray with us about this. It’s been exciting to have more and more opportunity to play and sing in our city and we hope the recording will be useful in helping our French friends and neighbors to encounter Jesus and turn to Him.

Please pray with us as well for safe and smooth travel.

 Now back to how God’s been working…

Alpha Update

Thank you for praying about the Alpha weekend away. It was so, so good! Tom brought his guitar, and this turned out to be a hit with the group. On Saturday night he was invited to lead a time of fun and convivialité. Someone set up a projector to display words for well-known songs and it turned into an amazing sing-along time that really brought the group together. There was a funny moment when I lead a group of 20 or so French people in a boisterous rendition of “O Happy Day” while nuns worked in the kitchen next door. There were also more poignant moments with songs that opened onto true and beautiful things. It reminded me again of how helpful music can be in bringing people together and in moving thinking/conversation from the head to the heart. Père François, the priest who oversees the Alpha Course, was an enthusiastic participant in our time of singing and the next day he invited me to lead music for the group as a time of sung worship during the Mass. This time of prayer and music was a breakthrough moment for many on the weekend. At the end of the weekend, we were all asked to share something we were taking away from the time. I was touched by how many of the group shared that they had experienced the Holy Spirit in the times of singing (for Père François it was during the late-night sing-along time!).  

 The following week for our regular Alpha evening, another leader invited me to share a song of worship before the teaching time. It’s been fun to see the enthusiasm in our local catholic community for music and sung worship and I’m so grateful to be able to help meet this need. Even more exciting than the meaningful work with music, God is drawing some of the people in Alpha closer to Him! It was a privilege to witness in my discussion group a couple moving from describing themselves as atheists to agnostics, and now speaking about experiencing something of the Holy Spirit! I’m continuing to pray for salvation, but I’m grateful for this significant movement in thinking.

Easter Sunday

Another exciting moment for us was leading worship for the first time at Bon Berger on Easter Sunday. Reuben played piano and sang, Silas was rock solid on the djembe, and Eli and Elodie were worshiping with us on the front row. Many of the congregation were not-yet believers who had been invited for the Easter service. This felt like a significant moment of being family on mission.

Thanks for reading to the end! As always, we are grateful for you and we hope to see many of you very soon!

Every Blessing,

The Appels

Great is thy Faithfulness

Dear Friends,

We hope you are well and enjoying the early Spring. We have blossoms on the apple trees here in Normandie to brighten up the frequent rainy days. It’s been an exciting and full month or so; here’s what’s been going on.

Onelife Young Leaders Conference

In February, Tom took our twins to a Christian youth conference in London. It was an amazing experience. Reuben and Eli both took big steps forward in their faith and confidence both as followers of Jesus and as young leaders. As we had prayed, it was a significant moment for them. It was also a huge encouragement to be taking our oldest sons to a youth conference that we helped to launch nearly two decades ago. What was at that time a way to encourage and build up young leaders at an annual conference has grown into a fully-fledged charity, Onelife, with year-round resourcing and resounding impact in the lives of young people. It was amazing to see the way God has been at work over the years and deeply meaningful to have the privilege of seeing the fruit He has brought from those early seeds. At the conference, Tom connected with old friends and had the sweet experience of catching up with someone who had been in our youth group in 2006 and who was now, as an adult, bringing other youth to the conference from their own youth group. The theme of the conference was God’s faithfulness – how very appropriate.

Joanna’s Atelier

The Lord continues to grow Joanna as a painter and visual artist. There have been several exciting opportunities for her to create artwork which proclaims the good news of Christ’s kingdom. She has just competed a commissioned work for our mission’s agency called “Awaken / Reveillé”. This painting is going to be part of an event called, “New Life for the Old World”, which communicates the opportunity and need for the gospel in Europe.

She has also submitted some art work for an exhibition in Paris which will take place during the Summer Olympics. This is in partnership with a Christian run gallery, Agapé Hub, in the heart of the city. This exhibition has the potential to connect with substantial numbers of people. As part of this outreach, Joanna would travel to Paris to be at the exhibition for a few days during the Olympic Games to speak about the artwork with people who visit the gallery.

It is encouraging to see the path God is making for Joanna to develop more and more artistically especially as this medium is a perfect fit for connecting in French culture. She has just put up a portfolio on our website. Check it out here: appelstofrance.com/art

Hosting, Art and Music

It has been an especially full season of hosting and visiting ministry. We mentioned in our emails about Thanksgiving that we are praying to see increase in this aspect of our ministry – and this is happening! It’s exciting to have times of prayer and deep connection with friends and neighbors. Often this is happening around or after an excellent meal at our table. We’re noticing more and more the importance of art and music in our hospitality ministry. It is often a moment with some of Joanna’s paintings that seem to change the timbre of the conversation, drawing us towards deeper things. Similarly, when we get out some instruments and share a song or sing something all together, it feels like there is a change in the atmosphere and we easily move into different level conversations. Thanks for praying with us in this. Though we are feeling a bit tired, we are thankful for answers to prayer and hopeful about seeing some of our amazing neighbours and friends draw nearer to God.

Deepening French Connections

Another clear answer to prayer for us has been in the increase we’ve seen in these first few months of 2024 in our opportunities for ministry with French partners. Tom has been loving the Alpha course which he is doing in partnership with the local Catholic church. These weekly gatherings for people wanting to know more about God from a Christian perspective have been so exciting. Most of the time, disciple making in France moves at a slow pace (and that’s ok!). In this Alpha course, I’m so thankful to be seeing moments of transformation nearly every week! This weekend I’ll be going away for a couple of days for the Alpha Weekend away. This is usually a significant time and I’m praying that there will be some in the group who make a decision to follow Jesus and receive His gift of salvation.

We’re also thankful for the growing relationships we have with Bon Berger, the French church plant where we are worshiping on Sundays. We are missing our friends at Bless church, but still confident that the move to a French led and entirely French language church is the right one. Please pray with us as we discern how involved to be in ministry with Bon Berger. I believe there will soon be opportunity for us to step into some leadership roles, but we want to move slowly and make sure we’re hearing the Lord clearly about what is ours to do.

We are thankful for your on going prayer and financial support. We pray that you would know the love and peace of Jesus each day. Sending love,

The Appels

Beautiful Transitions and Regular Rhythms

Hello Dear Friends,

We hope you are well and that 2024 is off to a good start wherever you might be reading this. As we have begun this new year, we have enjoyed the winter sunrises and sunsets. The dismal grey of the skies are lit up with hot pinks and purples, oranges and reds, just for a fleeting moment to show us a new day has dawned or is drawing to a close. It is a moment of beautiful transition in the midst of the regular and unchanged rhythms. With this, I am reminded of God’s steadiness and faithfulness, even in times where we can’t see what He is doing and all seems grey. And I am so grateful for the glimpses of hope, beauty and goodness that we get to see, especially during intense times of change.

New Season in France

After several months of discernment with our mission's agency and other partners, we've moved from working with Bless church Caen in order to be part of a French-led and French language church. The Bless Network has been an important part of our story here in Normandie and we are continuing in relationship. As we've become more and more connected in our local community here in France, we've felt a pull to be involved in a French church rather than our bilingual international church. A big part of this decision-making process was when we realized that for some of our French friends who are interested in God, the cultural jump of going to an international church is a barrier to them coming to church. For the past few weeks our family has been worshipping at a small French church plant in Caen called Bon Berger. So far, it seems like a really good fit and the kids are enjoying Sundays there as well. Please pray with us as we tend relationships with our friends at Bless and as we seek to follow God's leading into new ministry partnership and local church family. 

Growing in Relationships

Since our big Thanksgiving feasts, our calendar has been full of times connecting with neighbors and friends. It feels as though there has been an acceleration in our outreach. This has looked like lots of wonderful moments in our home hosting dinners or goûté (afternoon snack), opportunities to play music, and new places of connection. One of the shows we played this Christmas was at the Marché de Noël at Silas and Elodie’s school. We had a great time singing Christmas songs and it was very well received. This chance to share our musical selves with the community around the school felt like breakthrough. It takes a long time to feel like anything other than « that strange American family ». Since the show, we have been able to talk more with other parents about music and faith. Please pray for continued opportunities to share God’s love and grow in relationships.

The Alpha Course 

I (Tom) have been praying for more opportunities to connect in French with the local community and the Lord is answering that prayer! One way this is happening is at an Alpha couse with the local Catholic church. I reached out to our local priest and asked if he would mind having a Protestant missionary join in – and I’ve been welcomed!

 Alpha is series of evenings designed for people who don’t yet know God to engage with big questions about the nature of life and God. It involves a meal, a short presentation on a big question like “who is Jesus” and lots of time for discussion. God is at work in these discussions. There have been times where the Holy Spirit is evidently moving in moments of transformation and changed thinking. One woman who had expressed doubts about the divinity of Christ was moved in her thinking not by convincing arguments, but by the testimony of those of us who have relationship with God. For me, (Tom) this setting feels like a perfect fit – like one of those good works that God has prepared in advance for me to walk in. It feels like when I speak it helps to shift the atmosphere of the discussion group and I sense God drawing people to Himself.

This is a place where God is moving significantly, please continue to pray for this Alpha Course. As another part of this growing connection with the Catholic church, Tom has also been able to connect with a weekly prayer gathering in Caen associated with the ecumenical movement, Chemin Neuf. This looks like 50 or so passionate believers praying with an incredible humility and hunger for more of God. It is inspiring to see God working in our city in such powerful ways.

USA on the Horizon

We have plane tickets! We’re booked for a short trip back to the States during the French school Spring break. We’re planning to be at the Gate Community Church in Franklin, TN the Sundays of April 21st and May 5th. We’ll likely also have an evening or afternoon at the Gate, where we’ll share stories and updates from France – more information to come. Hope to see many of you this Spring!

Additional Prayer Points:

Discernment for Church Involvement - we are eager to follow the Lord’s leading to a new church community and involvement. We need wisdom and discernment as to where that is and how much we do with the church so as not to take away from our community connections.

Kids’ education - we have ongoing ups and downs with each of our kids in school here. Please pray for Reuben, Eli, Silas and Elodie as they work through the struggles of attending French schools.

Praise for Health - Amazingly, aside from Tom’s sprained ankle the week of Thanksgiving, we have been relatively healthy this season, PRAISE GOD!

Praise for doors opening in our French Communities - Praise God that we are starting to see a deepening of relationships, even just as we have set out to spend more of our working hours in French language. We are so grateful that God has us here to join in his work!

Thank you!

We are grateful for each of you for your prayer and support as we continue to minister God’s love here in Normandie. Thank you so much for the gifts we have received as a response to our invitation in November to help us « Set the Table ». We pray that the God of Hope would fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.

Sending our Love,

The Appels

La Mariée - The Bride

Hello dear Friends and Family,

We hope you are doing well and that you know the peace and love of our generous Father this September. This is going to be a different sort of newsletter. Instead of sharing the events and prayer points of our work here, I am going to present one of my paintings (I’m a little nervous). You all have been with me on this journey into painting since our move to France. I am so grateful for your support as I start to share more of my art publicly. In a smaller world, I would have an exposition and invite you all to come, but since we are widespread and we have modern tools at our finger tips, please allow me to share with you in this space.

Early last year, The Gate Church, our partner church in Franklin, Tennessee, commissioned me to paint something that represents the state of Christianity in France and the work we do here. Inspired by a photograph by Francis Meslet of an abandoned church in France, I chose to paint this image. I call it, “La Mariée” (the Bride). Click on the image to see it in full.

La Mariée

Acrylic on canvas

In My Contemplation:

Though the roof has fallen and the ground is covered in debris, it is a beautiful depiction of God working in new ways in France. The French have a rich heritage of faith; a saint for every day, a church for every village. We honor this heritage, but, for many in France, the church represents condemnation, judgement, and rigid religious practices, and as an institution, it has been largely abandoned by recent generations. 

Only with the slow destruction of what was, can God’s light and life shine through. Behold! He is doing a new thing in our midst. New life is pushing forth and a different looking church is taking root amongst the ruins.

This bride is bruised and full of holes, she stands as a remnant and a new offering. Veiled in the lace of his light, she waits for her bridegroom.

In the Composition:

God spoke to me throughout the process of this painting. To begin, I used a thick gesso to give texture to the building. I etched in some words, like carvings on the walls. Under the fallen debris, I painted words in French that the institution of the Catholic Church has come to represent to many people in France (condemnation, judgment, death). Under the plants and shrubs are words that carry the essence of the new expression of church that is seeing growth (joy, life, hospitality, etc.) Some of these words remain visible, but most are covered. 

I painted using a black and white reference so that I could chose my own color palette. I like to use bold colors to bring a certain feeling to the image. I wanted the church building to have a representation of different skin tones, to show the bride is a living body.

In the Community:

I had the privilege of showing this painting, while it was still in process, at an exposition in June with my art association, a group of around 20 French artists that meet weekly to work on projects together. I was able to share the deep meaning of the painting for me, as well as speak about my faith in Jesus, with the other artists. They, in turn, shared about my painting with their friends who visited the exposition. 

I also brought the painting to the group for critique which gave way to many one on one conversations with some women in my group. One lady spoke with me in depth about faith in France and how it is a very private thing. She thought it was wonderful to think about people praying for France from other parts of the world. 

Another woman asked me, “Don’t you think that people will think the church is dead in France if they see this painting?” I asked, “What do you think about the church in France?” She then shared with me some of her story, her parents had been very religious and she left the Catholic Church in her teens because she found it to be too rigid and condemning. She never looked back. I spoke to her of the grace and love of Jesus and that is the true message of the Christian faith. We had some really great conversations.

When I had completed the painting, I shared it with our Bless Church community. I think it is amazing how God connects us from one corner of the world to another. The painting is going to hang on the wall at the Gate Church, pointing to France, to the church and the work He is doing. I wanted them all to know that they are a part of that work!

Thank you for letting me share with you. If you are interested in seeing the painting, it will be hung in the Gate Church in their missions gallery. If you are interested in a print or getting a copy of it, please let me know by responding to this email or contacting me directly.

Peace friends,

Joanna