Our March Mayhem
As many of you know, we moved to Nashville in mid-March in order to engage with several churches and our established networks more readily before we go to France. The first rental we moved into turned out to have some major issues and after a week of hard work and heavy prayer, we decided that we needed to move out. Thankfully, we have generous friends who were willing to house a displaced family of five for a week while we found a new place to live! We were able to quickly find a rental south of the city that was a manageable in price for us and CLEAN! We have been here two weeks now and are just starting to get rid of the boxes and come up for air. So we apologize if we have been uncommunicative or MIA for a while but this has demanded all of our focus and energy the for the past month! This has been a period of many transitions, disappointments, pests and mold, but also there have been so many times where God has shown himself faithful and that He has gone before us in this process. We are grateful in the midst of our weariness.
Another Blessing!!!!
We are looking forward to this next season of strengthening our family, training for the field and fundraising. There is much to do to prepare for a move cross-culturally not to mention we are expecting to add another little one to our family come September! Jo is 18 weeks pregnant! We are excited to have a growing family and to be able to have this baby whilst still stateside and amongst family and close friends—not to mention English speaking medical care! We believe in God's perfect timing and are confident that we can still meet our goal of heading to France by the end of this year, with four little ones in tow!
Gratitude
We know that you have all kinds of plates spinning in the air, balls that you are juggling and simply “life” that fills up your time and zaps your energy.We appreciate your prayers and your support for us as we have dealt with “life” these past few weeks and months. We look forward to the time when we can speak to you in person and thank you for all the prayers that you have lifted up on our behalf. Prayer has carried us through a very difficult time and we are grateful to you for included us in yours!
Light Breaking Through, Angers
Prayer Needs
- Tom, as he has a month and a half left of seminary and it is a doozy! Finishing up six courses in that time with epic final papers and portfolios before graduation is no small task. Please pray for endurance, for blessed writing, and peace as he completes this important degree.
- Joanna, as she watches the boys in Tom’s absence and continues to settle into our temporary home. Also pray for times of rest for her in the second half of her pregnancy.
- The Boys, as they handle the many transitions we have had and that they can find a sense of rhythm quickly.
- The Baby, as it grows, for health, strength and peace.
- France. The attacks in Belgium happened in the midst of our moves and we have been devastated by yet another attack on innocent Europeans. We feel even more urgency to get over there to help spread the Gospel of Peace and the message of Jesus’ love, hope and redemption. Pray for peace, for God’s light to shine in the darkness, and for hope for the hopeless in France.
Love and Grace and Peace to you all,
The Appels
Tom, Joanna, Reuben, Eli, Silas and Baby Appel #4
