Bonjour Nos Amis!
We hope that you are having a lovely spring and getting ready for all the summertime fun coming soon! As we exchange our boots for flip flops, you may have heard that we are exchanging our trucks and superhero gear for ribbons and bows with the news that we are expecting a little GIRL in September! We are in a bit of shock and feeling out our depth after living in boy-land for so long, but we are so grateful that God is bringing something completely new to our family! What a ride!
MDiv—Check!!!!
ALSO—with a whole lot of “YAY!” in our hearts—we are within reach of Tom completing his Masters of Divinity! He will be in Indiana these next two weeks taking his final intensive course. When he comes home, HE IS DONE! This is thrilling for us as he has worked so hard for four and a half years, whilst working a full time job, growing our family by three and a half, and moving four times. All we can say is we have a superhero in our family! We are so proud of him for this big accomplishment and, at the same time, so very happy to see the end of seminary!
Finding Ministry Partners
This new season for us is one of focused fundraising to get us to the field in France (there’s some alliteration for you!). We are planning to fill our days and nights with phone calls, meetings, Skype chats, presentations and concerts - basically doing all we can follow this calling to France quickly. We have never been so excited to be so busy! We are eager to partner with God in what He is already doing in France. We are feeling such peace in our calling to go and in simply seeking out the people God will stir and call to partner with us financially. We are taking a trip to South Carolina via Atlanta in June and have a few other things in the pipeline too! We are so grateful to already have 36 families and individuals who have started partnering with us! Thanks folks, this means we are at 27% of our needed monthly partnerships. We are in need of both one-time gifts, which build up our launch funds (visas, plane tickets, set up costs, language school etc.) AND monthly partnerships which sustain the work we will be doing in France and will keep us there! If you would like to meet with us or simply are ready to partner now, please visit our Partner page by clicking the button below:
God is on the move in Europe!
Even though we are not yet in the field, we are excited to share some of the news from GEM and the Bless Network, who are sharing the love of Jesus to those who are suffering in the Refugee Crisis.
Photo: International Business Times
GEM Refuge, an initiative through our sending agency, Greater Europe Mission, has teams on the ground in Lesvos, Greece, working with the refugees who have made the treacherous journey across the sea in hopes of a life of peace. Visit this site: gemission.org/refuge and see how the love of Jesus is impacting these who are in need of hope through GEM missionaries!
S.O.S Chai - Bless Network
The Bless Network, based outside of Caen in Normandy (which we visited when we were in Europe in October), has recently acquired an old ambulance and transformed it into a tea truck with the purpose of serving the refugees living in "The Jungle"—a large refugee camp in Calais, on the North coast of France. We love their heart and creativity in finding a way to serve. Here is a blog post about their latest trip to The Jungle:
Thank you for reading and journeying with us. We are grateful for you and hold you in our prayers!
Á la prochaine! (until next time!)
Blessings,
The Appels
Tom, Joanna, Reuben, Eli, Silas, and Baby Girl
