Dear Praying Friends and Ministry Partners,
It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through September! The summer days have passed by quickly, leaving us with memories of what the Lord has done and with anticipation of what He will do in the coming months. We truly appreciate your interest in our mission to Proclaim the Hope of the Gospel in France and your desire to stay tuned in to what the Lord is doing in our lives to prepare us for that ministry. In order to provide more frequent insights into how God is working in us, we are posting thoughts about mission philosophy, facts about France, and deputation news on our blog. You can access the blog by clicking “Cole News” at http://www.hopeforfrance.org/.
The End of an Era
As we mentioned in our last letter, Michael successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on July 7, and we are praising God for his mercy and sustaining strength. Following the defense, there were a couple more rounds of corrections for Michael to complete, but we have now officially witnessed the end of the “Ph.D. Era” in our lives: Michael handed over the final draft of his dissertation to the Records Office at BJU! We look forward to the conferral of the degree in May, 2009. It is our desire that God will allow us to use what Michael has learned over the past decade to make and mature disciples for Christ in France.
Moving On
Turning the corner on the dissertation process has allowed Michael to devote more time to contacting pastors to schedule meetings. In our last letter, we asked you to pray that God would prov
ide meetings for this Fall. In the Lord’s wise providence, we have not yet been able to schedule meetings for the remainder of this year (with the exception of two missions conferences we had previously scheduled). God has provided some meetings for 2009, and Michael continues to contact pastors about meetings for this Fall. Please pray for God’s will to be done. We are currently considering several options for how to best use these last few months of 2008 if God does not provide meetings. Whatever we do, we desire to follow the Lord in faith.
We are happy to report that the Lord has moved two churches and two families to help support us! The sacrifices these people are making humble us and motivate us to work hard on deputation and in our future ministry in France so that their support is well used. With the current support coming in as well as a support increase starting in January from our sending church, our support level will be $490 per month—almost 10% of our estimated need. Hitting the Road for a Short Trip Mid-October, we will have the privilege of participating in a missions conference in Rockford, IL. We’re excited about the opportunity to present our
mission and spend several days with the church people getting to know them and letting them get to know us. Following the conference, we’ll jump back into writing and calling pastors. At this point, we have contacted pastors in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, and California. Although we know that we need to labor diligently in the work the Lord has given us, we realize that God alone can produce fruit from our labors.1). God will accomplish sanctification in us through the deputation process. 2). We will trust God for his timing and have his wisdom concerning our transition into full-time deputation. 3). God will fill our deputation schedule for 2009. 4). God will lead us to churches of a like mind who will partner with us by supporting us financially. 5). God will use us to awaken Christians to the spiritual needs of the French and to Christ’s redemptive purposes for the world. 6). We will continue to grow and develop so that we will be useful tools for the Lord in France.
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