New blog address

To all (or should I say both?) of our friends who are following this blog via a blog reader, we want you to know that we are now using a different blog.

We have recently updated our ministry website and that has necessitated the change.

If you put http://www.hopeforfrance.org/bixby-news/ into your rss feed service (bloglines, etc.), you should receive notifications of our future posts.

By the way, for the Coles it is: http://www.hopeforfrance.org/cole-news/.

A genuine thanks to those of you who use this tool as a reminder to pray for us and the success of the Gospel in our own hearts and others through us.

The distance between our gate and garage door...

... is just right!!

Trip to Northern France, part 2

I was honored to be invited by missionary Kim Fox and l’Eglise Biblique Baptiste de Rouen to speak for their annual church retreat. The two-day retreat was held at a small conference center about an hour out of Rouen and halfway between that city and Paris in a little village called Corny. (Thankfully, the town did not live up to its name.) We spent a delightful time with the small group of Christians, mainly students, that came to the retreat. I spoke four times, once each from the writings of John, Moses, Job and Paul.

The retreat ended on Saturday evening at 5pm. Instead of heading right back to Bordeaux, we drove into Rouen where we were given a tour of the city where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, where Monet painted several of his famous paintings, and where Richard the Lionhearted is buried. We then spent the night in the home of missionary Kristi Colas. We greatly enjoyed our time with her and were blessed by her love for the Lord and enthusiasm for ministry. Sunday morning we attended the service at the church in Rouen pastored by Kim Fox. This was our first trip out of Bordeaux since being in France and it was a blessing to see God at work in other ministries. The Foxes have faithfully labored in that city for about 15 years, I believe, and God has raised up what seemed to us to be an enthusiastic group of believers. We enjoyed lunch at the Fox home before heading home in the afternoon. We were blessed by their humility (no pretensions) and whole-hearted service.

The 80-mile-an-hour speed limit on the highway was appreciated as we headed home; the $80 in tolls was not. We arrived home Sunday night about 10:30pm: exhausted, a lot of new information to sort through, discuss, etc., and grateful to be in God’s service.

The next morning when I woke Miriam up out of deep sleep to get her ready for school I asked her, “Do you know where you are?” She looked around. “Yes, we're back in France.” I guess that pretty well confirms that, at least to Miriam, "France" = home.

TimBix

Trip to Northern France, part 1

We made a last-minute decision to leave a day early on our trip to Rouen and headed to Paris last Tuesday evening to see the city. To our children, Paris meant the Eiffel Tower--nothing more, nothing less. Ruth had only ever seen a couple of sites in Paris during a short layover on a train trip we took back in 2000. The children had never been outside of the airport.

We saw what we wanted to see: the Eiffel Tower. The children were quite impressed with the size. We found a good place to park a little over a mile away, and we ate a sandwich while we waited in line to head up the tower. We only went to the second floor of three. It was cheaper that way and saved us from having to wait another 45 minutes in the line for the second elevator that carries you from the second to the third landing. What we saw was beautiful. On the way home we drove around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysées, passed the Notre Dame and a few other landmarks. We were surprised to find Paris didn’t feel as foreign and strange as we had expected. We figure we must be getting used to living in France. That said, Paris certainly is in a class of its own and worthy to be among the great cities of the world.

Check back again soon for more news about the rest of our trip.

Pictures of our home in France

Well, it's not yet ready for Southern Living magazine, but we are mostly installed in our new home, and so I thought I'd share some pictures of the interior for those of you who might be interested to see it. There are still some finishing touches to do (aren't there always?), but it really does feel like home now.

(click here to view full-screen slideshow)

Easter Sunday

The Lord blessed us with a wonderful Easter Sunday. We had an encouraging celebration of the Resurrection during the morning service. Following the service, we had 11 people in our home for lunch. Ruth-Renée did a whole lot of work in preparation. (My entertaining Zacharie while peeling the carrots was only a small contribution.) Another family in the church co-hosted with us and helped quite a lot as well. We enjoyed a nice long meal and then a time of Bible study and sharing before we dug into Ruth's cheesecake (an American specialty which was unusual for the French, but appreciated).

We were especially pleased that Ruth's former classmate (and now mine) from Japan (seen holding Zacharie) came with her boyfriend from China. It was their first time to a Sunday service and they said they would like to start coming back regularly. Before we ate, I asked David (white shirt on left) to give his testimony. I spoke openly, saying that everyone there would call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ except for our two friends and that I thought it would be especially helpful for them to hear. Stating the obvious seemed to make them more comfortable. As they were leaving, our friend from China told me, "I'm not yet very believing or religious--whatever you say, but I would like to start reading the Bible and we will start coming regularly to church." Obviously, we were very encouraged and excited. Please pray for God to continue His work of drawing them to Christ.

Tomorrow (Easter Monday) is a national holiday in France, so we don't have school. On Wednesday after class we are leaving as a family to travel to Rouen to attend the church retreat of the Baptist Church in that city. I will be preaching four times at the retreat. We then plan to spend the Lord's day with them before heading back Sunday afternoon in time for school on Monday. It's more than a 6-hour drive, and will be the first time out of town for Zacharie.

Enjoying spring with family

Though it has rained, rained, and rained, we have enjoyed moments of sunshine that remind us that spring has truly arrived. Last evening the sun came out for a bit and we enjoyed a few minutes in the park. Here are a few pictures we took during that time. They give you a glimpse into our family outing.

We are looking forward to a busy, yet joyful Rusurrection celebration this Sunday. We will be hosting 10-12 people in our home for dinner. Two friends of Ruth from her last semester in language school have promised to come and perhaps a third.

We are praying for the growth of God's Kingdom wherever the King is proclaimed.

Create a free slideshow design