Returning to Charleville-Mézières

Frank
Aug 9, 2024
4 min read

After an upbeat and exciting summer with family and friends, we are back in Charleville-Mézières. The time that we spent with many of you back in America over the past few months is something that we deeply cherish. Thank you for supporting us and investing in our lives. We hope and pray that these stories that we tell encourage you and display just how great of a God we serve. He is our stability, our hope, our refuge, our protector, and our guide. Our rock!

This summer held countless memories for us. We were stateside from the middle of May until the end of July. We split our time residing at the Davidson and Frey households, both in Fort Wayne. We prioritized time with family and friends, but also wanted to stay busy and spend some time working. Anna worked one to two days a week watching kids and the other half of the week working for one of our good friends, Jane. Consider visiting Vintiques by Jane! I worked a few days a week with an independent contractor, tearing down or building up whatever paying customers wanted. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and it kept me on my toes with something different each day. You can never learn too much! Of course, I worked out in the gym throughout the summer as well.

In May, we re-signed a one-year contract with Étoile de Charleville-Mézières, so we are in the same city and the same team as last year. However, our team was qualified enough to advance to a higher division, so we will be playing in a different league than last year, Championnat de France de Basket-ball de Nationale Masculine 1. We have all but two players returning from last season, so I’m excited to see how we will fair in the new league. One of the main differences will be playing two games on most weeks, compared to last year when we played just one. We will also play on a larger geographical scale, with opponents ranging all across the country. So it is safe to assume that I will be traveling much more than last season. Of course, the level of play is higher as well, and I greatly look forward to that aspect.

Anna will be looking for work, either here in town or remote from our apartment. We pray that she is able to find something that is not only worthwhile to invest in, but also brings about opportunities to care for others and show them the love of Christ. I am always amazed at Anna’s willingness to live this life in a completely foreign setting. There are countless difficulties and hindrances that come up, and Anna has faced them with such faith and trust in the Lord. It is truly admirable!

Making the decision to re-sign was something that we felt the Lord give us peace in, and we continue to trust and depend on Him for each of our steps. After the past year in Charleville, there is no doubt that the Lord is working all around us. He blessed us with some of our best friends, and fulfilled our needs and even our preferences. The blessing of DS Café gave Anna an opportunity to serve and complete the internship necessary for her master’s studies. By the way, she graduated in May! We know that He will continue to provide for all of our needs and illuminate our path one step at a time.

A few prayer requests as we enter back into our life here in Charleville:

We pray that Anna will be able to find something to invest her time into. She would really love to find a job here in town and have a chance to get to know others. She plans to volunteer at DS Café in Châlons-en-Champagne once in awhile. But a job here in Charleville would be a great answer to prayer.

We pray for our church, Eglise Biblique Baptiste, and that God would work in and through the individuals there. The harvest is plentiful! We pray that the seeds sewn resonate and allow people to see Christ for who He is.

We pray that God softens hearts all around us and continues to open doors for opportunities to speak of what He has done in our lives. He has been incredibly faithful to us, and has blessed us beyond measure. We want to share this love as an act of worship and as a means of displaying Christ to those around us.