Craig and Cynthia Davis, WorldVenture
Here is a review of our summer activities in the States and a preview of what lies before us this fall in France.
Summer is gone,
but Fall is before us!
Here is a short update of our ministry this past summer in the States and what we believe the Lord has in store for us this Fall in France. Thank you for praying for us and your partnership in our ministry. We appreciate it more than you might think!
This past summer Cynthia and I spent two and a half months in California and Oregon. We now know I-5 better than we ever did before: we travelled from Los Angeles to Tacoma and back again as well as many other side trips along the way. We were able to spend a week with our three kids, their spouses and our six grandchildren during one week in July in Sacramento, CA. What great memories everyone has of this family reunion! We were also able to see my family in Portland, OR. These were refreshening times for Cynthia and me.
The main purpose of all these travels was to reconnect with our friends and partners in ministry who pray for us and make it possible for us to minister here in France. Besides our Sunday meetings in various churches in California and our home church in Portland, OR, we organized numerous French evenings where we used a visual presentation to talk about our ministry in France, served a typical French meal and just enjoyed times of fellowship together in the homes of our friends. Both of us have very fond memories of the exchanges with our friends in Christ.
If we were not able to connect with you this time, we hope to be able to do so during our next visit to the States. It is always possible for us to talk with you through Skype or regular telephone calls. Let us know if this interests you and we can make it happen.
Fall is a season of changes in colors, temperature and activities. After a summer of seeing the drought in California, experiencing hot days and warm nights, and appreciating many aquatic activities with our daughter, Rachel, and her family in southern California, we are ready for the changes that Fall will bring to us.
One of the major changes that we are experiencing is a transition from some of my pastoral responsibilities at the church in Bussy-Saint-Georges where we have been serving for the past eleven years. We have told the French church association with whom we work that we would like to find a French (or at least a non-missionary) pastor to replace me by Fall 2015. Since our return from the States, we have been working on how we can make the smoothest transition possible. My modus operandi is now more so than ever how can I train someone else to do the work that I am doing. For the moment, things are moving smoothly in this direction!
A new opportunity that is now before us is our involvement in a new church plant in the town of Torcy where we have lived for the past eleven years. There are 23,000 people in our town with not one evangelical church. In the larger region where we live (Val-Maubuée), there is only one evangelical church for 87,000 people. How can these people learn about the love of God and what Jesus-Christ has accomplished for them if they are not in contact with believers in Christ? What should be our response to this need? We do not feel it was a random choice that we moved to Torcy eleven years ago.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We will be having our first small group meeting in our home for the new church plant in Torcy. Pray for those who have been invited that there will be a spiritual bonding in the group.
- Pray for Nicolas & Priscille Rinderknecht who are giving the vision to the Torcy church plant.
- Pray for all the details that still need to be worked out as we transition out of our pastoral role in the Bussy church.
- Pray that I (Craig) will have more music students this year who will want to be trained to serve in their local churches.
- Pray for our need of additional financial support. At the present time, we are at 92% of the amount WorldVenture has established for us.