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Ministry
Report, June 2009 |
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We had a month of June that was exceptional – full, rich, with experiences that will nourish our hearts for years to come. The highlight was the thanksgiving evening planned for us by the Evangelical Reformed Church with which we have worked for the past 35 years. On Sunday, June 14, over 250 people from all over southern France gathered in the sports hall of the village of St Martin de Londres for a farewell worship service and reception (pictured below, service and reception). This included a large delegation of people from the village, people who are not Protestants. The pastor of our sister church at Nîmes, a close friend, preached on Galatians 6:9, emphasizing the part of the verse that says: “… do not give up.” He pledged to “not give up” in serving the Lord and asked those present to make the same commitment. It was very moving. In his talk, the President of the denomination (pictured below) then pointed out how our service in France brought 3 words to mind: give, link, and transmit (“se donner, relier, transmettre”). He specifically asked that we express the special thanks of the French church to all those in the United States who gave and made it possible for us to have such a long, fruitful ministry alongside our French colleagues. Following the public reception, nearly 150 guests stayed for a marvelous four-course meal (pictured below) prepared by a group of close friends. Everything was a reflection of French quality and beauty with an attention to detail that is so important here. It was a beautiful evening with expressions of affection that will remain with us wherever we go. We came to France intending to serve others and ended up being accepted, upheld, integrated, loved, and ourselves served by an incredible number of French believers over the years. We will never be able to express the depth of our gratitude to them. We are also grateful for other occasions the Lord provided recently to re-see some people who have been part of our lives here for a long, long time. For instance, we had a lengthy visit with the man who met us at the train when we began our French language training in 1972. He and his wife are now members of one of our churches in another part of the country. We saw a woman who was a teenager in one of our churches in the Paris area when we worked there. We spent time with the wife of the British theology professor who arrived in France the same week we did in September 1972. Our time here has paralleled theirs for 37 years. We enjoyed attending the graduation and end-of-the-year meal at the seminary in Aix en Provence with which we have had ties for over 25 years. We attended a worship service led by a fellow who did a training period in our Massy church in 1976 when he was a seminary student. One of the friends that spoke at the service on the 14th is a retired Baptist pastor whom we met about 4 weeks after arriving in France. He was serving in a church near the language school. We then both worked in neighboring towns in the Paris area for several years. Now he and his wife are retired here in Montpellier, and we’ve never lost touch. Such a wealth of friends! This means that our time of service at St Martin de Londres has come to an end. Final decisions on how the ministry there will be continued have not yet been made, so you can continue praying for the church leaders over the coming weeks. Diane also had a final meeting to wrap up her part in preparing the Evangelical Reformed church’s Sunday School material for publication. She has been working on this project for the past two years. Plans are well under way and the material is now in the hands of a competent publisher. Other big news: we have a buyer for our house!! Over the past month our realtors said they really have no clients so we should not expect to sell any time soon. But, the Lord is not limited by current economic conditions. A couple that is being transferred to Pérols contacted the realtor, looked at pictures, asked to visit our house, and liked it. We will be signing the preliminary papers with them on Saturday with the final transfer to take place at the end of August. Perfect timing! The Lord is so good!! Thank you for praying! This means that we will be arranging to travel back to the US at the beginning of September. After some family visits, we hope to be settled into the Four Brooks furlough home at Pipersville PA around the 1st of October. We will be available starting then to visit our supporting friends and churches. At that time we will be able to share more details concerning future ministry plans and possibilities. We will let you know once our travel plans from France are finalized. Please do continue to pray for us in all the thousands of details that must be settled in the next two months!! Thank you again for your support and concern. Do pray for the Churches in France! Diane and Bill Jerdan President Girardet expressing thanks
June 14 Worship Service (below)
Friends at the reception
Friends at the dinner
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Prayer Requests Pray for the church leaders at St Martin de Londres as decisions are made about the way forward. Pray that the Sunday School material to be published will serve God's purpose in building the Kingdom. Pray that God will oversee the details of the Jerdans' return to the US this fall. Thank the Lord for the successful sale of the Jerdans' house. Pray for the continued witness of the Church in France. To receive a copy of the Jerdans' monthly report by email, send them a message at jerdandw@gmail.com
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