And so the New Year started fast and seems to have continued that way.  Our involvement in the House Church at Grignon has developed very well and we are really happy with the way things are going over there.  We had a meeting with about ten members and shared with them about the Masterlife course and 8 of them are now really enjoying the course, although they do find it challenging.  We are noticing again a real lack of teaching and discipling here and really praise the Lord that we were able to do Masterlife many years ago and have found it in French.  However, some of the other members of the Church found out that we had already started the group and had a real desire to do it as well so now we have two groups.  One meets on a Wednesday evening in Faverge which is a village about 20 km away from here and the other one is here in Albertville on a Saturday morning.  Please do be in prayer for these groups as it’s not easy for them to be so disciplined and also for us as we teach and share in French.
Not forgetting that we have another couple that are doing the course with once a fortnight in Lyon and they are making great progress.  It is a real encouragement to us to see them learning the things of God and putting them into practice in their lives.

On top of this the Spencer Household still seems to be as mad as ever with Mike and I teaching various things at other times in the week.  Mike is teaching in the areas of French, English, and Maths and of course the Guitar. For my part I have 4 people learning the Guitar.
This is on top of the worship that we lead at the Missionary Centre and the bilingual service that we are involved in.  And of course  we are still responsible for sorting out the overheads for the songs ever week at the Protestant Evangelical church where we are still maintaining links.  As you can imagine we only get to go along once a month now but we still have plenty of contact with the folks there and join them for their music practices.

Life here in France is very busy with one thing and another even our “Day Off”  which was supposed to be Monday has turned into the time when we can make visits to people who need help comfort or just a hug. Please do pray that we use our time wisely and don’t get ourselves tired out.

It does seem strange to me as I sit here at the computer and write this thinking of all the different friends and family who will read this and knowing that they know we never wanted to be in a position where we would always be in the front.  Putting out the chairs and cleaning up maybe doing the overheads or the PA these are the things we are happy with doing.  So please do pray for us as we have never looked for these opportunities they just seem to have happened and these things don’t come naturally to Mike and I.  Hiding in a corner is a good option from our point of view.  However, our hearts have gone out to the people around us and we see the needs that they have and so are helping them in whichever and whatever way we can.  And with that in your minds please do pray for us.

I would like to share with you a portion in my Bible reading notes.
It’s common, cheap and used around the world.  It has stirred up wars, led to the establishment of trade routes, and paid the salaries of soldiers.  Today it serves chiefly as a preservative and flavouring.  What is it? It’s the substance we call salt.
Jesus, who was a master of using things to illustrate spiritual realities, talked about salt when He was teaching His disciples how they were to serve as agents of His Kingdom. He said, ”You are the Salt of the earth” Matthew 5:13.
If we think of salt as a preservative, we can assume Jesus wants us to prevent moral decay in our society.  And if we think of salt’s ability to enhance flavour, we can be sure He wants us to help people discover the joy of knowing and living for him.
Salt stored away on a shelf is not fulfilling its function.  In a similar way, unless we are actively at work sharing God’s life-enhancing truth, we are not serving as spiritual salt.  After all, the place for salt is in the “stew” of human activities.  So let’s get into the stew  - for we are the salt of the earth.

And so that’s what we’re being here in Albertville – Salt… putting a little flavouring into the lives of those around us…A salty Christian makes others thirsty for Jesus, the water of Life!
 
 

PS…. Stop press…

This summer we are planning on staying in England for most of July and August with a view to going and visiting local churches and sharing with them the work that we are doing over here in France.  We will be sharing with folks our vision of the work here and hopefully raising our level of Prayer and financial support.  This is the first time that we have done anything like this and would really value your prayers in this area.  As most of you know we live over here with the support of our home church in Colchester and some friends and family, we hope to be able to increase our levels of support during them summer.
If you would like us to come and share with your church please do let us know.  We will be available to share and preach on Sunday mornings and lead worship.  Or share at a mid week meeting.   We have a contact address of a friend who will be arranging our program and will give it to you at the end this newsletter. Perhaps you would like us to come and share with you or with a group you are involved with.  We look forward to sharing with many of you during this time.

Our contact in England is Pastor Derek Court. His number is 01394 276171.
Derek and his wife Wanda have a real heart for the work that we do over here in France and have a desire to see the work grow.  We do ask that everyone who wants us to do anything during the summer months please contact them as they will be the people responsible for our agenda.  We look forward to sharing with many of you during the summer.
 L’N’S