Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”

February 4, 2016

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It seems impossible that another month has passed since I last wrote you. It has been a good month and we see God at work. There are also areas that we are concerned about and pray about.

Our new Bible studies and prayer meetings are going well. I will mention some of these new ones. This afternoon Judy and I will be meeting with a couple of ladies with whom we have started a weekly Bible study. Both of them are believers, but are married to unsaved men. We have a good relationship with both of these men. One of them comes to the Sunday meetings from time to time. Judy and I are very encouraged by the spiritual growth that we see in both of these ladies.  One of them has become quite involved in visiting elderly people in her community. She does this by participating with a social organization that has as its primary focus the welfare of older citizens. This lady from our church has had a number of opportunities to witness to the people she visits and is very excited about it.

Amanda, our daughter-in-law and a wonderful partner in ministry here, is meeting with girls who are College students for Bible study. One of the three girls in this Bible study has trusted Christ but is not yet baptized. The other two have come to church and youth meetings but have never made a public confession of faith.

The men in the church are now meeting one Saturday morning each month to pray together. We are hoping that this will give us the opportunity to more effectively encourage and disciple these men.

Another lady has started a prayer meeting with ladies on Tuesday mornings and one couple is trying to get a Friday night Bible study going in their home.

Philip, Amanda, and their four daughters

One of our concerns is the children of families who come to church here. We would like to see the saved parents be more active in helping their children know the Bible. Nearly all the adults in our church besides Judy, me, Philip and Amanda were saved as adults or teenagers and come from families where no one else was saved. They did not have Christian parents to teach them or be examples for them. Since they were saved as adults they do not always understand a child’s capacity to know God. We are praying and planning on helping these families teach their children the Bible more effectively. Please pray with us and for these families.

Our regular and longer term Bible studies are going well.

I have asked Amanda, our daughter-in-law, to write the letter next month to give you a different perspective. Abigail, our oldest granddaughter publishes the monthly church bulletin and Nathalie the second in birth order designed and maintains the church’s website. They are involved in working with the children and all the girls are our main point of contact to get kids from the community to come to outreach activities. Philip, Amanda and the four girls are a major component in what God is doing here. We ask that you pray for them as you pray for us.

May God’s richest blessings be evident to you,
John and Judy

John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com

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