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

August 24, 2015

Dear Fellow Servants,

We are enjoying the Lord’s blessings and hope you are too. As with most of you, we are nearing the end of school vacation. Summers in France are quite different from those in the USA. Most people leave town for about a month which means that at any given time during the summer about half of the houses in our neighborhood are empty. However, this can be useful in building relationships with people. Since most scheduled activities are on hold, people have more time to visit.

During the past few weeks we have had people to our home for meals and gone to the homes of others to eat with them. Some of our most effective moments for communicating the Gospel is in these settings. During the past month we have had people in our home for the first time and spent hours talking to them. We have also been able to reconnect with people that we have not seen for some time.

Another important activity this month has been planning for the coming school year. This includes deciding what God wants us to teach in Sunday School and Bible studies during the coming year, where we need to start new projects and what we need to stop doing. Judy and I have decided to work on optimizing the relationships God has given us. We have a large number of friends as a result of the activities in which we are or have been involved, but have a difficult time finding time to have these folks over for meals where important conversations take place. Since evening time is always at a premium and is when we can see people, I have decided to stop singing in the community choir in order to dedicate more time to cultivating friendships.

A number of young folks who have attended services, Sunday School and meetings with us as they were growing up are now in College. We are concerned because a number of these have never professed faith in Christ. Amanda, our daughter-in-law, is starting a fellowship/Bible study time with the girls who attend local colleges. If we can get some boys interested, we will have a boys meeting and from time to time have all the students meet together.

Two days ago Judy and I were blessed with the birth of our 12th grandchild. We are going to be in the Chicago area during the month of September so that we can visit with our children there and help with the newborn. This will also give me the opportunity to spend a few days with Mom and Dad and Paul and Wanda. The Lord willing, I plan to be with them to celebrate Mom’s 90th birthday.

Thank you for your faithful support and prayers. God is blessing your investment and we are delighted to be on the team with you.

Sharing the Good News in France,
John and Judy Hatcher

John and Judy Hatcher

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

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