Family Rhythms
At the end of 2024, we knew 2025 would be a year of anything but rhythm. Expansion, new relationships, rest, growth, new partnerships, pioneering, risk-taking, etc. These were the words we knew would define this year. From Nov ‘24 to August ‘25 we threw all of our rhythms out the window and gave God a blank canvas to guide us into new places and partnerships. It was extremely challenging, and absolutely wonderful and our lives most certainly will never quite be the same.
Having said all of that, by the end of August this year, we knew that it was time to re-establish a sense of rhythm and order in our lives, and we’ve been working hard to do that as we make ourselves at home here in France.
Setting up Home
When we arrived here in April, the ministry hub building project here was complete enough for the lights to be on and water to be running, but we had no furniture, no kitchenware, no linen, and only the clothes that we brought with us in our carry-on suitcases. If you know Cora, you know this is one of the areas in which she shines like an absolute super star. We were anticipating a significant donation in April towards furnishing the house, but when that fell through we needed to make due with what we had.
Somehow, with no additional funds beyond our normal monthly income, she has managed to create a home here for us. I of course do a huge amount of the work, but in this aspect of our lives, she’s definitely the one driving the bus. It’s far from fancy, but we all have the basics of what we need, and we are incredibly grateful to God for that. The kids have gone without a lot of the creature comforts they’re used to, but we sense that it’s been an important experience for everyone to be willing to lean in and do what it takes to dwell here and fight for our families connection to our French roots. If an inheritance gained quickly is soon despised, we won’t be despising this particular inheritance anytime soon. It’s been tough, wonderfully tough.
We have what we need, but another $10K would be extremely helpful in finishing off the furnishings, home office, etc.
Levi & Shiloh - Going to School
We explored seemingly endless options for schooling the kids, but in the end we all agreed that it was best to dive headfirst into the deep-end of the pool and go to the local public schools in full immersion French. I just about had a nervous breakdown on the first day of school, but was absolutely blown away by the courage and resilience that both Levi and Shiloh showed. Both of them have made lots of new friends, and are growing rapidly in their ability to speak and understand French. I’m so proud of them both I could explode.
Keana & Eva - Blasting into Adulthood
Eva is now just a few weeks away from graduating high school via correspondence. She has been accepted into the January DTS in Montana, USA and has been working hard at the local Macdonalds here to save money for her DTS fees. We are incredibly proud of her as she has made some very tough choices lately. It’s been a short term pain, long term gain kind of season for her and we know that she will experience the kindness and faithfulness of God as she makes her way into adulthood. She turns 18 in a couple months.
Keana just completed her Foundations in Counselling Ministry 2nd level course at YWAM Lausanne, Switzerland. She had a fantastic experience, learned a huge amount, and is now clearer than ever about what God is calling her to do. She has several options to choose from for her next steps as is taking time with us here in France to rest and pray about her next steps. It’s so incredibly wonderful to have her home with us and we count every day with her here as a gift from God.
Financial Sustainability
As you can imagine, our financial situation has shifted quite dramatically. Our USA ministry income has typically almost doubled on its way into NZ, due to the currency exchange, but now it shrinks on its way into Europe. Ouch! We’ve also lost the various tax cut related benefits that we were entitled to as resident citizens back in NZ. We will eventually be entitled to similar benefits here as resident citizens in France, but that’s not likely to kick in until we’ve been here for a year. So in the meantime, we’re dangling in the middle and trusting God one week at a time for the basics. We need to see a fairly significant increase in our monthly missions support as we engage in ministry here in France.
These times are always challenging, but they always ultimately lead to the formation of new connections and new partnerships. God knows exactly what He’s doing :)
