Spring-Newsletter No. 2

Vaux-sur-Seine, April 2022, Newsletter no. 2

Dear family and friends,

If you are receiving this second "Spring Newsletter", it is because you are either part of our family, or one of our friends and acquaintances. This Spring Newsletter has a complementary objective to our website, to which we will return later, to allow you to follow us better in our spiritual, professional and family journey. On the menu of this second edition: a look back at the current year to begin with, then a review of the activities and challenges for the coming months, and to finish, a more detailed presentation of our website, preceded by a list of prayer topics.

This second year at Vaux-sur-Seine is similar to the previous one, but has its own special features. Marc is still passionately involved in his theological studies. It is still a huge job to combine with our family life, but he has passed all his first semester exams and handed in his assignments on time. Maggie has been busy since the beginning of the year maintaining the Faculty premises for 10 hours a week, but has had to slow down because of some great news! We are expecting a third child at the end of June! In March, we were spoiled by our dear friends Evan, Claire & Dave (they will recognize themselves) with a Gender Reveal Party, where we found out that it is a baby boy! Talitha continues to learn at school, where she excels and makes her teacher very happy. She used to go every morning, but since the beginning of March she has also been going back one afternoon a week. Noëlie is a real tornado! She really has the ability to frighten anyone with her movements! But we won't tell you more because those who regularly read our blog already know about it and those who don't can always do so, at any time. On the church side, we have been officially welcomed as members of the Eglise Protestante Evangélique de Meulan, located 5 minutes from our home, and affiliated to the Union des Eglises Evangéliques Libres de France (UEEL).

That said, it is in fact an excellent transition to the future! Indeed, in March, Marc joined the Union des Eglises Evangéliques Libres for a pastoral ministry within this Union after his studies. But why join a Church Union? First of all, it is important to live out one's personal faith in a communal way, both locally in one's own church, but also more globally within a denomination. Secondly, knowing that you are supported spiritually by a Church Union is a force that God places on your path to help and guide you, especially in difficult times, but not only. And then, to be supported financially in this pivotal period of theological formation, which is indispensable but unstable in many ways, and especially from a financial point of view. Having said that, why did we choose the UEEL? First of all, it is the French church union that I know best and where I know the most people, as the majority of my maternal family attends it and my grandfather and my uncle were pastors there. Then, from a theological and ecclesial point of view, it is a union that suits us very well; we particularly appreciate the search for balanced theological positions. And then, there are really beautiful projects to come and potential in the oldest union of evangelical churches in France (since 1849), and in this framework, the pastoral ministry is well framed and structured, allowing, in our opinion, to concentrate on the essential tasks of ministry. So, one of the two great challenges we shared with you in our Newsletter no. 1 has been resolved!

As for the second major challenge, it is still multiple and complex. It is the financial aspect during this period of formation. And this aspect is linked to the theology course of study. You will remember that we had started out with a three-year degree. But as theology is really fascinating for Marc and the interest in training even more is also relevant, as well as the obligation to have a Master's degree to be a pastor in the UEEL, we have to continue for at least 2 more years! 2 at least, because Marc has to finish his Licence, then do a year of Master 1, with still a lot of courses here at the Faculty, then one or two years of Master 2. Indeed, he would like to do a Master's degree in Research in addition to a Master's degree in Applied Theology (corresponding to a year's internship in a church). In short, another 3 or 4 years of study before starting a full-time paid pastoral ministry. This brings us to the financial side. For it is thanks to you, our donors, that we can live on a daily basis and allow Marc to study. We must thank our donors in particular. There are 11 regular and monthly donors, not forgetting the 12 one-off donors. Until August 2022, we benefit from the unemployment allowance, which still represents 60% of our monthly budget. And from August 2022 onwards, we will start a new cycle. The UEEL support will cover 15% of our budget and will therefore be insufficient to compensate for the loss of the unemployment benefit. We will be able to count on 10% thanks to our savings over the first two years. All this to say that, to date, for next year, we are 24% short of our budget and for years 4 and 5, we are 33% short. Two remarks: (1) as we had planned for 3 years of studies at the beginning, our regular donors had committed themselves to 3 years, and some of them have already committed themselves to the following two years, which explains the gap between years 3 and 4&5 (2) we are not yet taking into account a year 6 because things are not yet fixed and we still have time to look into it. Of course, you can find all this information on our "Support us" page on our website. In any case, we need your help, be it financial or spiritual support!

Another challenge we are facing now is the question of accommodation. Indeed, we have been living for one and a half years in a two-bedroom flat on the Faculty site. With a third child, the flat is shrinking a lot and will no longer suffice. But we need a place as close as possible to the Faculty or to the school in Talitha (1.5 km between the two) to be able to manage our family life as well as possible, and not to need a second car. As a result, there are very few accommodation options available. So it's really a challenge!

In short, here are some prayer topics, in no particular order:

• That we can find suitable accommodation, with 3 bedrooms, and close to the Faculty and/or the school

• Whether it is Maggie, because of the pregnancy, or Marc, because of his studies and what he has to do, a big fatigue has taken up residence in our home and does not want to leave!

• Talitha's learning at school

• For Noëlie

• Maggie's help at the Faculty

• Maggie's pregnancy and delivery in June!

• Marc's theological studies

• Financial support for the next 3 years (3rd year of Licence and 2 years of Master)

• We lost a box of screws and instructions for several pieces of furniture that we had not been able to assemble in our current flat, and this is really problematic.

Many people already regularly consult our website to follow our adventures, but others also "discover" from time to time what we have experienced when they could have read it! So don't hesitate! On the homepage, you will find the latest articles of the Blog. Then on the menu, at the top, you will first have a presentation of our little family, then a page about our project and how to support us; then comes the blog, and finally, a contact page. Two pages will be added in the near future: one containing various documents that I have written as part of my theology studies and the other containing links to interesting sites. Concerning the page "Our project / Support us", you will find all the information about this study project, but also graphs showing you if our monthly (or rather annual) needs are met or not. You will also find all our bank information (RIB and Paypal) as well as a form you can fill in if you want to support us.

Thank you for your careful reading. But above all, thank you for your support, be it spiritual, material or financial; it is so precious to know that we are carried in this way!

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance." (The Bible, 1 Peter 1.2)