Why don’t you start by giving us some background information? Tell us about your family and when you were first sent out from CrossWay.
CrossWay sent us out as a couple without kids in the summer of 2003. We now have 2 wonderful boys: Luc Emmanuel is 2 years old and little William is 3 months old. They were both born in Mulhouse, France.
Tell us where you are living and a little bit about what it’s like to live there.
We live in Wittenheim, France, in the parsonage that is located on the church’s property. If “Wittenheim” sounds more German than French to you, it’s because this is the Alsace region, which at different periods of history belonged to Germany. There are both French and Germanic influences around here.
What have you been doing there? Tell us about the people and how they have responded to the gospel.
Dominique has been pastoring the Wittenheim Evangelical Church (WEC) for the past 5 years and Laura has given leadership to the children’s ministry. Though we faced some doctrinal challenges our first couple of years, people in our congregation have increasingly embraced the centrality of the Gospel. The church has organized several evangelistic events. The Lord has saved some people and they’ve been baptized!
I understand God is calling you to a new work. Tell us about what God is calling you to do and where you will be living.
Beginning in September 2008, Dominique will be a full-time teacher at the Geneva Bible Institute (GBI), located in Switzerland. He will train students who are preparing for full-time ministry mostly in France (80%), but also in other French-speaking countries (within Europe and Africa). We will live in the French town of Ambilly, across the border.
Tell us why you are making this change? Why is this work so strategic to the mission of the church?
As a pastor at the WEC, Dominique was invited to teach a few classes at the GBI over the past several years. Rich relationships formed with students and staff alike, and the pressing need for more on-site teachers became obvious. Among the French-speaking Bible schools and seminaries, the GBI has a reputation for training a good number of pastors and missionaries (relatively speaking). This is good news for the country of France, which is headed toward a shortage of full-time church leaders in the next decade or so.
Why are you doing what you’re doing? Why would you leave everything behind and spend the rest of your days overseas?
Frankly, serving God and His church overseas has been rather exciting overall. I guess that since God has put this desire in our hearts and has faithfully sustained (and even increased) it, our choice of this ministry place feels less like sacrifice than privilege. Our growing network of friends and coworkers also makes it a joy to be here, as well as the presence of Laura’s parents and sister’s family.
How can we be praying for you?
Please pray that our transition from the WEC to the GBI would go smoothly this summer, not only for us, but also for our children, the church and the school. Pray for Dominique’s ministry responsibilities to be defined God’s way, and for Laura to discern where and how to serve (in our new church and at the school), on top of her main calling within our family. Pray for our choice of a new church family, and for our children to become faithful disciples of Christ as they grow up.
