Summer 2019

Hello friends!

I hope this letter finds you well. Post-summer is always a re-adjustment period for me, and this summer was a particularly wild one. In May, right as our first summer groups started coming into camp, I received the news that I had to immediately leave France and go back to the States due to visa issues. Despite the frustration of having to leave again for an undetermined amount of time, I was so blessed by my dear friends State-side that helped me through the process and hosted me with open hearts for over a month. What a gift from God to have friends to lean on in times of confusion.

Medical Issues

I received my one-year visitor visa at the end of June (praise Jesus!) Shortly after I began feeling pain in my abdomen and decided to run some tests. The diagnosis was a 12cm ovarian cyst that required immediate surgery. The uncertain composition/nature of my cysts always seems to baffle doctors, which made things scary for me as I waited for test results to come back. By His grace, everything came back clear. Both my brother Noah and mom and flew over to be with me during the surgery & recovery which was a huge gift. I was able to fly back to France in mid-July with my mom.

Camps

Despite the physical and emotional strain on my body, it was pure joy to be back and witness God’s hand at work in the lives of the young people at camp. This summer Florent had the opportunity to direct kids' camp. It went so well, and was a great learning experience for him in terms of team leadership and camp administration. Each conversation with campers (kids & youth) was a sweet gift to me, and a reminder of God’s tremendous love for His children. In the meeting room at camp, we keep a giant picture board with all the individual pictures of each camper – I wish I could show you their faces and tell you about their questions, their hopes, and their powerful stories. Thank you for praying for the Youth camp, Adult camp, Kids camp, and Family camp this year

We’re ENGAGED!

In other exciting news from this summer – After 13 years of knowing each other, almost 3 years of a long-distance relationship, and 6 months learning to do life on the same continent again, we’re happy to announce that Florent and I are

engaged! Flo is the greatest earthy gift the Lord has blessed me with. I’m so excited and grateful for the many lessons we’ve learned up to

this point. We're looking forward to

this new season of life together.

Thank you to those who have supported, loved, and counseled us throughout the years. We will keep you posted on wedding info as soon as we have an official date!

What’s ahead

Right after we ended our last camp and closed off the summer season, we had to ask ourselves: “Now what?”. I knew I didn’t want to stay at camp another year due to the isolation (if you’ve ever been to camp during the down seasons, you know what I mean). Due to my visa “visitor” status, I cannot legally work in France. This made things complicated as we looked ahead. I was beginning to become discouraged and confused as to what to do in France when a friend of mine (merci Anaïs) mentioned a church in Marseille that has a FEU ministry.

FEU (Foyer, Evangelique, Universitaire) is a ministry outreach program for university students. The idea is to have a team of people, backed by a local church, that is committed to building relationships with students and sharing the gospel. This is done through hosting events, organizing outings to help international students get to know the city, providing discussions about the Bible, and empowering the students that are believers to invite people to the FEU and share the gospel on their campus. This is a critical age of deep questioning/reflection, especially for young international students that are away from their country for the first time. The FEU ministry allows students to connect with other students their age, and to be faced with a Biblical perspective as they navigate through life questions.

There are FEU homes all over France, but the particular FEU in Marseille only has one girl working on her own. I called her on the phone and less than a week later, Flo and I decided to go check out the FEU and the church in Marseille. While we were there God answered my prayers, as I truly felt that God had prepared a place for us there. So we’re moving to Marseille for a year! The church has generously offered to give me free housing in exchange for my work at the FEU. I will keep my online English teacher job on the side, and Flo is hoping to get an apartment and job in the city.

Please Pray

• For us as we prepare for this new transition and say goodbye to the mountains for a time.

• For the work ahead, for my heart to be attentive to God in this ministry.

• For Florent to get a job quickly once we move to Marseille.

• For the students on the college campus. Pray for open hearts and new friendships.

• For bravery for me. The FEU is not in the safest part of Marseille – there is a real work of trusting God with my physical safety that I’ve been avoiding for a while. So please pray for me as I fight my fears and learn to let God transform them.

• For Florent and I as we prepare for marriage and continue to grow closer together in Him.

Thanks for reading & for caring

Much love ~Rhéa