A WONDERFUL WINTER!

Hostetter’s December-January Update!

Greetings all! We hope you all are doing well, especially considering the global pandemic that has paralyzed the world! We are stuck inside for the next two weeks as France has been quarantined, and that has changed how we will minister, do our classes and live our life of love here. We are learning to do things online, and to reach people from our homes. On the upside, we now have time to catch up with some stuff we’ve wanted to do but haven’t had time to stop and focus on… such as sharing updates with you all! Our December and January were great! Here’s a few highlights, from CEM exams, to Christmas programs, a trip to Ghana, meals together, baptism and more! Whew! Don’t forget even in these tough times, God is truly good!

The Hospitable Hostetters
One thing that we have really found to be a great way to build relationships here in France is to eat together. France has a strong culture of spending time together at the table. Look at this table:

Missions in France is a long-term effort… to build relationships with people, to show our true love and concern for people over time, and through this, we have a footing on which to share faith with others. We have really been convicted about the importance of hospitality and sharing meals together, for many powerful conversations happen around the table. 1 Peter 4:7-11 demonstrates how it is one of the powerful methods of serving one another.

The Christmas program of the church was a huge evangelistic outreach! There were close to 200 people present for the nativity play and the concert. Our kids were blessed to be able to be part of this program.

Hannah was a prophet and wise “man”, Jonathan was a shepherd and Carys an angel. I had the opportunity to be part of the choir. The news of Jesus’ incarnation was powerfully shared with many outside of the church!

One tremendous blessing we had in December was the opportunity to visit Ghana for Christmas! We are so grateful to a friend who helped pay for tickets so we could be there at the same time as all of Jeremiah’s sisters. Our kids really were blessed to spend time with their fellow missionary cousins.

I learned to preach and share the gospel in Ghana. It was an honor to be able to preach and teach several times while there. The church in Kumasi has done much to send people out, even when it has come at a cost to their own growth.

Probably the greatest moment of January was to see Dylan and Marvin give their lives to Christ in the waters of baptism. Dylan’s muslim father was there to witness his baptism. He comes from a very tough neighborhood, but has chosen to make his residence in heaven. Marvin’s grandmother died the week before his baptism, but this meant that many of his family had come to town for the funeral and ended up coming to his baptism. He took the opportunity to proclaim his faith and hope to his family. It was incredibly encouraging and powerful. We are honored to be their family in Christ.

It’s hard to summarize two months packed with ministry in a few paragraphs, but we are blessed and grateful that God has put us here and provided us with many different opportunities to minister. Being stuck at home has been already a challenge, as we miss our English class, our visits to the nursing home, our meals together, and our work with the church, but we are grateful to live in this age of modern technology when we can do video classes, and stay in touch with all of you. We will continue to pray for you all during these tough times in the coming weeks and months, and hope that the knowledge that God’s kingdom continues to spread here in France and that the message of hope and eternal life continues to be shared. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. You help make this possible! Next week, maybe when you all are stuck home like us, ha ha, we hope to also send an update on a number of missionary trips we got to take the last 6 weeks. Until then, Au Revoir, et Que Dieu Vous Bénissez.

Email Us!

Hostetterministries@yahoo.com