Hostetter Summer 2022 Update
Note: Most of the pictures have been removed because they included refugees and children in France. CEM Summer, Youth Camp and More! Greetings from the state of misery… er… Missouri! We are far from miserable but rather very blessed to be here as a family in the US of A for the first time in 3 years! Today we set out on our big road trip, so I wanted to grab a second and update you all about the last 2 months in France. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Hostetter Winter 2022 Update
La Famille Hostetter, Winter 2022 Update! Winter is drawing to a close here, as daily temperatures hit the high 50s most days. It is always beautiful to see the new life springing forth in the gardens, but so much more joyful to see new life spring up spiritually. This winter was filled with so many blessings!![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We continue to teach and I have again preached recently. Brittney also does an amazing job opening up doors for building relationships. Pray that people can continue to see the love of Christ through us and that we can continue to find ways to live out our faith through these relationships.Looking Forward:Brittney and Hannah will be making a trip to Romania and Greece at the end of March and first week of April. They will be serving Ukrainian and other refugees. The crisis in Ukraine is already being seen here in France, as a refugee family arrives here in the church family today. We have offered our guest room/office for others and may soon end up hosting those from the church in Ukraine. If you would like to help out, Brittney will be taking funds with her to Romania to support the churches there who are receiving large numbers of refugees. Please keep this situation in prayers and especially for us to be able to show the love of Christ in the face of the hate of men.Jeremiah will be taking a trip to Rwanda in April, to visit a mission work there. They have asked us to consider working with them teaching in a Christian school. While we see a tremendous need here in France and are incredibly blessed to be part of an amazing team, we feel like this appeal merits a survey trip. Please pray for us to have wisdom to see the Lord’s leading. Speaking of trips, it will soon be time for us get tickets for a brief visit to the US this summer. It will have been 3 years since Jeremiah or Carys set foot in the United States. We will only have about 30 days available, as we get done with youth camp the 28th of July and need to be back in France for the start of the school year by the end of August. This means we won’t be able to see many of our friends and family, but will try and cram as much into the time as possible. I hope to reach out to a number of you to try and plan out the trip here soon. Also, it will be a hefty chunk of change to make the trip, so pray for that as well.Once again we want to thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support. You make an enormous difference and keep the light shining in this dark world. We always love to hear from you and hope to see some of you this summer. God bless you! |
Hostetter Summer 2021 Update
2 countries, 4 weddings, 5 baptisms, 7 days of Christians on Missions’ summer rally, 15 days of youth camp, 25 teen campers, and around 100 different people who’ve eaten over… the past 11 weeks have been quite busy! We are so grateful for the many different opportunities God provided us to serve and for the hearts that are turning to Him.![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The day youth camp ended, the marriages began. Three young couples in the church here are getting married within 10 days of each other. It is exciting to see these young families of faithful Christians starting and we pray that they may pass on the faith for the next generation. Whew, now we have a few days of rest before Brittney heads to the United States for a short visit and to get Jonathan, who went at the beginning of July to spend the summer with his grandparents. Hannah left after youth camp to spend the summer with another set of grandparents. Carys and I will go camping while everyone is gone, and then we gear up and get ready for the new school year and many ministries restart. Thanks again for your prayers and continued financial support. God bless you all and keep the Light shining wherever you are. Love, The Hostetters |
Hostetter’s Spring 2021 Update Greetings All! We hope this update finds you all well! It is hard to believe that it has been over a year since we first entered a national lockdown here in France. Since that time there have been varying degrees of confinement and lockdown, including a recent lockdown at the beginning of April. While such restrictions on interactions with people have been a challenge in ministry that is centered on interacting with people, God has helped us find some avenues for ministry in spite of the challenges.![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Thank you all once again for your continued prayers and financial support, we are deeply grateful. Here are few prayer requests: An open summer. Pray especially that youth camp can be held without too many restrictions. It is a very important way to reach out to young people. Continued progress in our French. Some days, like when I preach in French or Brittney can host friends and have conversations without needing to use English, we see the progress, but other times it seems to come so slowly. We appreciate your prayers and encouragements. Our kids to finish the school year well. Pray for the church here as it continues to find ways to serve and navigate both restrictions and opportunities for service! Friend relationships to move towards faith relationships. Thank you again all and God bless you guys! Love, The Hostetters |
2020 Fall and Winter Update!Whew we made it! 2021 is finally here. 2020 was definitely filled with unusual challenges and obstacles, but we are grateful for all God continued to do and for His people’s resilience and continued faith in the face of adversity. While many of the things we would usually do were hampered as we finished up 2020, we still were able to find ways to continue in ministry. |
![]() |
Youth Retreat version 2020 |
Ordinarily in October during the first break from school, the church here has a youth retreat for teens from all over France, with between 40 and 60 teens for a weekend of Bible study and fun together. 2020’s version was obviously quite different. This year, with so many health restrictions, the retreat was quite different. We could only have teens from our local congregation and had to observe many health rules. Still, it was a joy to be able to help direct it along with Romain. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6 weeks of confinement saw the number of cases here drop. We passed Thanksgiving as a family, and were blessed to have some wonderful times for Christmas. There was a slight loosening of the rules right before Christmas and we were able to get together with the saints again and share, albeit with some limitations on number of people and times. |
![]() |
And so that brings us to 2021. We look forward to what God has in store for this year. We ask you to join us in praying for a number of things particularly: A friend of ours here who is going through severe trials. Pray this brings them closer to God and that we can be there to encourage and comfort. Language learning is one of our major goals for this year of 2021. The more we progress, the more we are able to serve. Sometimes Brittney and I feel old and slow to acquire what the kids have learned so quickly but we know we can do all things with Christ’s help. Our kids’ continued growth and that their faith may shine and remain strong. This world is faced up against faith with evil intent, but God is our strength. More doors of ministry, especially that there can be a progressive opening up of restrictions for face-to-face ministry. Thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support. We pray that 2021 may be a blessed year for you all. We would LOVE to hear from you and to know how we may be praying for you this year and some of your dreams for ministry and outreach as well. God bless! Love, The Hostetters |
Thanksgiving 2020 and a Review So Much To Be Thankful For! Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday here in France, and since Brittney had classes all of Thursday, as did the kids, we are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend instead. We wanted to take a moment and look back through some old photos and share with you our appreciation for you all. Brittney and I are sharing our 14th Thanksgiving together and we have been truly blessed the past 14 to be able to serve in so many ways and means. We have had an amazing journey of service in the Lord, and you all have been vital in making this possible. So thank you all!. |
![]() |
May 2006, we were blessed to visit India as a couple for the first time. We were able to share in the wonderful work that the Thomas family are doing there. It is here that we found out that we were pregnant with Hannah. I (Jeremiah) just about fainted, but such joy she has been! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
One picture for each year was pretty much an impossible task, to try and capture in a single photo our sense of gratitude for a year of service, but we hope this gives you an idea of how good our God is and how blessed we feel we are. Thank you. God bless you all and may we always be filled with gratitude in His presence. With love and thanksgiving, The Hostetters |
Summer Recap 2020 Greetings all! We hope this letter finds you well and strong in your faith. 2020 has surely had its fair share of trials, but God is good and the trials of this life can be a great aid in pushing us to grow in our faith. We want to take a moment and share with you all about our summer, as we now have started up the new school year and ministries are getting underway again after the summer break! |
JUNE: Finished Up CEM |
![]() |
We started Christians on Missions (Chretien en mission) in June of 2019 as a way to discover missions in the French-speaking world. It was a fantastic year of learning and being challenged, as we have shared with you in past reports. Ordinarily in June there is a big CEM summer session when people from many different countries come together in Marseille for an intensive week of missions and for the graduation program. This year things were quite different as the COVID-19 crisis severely restricted not only international travel but also large gatherings of people. We were forced to make many adjustments to the week, such as having a virtual instead of live concert (here’s a link to one song we did “Tel Que Je Suis”). We moved the closing program outdoors to help with distancing rules as well. Still we are incredibly grateful to have been part of this amazing year! |
![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
We pray that next year, the CEM summer session will be able happen with less constraints and that possibly some of you might come and participate in a week of lessons, service projects, shared hospitality, singing and prayers. We also highly recommend this program for young people who may be interested in missions in the French-speaking world! Learn more about it at this link . |
July: The Hosting Hostetters, Paperwork in Paris, and Camp Lite. |
We moved from our 700 square foot apartment into a 1100 square foot home in June. WE are very grateful for the extra space for hosting and sharing hospitality with many already. By my count we have had around 70 different people over since moving! This has put some strain on our finances, but is such a big part of ministry and outreach. Thank you to those who help make this possible with their generous support! |
![]() ![]() |
We have had groups from two to over twenty since June, hosting birthday parties for people in the church, having families we hope to win to Christ over for dinner, and welcoming the staff of Christians on Missions to our home for a thank you breakfast. We strive for our home to always be open and a place of fellowship to draw people to and highlight the love of Christ. We look forward to hosting teen fellowships, English language discussion groups, and many more in our new home in the months and years to come! We’d love to host you also when travel restrictions are lifted. We have a guest futon now! |
![]() |
![]() ![]() |
![]() |
August: Family Time and Language Learning |
![]() |
![]() We look forward to more classes for both Brittney and I starting towards the end of September, as the more our grasp of French improves, the more doors for service and ministry here open up. |
This month, the kids are back to school, and doing some great ministry with that, I have resumed my Master’s classes, we will be starting up our French schools, English ministry will be resuming, and we are excited about more possible ministry openings which we hope to share about in our next report. Please continue to keep us in prayers as there are always hurdles to overcome: financial challenges, language learning difficulties, moments of discouragement, and now a rising surge in COVID-19, particularly here in Marseille. A number in the church have been affected and restrictions have been returning with the rising cases, which makes ministry complicated. Your prayers make a difference and are greatly appreciated. |
We’d love to hear from you as always, and thank God daily for your participation in this ministry, through your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. Please reach out any time if you have any questions. God bless and keep you and make His face shine upon you. Love, The Hostetters |
Here’s our latest report! Hope you are encouraged! Hey guys! We are about to finish week 7!!!! of quarantine. One more week of full quarantine to go, but in the meantime, want to update you all! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
|