Thank you and....

10 November, 2012

Chères amies et famille,

            Let me begin with a few words of thanks. First off, I would not be here if not for you. I am very blessed to have you supporting me in this mission. Thank you to my family, King of Grace family and friends. Covering nearly all of my tuition was completely unexpected and I thank God for you. To those reading my blog, and leaving comments, thank you for the encouragement. It means a lot to me.

            I’ve been here for close to two months, and so much has happened. As part of Discipleship Training School (DTS) I have had daily Bible classes and lectures on a variety of topics ranging from who God is and His characteristics to spiritual warfare. Just about every week I have either learned something completely new, or had something I thought I knew and have been challenged on it. Sometimes I realize I was mistaken in my point of view and other times I come away with stronger convictions.

            When I first arrived, my greatest concern was the language barrier. Thankfully, God provided. Our translator for the first two weeks decided to stay for the remainder of the school as a student. This, combined with my progress in speaking French, is making the language barrier a very slight bump in the road.

            Those of you that have been reading my blog are already aware of some of this, but I thought it would be a good idea to send out a hard copy letter so that those who don’t have easy access to a computer can receive updates.

            I have reached the halfway point for the lecture phase of DTS, and time has flown by. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for more than a month already! Being able to communicate via email, Skype and phone have truly shortened the distance, and nearly eliminated any homesickness. For the outreach phase, it is confirmed that we will be in Senegal, near Ziguinchor (southern Senegal), working with local missionaries, and with orphans, and will be heading there in early January 2013.

            This is actually confirmation from God, because when I first received a vision to go to France, it was to work with orphans. And here I am, going to a French speaking country, to work with orphans! Every time I see this fulfillment, I get so excited. It just goes to show that what we have in mind might not be exactly what God has planned.

While my tuition expense has been covered, I do have additional living and travel expenses that are upcoming.  If you are so led, contributions would be greatly appreciated.

And if you get a chance, an old fashioned hard copy letter would be nice as well. Here’s my address again:

Jeunesse en Mission,

ATTN: Taylor Jacoby,

550 chemin des belles Jeannes,

26130 St. Paul Trois Chateaux, France

So again, thank you so much, and I relish your prayers and letters.

           

Sincèrement,

Taylor