Dauner News Update, December 2009
December 2009 more or less passed me by, as I was laid low for over three weeks with the H1N1 flu that turned into pneumonia. Although managing a few sorties for an occasional sermon or study, I missed out on the big event of the holiday season : our yearly gospel concert and musical play. More young people were involved than ever, the chapel was packed to the brim, but my place in the chorus was empty.
The one thing about which I can give you a first-person account is the initial success of the new multimedia version of the Purpose of God series. The first group has reached about mid-way in the eight-part series, and one member, Pierre Carracrulio, has asked to be baptized. Pierre, father of three young children (two are Club Coolers, that is members of our primary school youth group), has been studying regularly with Philippe. We have rarely met anyone who is so movingly and effusively thankful to the church for bringing him the gospel. Among the others who are following the class are a Muslim lady and a devout Catholic lady who is organizing a second class for two of her neighbors.
Philippe has also begun a session for another Club Cooler mother. You would be amazed at how these young children of primary school age are falling in love with God—they soak up Bible things like sponges—and how they in turn influence their parents to seek Him.
In April and May, we will offer The Purpose of God series to the general public as a part of our Sunday Bible class program. (The background picture above is from the poster.) My translation of the last three lessons into English is completed (for a spiritual retreat in Scotland this month), and I hope to translate the whole series before my trip to North America this summer.
One last note. The rent on the property occupied by the Marseille church went up a little over 10%, ostensibly as a result of the 2009 financial crisis. We have scheduled a general meeting on January 17 to decide how to meet the challenge.
We already have a good start on 2010, with lots of hopes and plans for the year, all the while suspecting that God will surprise us with the unexpected. But the telling of these will have to wait for a future newsletter.
Max and Prisca Dauner