The Rutters

We are having a wonderful time with Ian and Teri Rutter. It has been a real blessing to get reacquainted and to visit with them in their home environment. Jared and I have a greater understanding of the work that they do and the challenges that they face here in France. We had the privilege of attending their church this morning and we will be getting together with their Pastor (who is from IL) tomorrow for lunch. The church is as international as they come. They have about 350 people who attend their church and who come from about 35 different countries.

We also met with another missionary who is a friend of Jared's and that also helped us gain a greater appreciation for the difficulty of spreading the gospel in France. Evangelical Christians make up about 0.5% of the population and most of the rest of the population is highly resistant to any type of religious experience let alone a personal relationship with the Lord. As Jared's friend pointed out, missionaries in France have really been unable to find any consistently effective method of evangelism. "It's like nothing works here," he said.

So while the living conditions of a missionary in France are among the nicest in the missionary world, the emotional struggles and discouragement are among the most difficult in the missionary world. Please pray that Ian and Teri and the other missionaries here in France will not be discourage and that the Lord will open the hearts of the French people to the Good News of the Gospel.

Tomorrow is the last full day of our time here in France. Please pray that we will be an encouragement to Ian and Teri while we are here and after we return home.