Today I had my appointment to renew my resident card. Everything is in order and it will be ready sometime before September 17th.
Last night I took seriously where God has placed me and began to pray for my classmates and neighbors. Earlier today in my French class which is mostly Muslim women from Algeria and Morocco. Today, I am not sure why, the teacher brought up religion. She is Catholic and after finding out that everyone besides her and I are Muslims she asked me to explain what Christianity is. Wow what an opportunity! It was challenging because even though Jesus is mentioned in the Qur'an they don't know who Jesus is. So I started of 'Jesus was a Jew...'. The teacher said we could continue talking about the subject tomorrow. Wow! Please pray for my Muslim classmates and my teacher, who has a Catholic background believes that pretty much all gods are the same with different names. Pray for me that as I speak that God would work and change lives.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I am so tired, wiped out, but I had a pretty good day. I just got back from a great study on 1 Thessalonians at the chuch which followed the message from Sunday. Earlier I made the 4 final plates for the mailing when we mail out thousands of tracts to those who have subscribed. I have also started scanning illustrations from The Pigrim's Progress so we can reprint it in a different format in the near future.
Hello from Maubeuge, France!
Since my last letter, I have watched the dollar go up and down versus the Euro, I have heard about the collapse of major banks, and I have watched America usher in our 44th president. It is interesting to see the U.S. go through changes while I am here in France. Thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support even during a financial crunch. I wouldn't be here serving at BLF if it wasn't for you. It's in times like these that we can know our hope is inChrist alone and not in money.
Manga Frenzy
Our most popular book at the moment are the Gospels in a Japanese comic format called Manga, le Messie. The English title is Manga Messiah. The word Manga means ''quick sketch'' in Japanese. The book was edited and translated here at BLF Europe and printed in Japan. We have already ordered a second shipment because we've sold over 6,000 copies of the 10,000 we received in November. This is exciting because Manga le Messie has found its way into Catholic and secular bookstores in France.
We have also recently published French editions of The Treasure Principle and The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn.
My R19
I am very thankful for the car that Nico, our press operator, gave me when I got here. It is a bronze 1989 Renault R19. One morning, I went down to my car and found my passenger window smashed out. During the night someone broke my window and took the nice CD player/radio. This type of thing isn't covered by my insurance so I was glad that a repair place could put in a new window quickly and for only 100 euros. A month later I came home to see a car, parked three spaces from mine, completely burnt. There were police, firemen, and a crowd watching as the fire was put out. I am glad it was only my radio that was taken!
Sophie Kapitaniuk
October 11th, we celebrated the 80th birthday of Bill Kapitaniuk, my director's dad and the founder of BLF Europe. Peope came from all over to thank Bill and his wife, Sophie, for their years of service to our Lord. It was only a month later, November 11th, that we gathered again to remember Sophie Kapitaniuk. After several years of poor health she went home to be with the Lord. We know she is glad to be in Heaven with Jesus, but she left a big hole no one can fill.
Prayer & Praise
- My church just started a new series on 1 Thessalonians. Please pray for us as we study together.
- I have been running weekly but I haven't been sleeping well.
- Praise God, my support level is at 96%.
- Praise God that I am able to speak French as well as I can! I will be taking classes this Spring to fix my mistakes. This will also be a great way to meet people outside the print shop.
Since my last letter, I have watched the dollar go up and down versus the Euro, I have heard about the collapse of major banks, and I have watched America usher in our 44th president. It is interesting to see the U.S. go through changes while I am here in France. Thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support even during a financial crunch. I wouldn't be here serving at BLF if it wasn't for you. It's in times like these that we can know our hope is inChrist alone and not in money.
Manga Frenzy
Our most popular book at the moment are the Gospels in a Japanese comic format called Manga, le Messie. The English title is Manga Messiah. The word Manga means ''quick sketch'' in Japanese. The book was edited and translated here at BLF Europe and printed in Japan. We have already ordered a second shipment because we've sold over 6,000 copies of the 10,000 we received in November. This is exciting because Manga le Messie has found its way into Catholic and secular bookstores in France.
We have also recently published French editions of The Treasure Principle and The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn.
My R19
I am very thankful for the car that Nico, our press operator, gave me when I got here. It is a bronze 1989 Renault R19. One morning, I went down to my car and found my passenger window smashed out. During the night someone broke my window and took the nice CD player/radio. This type of thing isn't covered by my insurance so I was glad that a repair place could put in a new window quickly and for only 100 euros. A month later I came home to see a car, parked three spaces from mine, completely burnt. There were police, firemen, and a crowd watching as the fire was put out. I am glad it was only my radio that was taken!
Sophie Kapitaniuk
October 11th, we celebrated the 80th birthday of Bill Kapitaniuk, my director's dad and the founder of BLF Europe. Peope came from all over to thank Bill and his wife, Sophie, for their years of service to our Lord. It was only a month later, November 11th, that we gathered again to remember Sophie Kapitaniuk. After several years of poor health she went home to be with the Lord. We know she is glad to be in Heaven with Jesus, but she left a big hole no one can fill.
Prayer & Praise
- My church just started a new series on 1 Thessalonians. Please pray for us as we study together.
- I have been running weekly but I haven't been sleeping well.
- Praise God, my support level is at 96%.
- Praise God that I am able to speak French as well as I can! I will be taking classes this Spring to fix my mistakes. This will also be a great way to meet people outside the print shop.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
today
Today at work I did 4 or so plates for the offset press to print these tracts.
Tonight I stuck a pizza in the oven (goat cheese and ham and I added spicy sausage tomato and more cheese) with 15 minutes. Then I went for a jog. I don't recomend this. It ended up kinda burnt.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Being helped
The dark rainy view from my apartment in Maubeuge,(mow boojz) France.
As most anyone who knows me knows that I am someone who likes to help others. I often lend a hand of service to others and find it hard to say "no" (or "non" when I am in France). What you might not know is that I received a "Most Helpful" award in high school. At the print shop I get to help my coworkers often.
Something I've noticed that it is, for me anyway, harder when I need to be helped for two reasons. One needing to be helped means that I have a problem that needs fixing. Its easier to deal with something that you aren't in the middle of. The other reason is that it is humbling to ask for help. Oooo ouch.
I needed help and got it twice today. I have great friends. This is my first mac computer and its been going great until last evening when my lovely laptop didn't want to connect to the internet and wouldn't shut down right. Not knowing macs I called Daniel K. and this morning he helped me repair the problem with advice for the future. Thank you, Daniel!
Another first, my first car in France, and this evening I saw steam from the hood. It looks like the water hose has a hole. I am not the most gifted with cars so I called Roger S who came by to look at it, and make sure things were good until I get to work tomorrow. Thank you Roger!
And thank you everyone else who has helped me.
Anyone who needs a hand here is a photo of mine.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
My French Adventure, Germany, the Czech Republic… and some USA
Hello Friends,
Click here for the PDF file MFAAugust08.pdf
I want to thank you for your prayer and financial support. Sometimes our plans, no matter how difficult they seem to be, just tend to work out and we praise God for those times. Then there are other times when we are stuck in a situation and we don't have any control over. In those times, like when I missed the train in Germany or I got on the wrong train, we pray to God just to get us through it.
In August most of France shuts down for vacation. Offices and even some stores are closed for some important time off. Here at BLF Europe we only take three of the four weeks off. During these three weeks we have the opportunity to relax and explore Europe.
For ten days of my vacation I decided to visit my sister Colleen. Her husband, Jacob is now stationed in Germany with the Army. I took the train from Mons, Belgium to her town in Germany with stops to change trains in Brussels, Belgium, Koln, Germany and Nuremberg, Germany.
It all seemed straightforward, at the stops where I was to change trains I would get off and see where I would catch my next train. That worked great in Brussels and the most beautiful part of the ride was between Liege, Belgium and Aachen, Germany. It was in Koln where it got confusing. All the announcements on the train were in German, French and English. I think their English wasn't great because I remember hearing an announcement about the next stop but I didn't understand it. I looked for the right platform, I found out it was the one across from the train I came from. By the time I got there the doors were closed and the next train didn't come until another hour at a different station.
I took the next train and was ok until the next change in Nuremberg where I had to buy a ticket for the last train. I lost some time looking for the place to buy my ticket so I ran to the train and sat down. I used the important traveling phrase "do you speak English?" to borrow someone's cell phone and I called Colleen to tell him I would be late. The person next to me was the one to discover that in the hurry to get to my train I had got on the wrong one. I got off at the next stop and called my sister to tell her the name of the small German town where I was.
I was learning the train system in Europe, Colleen and Jacob were learning their GPS. They entered in slightly the wrong town name and were coming from the north and they ended up one hour south of where I was. I got home to their place late but it wasn't bad, I finished the book I was reading. I had a great time in Germany. One day when Jacob, my brother-in-law, was left for field traing, Colleen and I took a day trip to Prague for lunch. The American Military base was very "American". From fast food restaurants, large cars (compared to European cars) and everyone spoke English. That is normal for some, but I was used to being in France and Europe. It was as Bases generally are, 'little piece of America'.
As great as it was I am glad to be home where I can struggle with my French around Maubeuge. We started working back at the print shop the 25th of August.
Three new books at BLF Europe!
Before going on vacation BLF Europe finished three new titles. They are on shelves as we speak. I was a part of all of these from making the plates to gluing and cutting. Many thanks to all the others there that put their time and energy into these books. Please pray for these books and those that will read them.
"Moi aussi je voudrais croire ! Mais..." (Me too I would like to believe, but...) Is a book written by Raphaël Anzenberger to specific questions that French people have about Christian faith. Soyez dynamiques (Be Dynamic) by Warren W. Wiersbe is a commentary on the book of Acts Chapters 1 to 12. Soyez vigilants (Be Alert) by Warren W. Wiersbe is a commentary on 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John and Jude.
Blogging
I have been blogging at http://nathansfrenchadventure.blogspot.com. A blog is an online journal with my photos. The name comes from the shortening of the word weblog. I try to keep it updated a few times a week if not daily. You can subscribe to my blog so you will receive emails as soon as I update.
Did you know?
Depending on who you ask french fries either come from the South of Belgium or the North of France. In the North of France (where I live) there are friteries (translates to "fry shops") where one of the popular things to order is what is called an "American" which is a piece of baguette with some meat inside like a sandwich then they cover it full of fries and then sauce.
Nathan Phillips
Residence Touraine N 32
2 Rue De Normandie
Les Provinces Françaises
59600 Maubeuge
France
nathan@blfintl.org
To call from the US
011 33 3 61 21 10 92
Click here for the PDF file MFAAugust08.pdf
I want to thank you for your prayer and financial support. Sometimes our plans, no matter how difficult they seem to be, just tend to work out and we praise God for those times. Then there are other times when we are stuck in a situation and we don't have any control over. In those times, like when I missed the train in Germany or I got on the wrong train, we pray to God just to get us through it.
In August most of France shuts down for vacation. Offices and even some stores are closed for some important time off. Here at BLF Europe we only take three of the four weeks off. During these three weeks we have the opportunity to relax and explore Europe.
For ten days of my vacation I decided to visit my sister Colleen. Her husband, Jacob is now stationed in Germany with the Army. I took the train from Mons, Belgium to her town in Germany with stops to change trains in Brussels, Belgium, Koln, Germany and Nuremberg, Germany.
It all seemed straightforward, at the stops where I was to change trains I would get off and see where I would catch my next train. That worked great in Brussels and the most beautiful part of the ride was between Liege, Belgium and Aachen, Germany. It was in Koln where it got confusing. All the announcements on the train were in German, French and English. I think their English wasn't great because I remember hearing an announcement about the next stop but I didn't understand it. I looked for the right platform, I found out it was the one across from the train I came from. By the time I got there the doors were closed and the next train didn't come until another hour at a different station.
I took the next train and was ok until the next change in Nuremberg where I had to buy a ticket for the last train. I lost some time looking for the place to buy my ticket so I ran to the train and sat down. I used the important traveling phrase "do you speak English?" to borrow someone's cell phone and I called Colleen to tell him I would be late. The person next to me was the one to discover that in the hurry to get to my train I had got on the wrong one. I got off at the next stop and called my sister to tell her the name of the small German town where I was.
I was learning the train system in Europe, Colleen and Jacob were learning their GPS. They entered in slightly the wrong town name and were coming from the north and they ended up one hour south of where I was. I got home to their place late but it wasn't bad, I finished the book I was reading. I had a great time in Germany. One day when Jacob, my brother-in-law, was left for field traing, Colleen and I took a day trip to Prague for lunch. The American Military base was very "American". From fast food restaurants, large cars (compared to European cars) and everyone spoke English. That is normal for some, but I was used to being in France and Europe. It was as Bases generally are, 'little piece of America'.
As great as it was I am glad to be home where I can struggle with my French around Maubeuge. We started working back at the print shop the 25th of August.
Three new books at BLF Europe!
Before going on vacation BLF Europe finished three new titles. They are on shelves as we speak. I was a part of all of these from making the plates to gluing and cutting. Many thanks to all the others there that put their time and energy into these books. Please pray for these books and those that will read them.
"Moi aussi je voudrais croire ! Mais..." (Me too I would like to believe, but...) Is a book written by Raphaël Anzenberger to specific questions that French people have about Christian faith. Soyez dynamiques (Be Dynamic) by Warren W. Wiersbe is a commentary on the book of Acts Chapters 1 to 12. Soyez vigilants (Be Alert) by Warren W. Wiersbe is a commentary on 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John and Jude.
Blogging
I have been blogging at http://nathansfrenchadventure.blogspot.com. A blog is an online journal with my photos. The name comes from the shortening of the word weblog. I try to keep it updated a few times a week if not daily. You can subscribe to my blog so you will receive emails as soon as I update.
Did you know?
Depending on who you ask french fries either come from the South of Belgium or the North of France. In the North of France (where I live) there are friteries (translates to "fry shops") where one of the popular things to order is what is called an "American" which is a piece of baguette with some meat inside like a sandwich then they cover it full of fries and then sauce.
Nathan Phillips
Residence Touraine N 32
2 Rue De Normandie
Les Provinces Françaises
59600 Maubeuge
France
nathan@blfintl.org
To call from the US
011 33 3 61 21 10 92
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Distributing tracts
In America it is illegal to put anything in any mail box. In France it is perfectly legal. The Christians here say "Ah ha, we can distribute tracts in mailboxes".Today Stephane, Jeremie (my director's sons), Rachel (their cousin), and I distributed in Recquignies, the town where Stephan and Jeremie live. We did the whole town and distributed around 941 tracts in mailboxes. We were on bike and on foot to give out this tract here, "Le message essentiel" (which easily translates to "The Essential Message").
We now pray for responses that the people who receive the tract that they would come to know the Living God. Sometimes when there were people already outside and we handed the tract to them. From those people I noticed a positive response to at least receiving the tract.
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