Phillips in France

Dec 2016 Jan 2017 - Our USA trip

Happy New Year to you!

It seems like we just returned from our whirlwind trip back to America, but it's been two months. Here is our update about our trip. Stay tuned for our February/March update.

The beginning of December was lost in the swirl of preparation, packing, and planning – not only at home but at BLF, too. Nathan worked hard on each upcoming book project to get as much finished as possible. Several projects are, or at least were, ahead of schedule. Annie worked each day on the accounting and orders, but there's not a lot she could do to get ahead on that!

We packed four suitcases and four carry-ons with clothes, baby supplies, and Christmas presents and headed out the door. Three flights later, we landed in Bakersfield with a sigh of relief.

It took about 24 hours to travel door to door. One thing we learned about traveling with a baby: Do not leave the stroller plane-side without making sure they tag it to be brought back plane-side when you land. We weren't able to pick up our stroller until the end of the trip.

California
Our first week and a half was in California. We met with supporters, presented at Annie's home church, took advantage of the outlet malls nearby, and had all the Mexican food we could fit into meal times. A definite highlight was meeting our two nephews for the first time: Danny and Seth.

That first Sunday, we were also privileged to dedicate our son, Ben, to God and acknowledge His plan for his life. And, of course, it was great fun to introduce him to aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends – all of whom agreed that he is extremely cute.

Christmas was a weekend-long gathering of family and friends. What a blessing to get to go to church on Christmas – a special Sunday service to worship our Savior on His birthday!

Hawaii
We flew to Hawaii on the 28^thto see Nathan's family. We went for Nathan's sister's wedding, and it was a joyful chance to introduce them to Benjamin. Actually, Nathan's sister has been married now for ten years,

but they never were able to have a ceremony until now. Her husband is stationed in Honolulu now, and who wouldn't want to go to a wedding in Hawaii? Great idea! All the family and friends were invited.

They had a beautiful wedding over-looking the ocean. After the wedding, we had time to visit the island of O'ahu. We got to experience the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, walk along Waikiki Beach, try a Dole pineapple whip, and swim in the warm part of the Pacific Ocean.

Northern California
Shortly after a turbulent flight back to Bakersfield we drove to Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. There, we got to visit with more friends and present BLF for the first time at a church in Windsor.

Several people who had connections with France approached us after the service. They were excited to hear about our ministry in a country they loved. It was a great opportunity to let the whole congregation know about the ministry of BLF and share a little about the real spiritual needs of the French-speaking world.

We started our drive south just as the first of many rain storms hit the Bay Area. It was raining cats and dogs until we made it to the valley. God got us safely all the way back to Bakersfield and provided much-needed water to California.

When we got back, it was time to start preparing to fly back home to France. Our whirlwind trip was almost over, but there were so many friends and places we still wanted to visit. We flew out again on January 11 and arrived back home late the next day. All in all, Ben did very well on the planes. Out of 9 planes; there was only one flight that was really difficult and two others that weren't very fun. But, God provided extra seats next to us and understanding flight attendants on all the planes we flew on during the trip.

Jetlag has certainly been difficult this trip because poor Ben doesn't know that it's the middle of the night! He took a few weeks to be getting back on track. He will be turning two years old during our next planned trip back to America: July 2018-April 2019. Maybe it will be easier for him then.

Praise God for our wonderful, faithful team of supporters and for the opportunities we had to visit with some of them.

Praise God for all our safe travels, especially through wind and rain.

Please pray for our health and energy as we keep adjusting back to the life and rhythm of France and BLF.

Please pray as we and BLF start preparations for our next trip back to America: nine months. Pray that God would bring us His solution to the shortage of staff in France during our absence.

Please pray for our support level since our budget increase. Praise God for those who have already promised their monthly support.

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Please be in prayer for the new partners we need due to our updated budget. We are currently at 82% of our needed monthly funding. God has always proven Himself faithful in meeting our needs. We will remain faithful in the ministry He has called us to in France.

If you would like to contribute towards our ministry expenses, you can:

Mail a check to BLF USA, PO Box 629, Wheaton, IL 60187 with a note specifying it is for the Phillips.
Contact the BLF USA office at 630-221-1980 or email receipts@blfusa.org to set up a donation via an electronic funds transfer (EFT) from your checking account.
Donate via PayPal using the link below.

We are forever grateful for your prayers, thoughts, and encouragements.
Thank you!

Live today for eternity,
The Phillips

Here are some more pictures

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Copyright © 2017 Nathan Annie Phillips - Synergie Francophone (Formerly BLF USA), All rights reserved.

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