Good tidings of great joy

This week as I have prepared a devotional for a Ladies’ Christmas Tea, I have been contemplating the importance of Christ’s coming to earth as a baby. What better news could there possibly be than the message that the angels brought to the shepherds? The long-expected Messiah had come! In this special Christmas edition of my prayer letter I have some good tidings of my own: the Lord has dramatically increased my support level to a whopping 82%! I am so thankful for a new supporting church in Denver, as well as several new individual supporters and many generous financial gifts. When I told my friend Sharon how overwhelmed I was at what God has already done, she said, “Kristi, I think He is just getting warmed up.”

Confidence or shame?

One morning as I prepared to do some errands, I asked the Lord to allow someone to ask me why I am going to France so I would have the opportunity to share the Gospel. He did provide an opportunity but I failed to take it. As I walked away I knew I had displeased the Lord. Sitting at my desk later I saw a verse that I had written out that morning: “Little children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (1 John 2:28). I knew that if the Lord were to return that moment I would be ashamed. An hour later, when I went back to pick up the car, I asked the Lord for mercy and grace to speak to the man again. He did help me to say, “I was ashamed of myself after I talked to you earlier. I didn’t explain the real reason why I was going to France.” The worker looked at me, surprised. I went on to tell him that the Lord Jesus Christ had changed my life and I wanted to share Him with the people in France. I said, “Here I am planning to do this in another country and another language, and I couldn’t even say His Name to you today!” He was very receptive, but even then I did not focus the conversation on Jesus as I could have. The experience greatly humbled me and gave me a new appreciation for God’s mercy.

Come over and help us!

The Lord has put me back into contact with a girl whom I met five years ago at a church in Paris. Joy recently completed her studies at a French Bible Institute. When I wrote to ask her if she would be interested in rooming together in Paris while I study French, this was her response: “I thank the Lord that you are preparing to come to France as a missionary. The work is immense and the laborers are few. If you have other friends who are searching for God’s direction, who want a real challenge, do not hesitate to tell them of France. They would be very useful to the Lord. It would be like a dream come true for me to have a missionary-sister for a roommate! I will pray and wait on the Lord to make our paths straight.” Perhaps the Lord would have some of you respond to Joy’s appeal for help in France.

Hither and yon

This past month I flew down to Greenville, SC where I met with the director of my mission board, packed up the things I left there in storage, and enjoyed visits with friends and family. Being reunited with the church I attended during grad school was a special highlight. In the next few weeks, I will visit a church in Maine, enjoy a Christmas cantata at my sending church, fly to Denver, and spend Christmas with my family. I am especially looking forward to a family ski vacation-reunion in the Rockies and an extraordinary missions conference January 2-5 in Allen Park, MI (www.studentglobalimpact.com).

Photo: Friends from Suber Road Baptist in Greenville: Hannah, Janice, and Chelsey

Prayer requests for December:

Salvation of the residents at the assisted living home (Bible studies Dec. 7th and 14^th)
Provision of the last 18% of my support
Wisdom and boldness in sharing the Gospel

Thank you for praying, giving, and going. Merry Christmas! (After this year it will be “Joyeux Noel”!)

For His glory,

Kristi Colas

Special eye-witness report from France: Part 1

This special series is courtesy of 20-year-old Deborah Myers, whom I met last spring at a church in Kansas.She recently spent over two months in southern France, where she lived with her pen-pal Delphine and her family. Deborah has an amazing aptitude for languages (inherited from her grandma, who speaks no less than nine) and she adapted well to French. Unless you personally have spent significant time in France, you will probably be stunned by Deborah’s humorous and heartbreaking report.

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