Super Tuesday (a week early)
Last Tuesday I learned that another church here in NH had taken me on for support. When I read the amount I caught my breath – was it enough to get me to 100%? After crunching the numbers I found that God had provided 105%! It’s just like Him to provide super-abundantly. How my heart overflowed with thanksgiving. I spent the rest of the day on the phone sharing the good news with family and supporting churches. My parents sent lovely flowers with a note that read, “Steadfast, moving a LOT, always abounding in the work of the Lord, finished!” I’m in the process of buying tickets for April 29th. After eight more weeks of meetings to raise prayer support, this chapter will be closed. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!

Missionary mail
Letters like these remind me of the immense responsibility of being a good example. They also make me wonder why everyone doesn’t want to be a missionary.

“Dear Kristi, I want to grow up to be just like you! You are my favorite missionary!” – Miranda Parrish, age 11

“Hey, I was just wondering how your ministry is coming. Do you have any more stories about God’s provision? I would love to hear them! . . . I am praying for you! Thank you for coming to our church.” – Bethany Turcotte, age 16

“I’m sorry to hear that you do not have too many kids in your church in France but hope that you will soon. Chef Soufflé will win them over!” – Stephanie Bright, age 11

“It will be absolutely great by the grace of God to have you here; we need you ……… big!” – Lucy, one of my friends in France

He may have accepted God; but will God accept him?
Last month I bought some boxes from a local U-Haul store. The thought crossed my mind that I should say something about moving to France in order to turn the conversation to spiritual things. But although I should know by now how important it is to obey the Holy Spirit, I chose not to say anything. Strangely enough, I soon found that I had bought the wrong size of boxes so I had to go back to the store. This time I did mention where I was moving and why. The clerk asked, “So you’re one of those people who think they need to be forgiven for their sins?” Intrigued, I retorted, “Don’t we all?” He went on to tell me that when he was my age, he knew his life was going the wrong direction, so he had gone to a priest. “He helped me, you know, accept God,” he said. When I asked him to explain further, it became clear that this man had been reformed but not regenerated. He was trusting in his own righteousness. The Lord brought Romans 3:9 and 2 Cor. 5:21 to mind and the question, “When you stand before God, how do you know He’s going to accept you?” The clerk abruptly ended the conversation and walked me out of the store, saying defensively, “See, I’m opening the door for you; I’m not such a bad person.”

Prayer requests for February
1) The U-Haul clerk: that he would see his need for Christ’s righteousness
2) The assisted living Bible study: that the ladies would understand God’s holiness and their sinfulness; they listened well to the study this afternoon
3) Visa: that I would soon receive all the necessary paperwork for my application
4) My Grandpa Thompson (recent cancer diagnosis): that God’s abundant grace would sustain him and his care-givers

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you (Phil. 1:3).
For His glory,
Kristi Colas

PS. Be sure to read the last installment of the special eye-witness report from France (below). This month’s is the funniest and saddest of all.

EYE-WITNESS REPORT FROM FRANCE
Part 3: Fear and Ignorance

(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.)

Deborah writes,
“Another humorous incident occurred when Mrs. A and her friend were talking about how they really were quite religious. ‘Actually,’ her friend began, ‘a lot of times when I’m working in the kitchen, I think about God and I’ll even pray for people.’ ‘Yes,” continued Mrs. A, ‘I do the same thing. I pray often for relatives who have died.’ At this point, I began to laugh. ‘A lot of Americans would think that would be really funny to pray for people who are already dead. They would find that so strange!’ Mrs. A’s eyes opened wide. ‘So who do you pray for, then?’ she asked with amazement. ‘People who are alive?!’

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