Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [October 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
October 2, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The beginning of the school year is always a time for changing gears. It is the beginning of a new year of Bible curriculum for our children’s Sunday School classes. We seek to give the children a good overview of the entire Bible during their primary years. Unfortunately, there is not available in French the large quantity of materials for visuals and reinforcing activities as there are in English and even Spanish and Portuguese. This is due to the fact that the number of French-speaking believers and churches there are is much smaller than those who speak English, Spanish and Portuguese. This means that we spend a lot of time preparing teaching materials. However, this is an activity that I enjoy.
I should say that preparation is much easier with computers, printers and internet than it was earlier in my life when the main tools were books in print, mimeograph (remember those beasts?) and similar tools. Sometimes, retrograde makes a good impression. Kids who are accustomed to television and videos love flannel graph.
Part of our preparation involves getting ready for Vacation Bible School. We have found through trial and error that it works better having this ministry oriented toward children during the first Fall school break (which is two weeks long) than during summer vacation. Among other reasons, our attendance is much better at this time of the year because few families leave town in the Fall as compared to Summer. This year are lessons focus on the Creation, Fall, Flood and Jesus Christ, the Savior.
The first of our monthly youth meetings for this school year will take place next week. There are now a number of young people who come to these who are children of our friends–people who do not (yet) attend church or Bible studies but who trust us with their children. They ask to contribute food and drinks for the break time. We are thrilled about this and for a similar situation with children who attend Vacation Bible School. Loving and faithful service toward peoples children usually opens the ears and hearts of the parents, as well.
Generally, children and young people are more open to God’s Word and the Bible than adults. They have built up less defenses against God. We love reaching out to adults, but the process is much longer term with most adults. Also, children and young people who trust the Lord generally are easier to disciple and are more likely to put in place habits which they need for spiritual growth.
We are happy that the number of workers is slowly increasing. Our goal is believers who are disciples functioning in all the essential parts of the church which is the Body of Christ.
Thank you for your investment of what God gives you in the ministry in France.
May God’s richest blessing be evident to you today.
In France serving God together with you,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [September 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
September 2, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Lord has blessed us with an encouraging month in our regular Sunday meetings and Bible studies. We have Bible studies that meet every day of the week except Saturday. God uses your regular giving to meet our physical needs and your prayers contribute to the fruitfulness of the our ministry in France. We thank God daily for you.
I am spending time individually each week with a couple of young single men who have trusted the Lord and been baptized here. One is a 30 year old software engineer and the other is 24 old who has no special training, no job at present and lives with his parents. Making disciples is more than just preaching and church meeting activities. It requires investing a lot of time helping believers put into practice what our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded. It involves teaching how to study God’s Word and applying it to daily life, challenging, encouraging and praying. Our Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul lived daily with those they were helping to become disciples of Christ.
One of the young men with whom John Mark meets for discipleship.
Even though we are 60 years old, we are still learning. I will give you one example of how this sometimes happens. Recently we were invited to a military ceremony by our neighbor across the street. He was turning over the command of the regional military logistical services and moving on to a different assignment. After the military pomp and circumstances, we were invited to share a meal with the others present. Most of these were military personnel and their families. Hughes, the commander and neighbor who invited us, introduced us to Nicholas, a fellow officer, with whom we spent a considerable amount of time in conversation. Because so many people here are atheist, I had tried to emphasize God’s power, love and grace by mentioning when appropriate that we are blessed in some specific way. About the third time I said something like that in this conversation, Nicholas interjected, “I like the fact that you say ‘blessed’. We usually say, ‘I was lucky’.” Happily, I thought, “He’s getting it.” Then he added, “Because it is not just luck, our hard work is rewarded.” I tried to explain, “No, I mean we receive many blessings we do not deserve.” But, he insisted, “No, you should not be ashamed to admit that your hard work is rewarded.” I am not sure that I ever did really get across to him the reality of God’s grace, but I did make a mental note about how this particular phrase does not mean the same thing to others around me here as it does to me.
So, Hughes and his family moved away and we are anticipating the arrival of the new owners of this house across the street from us hoping to share the gospel with them. Of the 5 houses immediately across the street from us, 4 are having a change of occupancy in the next couple of months. Our field is constantly changing and this gives us added opportunities to demonstrate and present the Good News of Jesus Christ.
One of the ladies who is moving from across the street to a neighboring city with her husband declared herself to be an atheist when they moved in 9 years ago. We have spent a lot of time with them and had innumerable opportunities to share the gospel. She has come to only one special service, if my memory serves me right. But, she now believes that God exists and that He has intervened personally in her life. Last week she volunteered to us that even after they move she is planning on coming over from the neighboring town to our Sunday meetings.
And, so, we keep sowing and you keep helping us. Thanks!
Blessed by God and realizing it in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [August 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We thank God daily for your faithful support. Thanks also to each of you who from time to time send a card or write a letter to encourage us.
The month of July news begins with the baptism of Samuel, the young man that I mentioned in my last letter. He is the son of Vietnamese parents. His mother was the first to be saved in her family who were Buddhist. She was saved during the Vietnam War and escaped in an overloaded boat that eventually was rescued. There is a church of Vietnamese people that meets on the opposite side from us of the Toulouse metropolitan area. It is made up of people who were saved through missionary work in Vietnam and their children. Their entire service is in the Vietnamese language.
Samuel’s Baptism
Because Samuel had gone to this church with his parents when he was a boy, he wanted to get baptized in front of them as well as our congregation. So, we made arrangements to have a joint service with them and use their baptistry. The pastor asked me to preach before I baptized Samuel. The sermon was in French and the rest of the service was in Vietnamese. This Vietnamese church shares a building with two other churches, one French, one Korean. The building is marked with bullet holes. You may remember the terrorist who killed a number of people in Toulouse last year including several paratroopers and a number of children leaving their Jewish school. He lived just across a one lane street from this church building. When the police tried to arrest him he barricaded himself in and eventually came out firing. He was killed in the shoot out and it left marks on the church building.
I don’t know what language we will speak in the New Jerusalem, but we won’t need buildings, we will all understand each other, there will be no bullet marks or war or terrorists, and we will enjoy the Lord and each other forever! Doesn’t that make what we do the most exciting promising thing that can be done?
So, you continue giving and witnessing where you are. We continue giving and witnessing here. God makes it all happen and enables us to participate. Every place is different and in different places we are at different stages in the process of plowing, sowing, cultivating, watering and reaping. But God receives glory in all of this. This was so clear to me as I read the June Mission Sheet letters. The Radfords and Tates deal with challenges that are partly the result of colonization and God is helping them learn how to be more effective. Mike Creiglow mentioned a city of 8,000 with one Adventist Church and four kinds of Pentecostal churches besides the Catholic Church. Tournefeuille, the city where our primary work is located has a population of 30,000. Besides us there is the poorly attended Catholic Church and a Synagogue that meets in a house. We deal with result of forced falsely called “Christian religion” that spread by the sword and kept kings in power. It is like planting seed in granite. But, our Lord Jesus has chosen us, disciples (not just pastors and missionaries), to be the light of world and the salt of the earth. He uses our life’s witness and our words to make more disciples who in turn will make other disciples. It has been happening for 2000 years and will continue until our Eternal King manifests Himself.
After our last youth meeting at the end of June, the mother of one of the participants requested the schedule for the coming School Year youth meetings so that they could put it on their calendar and not let anything get in the way of the daughter attending. This young lady is Abigail’s friend. Abigail, who was baptized less than two years ago has brought several friends to youth meetings and church services. This is how it works, friends bringing friends.
Last Sunday, a young married man who comes regularly to church services told about his progression in spiritual matters. He, along with many here, was an atheist. His parents were atheist, his brother and sister are atheist. His parents both died before he became a teenager. I asked him, “What did God use to change your mind?” He answered, “My wife and her way of living and Joachim.” He said, “Joachim started out like me, he didn’t believe, but he examined the truth and became a believer and he didn’t go crazy.” Joachim was the first person that was baptized here. This is why we keep plowing the granite!
Thanks for being used by God to contribute so that we can let Light of Jesus shine through us here.
Your fellow servants in Christ,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [July 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
July 1, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.
In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.
(Ecclesiastes 11:1,6)
The preceding passage in the concluding portion of Ecclesiastes has often been an encouragement to me. The value of this inspired advice was once again evident in some of the events that took place in June. I will share a bit that might also encourage you.
On Wednesday nights, I have Bible study with a young man named Samuel. We have studied through the Gospel according to John and are now in the letter to the Romans. This young engineer had not made a profession of faith though we have been studying the Bible together weekly for nearly a year. Because he comes straight from work we enjoy Judy’s good cooking each Wednesday evening before diving into the Bible. As we ate a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned how long we had been having the studies together and I did not quite see where the conversation was heading. However, at the end of our study that evening, he again said something similar and then added, “I was wondering when I could get baptized.” He then went on to share how he had always seen Christianity as do, do, do and that now he could see that it was a joy to live out what Christ has done for us. He has trusted Christ and will be baptized next Sunday.
In the middle of the month, the community choir that I sing in had a planned a retreat. I was not particularly interested in going because my worldview is so different from the other members of the choir. However, remembering that I joined this choir to make friends to whom I could witness of Christ, I signed up to go. Most of the members of this choir are atheists or agnostics. You could count on the fingers of one hand those who are religious and they know nothing about the Christ of the Scriptures. During this weekend, I was able to “sow the Good Seed” in several lengthy and in depth conversations. I do not know “which will prosper” but I will mention an event that happened the following week that underscores the importance of sowing.
As Judy and I were praying Wednesday morning following the above mentioned retreat, there was a knock at the front door. When I opened the front door a lady from the next block over was standing there with her two young boys. We met this lady at the annual neighborhood picnic a year ago. She immediately asked if we had Bible instruction for children. We had invited these two boys to our last “Vacation Bible Club” and they did not come. We often speak to this lady as we pass in front of her house walking. We pray for her and many of our other neighbors nearly every day by name. A school mate of the oldest boy informed him that God was still alive. He came home and told his mother who decided that they needed some instruction about God. However, she told us that she did not want them to be taught lies so she came to us. The two sons have been to Sunday school that last two weeks. Their mother told me that when they arrived home the first Sunday, they said, “We want to make sure and go back next Sunday.”
The mother expressed an interest in studying the Bible with Judy and I, along with her husband. Yesterday, we had this year’s neighborhood picnic and once again made new friends to whom we can witness. We had some good conversations about spiritual matters. One of the neighbors, who lives across the street from us, announced to several of us who were sitting together what a blessing it was to listen to our services from his house. He also mentioned how much better our Sunday School was than Catholic Catechism.
So, “let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9)
Sowing in France with your help,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [June 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
June 3, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our desire is that this finds you enjoying the Lord’s blessings where you live and serve. We thank the Lord for His blessings and above all His presence in us. We are encouraged by what the Lord is doing on several fronts. The Bible study in Mazere, about 45 miles by car south of here is going well and during the past few months we have had several new participants. We would one day like to see a church in this growing city with a population of about 3,500. At present there are only two believers in the group that actually live in the city, though we average about 7 or 8 at the Bible studies.
The youth meetings are on the increase and those coming are showing interest.
Another area of activity that causes us to rejoice is the meetings with youth. The attendance at these is on the increase and those who come show an interest. Of those who now attend, only one has actually made a profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism. We hope many others will follow.
I like to keep a positive note and share with you what God is doing, but there are bumps in the road here as there are everywhere. This past week I have been a little frustrated by the lack of commitment and selfishness of some believers. It is important, however, to remind myself of God’s patience with me and His forgiveness. We must continue to sow the seed and disciple those who believe as we look to Christ for strength and trust Him to work in hearts and lives.
Of the youth who now attend the meetings, only one has actually made a profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism. Pray that many others will follow.
Judy and I pray together each morning after our personal time in the Word of God. Thank God for you. If you would like for us to pray about your area of ministry, we would love to do so. We know that you have family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors and even people who frustrate you that you would like to see trust Christ. We would be glad to pray with you for them. You contact us through the email or mail address below. We are not interested in forwards off the internet, so be please to not send us links and copies. We are interested in praying for you and your needs personally, so please do not hesitate to share these. We would like to be a blessing to you as you are to us.
May God’s blessings be evident to you during the month ahead.
Proclaiming the Good News in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [May 2013]
April 24, 2013
Tournefeuille, France
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
April 11 was Judy’s sixtieth birthday. We have had the privilege of spending a good many of those years together. The scriptures say that “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown” and “a prudent wife is from the Lord.” I can undoubtedly affirm this tidbit of truth in testifying of God’s blessings on my life through Judy. When I was not yet a teenager, my mother emphasized in our family devotional time that we should pray for a spouse from the Lord. I began doing this on a regular basis and God fulfilled my request. So, if you are not yet married and want to be, I suggest that you ask God.
Just after I wrote the above paragraph, Dave Parks reminded us that this month, in honor of mothers, we were going to ask the missionary wives to write a few lines. So, I will let Judy share her thoughts.
Bonjour and merci from Tournefeuille, France. Each morning John and I thank God for you who give so sacrificially so we can share the gospel in France. Many of you we will never have the privilege of meeting until we are together in heaven, but know that today we are thankful for your many years of support. In my philosophical moments I ponder, “What influenced me, a common Kentucky girl from a not so known small town on the south side of the Ohio river to be a missionary in France?”
The answer is simple, my parents, Jim and Pansy Foster. How? By living out Christ in their lives.
Judy Hatcher with granddaughters who live in France, Amanda their mother and wonderful missionary, and Amanda’s mother, Lisa Fallwell, who is visiting her family in France.
What I learned from my parents… love the Lord your God with all your heart… it wasn’t just what they said, it was the way they lived. One of my earlier memories is of waking each morning and seeing my mom in her chair and my dad in his chair both reading their Bibles. God’s Word was important. Often I would hear my parents talking in their room as if someone else was there. One night, on peeking into my parents’ room, I saw them knelt by the bed, my dad’s arm around my mom, praying. “God’s will” was something active. You follow His path because He is good and He loves you, even when it meant blessing your 19 year old daughter to go to Brasil 6 weeks after marrying John Hatcher! (John wasn’t the question, Brasil was too far for an overnight visit.) Twenty-five years later, when I told my mom that we believed that God was leading us to France, her words were, “If that is what God wants, that is what we want.” My mom had just been diagnosed with cancer.
Love your neighbor…even though my dad pastored the First Baptist Church, Garrison, Ky and later Emmanuel Baptist Church, Oldtown, Ky., it was after I was grown. My parents had a lumber and hardware store. At times this meant being kind to those who were demanding, being “at your service” whenever, and paying off bills that were owed by someone else. I saw “love covers a multitude of sins” in action! Visiting the sick, nursing homes and giving a helping hand to those in need was just what you did because it was the right thing to do.
I was given “missionary eyes”. Often in the evenings I would sit with my mom looking at the Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia. We would examine far away lands. The question would usually arise, “Do these people know about Jesus?” Often the answer was, “No, not unless someone goes and tells them.” Closer to home, my dad spoke of the areas in eastern Kentucky with no gospel witness. Whether across the sea or across the street, it was emphasized that people need the Lord.
Often people ask, “What can we do for you?” Moms and dads, live Christ before your children, give them missionary eyes, grandparents, share with your grandchildren what great things God had done in your lives, aunts and uncles, influence your nieces and nephews to follow God wherever He leads, Sunday School teachers and neighbors, share the love of Christ with the children whose lives you touch. With God’s help we can pass on what has been so freely given to us.
With love and thanksgiving,
Judy and John Hatcher
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [April 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
April 1, 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you for your participation in the ministry here. Judy and I pray for you daily and thanking God for your faithfulness. Four weeks ago we celebrated 40 years of marriage. We enjoyed a quiet evening meal in a restaurant and reviewed God’s blessings on our lives. Little did we know, when we started our life together, what our Savior had in store for us. We are grateful for what He has done and is doing in the lives of children and grandchildren. Serving our Lord together has been a great joy as we have seen many come to new life in Christ. When Judy and I married, she had not been out of Kentucky too many times, but six weeks after committing ourselves to each other in the Lord we moved to Brazil. The Lord has enabled us to be witnesses on three different continents. The journey has truly been an adventure.
So, presently we are in France, a very different culture from Brazil or the United States of America. Our Creator and Redeemer, however, is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” God has chosen us, His redeemed children, to be His witnesses in the sea of humanity so desperately in need of the eternal life that He offers.
A view of John Mark & Judy’s neighborhood from their front window.
Here are a few tidbits from our adventure this month. Early in the month, we were invited to dinner in the home of a couple who live just around the corner from us. They have been our neighbors for about a year and wanted to show their appreciation to us because we watched their house and watered their plants while they were away on vacation. During the evening we talked to them and another neighbor couple about faith in God. Neither of these couples have any religious practice.
About the same time, I had a lengthy discussion with a neighbor just across the street about God, homosexual marriages and abortion. This family, with three children, drive some distance on Sundays to go to a church that has mass in Latin, because, according to him, “it is the Universal language.” To our knowledge this family is the only one in our large neighborhood that goes to church anywhere. We pray that they will understand that they need Christ instead of a religion.
Yesterday, as we were heading home on a typical Sunday afternoon walk with our family here, I had the chance to spend some time talking to a young couple who live on a street parallel to ours. She recently began singing in the choir in which I sing. Yesterday, I met her husband for the first time and had a lengthy conversation with them. He was born in Israel and is a non-practicing Jew. His grandparents moved from Poland to France after the second World War. They left France to establish themselves in Israel in 1951. His father was born in Israel just a few months later. A few weeks ago, as we were waiting for choir practice to start, this lady asked me why we were in France. As I began to tell her, another lady, to whom I have witnessed on several occasions said, “Be careful, or he will convert you!”
There are countless other stories that could be told. There are multitudes of individuals who are lost and in need of a Savior. We have the Good News. I wish they were all saved. We keep sowing the seed and waiting for the Harvest. Thanks again for your participation in this endeavor.
Sowing the Good seed in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher in France [March 2013]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making,”
February 26, 2013
Dear Fellow Team Members,
We are grateful for the privilege God gives us to be bearers of the the Good News to folks that live in Southern France as well as in other parts of the world. The four weeks since we last wrote to you have gone by quickly, but we have seen God at work.
On February 9, we had “young people’s evening in our home”. It seems that the quality of these meetings has continued to improve and the young people who come are attentive and are always interested in the date for the next meeting. Of the young folks who come, only one, has made a public profession of faith and followed the Lord in baptism. The passage we considered two weeks ago included “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This is certainly the invitation of the Gospel for those who are lost as well as a reminder for those of us who are God’s children.
One of the many towns near us that need the Gospel.
Our oldest granddaughter brought a neighbor friend who had not previously been to a youth night. One the way home, this friend was so excited about the evening that she could hardly wait to tell her brother about it and invite him for the next time.
This past Sunday, one of the teen age girls who attends with her family brought a friend. Last Tuesday in Mazere, a young man, father of three, came for the first time and was quite attentive. He was brought by a couple who have participated with us in this Bible study from the time it was first implemented. We are encouraged by the desire the believers have to share their faith and introduce others to Christ.
This past Saturday, we had a pot luck dinner to conclude a three week Bible reading adventure. The purpose of this adventure was to encourage believers to grow in knowledge of God through the study of His Word. We chose key passages (one to four chapters per day) to be read daily. These covered the historical periods from Abraham to Nehemiah. Fourteen people read together and we discussed what they had learned during the dinner. Those who were involved testified that it was a great blessing to them. We want to do something similar several times during the coming year. This should help emphasize how important it is for God’s children to “know the scriptures” and to “study to show themselves approved”. One lady, who, was not involved this time, asked me Sunday, “When are we going to do this again?”
The Lord has recently given several good openings with neighbors and acquaintances. We would like for all of these and many others to be saved. Thank you for your faithful support which enables us to be here to communicate the Good News.
City of Mazere – We have Bible study near upper right hand corner.
Your fellow servants in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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