Missionary Update: John Mark & Judy Hatcher [October 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
October 6, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The beginning of September in France is referred to as “la rentrée” which translates into English, “coming back into”. It refers to the fact that everyone comes home for children to start school. It is also the time of the year when we restart most things that run on a weekly schedule. We are encouraged by the what has taken place this month.
Last Sunday we had a church dinner and the time of fellowship with God’s people went very well. Individuals who normally do not come were here, as well. This makes it possible for them to get acquainted with people who are members of the church. Outsiders are more likely to return to a meeting where they know someone.
Making meaningful contact with people is an essential part of making disciples. This is a reality of our ministry that is underscored in the Scriptures: “Go ye therefore”, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Paul in Athens) “in the market daily with them that met with him.” We pray for God to give us these contacts and we try to “walk circumspectly” (looking around) for those that God brings across our path.
Last week we had dinner with a couple of our neighbor families to discuss teaching English to the young children. The dinner allowed us to become better acquainted with these neighbors and we will be teaching their children simple English one afternoon each week. When you love and serve people they listen to what you have to say.
Wendy, the single missionary who works with us, hosts “English Night”. Teenagers and adults come because they want to improve their English (and enjoy a meal). We help Wendy with this because we want tell them about Jesus. This past Saturday we had an excellent discussion with those who were there about the dysfunction of human beings without God and God’s intervention to restore our ability to love and do right. Among those there was a young man in his mid-thirties who’s father was 16 at the time of his birth, a young lady who recently failed in her studies to be an interior designer and is now working as an aide in a nursing home, and a social worker; individuals who need Christ.
Tonight our Bible study in Mazère about 45 miles South of where we live was well attended. We began a study on the Sermon on the Mount. Douceline, who hosts this study in her home, meets with two ladies on other days for regular one-on-one Bible studies. There is evidence of God’s grace in many ways in the lives of the people who participate in the Bible study including the spiritual growth of the hostess.
Your giving demonstrates your love for God, us and people who need Christ. Your giving enables us to minister in five different cities. Your prayers are answered as God empowers His Word.
Let us all not weary in well doing for in due season we will reap if we do not faint!
In France,
John and Judy 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 [September 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
September 8, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying the Lord’s blessings. As I mentioned in my previous letter to you, we have been in the USA this past month to be with David (our son), Dulce and their family following the birth of their third child. We return to our home and primary place of service the day after tomorrow.
The news from France is good and we anticipate with joy the opportunities that await us there. God’s love and compassions are new every morning; great is His faithfulness. (see Lamentations 3:22-23). It is a wonderful blessing to be a child of God through whom His light can shine to those who live in darkness around us. This is the privilege of every believer.
The short time here has allowed us to enjoy a number of blessings. I was able to spend a whole week with Dad and Mom, Paul (my older brother) and Wanda. During the past 40 years visiting with them is a rare blessing as we have served on different continents. All of us are grateful for your giving, an act of faith, that has been used by God to meet our needs in other countries. This coming Sunday, my mother turns 89 years old. The Lord has protected her and used her in His service in spite of a couple of times in my childhood when she was at the door of death. She has lived to see her children and grandchildren saved and serving the Lord and many great-grandchildren who are saved and being discipled by their parents. If you ask her how she is doing, she always responds, “I have never felt better in my life.”
Judy, her sister and I were also able to visit many in their extended family who are still living and serving the Lord. This is very encouraging. We, with them, were able to recount and review the grace of God at work in the past and present. Judy and I were also able to have dinner with a number of those with whom we served together in Emmanuel Baptist Church in Evansville. We thank Peggy, Judy’s sister, who made her car available and traveled with us. There were many more that we simply did not have the time to visit. All of us, including you, are important participants in God’s great work of loving redemption.
And…we had great moments with our three children and their families who live in the USA. These moments in their lives are inestimable. God’s has blessed us beyond measure and His love overflows. Thank you, Heavenly Father for your great love and for your family in which you have placed us. Thank you, each one in God’s family, who give that we may take this overflow to a land that is spiritually dry and arid.
Rejoicing in the Lord with You,
John and Judy 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 [August 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
August 4, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am writing this letter to you from the Chicago where we will be during the month of August. On July 19, Téo Hatcher was born to David and Dulce Hatcher. He is their third son and our 10th grandchild. A few days after the birth we arrived to help the family. We are grateful for the good health of mother and child, that we have this wonderful privilege of being here with them and to visit with others in our family.
Philip, Amanda and their children just returned to France after visiting with family in the USA this school vacation. God has provided the means for them to do this once every two years. Things would be very different in France if we did not have Philip, Amanda and their children working together with us. We thank God for placing us together in the endeavor that He has set before us.
During the one Sunday that neither Philip or I were there, the services took place with the participation of the French believers. The report we received is that things went very well. Our long term goal is to leave behind us completely self supporting, autonomous churches with leaders from among those that God has provided. We see progress on many fronts, but would like to see committed leaders from among those that have come to Christ there. Please, pray with us for progress in this area.
Yesterday, I had the joy of meeting with the East Keys Baptist Church in Springfield, IL. We had a wonderful day in the Lord. I had promised Dan Hillard that I would visit the church where he is pastor during the next trip to the USA. The loaned car from Adam and Lydia Reece made it possible to drive to Springfield to spend this blessed day with these folks that we love in the Lord. Thank You brothers and sisters of East Keys Baptist church for sharing this day with me. And, thank all of you churches and individuals who support us faithfully and have done so for such a long time. We will not be able to see most of you during this short visit to the USA .
As my parents and Paul and Wanda Hatcher are on furlough, I will be with them for a few days. I write this letter with great joy, grateful for the parents, children and grandchildren that God has given us. Judy and I both were led to the Lord by our parents who also taught and set a good example for us. As we observe how God is working in the lives of our children and extended family our “cup is full and running over”.
Rejoice in the Lord this month. He has and is doing great things.
Serving with you,
John and Judy
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 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
July 5, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We hope this finds you enjoying the Lord. What a privilege we have as God’s children with continuous access to our Father and Saviour and with His Spirit united to ours. It is also a wonderful honor to represent the Eternal God, Creator of all things to the people who live around us.
Just after writing our last letter we participated in the annual outdoor dinner of our neighborhood which takes place in the street in front of our house. We made new friends and were able to reconnect with some people that we have not seen for a while.
During the past month we have spent part of our time reviewing the past year and making plans for the coming year. We discussed what we would teach in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and Youth meetings. We determined changes that needed to be made in class groupings and how to effectively do what God has placed us here to do. We have also discussed ways that we can connect with the people that we are here to reach.
One of the things that Judy and I are going to be doing this coming year is an English Club to help young children in our neighborhood get started learning English. This is a result of a request made by the parents of these children. Judy and Amanda did this for several years in Tournefeuille and Judy and Wendy had an English Bible Club in the city of L’Union for several years. These have given us many long term opportunities. Several of the young people who now come to our monthly youth meetings are from families that we served in this way in the past. We follow the example of Paul who said, “I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” Judy also donated her time to teach English twice a week for several years in the past in one of our local public elementary schools.
English proficiency is required for anyone wanting to advance in white collar jobs and this is a need that opens doors for us. Parents are very interested in their children learning English to prepare them for the future. We want to serve them in this area to open the door to prepare them for eternity.
This is also a good time to remind you to pray for Philip, Amanda and their family, and Wendy who serve with us. Wendy is a single missionary who is supported by friends and churches in the US and Philip works as an engineer here to support his family while they serve with us. We thank God for your prayers and faithful support over many years.
Attendance in the services and Bible studies has been good and we see evidence of the Grace of God.
Serving with you for our Saviour in France,
John and Judy
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 [June 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
June 5, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Seventy years ago Americans along with others of the Allied Forces were embarking on the mission to recover Europe from the clutches of Hitler. Both Judy’s father and mine were a part of this massive operation. God used the involvement of our parents in the retaking of France to speak to our hearts about the spiritual needs of France.
In the Fall of 1997 Judy and I visited the beaches of Normandy during a trip to celebrate our wedding anniversary. This was our first trip to Europe together and we had no idea that God would ever place us here as His witnesses. During the week we spent in France, we saw no evidence of Biblical Christianity. This led us to start researching about the spiritual condition of France. It was the first of many sign posts that God used to direct us to France as missionaries.
It hardly seems possible that we have now been in France over 14 years in the service of the Lord. He has given us the opportunity to minister to French and Germans as well as many other nationalities during this time. The Good News of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, brings peace between us and God as well as between us and former human enemies. To God be the Glory.
But, make no mistake about it, we are still in a battle. However, we fight “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” And this country is certainly living in darkness. Though followers of Christ in France are a very small minority, the light of God that shines through us is “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”. So, we give God all the glory and seek to be used by Him.
I am encouraged by the spiritual growth in the men of our congregation. Sometimes I get impatient because we so desperately need leaders who know God’s Word and are mature in Christ. So, you can pray for God to enable me through His Spirit to be patient. The congregation in Tournefeuille is doing well and we are thankful for what is happening in the various week day Bible studies connected to this congregation. We are also delighted to see how God is working in the lives of the children and young people who participate in the Sunday School and Youth meetings.
The meetings that we hold in Mazere, one hour south of Tournefeuille, are also a cause for rejoicing. There are now nine committed believers who participate in this Bible study and they are sharing the Good News with family members and others with whom they contact.
In two days we will be having our yearly neighborhood dinner. There are a number of new families in our area and this allows us to start relationships with them. Pray that God will enable us to use these opportunities to effectively communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Your fellow laborers in France,
John and Judy
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 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
May 5, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Thank you for participating in what God has called us to do here. I thought that it might be good to share with you the latest Good News buzz in our town. Perhaps, the question has arisen in your mind, “How does one go about reaching people in a place where there is not already a church?” Actually, it is not terribly different from the way you reach people where there is already a church.
From scriptures you might remember the training from the Lord, “I have come that you may have life….Go…seeking…the kingdom of heaven is like…” The Apostle Paul wrote, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some”. About Paul in Athens, Luke writes, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.” Peter writes, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”.
In a country where 50% of the people are atheists you can invite people to “church” until you are blue in the face and you will get little if no results. In their mind, anyone who believes that God created the world is an idiot, and any intellectual arguments to the contrary will convince them that you are an idiot. Blind people to not see and deaf people to not hear. Spiritually, they are willingly blind, deaf or have been programed by their environment to think this way. They are positive that they are right. Any Christian arguments on the internet to the contrary is to them simply a display of close minded stupidity. But, God has placed us here as light and salt. We are living letters and God has chosen to use his people as an instrument through which He, the Great Physician works to remove the veil and give a hunger and thirst for living water, just as Jesus demonstrated by the well in Samaria. His love, active in us, is the primary means that the Holy Spirit uses to make people receptive to the Gospel.
So, you are saying what is the latest buzz in Tournefeuille? Please cut to the chase.
About 6 months ago new neighbors moved in across the street. To greet and befriend them, Judy took a platter of homemade blueberry muffins. They loved them and so, a new relationship started. I will not try to detail everything that the Lord has used in the last 6 months, but the latest event happened on Friday afternoon two weeks ago. The neighbor knocks on our front door and asked if I had anything they could use to cut a branch. As I went to get what I had, he said, “Come over. I want you to see why we need it.”
A bit earlier in the day, his wife was struck with terror when a large swarm of bees buzzed over her head and took up lodging in a branch of a tree in their back yard. She called the firehouse. They told her call a bee keeper. She found one in the phone book and called him. He needed the branch cutters to be able to cut and maneuver the giant swarm to his hive box.
I trusted the Lord to keep me and for the first time in my life worked among the bees with the keeper while the neighbors took pictures. A three hour interaction took place as the bee keeper urged the bees to the box and as we waited for them to all move in to their new abode. During this time we talked about the marvels of God’s creation and a number of important subjects. We forged a new friendship with the bee keeper and cultivated the friendship we already have with the neighbors. This is similar to the way we have made friendships with others who now regularly attend or have professed faith in Christ.
In summary, God placed us here and uses your support to keep us here. He brings events that open doors. We pray for God to open doors, touch the hearts of our acquaintances and enable us to see what He is doing as we open our eyes and look on the multitudes who are wandering around us like sheep without a shepherd. Through these contacts we are able to move from physical human needs to spiritual needs and the Living Water. Everyday is exciting, especially if you have thousands of bees swarming around you.
Please, pray for our neighborhood dinner which takes place on June 7th. Also, some of our new neighbors have asked us to host a regular “English Club” for their children. Friendships with the families of several of the teens now coming to youth meetings were cultivated through a similar “English Club” for young children. And, watch with eager eyes for the latest buzz from God in your area!
[And after reading, you will definitely want to see these bees in action and hear them buzz! Click the link to see the Bees in France Video!]
With you in the service of the Lord,
John and Judy
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 2014]
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, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today is known in the USA as April fools day. It reminds me of what martyr missionary Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” This may well reflect what Matthew Henry repeated about his father who was a kind and charitable man, “He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose.” It certainly comes from the teachings of our Lord and Savior who told his disciples, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” This is what we all should be doing with the lives, time and wealth of all kinds that God gives us.
We never know exactly how God is going to use our investments. The “preacher” in Ecclesiastes concludes, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. . .In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” So, I will tell you about one of the fields where we are sowing seed and why we are encouraged by what we see.
About 10 years ago, Douceline, a young lady believer whom we had met when we first came to France called us. She had taken her first job in the town of Mazere where there was no congregation of believers of any kind. Away from other believers she was very discouraged. She was born the year her parents trusted the Lord. Both of her parents were previously atheist. Since we had some weekday evenings open, we decided that it would be a good investment into her life to have Bible study with her in her apartment one evening per week after work. After about 2 years of weekly round trip drives of 2 and ½ hours and a couple of hours in Bible study each week, Douceline seemed to have a change in outlook. She began to see herself as God’s agent in this town.
About this time she met a lady through her work at the city library who was nominally Catholic and whose oldest child was to start catechism classes. Douceline suggested that Judy could teach them about Jesus from the Bible. The lady thought that would be a good idea and dropped the kids off at the apartment an hour before our Bible study. Judy had children’s Bible classes with them for an hour each week before our adult Bible study. Douceline started inviting people she met; a few came and very few returned. But, we have continued. For several years we took a guy with us from our area who was a new believer. He now has two Bible studies in Toulouse each week and has led others to the Lord that he is discipling. He is a pastoral leader in his church.
Patricia, the mother of the two children Judy taught, never came to the Bible study but Douceline is now having evangelistic Bible studies with her. Douceline is quite a missionary and is witnessing to several other people on a regular basis who do not come to the Bible study. We have probably had 50 people come do this Bible study over the years. A widow lady in her early 70s who comes has trusted the Lord. She is the only believer in her extended family. She daily watches and witnesses to her 9 year old granddaughter whose parents are atheist. One newly married couple young believers participates, she is a school teacher and he is a carpenter. A lady about 60 comes who is a nursing assistant in a senior citizens home is the only believer in her extended family. A young man who has come is reading his Bible and seeking. Douceline’s parents participate and are reaching out to several others. This has opened the door with their older daughter and her family. The children from this family are enthusiastic participants in our Youth meetings. We are supposed to have a new participant next week at the Bible study in Mazere. There are believers, there are disciples, there are missionaries because your support enables us to be available here and because we believed God wanted us to invest part of our lives into a discouraged believer.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” The completion of this story and millions of other like it will be experienced in heaven…our Fathers house!
May God bless you. Thanks for investing in this part of the world.
Investing in France,
John and Judy
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 2014]
Missionaries John Mark and Judy Hatcher have been serving the Lord in Tournefeuille, France since 1999. They define their ministry as “disciple-making.”
March 2, 2014
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Tomorrow Judy and I celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary. What an exciting life it has been. Six weeks after getting married we moved to Manaus, Brazil. I would not advise any man to begin marriage the way I did. On arrival in Manaus, I began pastoring a church and a mission, preached 14 times each week, taught 35 classes. The first class started at 7 am and the last ended at 11pm. Judy was seriously neglected but took it like a champ. She learned Portuguese taught English classes, gave piano lessons and, among many other activities, learned to cook starting with meat hacked off a beef quarter with a large butcher knife. A bit of advice to all grooms or newly married men. DON’T DO WHAT I DID!
Judy the Missionary
However, God’s grace is sufficient for His daughters who are married to stupid men. For this I will be eternally thankful. Judy hung in there with me as I grew (a little) in wisdom and has been a great team mate, lover, spouse and mother as we have served God together on 3 different continents. It has been a wonderful life!
Judy the Grandmother
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support. Though you may live at a distance, you are an essential part of what God has called us to do in France. We thank God for what He has done during the past month. We have witnessed to those who need Christ. We have spent time in one on one counseling and discipleship, Bible studies, youth meeting, Sunday school classes, prayer, outreach to lost. Sometimes we are encouraged, sometimes we are frustrated. We would like to see more disciples and quicker growth in some we work with, but God enables us to continue. You are a part of the gracious process God is using to bring others to Himself.
One thing Judy and I have learned in our wonderful life of service together is that God has many wonderful surprises in store for us. We want to be faithful and become more like Christ as we serve Him here.
Communicating the Good News in France,
John and Judy Hatcher
4, rue d’Aspin
31170 Tournefeuille, France
JMHatcher[at]aol.com
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