Their
Crossroad connection began some many years ago when,
as an associate pastor at a church in south Florida,
Andrew met Gee & Sandy and asked them to come
do a youth crusade. They have remained friends over
the years and were among the first missionaries that
our church supported as a church plant in the old
warehouse. Beginning in 1985, they served with Christian
Lay Ministries working in Zaire, Africa. Four years
ago they came to France to minister in the suburbs
of Paris with the United Methodist Mission Society.
The current focus of their work is in family ministry.
They
have four children, Kimberly-20 and Andrea-19, who
attend Asbury College in Kentucky, Nathan-15 and Jason-13.
The
history of France is a history of religious conflict.
Since the time of the French revolution and the “enlightenment”,
France has been a nation of great spiritual darkness.
There are more practicing witches and occult groups
than Christian pastors. Evangelical groups are considered
to be cults in France and if there is a national religion
it is the religion of humanism.
Their
family focus enables them to reach out in ministry
to families from a broad variety of religious and
secular backgrounds, as well as encouraging Christian
couples and families.
Some
of their greatest challenges involve the education
of their boys Nathan and Jason. The schools in France
are not just more secular and humanistic than American
schools, but negative and antagonistic to Christianity
and issues of faith. There are affordable Christian
boarding schools in nearby Germany, but tuition for
two girls in the United States and $6,500 per child
boarding school tuition is a financial hurdle of great
difficulty. Andrew shared that he feels like he has
the most awesome job in the world, but is concerned
that the ministry sacrifices are greatest for the
children who remain in France.
In
addition to the financial challenge of educating four
children, they face challenges in their support base.
They report that churches were more prone to offer
support when they were in Zaire, Africa. Since coming
to France four years ago, some churches have reduced
their support or left their support network altogether,
even though the ministry challenges are greater in
France and the spiritual climate darker. They also
ask that we join them in prayer to guard their own
marriage relationship against spiritual infidelity
that prevails in the French culture. Christian couples,
Andrew shared, are not immune to spiritual attack
in this area. Even their computers have come under
attack; several hard-drive crashes have made electronic
communications difficult.
They
report great encouragement in reaching many families
in a variety of ministry settings. Margaret will also
be leading her first Alpha class this fall. They are
excited that Alpha will enable more ministry among
the 75,000 English speaking Parisians.
Their
new mailing address is:
28 Chemin des Bas Rochers
91620 La Ville du Bois
FRANCE
Their
current e-mail address:
chezhowell@yahoo.com
Checks
may be sent to:
Howell Support 4/234/HO
The Mission Society
P. O. Box 922637
Norcross, GEORGIA 30010-2637.
