Dear friends,
First of all, thank you! Several of you responded to the need for extra travel funds this month, for which we are very grateful. But more than the funds, your encouraging words have boosted our faith and energized us for the new tasks we see coming on the horizon. We appreciate you!
When we think of the number of times we’ve been able to reconnect with our family histories as we have served in missions in Europe, we can’t help but sense how blessed we have been and what deeper connection God has allowed us to have even with some living, albeit distant, relatives. Whether it was…
- finding the source of Blair’s Bonin side of the family in Grenoble, France;
- or actually meeting cousins on Dina’s side of her LaGrone line who originally came from the area in which we currently live (Namur, Belgium) but fled to the Heidelberg, Germany region due to religious persecution (You can read more of this story in these posts from 2010 and 2015.);
- or recently ministering in local Acadian churches in New Brunswick, Canada from where our Gauthreaux and Hebert ancestors hailed several hundred years ago;
…those connections remind us that family histories are often very significant pieces of who we are. They anchor us in eras of time and geographical places. Moreover, at least for us, they have been orchestrated by God to open doors for ministering grace to those we meet or advancing gospel purposes through these serendipitous discoveries.
Our recent flight from Brussels landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a part of the world we grew up hearing about as the land from where our ancestors in Louisiana originated – the Hebert family on Blair’s mom’s side, and the Gauthreaux family on Dina’s dad’s side, specifically. By the end of the 17th century, many settlers from France, a few from Ireland and even Croatia, had arrived in what was then called Acadia and built a peaceful and prosperous life. But in 1755, the British gained control of this easternmost area of the New World and forced the Acadians out when they would not swear allegiance to the British crown. This is called “Le Grand Dérangement” (the Great Upheaval) as some families were separated forever, and could never regain the property they once had. Many were put on ships and made their way down the eastern coast, eventually arriving in south Louisiana. Others fled north into New Brunswick, while still others hid, and settled in remote areas of Nova Scotia. French-speaking Acadian villages are scattered throughout the Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) of Canada today.
We learned so much more about our history as we traveled from Nova Scotia into New Brunswick, Canada’s only officially bilingual province, and gained a great appreciation for the cultures of the Maritimes as well as Québec. We were able to spend a week in New Brunswick, seeing the sights, adjusting to the accent :), and spending time with our new friends from the church in Shediac…
A museum display featuring the flags of Québec, France, Louisiana, and Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, the capital city of which is Namur, where we currently live
The names of the families expelled from Acadia, present day Nova Scotia, by the British in 1755
Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean
Province of New Brunswick
(l to r) Charles, David, Nath, Blair with their host, Pastor Luc, in New Brunswick in September
Last September, Blair was invited by fellow missionary Charles Porter in a divinely-led expedition to help teach in a leadership training weekend amongst some Acadian French-speaking churches of New Brunswick. It was an opportunity to also invite one of our former Students for Christ-Belgium leaders, Nathanaël, whose professional and ministerial calling has led him to emigrate to Québec, Canada.
Following the training event, each of the four presenters were dispatched to local francophone churches to speak for Sunday services in different communities. By God’s design Blair landed in an authentic Acadian assembly which felt very much like a small Cajun town in south Louisiana, complete with its celebrated seafood restaurant. In fact, the town of Shediac is known as the lobster capital of the world, while in Acadiana our reputation often centers around everything crawfish.
Upon preaching for the church, which had been without a pastor for several years, Blair was asked to become the pastor of Centre Nouvelle Vie in Shediac. The church needed a bilingual couple (French-English) to lead the church since the New Brunswick province is bilingual. While our missionary call precluded us from accepting this role, Blair presented the need to another pastor friend on Reunion Island (an overseas territory of France off of the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean). Our contact there didn’t sense the Lord leading him to apply for the position. However, another pastor on the island along with his wife (both of whom are bilingual) had been praying for God to open a door for them to move to French-speaking Canada to pastor since a son of theirs was studying in Montréal. So just two weeks ago, after we made a return visit to that local church to speak and encourage the believers, they voted in Pastor Johann from Reunion Island as their new pastor!
We are elated to see how God allowed us to be a part of His plan in providing a shepherd for a congregation proving that He is bigger than a distance of 8000+ miles. So we are keeping our eyes and ears open because several other French-speaking churches in New Brunswick and Québec are also in need of pastors. Pray with us for God to orchestrate the search according to His will.
Province of Québec
After our visit to New Brunswick, we traveled to Québec City for the District of Québec’s pastors conference where we joined a few of our AGWM colleagues at this gathering held every two years in French and English. Once again, our hearts were stirred for the enormous need for pastors in the French-speaking congregations of this vast province. From other conversations, we understand that there is little gospel proclamation on French-speaking university campuses. We hope to engage in this topic further when we return to Montréal in June for the Serve Campus Summit.
While our time here was brief, we feel that God is confirming our continued collaboration with the gracious ministers that we met, to help in whatever capacity we can, as we continue living in Belgium for the foreseeable future.
Thank you for joining with us in prayer for these needs:
Pastors for other francophone churches in Québec and New Brunswick.
Our upcoming participation in the student ministry conference in Montréal at the beginning of June.
CONNECT 2025, SFC’s annual training week will be held August 2-9. Please pray for every aspect: instructors, speakers, kids program, travel, logistics, provision, etc.
We are looking for a second-hand vehicle for the second part of our “split” itineration time in the USA from Sept 2025 through Jan 2026. And if you’d like to schedule a time to meet up, let us know!
We are still reflecting on our time exploring our Acadian heritage and the past generations of our families who lived through the “Grand Dérangement”. Looking at our lives in terms of the ancestors who have gone before and the descendants who will come after, we recognize that our time here on earth is finite. As followers of Jesus, however, we want our lives, while we have them, to count for eternity. And so we pray, “Father, teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom”, and may your “favor.. be upon us, and establish the work of our hands.” (Psalm 90:12,17). Jesus is worth it!
