In the last few weeks we have tried to ramp up our efforts to find a housing solution for Fougères. There are basically two ideas:
1- Rent for the time being, with a goal to find a house to renovate.
2- Buy with our limited budget now. Most likely not in Fougères itself but in a neighboring village or town.
At the moment, we don't have much to put down as a down payment for a house. This makes the house hunt a little daunting and quite trim. There are also several philosophical questions which need to be answered:
How do missional churches exist?
Is living in Fougères crucial for a church plant in the area? (For example, do people come to Fougères or do they mostly live there)?
Our last trip to Fougères was a double purpose: look for housing and allow Ophelia to enjoy a visit to the middle school. At the end of each school year 5th graders are invited to their middle school to basically have a test day of classes, eat lunch, meet staff and other new students. This went REALLY well for Ophelia. She truly enjoyed her time! This leads us to some other places and some family questions which we are asking:
Ophelia has a middle school in Fougères, so she will need to either be driven or bussed in every day. Is that ok?
How much time will we spend in Fougères? What activities do we need to do to be active in the community (work/volunteer)? A side job is a fantastic way of becoming part of the community here. Likewise, volunteering in different associations also is great!
Anyways, that's a lot of questions. Some of which will and can be answered soon, others probably need some time to understand exactly what needs to happen (you can't KNOW a place, until you LIVE in the place).
We'd appreciate your generous prayers on the subject of housing. If you are interested in learning more about why we are going to plant a new church, or how you can help with this project, please contact us! Any financial support goes directly to us finding a house, being able to put money down on it, and you having a place to stay just one and half hours from Mont St Michel :) . Right now we are not sure what the need truly is, so we are working to have that in figures.
You can see an earlier post with some facts about Fougères, Brittany, France- and why a place like Fougères needs more Gospel presence.
God has never let us down. We truly believe he will continue to show the way and be faithful because that is just who He is.