Mitch & Christine Sorensen

Dear family and friends, seasons come and go, and life changes. Opportunities grow to share Jesus and our wonderful God to many people here in France.

We had the joy of spending vacation time with Mitch’s son, daughter in law, and their two daughters from California as they came to discover France for the first time. A wonderful time of closeness and much appreciated. The emotional and spiritual support towards our family dispersed here in France and the states is ongoing as the needs present themselves.

A wonderful wedding of our niece Guylene and her husband Benoit which testified to their numerous friends about getting a life right with the God that they had just discovered. A sad funeral for our nephew Julien, 29, a month ago. Another opportunity to share the Lord with love and compassion to many after the ceremony.

Christine has been teaching French to two groups of Iranian immigrants, English to a Muslim lady friend, encouraging the body of believers here, and sharing the Gospel in the streets.

We are to be alert in seeing what our Lord wants us to do, and to be a blessing everyday in many ways.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. How different our lives would be if we could comprehend this verse. Paul, in 2 Cor.11:24-30 speaks of the many extremely difficult times he’s had over the years. He speaks of his thorn in the flesh and how he pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from him. “But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor.12:9-10. Delight in weakness? King James says, “take pleasure”. Totally contrary to our comfort mode. Let us thank God for our many blessings and the strengths He has given to us but never assume or take for granted that we won’t have difficulties in this life. Hopefully not like Paul. We were created to depend on God. Not on ourselves. The more we surrender and have faith like a child, the more we realize our strong need for dependence, the more we can experience His grace in our lives that is sufficient for us. God bless you as you serve Him. Mitch and Christine

Our Prayer requests:

Pray for more opportunities to share the Gospel.                                             Pray for Revival in the churches in France.                                                       Pray the Lord of the Harvest would send Laborers.                                         Pray for France as there is much unrest and violence.                                    Pray that we can be used in a mighty way to bring Glory to the Lord.         Pray for our finances and our health.

Dear family and friends!

Winter is getting behind us with an amazing beautiful Easter weekend. Nature    was exploding with life and joy as we, with many other believers from different churches in Nice, celebrated the glorious resurrection of our Savior! The plan was to have the sunrise celebration on the beach but, because of rare wave action on the Mediterranean, we were praying, singing, and listening to meditations on the Promenade which was visible to many people walking or running by. The police even showed up as any large gathering these days is suspect. So they heard about Jesus too! This was the kind of day we had and it was a good opportunity to start distributing Gospel tracts on the Promenade again. Our physical issues are still present, Mitch with his facial paralysis and Christine with her back injury, but we’re on the road to recovery. Christine’s therapy has opened up another evangelical opportunity as she has many short discussions with other ladies in the tiny pool. Right now just to start knowing them and showing love. Many of them are Muslim. She has been able to start giving Gospel tracts to almost all of them. We started a group of intercessory prayer for France, praying with different believers over the phone everyday. Another group for fasting and prayer is happening this week for a sister in full time ministry suffering from terrible sleep trouble for many years. We are also involved with a study, “Experiencing God”, one hour before our regular evening church service. Pastor Roy Miller, who planted the International Baptist church years ago, comes back to France for 3 month out of the year to do Sun. services and teachings which is blessing us so much in our walk with God and giving us the opportunity, and the joy to know better a few other believers from IBC. A recent women’s retreat in the mountains, organized by Calvary Chapel, brought ladies of the church closer to God and to each other. Four ladies from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara came to speak during that retreat and spoiled us all with their love, their teaching, their prayers and personal time spent with each of us. They told us that there was a group praying for that specific time for six months. We also joined a support group for the French local chapter of the Gideon’s. “Les amis de Gédéon” (The friends of Gideon). We get to participate through intercession for all the wonderful things they do in France like placing Bibles and New Testaments in different places, including schools. It is a privilege to be part of this work through prayer. We believe this ministry is having a huge impact in France and they need all the prayers to be able to have open doors that are usually closed in this country. Read the story of Gideon in Judges chapters 6-8 to understand the logo. The follow up with the young adults of Christine’s family is still going on and important. We are doing a New Believer study by Skype with Guylène and Benoit, (niece and nephew) and keeping close contacts via phone with the others.                           God bless you as you serve Him.        Mitch and Christine                           Prayer Requests                                   Health                                               Financial Provision so we can function in the ministry                                         More Spirit filled contacts with all the persons the Lord places on our path Breakthrough for our sister J. having major sleep problems                  Breakthrough in France with a real and deep conviction of sin on everyone Wisdom and inspiration about the Muslim ladies met at the PT                               To obey the Lord in His leading

Dear friends and relatives, Another year has come and gone. I know as we get older, time seems to fly by, but when you’re young, it seems excruciatingly slow. If I were to venture a guess today, I bet even the younger generation is feeling this increase in the speed of time. Actually, I think it is similar to the feeling we have after waking from a dream and not being able to remember the details. But more specifically, that feeling, as non-believers, that something is not quite right in the world, in my life. That feeling, is that God has put eternity in every man’s heart, a desire to worship, something, but until you worship the one true God, the mystery remains. A partial answer is that, unless you have a Biblical world view, your world view is skewed. As I look around, I have many people that I love, trust, and rely on but, as humans, we will all fail at some time. GOD NEVER FAILS! His word is absolutely true. That being said, one of the many unique evidences for the Bible is prophecy. The Bible is almost one third prophecy. No other religious book comes close. Only the Father knows when Christ will return, but we are told to be ready. Luke 21:28. I think that there is a sense, and an excitement, of events about to happen, something you can’t quite put your finger on, and yet, we have this confidence in the sure word of prophecy. 2 Peter 1:19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NutkCjDcMT4&t=1328s  It is 100% certain.

This is one of the reasons Christine and I have come to Nice. We know time is short. We know the current open door of religious freedom in this country could close at any time. We know we need to be about the business for which God has called us to. Specifically, evangelism, and generally, being imitators of Christ. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?     Romans 10:14. 

Because of a previous back injury, Christine has not been able to be out in the streets as much as she would like.

So she has been busy with many projects to encourage the body of Christ and non- believers as well. She has also continued doing translations for Living Waters at http://www.fullyfreefilms.com/  We are so thankful for all that God has done in and through us. For all His provision in every area, Spiritually, Physically, Mentally, and Emotionally. Thanking Him for eternity still won’t be enough! God bless you as you serve Him.                                                                                          Love,                                                                                                                                    Mitch and Christine.

Our prayer requests are revival in France. That we would stand on the promises of God’s Word and go out in confidence and victory. That we would have many divine appointments and the Holy Spirit would go before us and convict the people of Truth and sin. That we would be sensitive to know God’s will and then be obedient. Pray for our health and our marriage. Pray that we would apprehend and cling to Philippians 4:19.

 

 

Dear friends and family, summer is stretching its last hot days, here in the south of France.

Mitch participated again this July in the IBC bilingual kids camp at Saint Paul de Vence which hosted 80 + children, (usually 50), 4 to 12 years old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHGjK6uXY2c&feature=youtu.be  A great opportunity for children of the area to be exposed to the Bible and Jesus during the numerous fun activities. This camp has a quality not often seen in France and for many families it is a wonderful first encounter with a local church. French people are still very reluctant to even visit a church

service. Mitch also went for the week long Calvary Chapel conference in Austria along with Pierre (pastor of Calvary Chapel Nice) and Enrico. He saw many old friends and made many new friends. A short time but, the promise of eternity helps to ease the good-byes. Christine has suffered for a long time with back problems and infections in the jaw and kidneys. Pastor Pierre came and anointed her with oil. The pain and infections which had lasted many months despite medical treatments, vanished the next day! God is faithful and His promises are sure. In James 5:14-15 it tells us, as believers, we have a provision for the healing of our ailments. We went to visit our niece Guylène and Benoît her companion with their two young children. He owns and operates an organic dairy farm. She delivers mail and has a huge garden with chickens also. Our time with them was wonderful! This young couple is searching and reading the Bible. With Mitch

there this time, Benoît took advantage of his visit to do a lot of guy things and they bonded well. We shared spiritual issues and encouraged them to continue pursuing the true and living God. They are now reading the New Testament together, discovering for the first time who is the Savior of the world! We are following closely on their walk and praising the Lord

for the honesty and seriousness of these two young people! Christine spent a few days recently in Montélimar to visit some long time friends. They all had a wonderful time encouraging and blessing one another. We started recently, under God’s direction, a 2 month intercession group to pray for family members who are not saved. Every 3 days we pray for 4 different people who are loved ones to the 16 members of this group. It is a strong encouragement for all of us as unsaved family members are often a wrenching burden on the heart of Christians. Praises to our faithful Father for the healing of Christine’s kidneys and other ailments, for His provision for our dental work, and how He continues to use us to encourage many. A couple of closing thoughts. Every single person on earth, saved or not, experiences the blessings and presence of God. Yes, there are many circumstances where you could question that statement, but the reality is, that God created a perfect world and because of the fall, we see pain and suffering. Count your blessings and thank the One who gave you breath. Secondly, have you ever tried to drive on a newly paved road, before they paint the lines? No matter how good of a driver you think you are, you always seem to drift a little one way or the other. Lines are good. The Ten Commandments are good. They are not here to restrict us, they are here to protect us. Also, they are here to show us our sin and that they are impossible to keep. That’s why Jesus came. To fulfill the Law that we couldn’t. Psalm 19:7. By His sacrifice, we can be saved. That being said, and with the importance of knowing the Ten Commandments, how many of you can recite the commandments? Front to back. Back to front. Center to either end. It gives us a good sense of the Holiness of God. And so, to help you and your children in that memorization process: http://www.livingwaters.com/downloads/print/ten-commandments-learning-aids/viewdownload

God bless you as you serve Him,   Mitch and Christine                                                                                                                                                                  Our prayer requests:  Pray for renewed love and compassion for a lost and dying world.

Pray that our lives and marriage will be a witness.

Pray for divine appointments.

Pray for revival in the churches, our neighborhood, our city, and the country of France.

           Dear friends and family, another year has come and gone. It seems time is flying by. A portion of a poem goes, Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. How true it is that we are hard-pressed to comprehend the eternal. And yet, that is everyone’s destiny. Our physical lives will end one day, and we will all go into Eternity. Some to eternal life, some to perish. A sobering thought. Our only hope is in Christ! As the verse says, there is a time to weep, when loved ones die. When our lives seem turned upside down. When it seems nothing is going right. When we try hard but it feels like we’re just spinning our wheels. At those times we need to get God’s perspective and see our lives through the lens of the Bible. Who we are in Christ, or if you’re not a true believer, your need for a Savior. Everybody likes to laugh. The Bible says that laughter is like medicine. It’s interesting that when you weep with somebody or you laugh with somebody, it creates a special bond with that person. I think the verses in Ecclesiastes 3 are speaking of our experiences in life that allow us to empathize with others. Help where we can, weep and laugh when the need arises. Sometimes I have to laugh at how foolish I have been that I was weeping over something that didn’t warrant that kind of emotion. Our main purpose on earth is to Worship God and bring other people to do the same.

We have had a full year with many blessings and times of weeping also. We were able to go to England for a time to help a friend do some repairs on a house which in turn helped with our financial provision. We went to a church there in Bournemouth and met another part of the body of Christ across the channel. Christine met an Iranian man at that church visiting for a few weeks himself and arranged for him to get a Bible

in his own language. We didn’t really do any serious street witnessing while there but we did hand out tracts wherever we could. Like every time we bought something for the house or food or whatever. We used the million dollar tract with Donald and Hillary on it(not to actually pay). Everybody has the right to their own political opinion, but I was amazed at some of the comments people made without really checking the facts. Mainstream media is very powerful and influential, and dare I say it, not always truthful. Anyway, it was a great conversation starter and then we’d move over to the spiritual. We were given a car! Very good condition, older model but with low kilometers. It will allow us to go to different villages to hand out tracts and evangelize and visit family. We also attended the first European Ambassadors Academy. Very good info on many different levels and subjects. Religion, atheism, evolution, logic, philosophy, etc. One week of intense evangelistic training.                The teachers were as excited as we were to teach and for us to learn. They couldn’t believe we wanted more and more, sometimes staying past midnight. At the end of our training we all went out to “put feet on our faith” on the streets in Cannes. Some of us did Open Air Preaching for the first time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oORa-ff_ZzI&list=PLAGs9RqLp2xpUV9DAAUy255Txf6M7z4Ag   Christine is teaching French to some German girls that are involved with a ministry to Muslims. We participated in the Christmas choir again this year. I have not purposely avoided the Promenade where the terrorist attack happened, but recently went back. There are still memorials all around on the walkway from people that have been affected in some way. Evil is always present but we overcome evil with good by the strength of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.                                             Jesus didn’t say this life would be easy, but it is worth it.                                      God bless you as you serve Him,                                                                                     Mitch and Christine                                                                                                     Prayer requests: That we will continue to be directed clearly and powerfully in this ministry. That we would anguish over the city, country, and world that is without hope. That we will have the Love and Compassion that God has for this generation. That our lives and marriage will be a witness to many people. That we will continue to trust and rely on God’s provision in every area of our lives.

 

Hello dear family and friends,

Summer brought back a sweet VBS bilingual kids camp which we finished     despite the tragedy that hit our city (Nice) few minutes after the French national day’s fireworks ended.

The famous Promenade des Anglais, a large sidewalk running close to the beach for miles was packed to the max. A young Muslim man arrived in the dark, at the wheel of a big truck, full speed and zigzagging on that sidewalk with the intention of killing a maximum of people. 85 persons, including children were killed in the matter of few minutes, more than 200 seriously and awfully wounded. This has been a big shock for the local population and the many tourists always present here. And the wave of horror rippled toward every corner of France.

An emergency Canadian team, linked with Samaritan Purse came for 2 weeks to bring emotional and spiritual support and training to many churches of Nice. Mitch was present at the site during the terrorist attack and we need to continue to pray for him even though the Lord spared him miraculously, and for all those who were there, for the many families who lost loved ones and those who will be maimed for life.

The chasm in France between the French Caucasian population and those of Arabic descent is getting bigger. There is some fear mainly among the Caucasian group and lots of anger.

Regarding evangelism in the streets, we have been there at the beginning mainly to listen to people and pray for them. They appreciate though still suspicious of anything that carries the name of God. They are getting very tired of bad news. So we have been giving them papers with 3 verses of the Bible: John 3:16, Matthew 11:28-30 and Jeremiah 29:13 as the majority does not have a relationship with their Creator. All kind of reactions to the verses. I think confusion, lassitude and anger is prevalent. We continue to share about the Truth of who God is and His love for all.

In many villages behind Nice Elisabeth and Christine filled up the mailboxes with Gospel tracts and tried to speak to all they met in the narrow streets. Same reactions there.

Mitch goes regularly with Manuel to share in Cannes. They enjoy very much working together.

Thank you for praying for us to always have a servant heart to our King and to the population of different ethnic groups in France.

Thank you for praying also for more workers in the field.

For us to be more and more a blessing from the Lord to all our brothers and sisters and to each person the Lord place on our path.

For our provision.

For our protection and the protection of our churches.

Also for wisdom and protection of our Paul and Elisabeth and those who work with them in their ministry among Muslims. A ministry in which Christine is involved as a French teacher to 4 young foreign Christian ladies who will be participating for the next year with Muslim children (in a heavily populated Muslim quarter of Nice). The school year started already at the end of August.

Dear friends and family,

Summer is definitively here with its very warm days and a greater affluence of tourists.

We have been enjoying serving here in the south of France the believers and non yet believers attending the church of Calvary Chapel Nice and those attending IBC St Paul de Vence and IBC Nice. Helping wherever we can with practical help, with repairs or maintenance, children ministries, prayers meetings, visits with brothers or sisters to pray and encourage, taking care of children to allow parents to go to a Christian conference, regular translations and of course evangelism in Nice and its surrounding.

Another year of teaching French just ended with my sweet, sweet Germans young ladies and they left taking again a part of my heart away with them.

 

Last week we got involved in serious preparation for one of the big yearly event with IBC church: The bilingual kids camp which lasts a week (starting actually today until Friday). This VBS camp for children 4 to 12 will welcome 50 + children, most of them never went to church, their parents neither, and some come even from Muslim families, and other faiths.

Year after year I am always amazed in front of the creativity and quality of the craftsmanship involved in the whole event. The French families never saw anything like it and they are very impressed. The message of the Gospel will be presented in different ways and we desire for the Lord to be highly glorified and for every child and every parent attending the last afternoon show to be touched for life with the wonderful Gospel.

Sharing with the French population of all different kind of beliefs and ethnic backgrounds is still the highlight of our life here. It is a most amazing and noble call and an incredible privilege to bring the Good News to a nation which never really heard the real Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The churches attendance are small though God has provided excellent solid Bible teachers in both the churches we attend. If people do not come to church in France, then we have to go to them wherever they are.

We can still announce Jesus freely throughout the land of France. But for how long? Russia just passed some laws preventing Christians to share their faith to anyone who is not yet part of their group.

Would you pray on our behalf:

• For wisdom to always be in the center of God’s will and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit for the ministry He has entrusted us with
• That we can share more and more effectively to all here about our wonderful Savior
• For the church in France to understand the seriousness of the spiritual situation for all those who never heard about Him, who never repented and placed their faith on the work of the cross? So few Christians are sharing their faith regularly
• For a great move of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who are attending the VBS camp this week and with the people we share regularly
• For more financial regular supporters
• Extra finances so we can visit our French family here. They are all spread all over the country of France (our last visit was 3 years ago) and so we would have a beautiful blessed time with all. Most of them are unbelievers.
• For spiritual protection

Once again, thank you from the bottom of our heart for all your love, your prayers, your financial provisions and your encouragements of all kinds.May the Lord bless you richly and prompt us all to serve Him better and better as we are getting closer to His presence with each passing day!

 

Dear family and friends,

Spring is finally starting here in the south of France bringing longer days and warmer temperatures. Mitch came back after staying longer in California to help his parents with a few repairs on their house. Much appreciated there, he is now very appreciated here by his wife and by all the dear brothers and sisters in Nice.

We continue to help wherever we can at Calvary Chapel Nice and IBC(International Baptist Church) in St Paul and Nice.

Christine has started to use puppets to tell the Bible story to the 3 to 6years old. Those puppets were also a nice surprise during the last Easter event organized by IBC. Occasionally, Christine teaches women’s Bible study with IBC and is helping with translation from English to French at IBC and French to English at Calvary Chapel. She is also translating a book from Rich Chaffin, “Faithful Service”.

Mitch is very much needed for his talents in fixing things that needs repairs and is an encouragement to those around him.

We are also involved in regular outreaches in the streets of Nice and in the villages around Nice. La Colle sur Loup has been the village chosen where we have visited almost every house! (To be continued). Now we can pray every time we pass next or through the village for all who, at least got a Gospel tract to be touched in depth by the Holy Spirit.

Many brothers and sisters in the States and in France are very encouraged by these outreaches. Christine sends regular reports of what happens during these very special times, about specific people and how we can all pray for them. If you do not receive these updates and you would be interested in receiving them, please let us know.

We are facing some financial surprises from the French government which is called local habitation taxes. There was no warning to this and our initial inquiry was that we are not in the French system and did not need to pay as we pay our regular taxes in the States. Our situation is not described in the categories of the French Tax Department and they consider us as people living in a secondary residence.

Anyway, after the initial shock, came the word of our Lord inviting us to trust Him, one more time. Our prayer is, “Thank you Lord for giving us another opportunity to trust in your provision.”

We know God is the Faithful One and will come through in ways which will truly glorify His Name.

Please do pray that we will do only what He wants us to do regarding this situation and for His provision. That none of that will shake us and prevent us to continue to serve with zeal our God and the people of this land.

Thank you for your interest and your love.

Mitch and Christine

Our prayer requests:

Please pray for our marriage as satan loves to destroy marriage.

Pray for the ministry that God has given to us to do evangelism to the best of our abilities.

Pray that we will be an encouragement and a witness in our lives, our marriage, and our ministry.

Pray that there will be Revival in the church and that evangelism will become a passion to many.

Pray for our provision spiritually and financially.

Dear family and friends,

As I’m sure you have already heard, there was a great tragedy here in France last Friday. We are about the same distance from San Francisco to San Diego, as we are to Paris, so, don’t worry. Many people were killed and our hearts and prayers go out to those families that lost loved ones. Our prayers also go out to a nation that has a difficult future ahead of it. There are many emotions going on here, as in the States I’m sure. Anger, sadness, vengeance, frustration, hopelessness…. But, what would Jesus have us do? How would Jesus have us react? The times that we are living in should not have caught us by surprise. The Bible is full of passages speaking of increasing evil in the last days. Here, as in the States, we have an immigration problem. I heard an Egyptian Calvary Chapel pastor from Long Beach CA comment on this issue. He was saying that, God is bringing these people to our doors. People coming from countries that we could probably never visit. We might not like how they got here, the evil things that have been done, or even the strain it puts on the economy, but what is our purpose here on earth? To Worship God, and bring other people to the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ. John 3:30 says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Part of our Sanctification process is to know the Bible well enough so that we can share the Gospel in a clear concise way. Simply, effectively, and non offensively. Like http://www.wayofthemaster.com/ And do all things in Love. So, in all of this, what should we do? Pray, Pray, Pray!

As the seasons come and go, we keep busy in beautiful France serving the Lord, and His people in different ways. Giving a hand to a family, encouraging others, continuing in our different ways of teaching and learning, working on translation and subtitles of the movie “Audacity” from The Way of the Master. https://youtu.be/tbPu2rtmDbY

Week end conferences and retreats with Calvary or with IBC, enjoying so much the fellowship with the brothers and sisters here. Slowly but surely we are reaching some goals like the last part of our Bible School program. More preparations and opportunities of teaching others, from kindergarten to adults, are opening.

Christine just participated in a conference for women in Paris (before the violence) with other women from IBC where she taught one session about personal testimony and evangelism. A wonderful experience among Haitian sisters! Mitch has been asked to teach on Sunday for IBC in St. Paul de Vence and in Nice. We both are so thankful to be able to grow and participate in the discipleship training for ourselves and also to others. We are also maturing in our relationships, not only as husband and wife but with all the precious people God is placing on our path and with our Heavenly Father. Christmas is around the corner and we will be singing again in the choir along with 15 other Texans on a short term mission, who will come to reinforce our international group here in Nice. We will have the opportunity to sing in one of the largest Catholic churches in Nice on the 4th of December. Pray that we will fill up the 900 pews with local people as we will present the Gospel during this event. Tracts are on the way and we will be back on the streets again. There are many things to praise God for, but we realize more and more that this is a spiritual battle and there are casualties. We need to keep our guards up constantly. The enemy doesn’t sleep. Pray for our protection. We are looking forward to seeing most of you in California and enjoying both family and friends there. To finish we want to tell of our immense gratitude to our Lord who has sustained us during these almost 4 years we have been here in France. We also want to express our gratitude to all of you who have been encouraging us in one form or another. May you be richly blessed for all you do to make His wonderful Name be known! May we fervently pray for one another and encourage each other in the different calls God has given us so we can serve Him and others with all excellency! God bless you as you serve Him,

Mitch and Christine

Please pray for:

Our time in California, that it will be productive

That our time there will be a blessing to many people

Continued provision for the ministry

For our marriage and health

For Mitch to get a level of French to preach the Gospel