I am very disappointed to say that our trip has been cancelled.

Here are the words of Kelly Reilly, our mission director:

"As many of you have heard, we received some difficult news last week. It appears that baby Reilly has a severe form of spina bifida, called myelomeningocele. In the past five years fetal surgery to correct the exposed spinal cord has become routine, and the doctor thinks we are good candidates for the procedure, tentatively scheduled for 3 July. If the surgery goes through, it would mean staying on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy, and my family and I would be unable to lead the trip. While we won't know for sure about the surgery until 15 June (and the determination cannot be made any sooner), we also cannot hold airline tickets and make time-critical ministry arrangements when it is hopeful that we will be accepted for the surgery. Because of this and the many other unknowns associated with this development, we believe it is wise and necessary to cancel the trip. We are disappointed in having to make this decision, as we have led this trip for the past 12 years, but we know it is the best plan for this year."

 
I stand with Kelly and her family in this decision. Please pray for the family as they have a challenging path ahead. 

TPS hopes to continue the mission trip in 2016 and beyond.

Here is the flyer that we are sending out to Montauban and Marseilles. Join us in praying that many, many children will come to le club d'enfants bilingue.

Funshop for Mt. Everest

 I attended a Funshop on Mt. Everest to learn more about the curriculum and to get ready for the VBS. So many good ideas, science experiments, snacks and games! Now we have to figure it out in French and how to take it to France. One thing I've noticed is that Americans like sweet snacks: candy & cookies. We tasted some "snowballs" that were made of popcorn, marshmallow & candies. French kids are not used to that much sugar. They prefer le pain et le nutella. So we will modify the snacks. Le yaourt ( to symbolize the snow)  will work!

Mt. Everest

This is the VBS program

 we are doing this year.  Have the kids in southern France ever seen snow? Oh yes, a few times.

Our mission 2015

Mission #1: Encourage the French church. Evangelical believers in France make up less than 1% of the population. The attractive English component of our bilingual kids Bible camps means that families who might not otherwise send their children to a church camp are open to doing so, and the churches can continue the relationships built with children and their parents throughout the year. The church we minister to in Marseille saw an 80% increase in their children’s ministry after the Bible camps began. Our TPS team of students and adults leads two weeks of full day camp, including songs, crafts, Bible stories, games, and more, designed to introduce children to God’s love and his mighty power.

Mission #2: Encourage the international church. The church in Marseille is made of believers from over twenty different countries, including faith-workers from different English-speaking countries. This will be the eighth year of ICC Bible camp in Marseille, and the second year in Montauban (near Toulouse). In the past, the teams have also served in Nice/Saint Paul de Vence, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, and Narbonne, each time moving on when a local group is able to take over the summer ministry project. TPS brings ministry resources to these churches that are not always available to them in France, and extra hands to multiple the outreach impact.

Mission #3: Reformation History. To understand the religious history of France, we begin our trip with two days in the Cevennes Mountains, historic stronghold of French Protestantism. At the Musée du Désert, we study the “desert” period that the Huguenots faced during persecution from the French crown, and the dangers they faced for the sake of following God and his Word. We also learn how secularism has become the dominant belief system in France. A hike up to a cave where Huguenots met secretly to worship, despite the threat of galleys, imprisonment, or death brings to life their example of perseverance and steadfastness under persecution.

Getting ready

   Welcome to this blog for our mission trip to France, July 1-18, 2015.  Kelly Reilly put out the information about this trip in February. Within 2 weeks, we had more applicants than available spaces on the trip. With careful prayer and dialog, we narrowed the list down to:

Team List

Mingi Bodine (Mrs.)

Rachel Bodine

Scott Buono (Mr.) week 1, Lake Baldwin Church participant

Lindsay Buono (Mrs.) week 1, Lake Baldwin Church participant

Bill Crosby (Mr.)

Jake Crosby

Grace Driggers

Daniel Eatherly

Jo Gowing (Mrs.)

Lowri Gowing

Jessica Greene

Simeon Hargrave

Amy Heidmann (Mrs.) week 2, Lake Baldwin Church participant

John Heidmann (Mr.) week 2, Lake Baldwin Church participant

Briley Mathia

Sabine Mueller

Maureen Orsini (Team Leader, Mrs.)

Dominique Orsini (Team Leader, Mr.)

Dominic Orsini

Kelly Reilly (Team Administrator, Mrs.)

Lucas Reilly

Taylor Rooney

Julia Sedlack

Marie Seguin

Jamie Senkeleski (Mrs.)

Julia Senkeleski

Emily Silzel

Andrea Sim

Morgan Spalding

Barbara Starosciak (VBS Director, Mrs.) 

Liz Szews (Mrs.)

Erin Szews

Shannon Wade

Zachary Zuiderveen