Update from Nicole & Vincent - 7/10/21

Dear Dixie,

Thank you so much for praying for Laith's baptism.  He's thrilled for me to share these photos with you, although can I remind you not to post the photos or the story anywhere online?  It was a very special time for him, and so very encouraging and inspiring for all of us!  We are so pleased to see all of the ways he is growing in maturity in Christ and vision as a young leader! 

Simon turned 18 this week and has also been preparing for baptism, he will get baptized next week while we are at camp!  Mahdi too is preparing for baptism, and while we haven't yet decided on a date, it's great to see these three young men mutually encouraging each other in their faith journey!

This week Laith, Simon and Mahdi also got their Baccalaureate results (High School Diploma) and graduated from High School!  I've attached a photo of them in their gowns!  They all did very well and Mahdi, who was elected Valedictorian, gave his speech in Italian (he obtained the French and Italian Baccalaureates simultaneously, both with outstanding grades - less than 5000 students obtain this "ESABAC" each year in France!)  We are deeply encouraged and filled with hope as we launch these young men into their future studies and continue to walk alongside them in their leadership development. 

At Parfums de Vie we have a very busy summer ahead and we have several prayer requests for the coming weeks:

Summer Youth Adventure Camp 11-25 July

• that it will be a special time of discipleship, growth & transformation for all of our youth - we will creatively involve all of the kids in facilitating the teaching to help them engage with scripture
• for Simon's baptism during the camp and its impact on the rest of the group - Laith wants to baptize him (he will do this together with me or Vincent) - will you pray that Laith and Simon's outward expressions of Christian faith will be a blessing and inspiration to the several muslims who will be present and not cause for division or conflict - it is a sensitive area to navigate and we ask for prayers for protection, wisdom and unity - that the love, grace and presence of Christ would reign among us, despite different traditions, convictions and practices
• that it will also be a time of growth for our leadership team - we are thrilled that Harry & Marjorie and my brother Roddy & his wife Fatiha are joining us to help out with the camp
• for health and financial provision (see below it you'd like to contribute financially towards the costs of the camp)

Mission Trip Tunisia 28 July - 8th August

• Vincent, Etienne, Narjes, Laith, Simon and I will travel by boat to Tunisia with our van filled with books and supplies for our contacts at the school and the orphanage
• for protection, health and miraculous encounters and conversations
• for our time with the headteacher of the school - we have 40 boxes (1 metric tonne!!!) of French children's books to gift to the school (all donated to Parfums de Vie) - last time we were there, in 2018, we took a few boxes of French books because the headteacher there has no budget for books - she had shared her dream of creating a library for the children and ever since we have been collecting books for her school!  We are so thankful that Parfums de Vie can finally return and be a blessing to this school and community!
• for our time with Laith and Narjes' father - they haven't seen him for three years and have almost no contact with him - he is not in good health and the kids feel that it's important that they visit him and also meet their three half-siblings!
• we will also visit some Rose Growers for perfumery - as Laith begins Business School, he's interested in exploring business opportunities in Tunisia, his country of origin, that would provide jobs, hope and blessing to people in need - may our time there continue to inspire his vision and heart for the world

Getting Laith to The Netherlands

• he still doesn't have any accommodation - will you pray for the right space to open up in University accommodation
• his visa has been approved by the Dutch government but we need to go to Paris to collect it and are waiting on news for the appointment date
• we would like to be able to take him to Rotterdam to help get him settled at the end of August, but we are not yet able to make plans due to the uncertainty about the visa

Getting Narjes to Scotland

• answer to prayer - we finally got news yesterday that the University can provide her accommodation for her second year - we don't yet know what exactly - please continue to pray that the right spot with a good room-mate will open up for her
• we hope to take Narjes to Scotland late August and also visit my family - Etienne hasn't seen his grandparents for almost two years because of Covid - but making plans remains difficult because of the Dutch visa for Laith and also Covid quarantine rules - pray that the travel plans will come together and peace in the midst of uncertainty!

Finding Accommodation for Simon in Nice

• Simon hopes to do the daily commute, although he will need to take two buses and one tram each day to get there!  We think that in the long term finding student accommodation near his school will be good for him.  Pray for all of us as we help him to navigate this transition.

Mahdi

• Mahdi got excellent results for his Bacculeareat and is still waiting to find out if his application to the University of Rome has been accepted.  Italian Universities don't start until October, so he has a little more time to get things organized.  Will you pray that God will open the perfect doors for his future studies?
• And pray too for his baptism - that we will have discernment for the best time for him.

Our Ministry Center
Thanks to the generosity of some of our donors, for a number of years we have been in a position to purchase our ministry center, and while the owner does want to sell, we still haven't been able to agree on a price as his asking price is double the market value - which we are not willing to pay.  The owner is in his eighties, not in good health and has significant debts.  We have enlisted the help of an attorney to negotiate the sale, but so far, the owner hasn't responded to any of the letters the attorney has sent since March this year!  Will you pray for a miraculous breakthrough for him to be willing to negotiate a better price that we would be willing to pay and for the sale to go through by the end of 2021?  Vincent and I remain sure that this really is the right place for our ministry center......

Finances
Will you continue to pray with us for the ongoing support of the ministry?  In addition to ongoing funding for our various programs with the children and youth, sponsoring four kids through University is obviously quite a commitment and we also continue to raise support towards the University Fund.  We truly believe that investing in their further education is investing in the future of Parfums de Vie and the kingdom in France.

Luke Parker - Intern for 2021-2022

Finally, can I ask you to pray for Luke Parker.  He is a young graduate from Spokane, Washington and plans to intern with us for a year starting September 2021.  We really need the extra help and are very excited about having him join our team here for the coming school year.  Specifically, he is working on his visa application which is of course essential for him to come.  Will you pray that God opens the doors for the visa in a timely manner so that he can travel as planned to join us in early September?

Vincent and I are so encouraged by your love, friendship, prayers and generosity.  The academic success AND the faith commitments of our four young University students truly inspires my prayers for the many younger children that we are working with at Parfums de Vie.  Continue to pray with us that they too will not only succeed in their schooling but grow into young leaders with Christ centered values.  May it be so!

with love & deep gratitude,
Nicole & Vincent