The Whitemans in France

6 months

We wouldn’t believe it if it weren’t for the calendar on our wall . . . six months ago, we boarded a plane and left Colorado. I still remember that take-off, looking intently at the contours of the mountains and how the clouds wrapped around the snowy summit of Pikes Peak. It’s a view that we enjoyed and even took for granted for six years. You look at it differently when you know you won’t see it again for a long time. 

Now as we approach the end of our season in Albertville, I’m starting to take mental snapshots of our life and surroundings here. It’s been a growing and trying season for us, as well as one filled with grace and a clear sense of God’s faithfulness. Transition is never easy, and when you transition to a foreign language, you lose some of yourself in the process. People don’t know you are clever or funny if you can’t speak their language. They don’t really know what matters to you or what makes you who you are. 

Being stripped down to your core is a real faith test; it forces you take a close look at yourself and where your true identity lies. We’re learning the truth of Philippians 3:8: “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” God has been faithful in that in losing ourselves, we have found ourselves and our true identity in Him.

We are constantly reminded of our friends and family back home and are so thankful for your prayers and support. Several weeks ago, we were feeling attacked and heavily discouraged. Both of us were at our lowest point since coming to France. Friends from our small group were prompted to pray for our protection and encouragement—we both felt a lift from that point. Your praying makes a difference! 

We have made big strides in our language learning over the past few months. Being able to carry on a conversation about things that matter and finally being able to express ourselves (for the most part) is so encouraging. Gaining French friends has been a huge reward. 

Madeline continues to grow at an amazing rate. At some point in the past month, she transitioned from spitting sentence fragments to making polite requests with full sentences. She is a social butterfly and has made lots of friends at the language center. Right now her older friends are into Star Wars trading cards, so when Maddie tells us about all her friends, Yoda often makes the cut.

Last month we were able to spend several days recouping in Tuscany (we are just an hour from the Italian border), followed by a prayer retreat with the C&MA France team in Mâcon. Both were much needed and encouraging.

We thank God for His faithfulness in this crazy season of transition. And we thank you for your faithfulness to us. Your continued friendships, your prayers, and your support are a lifeline. As this season in Albertville comes to a close, we can’t wait for what is next. We have seen that God is faithful, and we know that He will do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!

Josh, Jenn, and Madeline

PS – We are so encouraged and humbled by how many have sacrificially given to our launch account. To date, we have received just over 3/4 of our goal, and we still have several months to go. Thank you!