Greater Portland Baptist Church

Jesse and Tiffany Shanks: July 2007

It is hard to believe that we have been living in Québec for three months already! We are really enjoying our time here so far, and God is teaching us many important lessons. For example, when we first moved here and were completely inept at communicating in French, normal daily routines became great lessons in humility through humiliation!

Since that time, God has been very gracious in allowing us to learn the basics of the French language, and we continue to learn more each day. We have been very impressed with the quality of the education at l'Université Laval. Rather than focusing primarily on memorization and textbook French, we are learning French through a very hands-on approach, by hearing it and using it in conversation similar to how a child would learn to speak.

Without going into too much detail, we would like to ask you to pray for our registration process for the next session beginning in September. The province of Québec changed some regulations regarding foreign students, which means that we must re-enroll into the University's French program. So far, everything looks to be going smoothly, but please pray that all the paperwork goes through without any problems.

We would also ask that you pray for one of my classmates named Dmitry. He is originally from Russia, but now lives in Canada. Recently, God gave me a great opportunity to share the message of Christ with him, although he does not even believe that there is a God. After a brief conversation with him, he told me that he understood the gospel and how to be saved, but he said that it is "just too simple to believe." Please pray that God will arrange another time for us to talk, and that the Holy Spirit will show him his need for salvation and the "simplicity that is in Christ." (II Cor. 11:3)

Joshua is doing very well. He is growing up so fast! Malerie (Joshua's nanny) has been working with him every day with his ABCs and other schooling. He is also learning quite a few French words, although he's not always sure what they mean or when to use them!

We also want to thank all of you who have signed up for our prayer letter by email. This has significantly reduced the cost of our monthly mailing.

Thank you for your prayer and support!
In His Grace,

Jesse, Tiffany, and Joshua Shanks