Lyon, France

At the end of April I spent the week with our Serve Globally colleagues in Lyon. What a gift to have extended time to listen to the ways God is at work in their lives and to experience first hand the impact of their ministries. Over the course of the week I was welcomed into the community of Cultural Fusion. The past several years Johnna and Fabio Muniz have been nurturing and modeling a culture of hospitality and welcome to all who join in their activities. When I was present at the Cafe, and in other meeting places, it was so evident that people feel truly welcome to come as they are, and as they feel comfortable, to share their gifts to build up the community and serve the city. Other SG staff have been connecting here and have been able to network volunteers into their areas of service with immigrants and refugees. One beautiful fruit of Cafe Cultural Fusion is that it has become a hub in networking and empowering volunteers around the city through the contacts that the Muniz’s have built over several years.

Fabio and Johnna have been busy this past year training and equipping volunteer leaders to carry on this work while they are in the US next year. It was exciting to meet the leaders that are stepping up and to see their enthusiasm to develop and lead Cultural Fusion.

During my time at the cafe I had a chance to hear the testimony of a student from Brazil who connected with Cultural Fusion. He told me that in his home church and culture he was wary of being with Christians from other denominations and that now he has learned to appreciate the gifts in other traditions, while appreciating his own. He also shared about the discipleship training he has received in building friendships outside the church community, and that he feels better equipped to listen and show the love Christ wherever people may be in their relationship with God.

Pray for:

-the Muniz’s as they prepare to relocate to Chicago and begin a busy season of travel and church visits. Pray that their message will encourage local churches in the mission Christ has prepared for them in their communities.

-for their children Sophia and Julia as they will begin a new school and say goodbye to many friends in Lyon.

-for Cultural Fusion ministries as they carry on the absence of Fabio and Johnna’ leadership in the year ahead.

-for Ken and Adrienne Satterberg, and Rebecca Hodson as they transition to the US and for God to provide richly for the ministries they have served in.

-pray for those who have recently come to faith in Christ, and for the many in whom the seeds of faith have been planted.