I'm a little late getting this post done, but a couple of weeks ago Evelyn had a momentous day at church as she and the other second graders were presented with their Bibles. This is a tradition we've had for a long time and I feel so fortunate to be the one presenting to these precious kids. It's always extra-special when I get to present to one of my own children. I'm thankful that we've been able to continue gathering in the parking lot on Sunday mornings throughout this pandemic, so that milestone events like the Bible presentation can still take place.
During the presentation I had the privilege of sharing a really cool story with our church family. So 20 years ago, shortly after Russ and I were married, we met a KU graduate student from Chad named Massissou. We gave him a ride to church each Sundy and became quick friends. The next year, we were excited when his wife Nicole and two of their sons, Jean-Paul and Armel, were able to join him in Lawrence. Here are a couple of pictures of one of the times we had them over for dinner and a swim at our apartment complex. (Please excuse the terrible lighting and poor picture quality -- these were pre-digital cameras!)
Massissou's third son Theodore, and daughters Hortense and Denise, joined them to bring the whole family together in Lawrence. Here's an adorable picture of the brothers enjoying their popsicles in the pool.
This summer, Jean-Paul connected with me on Facebook (one of the things I love about social media) to let me know that he still has the Bible we presented to him at our church in October of 2001! When Massissou finished his PhD, they moved back to Chad. From there, Jean-Paul moved to Tunisia, and now lives in Ontario, Canada. This Bible has been a world traveler!
He told me that he has wonderful memories of his time in Kansas. I just loved sharing his story with our church family, as many of them remember Massissou and his family. Here is a picture of how I remember Jean-Paul and Armel. . . and the handsome young men they've grown up to be!
As I told the kids, I don't expect their Bibles to travel the world as Jean-Paul's has, but I do expect them to use their Bibles to get to know Jesus better. We've been given such a gift in having God's word accessible to us anytime, anywhere. We should never take this gift for granted, but we should take every opportunity to read it, interact with it, and grow closer to God through it.
As part of Oliver's confirmation instruction, the kids were encouraged to read the Bible, cover-to-cover, with their families. We printed off a one-year reading plan and began our journey on the first day of school. So far, we've completed 36 days and amazingly, are right on track! I am REALLY loving this time each day in God's word, and I love that Evelyn has her own Bible that she can highlight and write in as we read. It just about makes my heart explode to have my boys AND my baby girl reading the Word out loud each and every day. What a gift we've been given!
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