Wallace Clan - September Update

Here is the latest exciting news about the Wallace Clan!

Wallace Clan - April 2014 Update!

Click below to read our most recent update!

http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6f1cb26bc1920c3fd9bba0626&id=6597c644cb&e=0ae29c70cd

We need 167 people (or families) that will commit to donating $25/mo in order to reach our fundraising goal. Can you help us? Click on the Donate link above or here.

I Am Not A Fundraiser: Confessions of a Missionary Raising Support

"I am no good at this, what is God even thinking."

I must admit that I've asked this question on numerous occasions over the last 12 months. I have never been an entrepreneur. I've never claimed to be a vision-caster that draws lots of people in with an emotive plea for resources. So what on earth am I doing trying to raise a budget of over $7000/month?

The only conclusion that I've come to at this point is that I am doing what God has asked me to do.

Michelle and I feel strongly that God has called us to France. If we're honest there are times that we don't feel qualified or that we don't have anything to offer. We don't yet know the language, and neither of us feels like the most outgoing people.

But our call to France doesn't just have to do with a sense of obligation or duty. The more time I spend in prayer, or go through pictures of our last trip there, or email pastors or missionaries that are working in France - the more I am overwhelmed with a sense of burning desire to help. My heart aches for the pastors that are living and working in France, in small churches, shepherding the people that God has brought into their families.

The multiple newsletters that we get from our friends who are working in France stir our hearts with a mixture of heartache because we are not there and excitement for a time in the near future where we will get to be a part of what God is doing. God has called us to go, and each day He weaves the strings of our hearts together with the hearts of the French people.

I am not a fundraiser, but this process of fundraising is an essential part of our call. You see, we cannot do this alone. God never intended us to shoulder this burden by ourselves. He has called us to partner with family, friends, and church families to share the load. We get to work together to bring the Good News to people in France who have never had a clear presentation of the Gospel. It was Paul's partnership with individuals and church families that enabled him to share the Gospel with so many. We desire to partner with you the same way.

If you are reading this, then I assume that you know us. We've attempted to chronicle our journey thus far, but we know that you may have questions about the details of what we'll be doing. We would love nothing more than an opportunity to share our hearts with you, and allow you to pray about your level of involvement. We know that God has called us to go, and we want to offer you an opportunity to give.

I am not a fundraiser, but I want to get to France. I feel that God has called us to be a part of what He is doing in that country. We want to give our voices, our energy, and our strength to partner with the Church in a country that has largely dismissed Christ. We can only do that with your help.

-ted

Counting Down...

I wanted to give everyone a quick update:

We have until the first week of November to raise our monthly support to a total of 80%. Right now, we're a little over 35% of our monthly support raised, so we have a way to go.

We know that God has called us to submit to this process and His provision, but we also know that you play a major part! We can't do this alone (nor do we want to)!

If you are currently part of our support team, we want to say thank you so much for your faithful giving. Please continue to pray that we will be able to raise the additional support we need by our deadline. If you are not, will you please consider what you could do?

There is a link on the right side of the page that will take you directly to our account page with OM. This is a quick and simple way of giving online. (You can also click here.)

We love you all, and we're grateful for anything that you can do. If you would like to know more about what we'll be doing in France, we would love to set up a meeting with you and share our burden for the Church in France. Email Ted at ted.wallace@om.org or call at 972.342.7345.

-ted
of The Wallace Clan

Wallace Clan - September Update

Latest update is here. Check it out!

Moving Forward

Today is the beginning of something new. It is the first day of my new schedule. I know that may not sound too exciting, but believe me it is!

As our family moves forward towards our goal of oversees missions in France, this is an important step. This means that three days a week, I'll be working at my "normal" job as a Project Manager for Barnett Signs as I have for the last 20 months, and Mondays and Fridays I will now be able to focus on building our support team, language study, and preparation in our move to France.

We are extremely excited to take this next (of many) steps as God releases us to our next destination on this journey. Please keep us in prayer as we move forward. Since our last post, we have met with several other missionaries who are working or who have worked in France, and we are more convinced than ever that this is the location where God is calling us.

The need in France is great. For example, 74% of the population has never read the Bible! The church is small but growing, and we need your help to get there. We are still setting up meetings with individuals, small groups, and churches to share our burden and our story. If you are interested in hearing more, please contact us here.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support!
-ted (& the rest of the Wallace Clan)

Quick Update- Wallace Clan

Before we send out a formal newsletter, I thought I'd share a little bit about what has been going on with the Wallace Clan the last few weeks:

The biggest news is that we sold our house! It was such an answer to prayer, and now we are even closer to our goal of moving to France. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us about this!

We were also surprised recently to get a package from a missionary family that is on the OM France team. They sent us some very encouraging notes - that they were excited and looking forward to us joining them in France - and a bag of candy for the kids loaded with French riddles in the wrappers. According to our friends, it's not possible to understand them unless we have an elementary-aged French child.

Michelle has been working hard tutoring the kids in some basic French over the summer. We're hoping to be able to do a video update soon so that you can hear from Emily, Daniel, Timothy, and Judah.

We've also been blessed lately to meet several people who have worked with missions or lived in France. Their insight has been invaluable, and we're hoping to gather some information that will speak to the spiritual condition of France more specifically.

Thanks again for all of your prayers. God is really on the move on our behalf. I want to mention two specific prayer requests as well:

1. That God will continue to give us opportunities to share our vision for France in order to build our support team.
2. That God will bring people into our lives that have a burden for Europe in general and France in particular. He has already begun this process, but we are anxious to partner with others who feel the same way that we do about this spiritually needy place.

Also, if you haven't signed up for our newsletter you can do so by clicking here. 

Thanks so much,

-ted (Wallace Clan Representative)

Update & Reflections

It seems like it's been forever since I've written. So much has happened, but so much we're still waiting on.


Ted had the surgery to correct his arrhythmia (irregular heart beat), and after seeing the doctor again this week was told his heart is looking completely normal now. Praise the Lord!

We have a contract on our house, and now we're just waiting for the final appraisal so that (hopefully) we can close in a couple of weeks.

We just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary!

We're still settling in at my parents' house, and trying to establish a routine for the kids so they don't kill each other this summer. :)

We are still plugging away at support raising, and with God's help plan to be in France in January.


Sometimes it all gets very overwhelming. Especially the fundraising aspect. Knowing God has called us to go, but waiting on His timing for the money to come in. I described it the other day as this huge mountain, unmovable. We can't go around it and we can't go back. The only way to go is forward. But without God's help, we are stuck staring up at this huge barrier.

Then yesterday I read a devotional that reminded me that we have the authority to cast the mountain into the sea. We can ask our Father for impossible things and He will help us. Just like He helped the Israelites cross the Red Sea, He can move mountains or part the waves for us, too. Our trust, our hope is in Jesus, only. Not circumstances, people, money, dreams. Only Jesus. And He promises that He will take us by the hand and lead us safely to the other side. I pray that this truth will sink into our souls and yours, and give us the courage and hope to keep believing for impossible things.

This poem from "Streams in the Desert" stood out to me this morning:

Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life,
Where in spite of all you do,
There is no way out, there is no way back,
There is no other way but through?
Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene
Till the night of your fear is gone;
He will send the wind, He will heap the floods,
When He says to your soul, "Move on."
And His hand will lead you through- clear through-
Ere the watery walls roll down,
No foe can reach you, no wave can touch,
No mightiest sea can drown;
The tossing billows may rear their crests,
Their foam at your feet may break,
But o'er the seabed you will walk dry ground
In the path that your Lord will make
In the morning watch, 'neath the lifted cloud,
You will see but the Lord alone,
When He leads you on from the place of the sea
To a land that you have not known;
And your fears will pass as your foes have passed,
You will be no more afraid;
You will sing His praise in a better place,
A place that His hand has made.

(Annie Johnson Flint)

Daily Randomness

It is so weird to think about moving to France on a daily basis, and then still do the "normal" stuff of family life. Tonight was Emily's pre-UIL concert at South Garland High School (as a Lakeview alumni, I had to hold my breath the entire time...).

Of course, we had to reward her astounding performance with some Dairy Queen, and then finished up the night with schoolwork for Timothy and giving Judah a bath.

We also sent out our very first email newsletter that explains part of our story in getting back to France. There is this really cool link on our page here where you can sign up if you want.

Anyway, as we move closer and closer to our goal, I am thinking more and more about how our life will change. Because there is so much unknown for us, I'm not sure how much will change, and what we'll be able to keep the same. It is EXCITING though, and we're all looking forward to it.

-ted

March Madness (France) Update

The clock is running out. It is going to be close. All the time and preparation of this team comes down to this moment...

Ok, for those of you that know me, you know that the term March Madness is probably the extent of my basketball knowledge. So even though this post has nothing at all to do with basketball, it does feel like this month has the same sense of excitement. We have had a lot going on already - a discipleship conference, realtors visiting the house, fundraising meetings, preaching at our church, etc... It feels like most of our spare time is spent thinking about France, or deciding which items to take with us, or talking to the administrators of the language school, or "who is our next meeting with?"

In the midst of all of this chaos, we feel a lot of peace. It was so great to sit around the living room with our kids tonight and talk to them about the upcoming changes. We have been in contact with the language school, and they have told us that there are several families from the US with kids that will be enrolled in the school this fall. One of the families even has a 13 year-old daughter that may be in Emily's class!

I love the faith of our kids. I asked them tonight if it was difficult for God to provide all the money that we still need for our budget, and Emily, Daniel, and Timothy (Judah was singing in his crib at the time) at the same time said, "No." And to be honest it kind of had a "Dad, get with the program," tone as if I was the one who didn't believe.

I want to have the same kind of faith. I want to believe God without hesitation. I do believe that He still works miracles in our lives today.

In case you don't know the backstory, and for those of you who may be keeping tabs, here are the highlights:

We are headed to France as full-time missionaries with OM (Operation Mobilization). We have applied for language school, and made our initial deposit. Our target date to leave is this August. We have to have 100% of our budget raised by July 15th. Did I mention that we also have to sell our house???

Our current numbers show us at 28% of committed monthly support and 23% of our startup raised so far.

Although this was a quick-glance at what is going on in the lives of Team Wallace, we would really love to talk to more and more people face-to-face. If we have already met with you - great! Please keep us in prayer. If you could think of 2 or 3 more people that you know who may be interested, please let us know. If we haven't been able to meet with you yet, and you're interested in what we'll be doing while in France, feel free to contact us.

I cannot thank God enough for the tremendous outpouring of love and support from our friends. We could not be where we are today without you.

-Ted
ted.wallace@om.org

Plans

OK, so I recognize that we haven't updated this site since our return from GA last September. Part of that is because we have been so busy since then, but part of it is because we didn't know how best to explain what has been going on.

Here is the "short" version:

On Thanksgiving Day, we got the word that we were officially invited to work with OM France. That was certainly one of the best Thanksgiving celebrations we've ever had. We are beginning to see the end of a 15-year season of preparation for going to work with the church on a foreign field, and a lot is happening quickly.

We have been given a budget that consists of both monthly support and a start-up fund. The amount at times seems unreachable and impossible to raise, but God has already been tremendously faithful. Since mid-December, when we began fundraising, we have raised almost 25% of our monthly support and 20% of our start-up costs.

How are we doing this? Great question! Michelle and I are contacting friends and family and setting up appointments to share our burden for France. This is a unique culture that has a past full of both a powerful work of the Holy Spirit as well as much darkness. Michelle and I still have a lot to learn, but we feel that working in partnership with the church in France, we can share the message of redemption that God has so evidently shown in our lives. We want to see God speak to the 90% of villages and towns in France that have NO EVANGELICAL church at all. We want His Word to speak to the 74% of French people who have never even opened a Bible.

I hope that this short update can begin to capture the burden and love that we feel towards the French people. We would love to meet with everyone one-on-one and speak more specifically about how God is leading us and how you can be a part of the change that He is beginning. If you're reading this now, please pray for us and our fundraising efforts. Pray for our family as we begin the transition process of selling our house, learning French, and making some significant adjustments. And please pray for the Church in France. Pray for the pastors and the people of God that they will be able to share their faith and see God work in a new way there.

Also, I hope that you can expect a phone call from one of us to set up a time to meet! Will you help us be a part of seeing the Spirit of God work in France in a new way?

Thank you all so much!
-ted

OutBound Days 3, 4, & 5

Ok, apologies for not updating sooner, so I'll try to get in the last three days in this update.

On Wednesday, we went to Atlanta to take part in a "Life Experience" activity. The first part was basically a scavenger hunt that had us running around the Atlanta airport. It was a lot of fun, even though it was a little uncomfortable at first. I got to have a few really good conversations, including one with a former pharmaceutical rep who got hooked on prescription drugs and alcohol. During the course of the conversation, she asked, "Don't you think you have to be completely broken before God can really heal you?" I responded, yes, and shared a bit of my testimony. It was really awesome to be able to connect in such a God-ordained way.

CNN World Headquarters 

The second part of that activity was to go in our "tribes" and pray or serve someone that we saw around Centennial Park. We got to do a prayer walk through the CNN World Headquarters, pray for a homeless man on the street named Larry, and pray for Christie, the VP of a non-profit that works with young people in the Atlanta area who was setting up for an outdoor conference.

Tribu "Les Oliviers" - The Olive Tribe

OM USA Headquarters

Harmony House. We stayed in the apartment on the left.

Every Thursday, the OM USA office gathers for a time of worship and prayer for the countries around the world. When we walked into the room, there was a large map on the floor. People were able to stand on the country that they were serving in or that they had a burden for. It was amazing to hear from so many missionaries who are serving around the world. There is a strong focus on the Middle East and North Africa right now, so we were able to pray for our brothers and sisters in that region of the world. Please pray with us that the church will be strengthened in the midst of very oppressive situations.

Thursday Morning Prayer

Feet on France

Me, Michelle, and our newest sister, Vicki

Some members of our tribe, Emily, Olga, Patrice, Michelle and me.

We spent these last few days making some really great friends, and developing life-long partners. Tonight, we shared communion together and then prayed in our tribes, commissioning each other to carry the gospel to the country God has called us. It was a really beautiful time of worship and prayer together.

Michelle and I are coming away from this conference convinced more strongly than ever that God's call is on our lives. We can't wait to get back home and begin to share what God is doing. Thank you so much for your prayers over this week. Please pray for us as we travel back home tomorrow.
-ted

OutBound - Day 1

Inside the central OM USA office. There are 6100 missionaries worldwide representing about 118 countries.

We traveled on the road for about 15.5 hours yesterday, leaving our house around 6 am and pulling into the OM property at about 9:30 pm. It was a long day, but Michelle and I really got a great opportunity to talk together and dream together. Since the kiddos are with Michelle's family this week (Thank you Mike, Donna, Meredith, and Nathan!), we actually had quiet time to process through all that God has done and is doing in this missionary process.

If this is all new to you, let me just explain a little about what is going on. Michelle and I are participating in a job interview/orientation/training conference with Operation Mobilization (OM) called OutBound. These conferences take place about twice a year. We were invited to be a part of this week because we have applied for their long-term missionary program. We have been praying about going back to Europe, and we really feel like this is the next step for us. So far we've had to fill out loads and loads of online forms and paperwork, take personality tests, get references, get physicals, and do phone and face to face interviews. This week is another part of the "getting to know you" process. We are exploring OM and they are doing the same with us to see if we would be a good match together.

Michelle in front of the OM USA Headquarters in Tyrone, GA

Without a doubt in our minds, God has lead us to this place, and we are simply taking the next step. We are still praying about where to go exactly (even though we have some idea in our minds), and we're praying about how we will integrate the kids into their roles on the mission field.

Today we had about a 2-hour interview with the Member Support team. They asked all sorts of questions from, "How do you fight?" to "How do you make decisions?" and "What is your greatest fear about this process?" Michelle and I both walked away feeling really good about their approach, and about how we will move ahead with OM. After this conference is over, they will get the sending committee together to review all of the interviews, applications, and notes from the week and come to a decision on whether or not they want to invite us to be part of the team. So even though we are a few weeks away from knowing what will happen, we feel more and more confident that this is right.

It may be a sign from God...

We can't thank you enough for your prayers and financial support that you've already given to us. We literally couldn't be here without it. Please just continue to pray that God makes things very clear to us and to OM this week on how to move ahead.

Feel free to check out the OM website for more info on their organization at www.om.org.

Thank you all!

-ted

Outreach Report from France!

This is the outreach report from our missions trip to Clermont-Ferrand, France. These pictures and quotes are from the team, including us!

Doing Something

Many people have asked me, "How was France?" or, "How was your trip?" I don't know how to answer that question in a word, but if I had to sum it up, my answer would be, "life changing."


I know that God is doing a new work in my heart and in Michelle's, and I know that he opened a wide door for us to even get to France to begin with. I think it is evident that there is something here for us to pursue. The issue, though, is that I don't know what that looks like in the meantime, or if it is even supposed to be a full-time thing. What do we do while we wait?


In the past, I would have felt paralyzed at this stage. Impotent and impatient. But I really think that God is. challenging us to do something. We have an opportunity now to invest in relationships and build the kingdom here, in Garland, Texas.


I don't want to waste any time or opportunities to love others, to pray, to prepare, to do something for God. While we wait with quiet and secure faith in God's timing, we will also eagerly expect what is to come. 


I feel alive in a way that I haven't felt in a long time, and I want to "fan into flame the gift" that God has given me. For everyone who reads this, I'd like to ask forgiveness for holding back from you in the past. I was trying to "save up" my passion for the "real" work God called us to. I was selfish to withhold my love, commitment and brotherhood from you. 


I would like to try to change that. I want to be open and available. I want to love and live passionately, and I want to do it alongside my brothers and sisters. I am so thankful for all of the people that He has placed in my life. I am humbled by your love.


So, that being said, do you want to change the world together. Let's do it. Let's pray together, trust in God together that he can change our lives, our families, and our communities. Let's not waste time, let's not be isolated and fearful in giving our hearts and lives for one another.


I love you, and I want to do something with you!
-ted

Final Day / Departures

FINAL DAY

Our prayer team before going out on the streets.

Yesterday was our final day of outreach to the city of Clermont-Ferrand. Overall it was a really powerful day. Since it was a Saturday, we had quite a lot of extra help from people in the community. We began the day with prayer, asking God to make our efforts effective for Him. It was so great to see so many people gathered to pray.

Just before the flash mob on the city square.

This particular day's focus was on one of the main squares in Clermont. We set up a large flash-mob, did mime, testimonies, and Sketchboard presentations. 

The many faces of Timothy after jumping in a fountain at the central park in Clermont-Ferrand.

The response seemed to be very good. We also passed out invitations to a BBQ that the church hosted that evening.

Emily and Nathanja passing out invites to the soiree.

Le Flash Mob in front of Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral

Aforementioned store...

We moved locations several times in order to present the gospel to more people, and the last location was in front of the Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral. It was so good to be part of shining God's light in such a spiritually dark place. This was evident because a local shop owner threatened to call the police if we didn't leave. She put up signs in her store windows warning other people about us!

The night ended with a meeting at the church (called a soirée, which is just a really fun way to describe what we were doing!)

This included an all-you-could-eat BBQ, songs, traditional Irish dancing, skits, etc... We had a very positive turnout from the community, and had a chance to share the gospel with many for the first time.

View of the courtyard from our balcony during the BBQ.

DEPARTURES

Today was a final celebration service. All of the local churches gathered together at Les Eaux Vive (the host church during the outreach), and we all worshiped together. It was really amazing to see the unity of the local churches.

Me and my buddy Sam!

Me and the pastor of the
church in Riom, Jean-Pierre

The pastor of the church, Jean, preached on using our gifts and talents for God. Each person is unique with different skills and abilities, but all of us have to be willing to let Him use us for His purposes. The Spirit of God was so strong in the room.

After the service, we all ate a final meal together, and began saying our “goodbyes” to one another. There were a lot of bittersweet tears, hugs, and prayers for one another. It was hard to believe that we had only known each other a week.

Our family and Marlene, she really
connected with Emily and Daniel!

This afternoon a host family invited our kids to a local waterpark with some splash pools and inflatable rides. We had a little trouble when we got there, because Daniel and Timothy’s swimming suits were not considered proper “swimming costumes” and they would not let them into the splash pool.

Fortunately for them, our host family knew someone nearby with two boys near Daniel and Timothy’s ages and size, and they got to borrow their swim trunks. I really wanted to get a picture of the boys in their French swimwear, but they were already in the water, and I didn’t want to be the creepy guy taking photos of kids in a pool.

NOT PICTURED, DANIEL AND TIMOTHY IN

PROPER SWIMMING COSTUMES

We then went to the Michelin tire plant where we saw the world’s largest tire.

It was pretty big, but I was forbidden to climb it. :(

Afterwards, we had a lovely outdoor dinner with our host family in their backyard. Tomorrow morning, we board a train to head back to Paris for one last night before our flight to the states. Thanks so much for your prayers for us this week. God is really moving in our family, and I can’t wait to tell you what He is doing in our hearts over a cup of coffee, or a 3-course meal!

We won't invite this weirdo, though. Emily in the backyard
at our host family's home.