Fairview Loop Baptist Church

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Batts Abroad

16 December 2023

2023 Year-in-Review

Merry Christmas, friends!

Last night, our kitchen table and living room were packed with young adults hailing from five different countries, provinces, or states. At least three primary languages were represented, and the conversations regularly bounced between English and French… and often in the same sentence! We’d been looking forward to this night - a Christmas party and the kick-off to a new ministry we’re starting in January - for a long time.

And as we looked around the crowded apartment and soaked in the laughter and fun that was palpable (and driven by good chili and puppy chow) we were reminded that we are here in Quebec City for such a time as this: to love these young adults well and to walk with them closer to our Savior.

It’s been quite a journey getting to this point. The last year has been tumultuous, testing our faith and resolve at regular intervals. Here are some highlights and challenges that you’ve faithfully prayed us through, and God has faithfully walked us through:

• January: We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and Hudson’s 4th birthday… and then we made the difficult and unexpected decision to homeschool Ruth for the remainder of the school year.
• February: Ruth had oral surgery and as a result, she refused to eat or talk for about a month.
• March: We traveled to Pennsylvania to speak with some missionary support personnel and get some resources. We chose to start homeschooling Clara, too.
• April: We celebrated Easter in Quebec City and navigated homeschooling requirements and reports.
• May: We celebrated my birthday, finished homeschooling for the year, and welcomed early summer!
• June: Allen hosted “Dad Camp” with the kids, we went on a family camping trip, and we started hosting our neighbors on Saturday mornings for breakfast on our patio.
• July: We traveled to Baltimore for a conference, went camping in a torrential downpour, and Clara turned six!
• August: We traveled all over Alaska, spanning from Seward all the way up to Fairbanks, and saw countless friends!
• September: Homeschooling restarted (this time with all three kiddos in 2nd grade, 1st grade, and Pre-K), we went camping with our church, and Hudson broke his wrist.
• October: Allen co-hosted a men’s retreat for our church (and celebrated his birthday!), we had a team retreat in the mountains of western Quebec, and we read the 1,000th book of the year with our kids.
• November: We celebrated American Thanksgiving with friends, welcomed the start of winter, and started learning all about Simple Machines.
• December: Ruth turned eight, we decorated for Christmas, and hosted the young adult Christmas party.

What are we anticipating for 2024? The Life Group for young adults (Groupe Connexion) will take place every Friday night at our apartment. Allen will continue to choose songs for and play with the worship team at our church. I’ll keep homeschooling our sweet kiddos. And every day, every week, we’re looking for ways to build and deepen relationships with the people God has placed around us.

Thanks for your continued love, prayers, and partnership. We praise God for you.

Merry Christmas, friends!

Love,

Allen, Melissa, Ruth, Clara, and Hudson

Psalm 16.11

« You [God] make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. »

You should know…

Our website is updated weekly! If you’re looking for more information about what our family is up to in between newsletters, our website (www.battsabroad.com) is updated multiple times a week with photos, stories, and more. You can even subscribe to our website and have the posts emailed directly to you!

We have new email addresses! You can now reach us at allen.batts@everyethne.org or melissa.batts@everyethne.org.

Our financial support requirements are changing. ABWE Canada calculates our financial support need based on several factors, including the cost of living. Costs have increased tremendously lately, and our support needs have increased as well. This summer, ABWE Canada will be changing the formula to calculate our salary, which could cause another change in our support status. Please pray about how you could plug into the work here in Quebec through financial and prayer partnership.

Please Pray for…

Our friends’ and neighbors’ salvation. Specifically, pray for C & L, J, N & J and their kids, C, L, and M.

Groupe Connexion. Pray for God to unite our hearts with those of young adults at our local churches so that we can love and disciple them well, with intentionality.