Dear friends of the English L’Abri,
As you probably know, from hearing the story of L’Abri or having visited one of our branches, prayer is at the very heart of this work and so often, as we gather to pray or as we pray individually, we are grateful that we do not pray alone: we are deeply aware that we are held and carried by so many friends of the English L’Abri who gather round us, continuing to lift up this work. Thank you for your care and support.
The Manor has now settled into a winter quiet as our students have now left and I want to write to share with you some of the things that the Lord has done in the last year or so and to encourage you to pray with and for us.
One picture that is often in my mind as I pray is of two trees, growing straight and tall, a small distance from each other. Their branches intertwine overhead, but on the ground, there is space between those trees. This mental picture comes from a story that Edith Schaeffer often told of a time in her life when she realized something about our human limitedness and prayer. Having slipped away from the busy L’Abri chalet to the woods above the Swiss L’Abri, she told of being burdened by a complicated circumstance weighing on her heart. She was confident (in theory) that the Lord had this situation in His hands and was at work within it, but she also wondered if she was unwilling for God’s will and longed for clarity. Edith knew as well that the Bible teaches that if we have faith, even just a glimmer of faith—the size of a mustard seed—we can be confident to bring our longings and needs before the Lord. We can trust that if we ask, He will answer us. She knew He cares about the minutiae of our lives. But these two things sometimes bring about a collision in our prayers, as we seek to trust and rest in the will of God, and as we seek to bring our requests before Him with all the passion and subjectiveness of our longings.
She noticed the tree she was lying beside as she had flung herself on the ground to pray, and she also noticed a nearby tree; in noticing the two separate parallel lines of the tree trunks and yet the intertwining of the branches further up, she realized that in our finiteness, we are sometimes trying to straddle two things that are true but it is just not possible; we can’t do the splits like that. She describes lying flat on the ground and placing her feet firmly up against the trunk of the first tree and mentally placed the words “trust” and “God’s will” upon that trunk and prayed, seeking sincerity and honesty in wanting His will. Then she prayed for tokens that He was hearing her, tokens of His care and attention (like a child at night, calling for a glass of water, but who actually just needs the reassurance of a parent’s loving, attentive presence). Then she moved over and placed her feet up on the trunk of the second tree: “ask — bring your requests” and “faith”. And with confidence, she poured out her heart to Him. We are not, in our finiteness, capable of straddling the two trees, but we can plant ourselves confidently before each of those pillars of truth in turn, seeking to trust His will and earnestly bringing our requests before Him. And as we bring our requests to Him together, we can notice the tokens of His care for us, sometimes in the midst of very complicated circumstances.
One of the prayers that we have seen continually answered this past year is the prayer prayed throughout the history of L’Abri across every branch: that God would bring the people of His choice in His timing. As I look through our guest lists, I am so moved by the evidence of that answered prayer as I think of the names and faces of people who have been guests here over the year. I can’t tell many stories without breaking confidences, but my heart wells up with the beautiful people who have come and the way that their hearts have been touched and their faith has grown during their time here. One precious person came from a war-torn country; we agonized with her as she processed so many things—personal and on a larger scale—and grew closer and closer to taking significant steps towards faith. As she loved people in this community and was loved by them, we saw evidence of the Lord at work. Another person came in a state of exhaustion and burn out and left feeling human again, able to see that God loved him not just for what he did, but for who he was.
Others came with big life questions, some feeling crippled with anxiety, some with agonizing experiences with the church to process, and some hoping to find reasons to continue in their faith. Many came with questions about what it means to be a faithful Christian in our current cultural climate. People also came for small breaks in the midst of busy lives, to grieve for a space of time, to grow, to learn about a particular question troubling them or their church, and to process the last few years and the impact that the world-wide pandemic has had on their church or their family or their individual lives. So often it seems that the Lord answers our prayers for these people by using their time in this shelter to show them glimpses of the Lord’s immanence and tokens of His great care for them as they see Him at work in the day-to-day life of our community and relate that to their own life situations. We are thankful that the Lord continues to bless this work and we are so thankful for those who continue to support it in a variety of ways: practically, financially, and most of all, through praying for us. We are also thankful for those who have been helpers with us this past year: Daniella, Laura, Evan, Rachel, Lauren, Parker, Leah, and Emily…and we pray for those who are about to join our team as helpers for the next term: Evan and Lacey Shelton and family: Madelynn, Parker and Corban.
Our year at the English L’Abri
We are so thankful that Grace Pepper from Nashville, Tennessee joined our team in January. She has created a warm and welcoming home in the Top Flat and hosts many meals there as well as in the Manor. She has served in a number of ways including arranging the work list, the meal list, and coordinating the laundry. She has been a helper for three terms at L’Abri in the past five years or so and this experience has equipped her well as she cares for and manages our helpers.
We are also thankful for our newest team member, Ingvild Hellenes, who first came to the English L’Abri over ten years ago. She arrived in May to make a new home in the Back Flat of the Manor House. Ingvild is from Norway, has studied history and apologetics in Norway and England, and brings a wealth of experience from her background in working with young people, as well as editing and translating books (including Jim’s book What On Earth Is Heaven? into Norwegian). Her last few years have also been marked by chronic illness, which has heightened her interest in topics around existential apologetics such as meaning, suffering, relationships and joy.
During the summer term, we were so grateful to have Thorsten and Vera Marbach join our team and make a temporary home in the Stables. Thorsten and Vera are workers at the South African L’Abri and know the English L’Abri well, as they were students and helpers with us years ago. Now their children are grown and they chose to come and have a “working sabbatical”, spending nearly three months with us. Their wisdom and experience were a gift to our team and the timing was wonderful as the Pauls were on sabbatical for the summer. Join us in giving thanks for this time with them and also please do pray for them as they continue the work of L’Abri in South Africa.
Jim and Merran Paul are enjoying a season of sharing life with their two now-adult sons, as Jack has finished his studies in Classics and Law at Bristol University and is working locally while applying for trainee posts with law firms, and as Sam continues to pursue his career in professional football,vplaying regularly for an U21 team. They were able to take a well-earned sabbatical this past summer and are so very thankful for this time of healing and recovering their energies. They had a family holiday in Italy, read numerous books, repainted their living room after installing a wood-burning stove, visited family near and far, and walked some wonderful, rather adventurous footpaths. This autumn, it has been encouraging to see them step back into their roles at the English L’Abri, much renewed and refreshed, as they continue as coordinators of this branch.
In October, we were privileged to host a special book launch! After decades of walking with people and exploring questions about truth, reality and hope, Marsh Moyle has, through blood, sweat and tears (metaphorically, and possibly literally too), just published a book called Rumours of a Better Country: Searching for Trust and Community in a Time of Moral Outrage. If you have been a student at the English L’Abri, you have possibly been part of an evening that Marsh hosts called Café Now and Not Yet. These evenings of conversation around a sculpture by Liviu Mocan invite us to imagine what our present reality might look like were it suffused with the pursuit of goodness through obedience, trust, and community.
As Marsh writes about looking at this statue: “Golden and light on the inside, but sharp and frightening from the outside. Love invites you in but must also protect from danger. What are the dangers that destroy love? What are the commitments that promote it?” This book is an expanded journey through years-worth of those evenings, set down for individual thought as well as group exploration. It is a sustained reflection drawing on a lifetime of conversation, study, experience, and prayer. Do pray for Marsh (and for faithful Tuula!) as he has opportunities to meet with various people during his upcoming book promotion events.
The Merz family are incredibly thankful that we were able to return in April to Australia for the first time as a family since we came here in early 2013. The whole trip was a wonderful gift; the chances to spend time with Peter’s precious family in their home, as well as to renew acquaintance with dear friends, were priceless. One highlight was a visit from Karl and Jenny Pacholke and family, who are continuing the story of the Australian L'Abri by starting a fledgling work in Brisbane. We also loved walks in the bush, exploring Peter’s favourite childhood haunts, and swimming in the sea, in which, on one occasion, Peter swam with a little fairy penguin while snorkelling—a claim that is strenuously denied and ridiculed by his children. Living so far from our families is hard, and we pray for continued opportunities to visit them, especially as our parents grow older. I, Dawn, have just arrived home from visiting my parents in Iowa, USA—a visit which included Covid-19 (for me!) and appendicitis for my mother, who is also fighting Stage 4 breast cancer. Even so, we are thankful for the goodness of God, particularly as my mom’s health has been stable for the last year or so and every day is a gift.
Sarah Liechty continues to be the first point of contact with most of our guests as she looks after many of the office responsibilities, including bookings. She was able to go to Brazil in August to visit Josue and Lili Reichow and their little boy Benja, who left the English L’Abri last December. In her words, “to see the beginnings of this branch in Southern Brazil, the vision they have for it, and even to participate a bit in their work, blessed my socks off.” This Christmas, Sarah is hosting some of her family from the States. Pray that she also is renewed and refreshed during these holidays.
The Barricklows are thankful for a new 7-seater car this year, which allows them to give lifts to various and sundry extras (including school runs with the Merz kids) and feel confident about making longer trips up to Scotland, such as their Christmas trip to visit Catherine’s family. They were also able to go to the USA to be with Joel’s family in August. Joel continues to wear many hats at the Manor and has been especially juggling the never-ending maintenance tasks. This year has seen the completion of the renewal of the Pink Room, which has a newly installed hallway to make it legal as part of the fire escape route. Catherine masterminded the film festival on “Longing to be Great” last February, which was another highlight of the year. Stay tuned for information on our next film festival (the weekend of March 2nd).
Other news
As energy prices go up, the Lord has provided a variety of gifts in this last year that have helped us pursue alternative sources of energy. We have substantial firewood piles for which we are very thankful, but we also need more for the future, so we are thankful for opportunities for “gleaning” wood from sources in the surrounding community, making numerous trips with our small trailer, cars and some willing manpower to bring the wood back here to be processed. Another exciting possibility is that a generous gift has been given to help us more effectively heat the Manor Dining Room and Living Room by installing woodburning stoves. Pray that we find the right contractors to do this, and that other needy places in the Manor can also find reasonable stoves so they can be heated more efficiently. Finally, after much work from Jim seeking planning permission, very kind gifts of money to finance the project, and several work-days preparing the ground and trenches, etc, we have now installed ground level solar panels in the field in the back of the property. These are now supplying electricity to the Stables and Granary, and we are moving into phase two of our desire to pursue more renewable energy by installing solar panels for the Old School House.
Looking ahead
As we look ahead to this coming year, I would especially ask your prayer for us as we care for our loved ones. Merran’s mother in South Africa is frail and needing increasing care. Merran is away visiting her as I write. Joel’s father had quadruple bypass surgery this summer and is doing quite well; my mother is on palliative care with stage four breast cancer and is also in a stable period. Sarah’s sister-in-law passed away this past year and leaves a grieving family. The Lord has provided so encouragingly through gifts and savings for us to be able to go and visit or help when we need to, but it is always hard to live far away. Do pray that we will know God’s peace as we navigate this coming year.
As we continue in this season of Advent, may the Lord fill you with His assurances of “Immanuel” — God is With Us — and may He give us tokens to remind us of His faithful care for us, in whatever seasons of life we find ourselves.
Warmly,
Dawn Merz