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Do you want to get well? 

“When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6)

From July 27-30, we held our annual French-speaking summer conference in Switzerland, at one of the most beautiful places among Swiss Alps, not far from Interlaken. The conference place was surrounded by high mountains covered by eternal snow on their tops. In the day time, we could see clear blue skies, vigorous mountains, valleys, chalets and people of the country who work very diligently. At night, we could contemplate millions of stars in the sky in the form of Milky Way Galaxy. Some people among us shouted with joy when they saw a shooting star. When we were immersed in such a beautiful natural environment, we said to ourselves: “Do you want to get well? No. We don’t need to have such serious question. We are OK here. We are happy here.” But when we remember that every year in Switzerland, around 2,000 people commit suicide, we come back to Jesus’ question: “Do you want to get well?” 

Participants of the conferences were Paul Lee’s family (Genève), his Bible student Daniel Eberhard, Isaac Lee’s family & Joshua Kim’s family (Paris II), Bruno Aussant’s family & Jacob Han’s family (Nantes), one student Paul Iemolo (Nantes), Eun Mi Yoon (Nantes), Joshua Lee’s family (Brussels), David Jumeau and his daughter Sarah Joy (Montreal), Walter Nett and his wife Wynelle (Köln), and Suzanna Kim and her two daughters (Bern) -- 31 in total. 

Coworkers from France, Belgium & Germany drove a very long distance from their countries, a minimum of 650 km. But all of them were happy and excited to partake i the Bible conference through the words of Jesus at this beautiful place. We were very encouraged by the participation of Shepherd David Jumeau & his daughter, Sarah Joy from Canada. 

Paul & Sarah Lee of Switzerland organized all the practical things such as ordering food, room assignments, visiting places, and cleaning during whole conference. Missionary Suzanna Kim (Bern) joined us to give her hands to help with food preparation. All participants were moved by the hospitality and serving of Genève & Bern UBF. And women coworkers worked together for food. And men coworkers served Bible study and made the spiritual environment. 

Message: 

Opening address:Bruno Aussant (Nantes),  Ex 35:21

1st main lecture: Joshua Kim (Paris 2), John 5:1-14

2nd main lecture: Joshua Lee, Jr. (Brussels), John 13:31-38

Message on the mountain: Paul Lee (Genève), Psalms 23

Closing address: Isaac Lee (Paris 2), Mark 3:7-19

Life testimony: 

Sarah Han (Nantes), Sarah Lee (Brussels), Esther Han (Nantes), David Jumeau (Montreal)

Before listening to the messages, NWB (Nantes Worship Band) prepared our minds with music. Sarah Han (entering the university), Joseph Han (high school) and Celeste Aussant (high school) worked very hard to enhance the spiritual environment with PowerPoint, their guitar and their songs. 

As preparation for the conference, men coworkers (Nantes, Paris 2, Genève, and Brussels) met together one time per month from last summer 2015 via Skype and held a group bible study and prayed together. We were weak. We had many practical problems. For example, Joshua Kim (Paris 2) was in Seoul, separated from his wife and two kids who remained in Paris, because he had no visa and no job. Jacob Han (Nantes) passed one & half year without an ID card, because his visa had expired. When he was in Korea, he was an excellent engineer in one of the big telecommunication companies. But for world mission, he abandoned his job in Seoul to come to France as a missionary. In Nantes, he coworks with Shepherd Bruno and works as a business development assistant at a flower-shop managed by his wife, Esther Han. With no visa and no job, he passed through a very humble period. 

But in December 2015, Joshua Kim received a spouse visa and could join his family. During the conference preparation, he received also a job proposal from a Korean company in Paris. So from June, he started to work and to support his family. When he delivered his message (John 5) at the conference, everybody saw that his face was bright and he became very handsome. His wife Ruth-Esperance now has became much more stable with joy and confidence. 

Also in June, during the conference preparation, Jacob Han received from the French administration a letter that France's government would allow him his residence card. For the last one & half years, he and all coworkers prayed for this prayer topic. He experienced a victory from God who is faithful to his children. 

In May and June, via Skype meeting, we exchanged our opinions to fix a theme for the conference. We prayed that God may reveal his grace and truth through our summer conference. When we studied John chapter 5:1-14 and chapter 13:31-38 at the conference, we could understand that Jesus Christ, the son of God, is full of grace & truth. 

In chapter 5, Jesus visited one of the most miserable persons at Bethesda, who had been sick for  38 years. Jesus' visiting reveals his mercy on sinners and his power to restore all sinners. By his grace, Jesus healed the man. The man had no one who could help him. His first word was grumbling and complaining. But Jesus came down from Heaven to help each of us. His grace is enough for us, not human lips' mercy. After healing him, Jesus commanded him: “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” (5:8) This is Jesus’ truth. After healing, we should live for the glory of God and live as a source of blessing for others. We thank God who has restored Missionary Joshua Kim by his grace and his truth. 

In the afternoon, we wrote personal testimonies based on John 5 and shared our testimonies at 4 pm. Daniel Eberhard (Genève) shared his heart-moving testimony. Actually he is sick with cancer. In 2013, he received a sentence of death according to his doctor’s diagnostic. But he is still alive. Secen  years ago, he converted to faith in Jesus. It was his second conference in UBF. He is now praying for his two sons so that they may  accept Jesus as their Savior. 

Missionary Esther Han (Nantes) gave thanks a lot to God who has healed her and is healing her continuously. In her past, she was full of anger and hatred, formed since her childhood under his father’s brutal attitude. During her mission life, she was confronted with several situations. Then she was seized with anger and hatred. But God has been healing her mind day by day. She burst into tears when she thought of this God’s grace toward her life. 

In chapter 13, Jesus was betrayed by Judas. He was denied by Peter. But under such a situation, Jesus said: “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.” (13:31) Jesus’ grace is much more powerful than any kind of sin, than even death. He came down here to save all sinners by his powerful grace. 

And Jesus said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (13:34) This is Jesus’ truth. This is God’s command, not an option. Joshua, Jr., (Brussels) had a difficulty to accept and to love his younger brother Timothy. In February, they fought each other. Joshua, Jr., realized that he could not win his brother because his weight is light compared to Timothy. So he started to eat a lot to gain more weight. But this decision brought him to various useless flesh desires, to be attractive before girls, for example. For 2016, he took this verse as his key verse to love his neighbors such as his younger brother. 

In the Christian community, there are two kinds of persons: one is like Judas who postpones his decision to follow Jesus. The other is like Peter who would like to show off something extraordinary, instead of obeying Jesus’ simple command to love each other. In his message, Joshua, Jr., repented his attitude like Peter. He prayed he may pray for his younger brother and love him as Jesus loved him. 

After the message, we heard life testimonies from Sarah Lee (Brussels), Esther Han (Nantes) and David Jumeau (Canada). Their testimonies were full of grace and truth and thanks to God. They are now seniors in our meeting. Even though they don’t have tangible fruit in their ministry, they live by faith like Abraham who walked with God’s promise. 

Shepherd Bruno coordinated well by respecting the opinions of all coworkers. As a lay missionary, he has a cross to work & to serve God’s mission together. Not only preparing this conference, he has received a supplementary mission to serve one main message in the Encounter conference. These days, his company has proposed to him an upper position as a payroll system manager. We thank God for establishing Shepherd Bruno with His grace & truth. 

Prayer topics:

1. Monthly Skype GBS – Shepherd David Jumeau has intention to join this meeting. To find a convenient meeting hour. 
2. Pray for each other and love each other – sharing prayer topics on a regular basis. 
3. 2nd Gens' spiritual growth and their formation in the love and truth of Jesus
4. Health – Isaac Lee (Paris 2): back pain
5. Job – Paul Lee (Genève): new business development
6. Esther Han, Jacob Han (Nantes): flower-shop business development.