France

JP is our last of 4 living children.

Our Franco-American baby arrived in 2011.

His diagnosis of autism in 2014 led us to leave France & return to the U.S. for his long-terms special educational needs.

It appeared that the door to service in France quickly shut in 2014 after 20 years.

Surprisingly God seemed to reopen the France door in early 2023 through a dream.

This led to an initial vision trip in May/June 2023 to see & research what was happening.

I attended the 2023 annual weekend retreat of Famille, Je T’Aime for individuals & families affected by autism.

The next one will be in May 2025.

I returned to France in October 2023 to help with the first A’Tipik Special Needs Family Weekend at the Centre des Jeunes St-Lunaire in Bretagne on the Atlantic Coast.

We welcomed 6 families (6 children & 6 moms) from Saturday after lunch until Sunday late afternoon for tasty meals, craft projects, games, Bible study, discussion & times of building connection.

Every child had a 1 to 1 “buddy” who accompanied them most of the time.

Workshops included

• Cooking
• Music
• Sports

Our 2023 leadership team had 9 members in 2023. We learned a lot together.

The Centre des Jeunes St-Lunaire scheduled a 2nd A’Typique October 5-6, 2024.

In 2024, our team had 8 of the 9 leaders back from 2023. This made overall camp organization a lot smoother.

We also added 2 new leaders, including Dan from Minnesota.

A’Tipik 2024 had 7 families participate, including 3 from 2023. This included 2 dads.

A Parents Getaway to the Atlantic Ocean was appreciated.

Delicious meals with special needs friendly diets allowed for unrushed, enjoyable discussion.

Buddies sat with their families.

The workshops allowed the children & parents to express their creativity.

The boys played their instruments very loudly.

Saturday night provided lots of laughter & fun for the whole group together. Special needs families especially need opportunities to let loose together.

A’Tipik 2024 was fantastic.

A’Tipik 2025 is already reserved for October 4-5, 2025 at the Centre des Jeunes St-Lunaire.

If you

• Have a heart for kids with special needs
• Know some French

please consider coming to France to help at A’Tipik 2025. Please contact me to start to discuss this.

We aim to be catalysts for the advance of disability ministry in France through strategic partnerships.

This includes (1) supporting & encouraging leaders in France & projects already happening or in development and (2) mobilizing resources, including books, training & people from the U.S. to help.