Pablo da Silva shares his experiences
[Note from Paul Cooke: Thanks to the generosity of FM supporters, Pablo is one of the students France Mission has been able to support this year from the Education & Training Fund. I’m grateful to Dawn Pineda Meunier for translating his news.]
Hello, my name’s Pablo. I’m a student in my second year at the Institut Biblique de Nogent (IBN) and I’ve recently celebrated my 24th birthday. I’m Brazilian, born in the Minas Gerais state, and I arrived in France at the age of eight. Today, I live in the Val-de-Marne department, near Paris, with my wife of 2 years, Raffaella.
My first year at IBN was incredible and impacted me both spiritually and personally. It was the first time that I’d dedicated a whole year to studying the Word of God. I’ve also formed great friendships that mean a lot to me.
I’ve learnt a lot through the various courses. Lydia Jaeger’s classes on doctrine helped me to better structure my faith and theology. I also learned a lot from the course on the prophets and proclaiming the Word of God with Matthieu Gangloff.
Alongside my studies, I’m an administrator on the student committee. It’s a joy to help “behind the scenes” with events. We’ve organised an induction day, a neighbourhood party and a big Christmas party, as well as planning for a future student residence. At the Christmas party, I had the opportunity to be a host, and my wife and I met the families of classmates and teachers, which brought us closer together.
I’m also grateful for the opportunity to serve at my church, IBNJ France in Sevran. At Halloween time, we put on a concert which local residents attended and we’ve been encouraged to see some of them at our meetings since. We also organised our first Christmas market and shared the true meaning of Christmas with many people from the area.
God is continuing to teach me through this second year at IBN. I really appreciated the classes on doctrine given by Matt Mory. The idea of exams was stressful for me but with work and perseverance I passed the first doctrine exam, for which I’m very grateful. While studying Hebrews, I gave a presentation with my classmate Márcio, which went very well.
We’ve finished a course on Revelation with Matthieu Gangloff, which I found enriching. At first, I didn’t know what to expect, but the content was explained with great clarity. I was very happy to see our former director, Etienne Lhermenault, back from sick leave to teach pastoral care, which I really enjoyed. In the first semester, I also took classes in hermeneutics, ethics, the Synoptic Gospels, and a public speaking course that has given me confidence.
This second year at IBN has been a real blessing. I’m grateful for all the teaching, every friendship, and each opportunity to serve at church and on the student committee. I can see the Lord’s grace in my personal life, in my marriage with Raffaella and in all that He allows us to experience and accomplish.
To conclude, I have a few prayer requests:
· Thankfulness for 2025 – for the Lord’s faithfulness, for all He’s already accomplished and for the opportunity to continue my studies at IBN.
· Gratitude for our current situation – for our accommodation and God’s daily provision for our household.
· Prayer for my wife’s pregnancy – we give thanks for this pregnancy. Despite the anxiety caused by a miscarriage last year, we want to choose to trust and give our fears to the Lord, asking for His peace, protection and grace.
· Prayer for wisdom and financial stability so that we can organise our finances well and continue studying while taking care of our household and family.
