Foreword: two aspects of L’Abri: 1) attempt to give honest answer to honest questions 2) demonstration that God is really there in our generation (Francis A. Schaeffer)

Introduction: L’Abri = “shelter”; for those students who are seeking answers to basic questions; spread by word of mouth; “we believe that God brings the people in answer to prayer”; each guest has come with a need; no one asks for money, it comes in as an answer to prayer; purpose: “To show forth by demonstration, in our life and work, the existence of God.”; live by prayer in four areas: 1) financial needs - no pleas for money, 2) guests - no advertisment, 3) future - no planning committees, 4) workers - no pleas; no intention to make a big organization; story: attempt to show that God exists and He answered prayers

1. It Couldn’t Happen in Switzerland: start L’Abri in 1955, move into Chalet (=alpine house) Bijou; kids: Priscilla, Susan (rheumatic fever), Debby, Franky (paralyzed leg due to polio); weather ideal for skiing but danger of avalanche; detailed description of a one-week long avalanche; after that received a paper that told them to leave Switzerland within 6 weeks because they had a “religious influence on the village of Champéry”
2. A New Beginning: arrived in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1948; kids: Priscilla (11), Susan (7), Debby (3); left 13-room home in St Louis after being pastor for 10 years; field trip to Europe: 13 weeks in 13 counties, talked to Evangelical leaders; troubled by relativism after the war
3. Champéry: talk on church history (two pillars of church in Acts & Reformation: 1) Bible’s non-humanist authority 2) non-humanist approach to absolute God based on finished work of Christ in time & history -> German Higher Criticism: destroyed pastors’ faith in Bible’s inerrancy, Barthianism: more subtle deviation: something can be “spiritually true but historically false”; wrote lessons for classes (translated into 13 languages); moved from Lausanne to Champéry for the summer (cheaper); German baroness finds assurance of salvation; decided to stay for the winter too (cheaper); request to preach in a chapel on Christmas; permission to use it on other occasions too; international school girls invited to informal evening of conversation and tea, bring any questions about religion, Bible or anything that troubles you; starting with slides, followed by more serious questions (later slides dropped, only questions); invited Norvegian student for a weekend, who comes to faith
4. Chalet Bijou: leaving the children for 7 weeks; Susan asked to start a children’s class in their home too; moving Priscilla from an all-boys school to one of the best and most expensive boarding school run by Monsieur F. virtually for free; had to move from Chalet des Frênes to Chalet Bijou
5. Roots in Champéry: in real life you don’t know when something significant happens, you realize only later; people coming to faith; pregnancy after one miscarriage; Franky born on August 3 in the guestroom; bringing Christmas meal to old lady
6. Return to Chalet Bijou: 18 months furlough in US (1953-54); challenging question from Fran (=Francis Schaeffer): “Supposing we had awakened today to find everything concerning the Holy Spirit and prayer removed from the Bible-that is, not removed the way liberals would remove it, but that God had somehow really removed everything about prayer and the Holy Spirit from the Bible. What difference would it make practically between the way we worked yesterday and the way we would work today, and tomorrow? What difference would it make in the majority of Christians’ practical work and plans? Aren’t most plans laid out ahead of time? Isn’t much work done by human talent, energy and clever ideas? Where does the supernatural power of God have a real place?”; Franky got polio in the ship back to Switzerland; surgeon did special study, applied his recent invention in Franky; Fran’s personal battle (trusting the Lord in the real things of life), laid the foundation for God’s future work
7. The Clouds Thicken: Franky’s polio, Susan’s rheumatoid fever; Fran thought the name L’Abri (French for “The Shelter”); promise from Bible: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:2) <-> six week’s notice to leave; Fran’s reaction: “As I see it, there are two courses of action open to us. We could hurry to send telegrams to Christian organisations, our Senator in Washington, and so on, trying to get all the human help we could possibly get; or we could simply get down on our knees, and ask God to help us. We have said that we want to have a greater reality of the supernatural power of God in our lives and in our work. It seems to me that we are being given an opportunity right now to demonstrate God’s power. Do we believe God is able to do something in govern- ment offices, in this present situation, as He was able in times past? Do we believe our God is the God of Daniel? If so, we have an opportunity to prove it now.”; decided to pray, let one Swiss Protestant person know, who spotted possibility to appeal in fine print; feeling of assurance from the Bible, wait in embassy
8. Can God Work Details Together?: no treaty between US and Switzerland; consul turned out to be Fran’s former classmate; several people appealed on their behalf; Chief of Bureau des Etrangers: only way to appeal: find a house; had to help Madame C. giving birth while house-hunting; Fran already gave up & started packing books; Edith had one hour to find a house for rent
9. A Personal God . . . A Specific Answer: real estate agent shows Chalet les Mélèzes ön Huémoz; not for rent but for sale; didn’t tell Fran it was for sale (afraid he would not want to come); prayer that night: first that owner change his mind and rent it, then for God to send $1000 before 10am the next day as a clear sign to convince Fran and her that it is His will to buy it; next morning letter from couple from US with exactly $1000, have been praying for 3 months where to send it “to buy a house somewhere” (wife finished the letter late at night but felt urged to mail it the same day -> perfect timing); notary specialized in real estate offered his help to see if it was a good buy -> opportunity to ask God for another sign (if it is from God let him find it a good buy) -> best buy for a long time but someone else is almost ready to buy it, need 8000 francs as promissory payment -> total exactly 8011 francs!
10. A Personal God . . . His Interest in Detail: period of uncertainty; had to switch moving company because of the avalanche; beautiful view; perfect location for transportation;
11. The King’s Heart Is in the Hand of the Lord: no phone available in house; ladies nextdoor promised to ask their brother to help (who happened to be the current rotating President, member of the elected council of seven people); retired pastor also offered to ask his nephew (who would do the final signing of the permit); finally received the permit; several university students came to stay in chalet -> L’Abri started; “thermometer”: drawing with each gift marked towards the payment on the chalet
12. The Step of Faith Answered: $7343.30 total cost for the chalet (including taxes & notary’s fee), 157 gifts ranging from $1 to $225 - within three dollars of being exact! (the fact that it was not too much was just as amazing as the fact that there was enough); also, not one gift came late (from that time no other gift came designated for buying the house); people were being given a demonstration that God exists (being present while praying for things they later found had been given); God led Schaeffer family not only to a new location but to completely new work -> buying the house was not an end but a beginning; resigned from mission board (from which they received monthly salary), established L’Abri Fellowship; “Had we gone crazy? With responsibilities just taken on for mortgage payments, with one daughter in university and three children at home, what did we expect to live on? and to feed ourselves with? This is what we felt we were being led to do: to ask God that our work, and our lives, be a demonstration that He does exist; not just for six weeks, not for three months, but for as long as He would continue to lead us to live in this manner.” principles of L’Abri Fellowship: 1) pray that God would send people of His choice and kelp away any who would only come for skiing or to “take advantage” of an open home 2) pray that God would always send enough money to care for the needs of the family & guests 3) pray for the direct leading of God instead of having a plan 4) pray that God would send workers instead of advertising; does not mean everybody should work this way but God led them to do this; “What happens when you pray? God is all powerful in every realm. He can do things in a variety of ways, but one way in which He works is to “move” in the realm of men’s minds. God can place an idea in a person’s mind. He can cause some- one to feel a strong “urge” or “conviction” to do something. So when we pray for a certain amount of money, God can cause one person to reach for a cheque-book and send that amount, or He can cause a dozen people to send odd fractions of that amount, causing the total to be exact. You may not believe that He does this, but I am simply saying that when I talk about praying for money, this is what I mean.”; 1955: ages of kids: 18, 14, 10, 3
13. A Plan Unfolds: two Christian girls - occupational therapy teachers - stay as Workers at L’Abri, decide to buy Chalet Bellevue next door to help celebral palsy children; John (future husband of Priscilla) becomes Christian too; Edith’s father: Dr. George H. Seville (former missionary with China Inland Mission) and mother help with legal matters and writing Family Letters; challenges: family life almost non-existent
14. The First Year Becomes History: donations received for living-room and fireplace; donation of 200 Christian books; various guests: girls from universities, men from the army; start Bible study in a café in the University of Lausanne; “do you really believe the myths of the Bible?” -> “you have to start farther back. where did personality/beauty/morality/love come from? instead of asking first ‘is the Bible true?’ let’s see what the basic questions are and what the Bible’s answers are…”; invitation from travel agency to go back to Champéry for the holidays to hold English services; 175 people came; two person has to stay longer due to injury;
15. God Sends His Choice of People: 1956; several people come to faith, including two opera singers; L’Abri discussion group starts in Milan
16. The Chalet Grows: Dutch art critic and his family come to faith, start discussion group in their home; regular trips to Holland; difficult times but seem too mundane to be worthwhile (constant need to cook, clean, no set working times); “There are others who are Christians, who really almost envy the answers to prayer that they hear about, but they want specific answers to some specific requests without the rest of their lives being changed in any way. They would like some prayers answered in some realms, and they would like to know what it is like to be “led” by God’s direction in certain aspects of their lives. They may even present two alternatives to God in their prayers, but they push the rest of the possibilities away. […] Many Christians want the excitement of a reply from God, but not the pain of the struggle.”; prayer for chalet on the back road: answer is no (not enough money before the deadline); closing the patio to make more room for beds; no money to order the stone before winter; “we never borrowed against future possibilities of money coming”; “Day of Prayer”: chart with 30 mins slots, prayer room assigned, decorated with Bible verses: “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17); donation comes in, stones can be ordered, 4-year-old Franky suggests to clap; medical students, singers come; Montreux Bible class started; renting Beau Site next door for L’Abri Workers
17. Life Goes On in the Midst of L’Abri: four questions to help measure yourself where you stand in becoming a Christian: 1) do you believe God (of the Bible) exists? 2) do you acknowledge that you are a sinner? 3) do you believe that Jesus came in space, time and history? are you willing to bow to this God, accepting what Christ did as for you?; several people have sickness; season of testing and financial difficulties followed by God answering prayers; gift to come to England
18. English L’Abri Is Born: arrived in England in 1958; 75 visitors within a week; Cambridge students come to visit L’Abri; bird’s eye view of Bible: Adam & Eve didn’t need to believe God existed but whether his words are trustworthy; Abel: lamb (+ Abraham, Moses, Isaiah) vs Cain: fruit (even though parents must have told him how to approach God properly); Abel’s line point to Christ (lamb of God); Cain’s line represent men’s many ways to approach God
19. A Community Is Born: Chalet le Chesalet bought by Betty, offered for L’Abri for quiet conversations; Jane (opera singer): gave up opera, sold costumes to “chapel fund”; neighbor becomes Christian, offers to build a chapel instead of a chalet; still has not been finished at the time of writing;
20. “It’s Worth It All”: mother died; people want to come for individual study; launched Farel House: study place; Evangelical Library opens branch library in L’Abri; low funds & Beau Site’s owners decide to sell house; “Fran will never put money in a rented house again, not after Champéry.”; owners decide to keep renting Beau Site; not everyone who visited L’Abri went away as a Christian; story covered period of 8 years;
21. And Five Years Later: 1968; 125 visitors for a wedding of Jack (who came to L’Abri 6 months before as a non-Christian) and Christel; remembered Isaiah 2:2; summarizing changes in the past 5 years; being able to buy Chalet les Sapins; girls & their husbands (three nationalities) all decided to come back as L’Abri workers; Os Guinness was a Worker too; started recording sessions with tape recorder (first Fran was opposed to it); copies were distributed; L’Abri became known as “Mission to intellectuals” (label given by Time magazine); school started nearby with similar discussion style; there were difficulties too (sickness, financial difficulties, temptation to give up; where did Fran get all this? God has brought people of various backgrounds and used them to train Fran by answering real questions; he gets genuinely excited about the truth; finish by quotes: Deut 3:24; Josh 4:22-24
22. Continuity of L’Abri’s History Today: need to be thankful for continuity (Gen 8:20-22); “secret gardens” springing up in the middle of wastelands; 6 L’Abri branches; 23 years after previous chapter; Francis Schaeffer died; strong stands on unpopular issues have been key in the influence of each branch; Francis Schaeffer Institute connected to Covenant Seminary; "”There is only one reason to be a Christian-not two! … and that is because it is TRUE. And I am not talking about religious truth, but the truth of the universe and its form, and who man is . .. (i.e., people, male and female).” (Francis Schaeffer); Franky had the idea to make the movie How Should We Then Live?; “God is very merciful to us in continuing to help us to grow, to teach us more of how He works, to give us a growing closeness to Himself and fresh glimpses of reality. Such things are exciting to me, but they do not come from “nine to five” in neat little packages of time, when our energy is fresh, when we have had enough sleep, exercise, and a balanced meal! This is not to say that exercise, proper food, sleep, and some sort of a balanced schedule are not important, but we each need to recognize the Lord’s interruptions when they come, and DO what He is giving us to DO. […] So often in history the excitement of seeing and being a part of God’s work is accompanied by afflictions and persecutions and a diversity of true hardships.”; “wider L’Abri”: people who have been affected by the movie or the books; after the film Fran had lymphoma (alarming loss of weight); another film: Whatever Happened to the Human Race?; Francis Schaeffer Foundation: located in NYC, houses the archives of Francis Schaeffer <-> Francis Schaeffer Institute: part of Covenant Seminary; book starts & ends with prayer