More of Jacques Broquet's Story
Jacques Broquet was born in France, but when he was a child his family moved to Mexico City. When he was nine, Jacques’s parents divorced. Jacques quit school at ten and was educated by his father, who gave him philosophy books to read and discussed music and art with him. He seriously studied balle
In our last update, “Lighthouses on a Dark Coast,” we shared how God is using Brother Jacques and Sister Adriana Broquet to share His hope and love in France.
This morning we want to share a portion of the remarkable story of how God has led the Broquet family.
Jacques Broquet was born in France, but when he was a child his family moved to Mexico City. When he was nine, Jacques’s parents divorced. Jacques quit school at ten and was educated by his father, who gave him philosophy books to read and discussed music and art with him. He seriously studied ballet and contemporary dance from age 11, eventually moving to England to study and seek a dance career.
He had met a lovely young lady named Adriana while he was still in Mexico. Although he had been accepted to a dance troupe in England and seemed to be on track for a promising career in Europe, he dropped everything when he learned that Adriana wanted to start a dance company in her native Venezuela. Together they built a family and a renowned Latin-American dance company.
For twenty years their dance company was successful and traveled internationally. They had three daughters. But Jacques and Adriana felt empty. Their hunger for meaning and peace led them to try all kinds of spiritual experiences, from martial arts to indigenous Indian rituals. Jacques found he could talk to animals and hypnotize people.
As their dance company stood at the zenith of success, Jacques began to develop a show that he believed would be their most brilliant work. One night he heard a terrifying gong sound in his head and saw blazing vessels of fire rushing toward him from four directions. He realized that the spirits he had connected with desired to destroy him.
Despite an immense investment of money and effort, the show was a complete failure. Jacques fell into an acute depression. He began to drink and smoke heavily. Their marriage and their business were suffering. Adriana became a believer, but although they had searched in many other religions together, Jacques didn’t feel the need to try Jesus.
Finally Jacques agreed to attend a special church retreat. As everyone shared why they had come to the meeting, Jacques was shocked to hear himself say, “I have a rotten heart.” The men helped him pray for repentance.
That weekend Jacques had a powerful experience with God and received the Spirit. He rushed into the house and embraced Adriana, crying, “I’m sorry!” as they both wept tears of healing. He had struggled to quit smoking and had difficulty breathing. After he received the Spirit, both the pain and the desire to smoke were completely gone. Every time he prayed, he felt God physically cleansing him of the darkness he had given himself to.
One day as he prayed, he heard the Lord’s voice asking him, “What do you desire?” He heard himself say, “Please provide good husbands for my daughters.” This proved to be a pivotal prayer, although at the time his oldest was only 14.
Before Jacques became a Christian, his mother told him that he was Jewish. When he became a believer, Judaism became important to Jacques and his whole family.
They traveled to Israel several times. Jacques taught about Jewish roots and the Old Testament feasts. He became an expert in blowing the shofar and Israeli dance. When they left Israel, their oldest daughter Gabriella, then 18, stayed. There she met and married Le’ad Efrat.
Horrific political changes rocked Venezuela about 2000. Amidst civil war, Jacques lost his residency rights. They lost their company and all their money. The family miraculously got out of Venezuela and moved to Paris. They lived in a tiny house, and Jacques found a job as a school security guard.
Back in Israel, Le’ad and Gabriella wanted to home school their children. As they researched Christian home education, they came across a website that intrigued them: HomesteadHeritage.com. They reached out and found their talk with Dan Lancaster to be so compelling that they visited the community in Texas.
While Le’ad and Gabriela were in Texas, Le’ad publicly expressed his desire to receive the Spirit in a church service, and Brother Blair responded, “Someday, you’ll call out, ‘Abba, Father,’ and you’ll receive it!” Le’ad immediately leaped to his feet and cried out to God. He received the Spirit right away.
Le’ad and Gabriela were baptized in Texas in 2019. They became part of our community in Israel.
In 2020, Jacques and Adriana traveled to Texas with Camila, their youngest. Because of COVID restrictions, our church was not holding meetings when the Broquets visited, and there were few community activities. Although they had heard of the theological term, “the body of Christ,” they felt they had not experienced it themselves. Jacques said, “Here I feel the heart of the body.”
On that first visit, Camila was baptized, and then Jacques and Adriana. Clara, who was visiting her sister in Israel at the time, was also baptized. They returned to France, where Clara joined them. France was under draconian lockdowns at the time, and the Broquets acutely felt the isolation from their newfound brothers and sisters. Yet in spite of all this, their family was united in the joy of serving God together.
God answered Jacques’s prayer for good husbands for his daughters: Gabriela is married to Le’ad, and Clara is married to Micha Kurucz from the Israel community. Camila is married to Blair Joel Adams in Texas. Jacques and Adriana have ten grandchildren.
Because of visa restrictions, Jacques and Adriana currently live in France. They don’t have a permanent home of their own or steady employment. They are separated from their children and grandchildren. Yet they bring the message of hope and the “fragrance of life” to everyone they encounter. They have visited and encouraged many of our communities around the world. Jacques has regular Bible studies via Zoom with his friend Brother Abraham, with whom he now shares two grandchildren. The Broquets gratefully report that they are daily growing closer to God and to each other.
Jacques spent years searching for proof of his Jewish identity but found none. For his sixtieth birthday, his daughters gifted him with a DNA test, which revealed that he has only 0.004% Jewish ancestry. Yet through this transformative journey, Jacques discovered his authentic identity within God's family as a true Jew—a spiritual son of Abraham.
