Saturday, September 27, 2008

September 27



Hola, amigos! Wait. That's not French. Yes, well, we had a Mexican food day on Wednesday this week. We had two birthday girls and lots of food. It was a lot of fun. The pictures are from that day. The four ladies are: l to r, Anette and Helena from Norway and Katie and Lauren from the US. Aren't they beautiful! The other picture is Clemmon (German), Saraly (French and our director), and Lauren.

Well, I'm not sure what to report. It was a good week overall. My teacher made me cry and I had to leave class yesterday. Don't worry. It was just one of those moments. I don't blame my teacher. The ironic thing is I've made students cry before. I always felt bad about it. Now I know what it's like on the other side of the fence. I went back to class after about ten minutes and finished my test. I think I did ok. After that the day was fine, good even. Sometimes you just have to let off a little steam.

This will be a short post for now. Overall, I would say that I am finding a better balance with school, homework, and life. There are lots of things rolling around in my head. I just don't think I can put them into writing yet. Maybe soon....

Saturday, September 20, 2008

September 20


I am looking down the barrel of another weekend filled with hours of homework. Ugh! The week has been better, but this weekend is promising to be tough. I had a stomach bug on Tuesday, but was back to normal by Thursday.

Friday night four of us went into Paris to attend a Hillsong church. The service was in English and French which was great for learning. We were in the Pompidou area and also walked by St. Eustace church. We only had time to go to the service and then had a late dinner before catching the train home. That was my fun for the weekend. It was an enjoyable evening. These outings are helpful in building friendships. God has blessed me with some great people here.

I had a fun, informative, and inspiring conversation Thursday night with a group of people that represented these nations: Norway, Colombia, England, and USA. The mix of people is enough to make it interesting. We really provoked one another on some 'controversial' topics. (Depends on who you are if they are controversial or not.) And then I was told by a young woman who has live in France 8 years and works with the church that the French people have no concept of accountability..... Ok, let that sink in. It's still working into my head. The French are very private. I knew that. But apparently even with close loved ones, one tends not to share everything. I'm investigating this a little more. As you can see from the list none of the people present were French. However, I did ask a French woman, one of our teachers, this morning. As I was describing what accountability is I could see on her face that this was a new concept. And she told me that this would be a strange concept to most French people because they are very independent. hmm....

Ok, mes devoirs (homework) awaits me!

*The picture was taken from my window at sunset. Of course, the picture doesn't even come close to capturing the real thing.*

Monday, September 15, 2008

September 15




Monday morning of week 3 at Les Cedres....

I am better rested. Thank you to everyone who is praying for sleep and rest. We definitely still need prayer about that, but it is better. Class is not so overwhelming and my teacher has had mercy on us concerning homework. There is still plenty of work. It's just not the overload like before. So I would say I am starting to get my feet back under me. Life is so much more enjoyable and digestible when your sense of humor is intact, especially when you're constantly making mistakes.

Becky said that $450 was given at FOC this month. That is the amount we knew had been promised in monthly donations. This leaves about $550 per month still needed in donations. Please pray for God's provision. Thank you to everyone who is supporting me financially as well as in prayer. I couldn't do this without all of you!

I find myself focused on learning the language. That's good! That's why I am here. However, I must not forget why I am learning the language. I was reminded of this very clearly Saturday night on the crowded train home from Paris. A young man sat in the corner of the train car looking forlorn. I wanted to go to him and offer to pray for any need he might have. I just don't have the vocabulary to do that yet. And so I prayed for him quietly and this morning went to class with a little more purpose...

I am posting some pictures of our Saturday outing. Hannah needed books for class. Getting books for class has never been so fun. We also visited Notre Dame and had a cafe at a cafe in a nice quarter of the city called Marie. Then we had dinner at a restaurant that had all kinds of Mediterranean decor. And when we walked out into the Parisian night, wow. I like Paris, but I love Paris at night! I now understand why it is called the 'City of Lights.' There are people everywhere, lots of street performers with various skills, and the city itself is beautiful. Our Korean friend Debora was with us as well as Katie, a girl from Ohio who now lives in Toulouse.

I hope you enjoy these pictures. I will post more on my Facebook so you can check them out.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

September 11

Hello to all. I can't say that I have anything interesting to report. I thought I would just say that I was able to get some rest yesterday and today is going better. It is so much easier to deal with mistakes when one is rested. The work load has been a little more bearable this week. We will see what our teacher, Regine, gives us for the weekend!

Thank you to everyone who is praying. The dollar is getting stronger to the euro as well. You guys are doing well. Keep it up!

My English friend said to me first thing this morning, "It's September 11th." It is a day the world remembers, not just Americans. Let's remember those whose lives were so dramatically changed that day.

Monday, September 8, 2008

September 8

Ok, it took me 6 hours to do my homework this weekend. Needless to say I am tired today. It will get better, but I am yawning in class all the time. I need to be able to think! Please continue to pray. These first few weeks are going to be intense.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

September 6

Hannah's luggage has FINALLY arrived. That's the big news of the day. Please continue to pray that our sleep patterns will settle in so we can rest better. Also, we need God's help with our studies. We need discipline mixed with a divine ability to absorb everything we are learning. And it is time to pay tuition. The Euro is much stronger than the dollar right now. Please pray for the exchange rate to improve when we go to pay our bill.

I thought I would take a minute for this blog and give you some impressions and ask for prayer...

I mentioned before that I was pleasantly surprised at how polite the French people are. This was based on my one brief experience in Paris ten years ago. The Parisians I encountered then where not so nice. I have found that the French people are a very respectful people in daily life. If you are rude, they can return the sentiment, but as a rule they are polite. For example, I was checking out at a local supermarket when a man walks in front of me and puts items in front of mine. I was puzzled. When I looked around there was a pregnant lady with a small child. So I moved out of the way, content to give up my place in line. What started as a "what do you think you're doing" moment turned into me having a lot of respect for that man. He happily kept his place in line behind me. Have you ever seen that in the States, or anywhere else? Another thing that has impressed me is that cars will stop in order to let you cross the road. People always greet you with "Bon jour, madame" when you enter a shop and "au revoir" when you leave. We were told yesterday that you can say "merci" or "thank you" several times and it will be appreciated every time. I found that if I showed a lot of appreciation to English friends it seemed to embarrass them. I love the English! But I do feel more at home here in many ways.

On a different note, I have seen another side as well. In just observing people in the shops, walking down the street, and on the train, there seems to be a deep fatigue. Life is hard everywhere. But a word I would use to describe many of these faces is worn. Where is the hope? I want so much to tell these people there is hope and I am stopped instantly by the fact that I can't speak their language...yet. I am often reminded of why God would bring Christians here. The French need hope.

A young French man who lives at Les Cedres told us today that less than 1% of the French are Christian. (This is not including nominal Catholics.) He said that outside of his church he doesn't know any Christians at school, etc. It is so different to the living in the Bible Belt.

I hope this gives you an idea of how you can pray for the French people. Many of the missionaries here are going to African countries after they learn the language. Just a few of us feel a call to stay in France. Please pray for God to send workers for the harvest. There is such a need here. Please pray the Holy Spirit will begin to draw the French people to Him and give them hope. When I think of all the people who need to hear about Jesus, I am overwhelmed. How will they ever get the message!? It will take a supernatural move of God. Please pray with me for France and the nations! Our prayers together will effect and change our world.

Friday, September 5, 2008

September 5



Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have completed my first two days of class and a work week at Les Cedres. It is A LOT of work and very challenging. The first 3 weeks are supposed to be the most difficult. So I should have this licked in a couple more weeks, not... I have 12 pages of homework and an essay to write this weekend. See, I wasn't kidding about A LOT of work. Ce n'est pas grave! It's ok. This is what I signed up for.

On Wednesday, a group of about 30 people from our school took a boat tour of Paris by bateaux-mouche. It is a great way to see many of the historic places in Paris. As you can see, the Eiffel Tower was one of the landmarks we passed. Did you know the French people hated the Eiffel Tower when it was built because they thought it was ugly. Now anytime one thinks of Paris they think of the famous tower. This Sunday we hope to return to the city and check out a museum or two because all museums have free admission on the first Sunday of the month. Free is always good.

Tonight the students have been invited to the home of some of the staff for cake. Everyone is very friendly here. I am pleasantly surprised at how helpful and polite the French people are. And God has so generously given me instant friends to enjoy. Merci, Dieu.

The weather report: currently it is 68 and raining. Most of the days have been cloudy and rainy since we have arrived. It's very refreshing though, especially since there is no air conditioning here.

The update on Hannah's luggage: still MIA! Yes, can you believe it. Her luggage has still not made it here. I don't even think it's in Paris yet. She has had to break down and buy some things to get by. It's not good, but again she has handled it very gracefully.

I'm going to wrap it up for now. I don't know how often I will get to blog now with 2 hours of homework each night. But I will keep it up. If you would like to see more pictures of Paris check my Facebook. A bientot!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

September 2, my b-day!

What a wonderful birthday I've had!! I've had so many good wishes from people on Facebook and by email. Thank all of you for taking the time to wish me happy birthday.

I didn't even remember it was my birthday until I got to breakfast and my new South Korean friend, Deborah, wished me happy birthday. I said, "Oh yeah, it's my birthday." That's never happened to me before. I guess the first day of orientation took over my brain. Or I could just say jet lag. It hasn't been a month yet...

Orientation was ok. I am now more orientated. That part of the day didn't feel very birthday-like. My first class was all in French all ready! My brain was hurting. It takes so much concentration. And the first class was just information and getting to know one another. I was the only one who asked for clarification when I got lost. Then after class a classmate approached me and said, "By the way, we were all lost too. We just didn't say anything." That made me feel a little better. I will always be that kid that asks lots of questions.

Now the fun part!

Hannah asked what I wanted to do to celebrate. I wanted a real French meal at a French style restaurant. So we asked Saraly, the school director, to recommend a place. She printed off directions. We invited some new friends, arranged a time to meet, and off we went to Chez Papa's. It was perfect! The cuisine is from the southwest part of France. It was small and cozy. We were at a long table surrounded by strangers, yet strangely we felt at home. When we left it was a beautiful walk to the train station. The Paris streets glistened from the rain and there was a peaceful calm.

God is so good.

I will write more soon. I want you to know a little about the amazing people I am meeting. And yes there will be pictures! My friends took some great ones. Tomorrow we will go as a school group to tour the city on the bateaux-mouche (boats). I am sure there will be more pictures and stories from that too.

And yes, I tried escargot (snails). I really liked them! Who knew.

Monday, September 1, 2008

September 1


Bon jour de Paris! This is my first blog from France. I am so excited to be here! And technically I'm in a suburb of Pairs called Massy. It's an interesting mix of urban apartment buildings and traditional French shops. The school, Les Cedres, is a nice oasis in between the two.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I have a little from England left to report. Although most of you read the email about our prayer time. It was a very encouraging time with Martin Scott, Jenny Moore, Judith Scott, Naomi Moore, and of course our Steph. (I'm including a photo of Steph Carr and me.) It was a great send off for Hannah and me.

Our flight was delayed an hour on Sunday, but otherwise there were no problems. Hannah has still not received her luggage. She's a trooper, but it is frustrating. Pray they come first thing tomorrow.

The first people we met when we stepped out of the taxi were from Texas and wait for it.... Arkansas, North Little Rock to be exact! Hannah and I couldn't believe it. The people from Texas are students here and the Arkansans were just visiting. Since then I have met people from South Korea, Norway, England, and lots of Americans.

We have orientation tomorrow which is Tuesday and classes start on Thursday. I am ready to go. So far I've only had to dip my toe into French. Soon they will expect me to speak French all the time. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it. But I am so excited to really learn the language so I can use it effectively in most situations. So, roll up the sleeves and tuck in.

I will give you more detail on the school and what we have been up in a later blog. It's late and I need to get some sleep. (We are 7 hours ahead of Central Standard Time.) Bon Nuit.