Waiting

A friend who is far away on the other side of the planet shared this in an email today.

Waiting is not irresponsible

Waiting is not passive

Waiting means not taking charge to shape things the way we think they should be…

It seems that waiting allows emergence of startling new graces and produces an anticipation that keeps us alert to His promptings. 

Meanwhile everything that comes our way we do as with all our hearts and for His glory. Our hearts may “quiver” but the promise still holds…tarry until the Spirit comes…

First Confrontation!

Late last week I was cussed out by a bus driver for pushing the "Arrêt Demandé" (Stop, Please) button one stop too early. I had confused the stops and for some inexplicable reason it so angered the bus driver he refused to pull away from the curb and began shouting at me, waving his arms and making it quite clear what he thought of me. I tried to apologize but he would have none of it. I thought for a moment he was going to go so far as to make me get off the bus. 

     Another passenger, disheveled, unshaven and bleary eyed, lent his own muttered abuse to the situation. Most of the passengers either tried to remain invisible or smiled sheepishly at me as if to say, "Oh, well." He finally pulled away and rolled to the next stop, still yelling, gesticulating and making rude hand gestures. Someone else got off at my stop so I made haste to depart as meekly as possible for fear the door would shut before I could leap to safety. I walked to about thirty feet ahead of the bus and glanced over my shoulder only to discover the driver still going at it. The bus just sat there as he continued to scold me. 

     I finally turned around, held my hands out to my side, palms up in supplication—bowed, and for the final time said, "What can I do? I'm sorry." I then turned and walked away. I'm sure he couldn't here the, "So sue me!" that slipped out as the bus roared past.

     The whole scene embarrassed me more than angered me, and as I walked to my destination the ridiculousness of the situation got the better of me. I'm still laughing about it.

     It does make one wonder what really caused that whole scene. What was at the core of such a public display? I will probably never know. You can be sure I'll watch my stops a little more carefully in the future.   —Russell

The following are excerpts from an article: frenchfriends.info. I found it very helpful for me as a resource to teach English this coming Wednesday. The French call Easter - Pâques. Even though the Catholic church may only have 1 priest for 27 parishes in some areas in northern France, their churches are still in the center of the villages and may be run by the laity even though they don't have a Mass or the sacraments which only the priests can do. There will probably be be some kind of service on Easter. The protestants will have a Pâques service and we will be involved with the Magny church. Already church folks, including ourselves, prepared a song in two parts, women and men singing without a book in front of us. Baptiste is very confident in his little choir. I wish I was. I did enjoy our practice. There might be about 16 of us. - Carol

French Easter (Pâques) Traditions

Easter is celebrated in France much as it is in America, with various religious ceremonies commemorating the rebirth of Jesus, and cultural customs having to do with rabbits, chocolates and eggs.

No city, village or town is without a Catholic church. (Once in a while there are some protestant churches too. - Carol) Many of them date back to the twelfth century or before. Most churches have a bell, which is rung joyfully throughout the year marking various events and the passage of time.  On the Thursday before Good Friday, all church bells in France are silenced in acknowledgement of Jesus' death.  In fun, children are told that the bell's chimes have flown to Rome to see the Pope. Easter morning, the bells ring out once again in celebration of the Resurrection, declaring that Jesus is alive again.  In some villages, people kiss and embrace one another when they hear the bells ring.

Easter morning is a happy time for children who wake to look for colorfully decorated Easter eggs (les oeufs de Pâques) hidden in their gardens, homes and playgrounds.  Parents tell their children the eggs were brought from Rome (where the chimes had gone), and that when the chimes returned they brought the eggs with them.  In some parts of France children look for small chariots full of eggs pulled by white horses.

Unlike Americans, the French allot an extra vacation day for the Easter holiday.  Everyone gets an automatic three-day weekend which they usually use to spend time with family. Schools and universities tend to center the second spring vacation (two weeks for each of them) around Pâques as well.  Easter also marks the start of the"high" season for tourists, and hotel prices rise accordingly. A series of holidays (starting with the three-day Easter weekend) continues into May, with a trio of three-day weekends that month. Oui!

French Confiseries and Chocolatiers

As always, the French take great pride and joy in their food, and no village is without at least one or more confiseries (candy shops).  Easter is the perfect time of year for master chocolatiers to display and celebrate their delectable wares.  Great attention to detail and years of practice result in chocolate eggs that look more like works of artthan anything edible!  They are truly beautiful, and many people enjoy strolling the avenues peering into the shop windows as if they are at a museum or art show.

Poisson D'Avril (French Easter Fish)

Everyone knows of chocolate rabbits in America, but did you know the French delight in chocolate fish?  Although not directly related to Easter, poisson d'Avril are enjoyed throughout the entire Easter season. These fishy little friends start appearing in shops on April 1st, when children use paper versions to play anApril Fools type trick. The 'trick' is to stick a paper fish onto the back of as many adults as possible, then run away yelling,"Poisson d'Avril!" (April fish!).  The tradition is several centuries old.  Some say it evolved from a silly 'fish trick' where one would send an unknowing person to market to buy freshwater fish when it was not in season.  In French culture, food follows season, and even children know when (and when not!) to buy oysters!

Cloche Volant (Chocolate Flying Bells)

As mentioned above, bells play an important role in the French Easter tradition.  Candy shops sell chocolate flying bells alongside Easter eggs and bunnies, in the same way many candy shops in America sell chocolate crucifixes.  These edible bells are another nod the the resurrection of Jesus, a time for celebration, and the end of Lent.

Easter Games

Raw eggs are rolled down a gentle slope.  The surviving egg is declared a victory egg, and symbolizes the stone being rolled away from Jesus' tomb.

Children might play a game of tossing raw eggs in the air.  The first child to drop and break his egg is the loser, and in some versions, must pay a penalty (e.g. give up a piece of his Easter candy to his brothers or sisters).  This is similar to the 'egg and spoon' game we play in America, only in our version the last one to have an egg left is declared the winner, and gets an extra prize!

Getting Back on Track After Theft

We will be discovering things missing for a while yet, but I am now officially back on track with the design projects on the docket! The final step of getting my software reinstalled on our borrowed computer is done. I had to pay for the upgrade to accomplish this but the price tag was less than having to buy the software outright. Tomorrow I install fonts and should be able design and illustrate to my hearts content. We do need your prayers for the recovery of our financial software and patience and wisdom for Carol as she attempts to get our finances under control.  -Russell

We've Been Robbed!

It' been a while since our last update, partially because last Friday on the way back to Versailles from a retreat with our team, our computers and all my backup materials were stolen. There is much that is gone for good. We are in the process of gathering what remains and continuing on with our assignments.
     One bright spot in all this loss is the ever deepening relationships with people around us. We've been told that the French are very private and that it's impossible to meet our neighbors. The laptop I'm typing on was loaned to us by a sweet French couple who live below us. We are indeed blessed!
     After the dust settles we will fill you in on what else is happening-just too preoccupied at the moment.

Museum Visit for Children

Carol and I were making our way out the door in stages (you know what I mean) when the phone rang. It was our teammate, Chad, inviting us to go along on a scouting trip to a museum in downtown Paris. One of the local artists, his family, and Chad were planning an evangelistic event for the spring and wanted to know if we'd like to accompany them. One of us was trapped at the apartment because the repairman was coming to try and fix the dishwasher again. Carol stayed back and I headed out to catch the train to Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines where I was to meet the rest of the party heading into the city.
      The idea for the event was to take children on an art outing to a local museum. They choose eight to ten pieces of art that have a Christian theme and talk about the subject of the piece. This is a great way to explain the Gospel to children.
      This trip was to the Musée du Moyen Âge (Cluny). It is near the Notre Dame cathedral and some of the structure of the building predates Christ. Nothing actually predates Christ, but you know what I mean. In the recent past it had been a monastery. It's the museum that houses the unicorn tapestries, for those who want to check it out. http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/
      In the remnants of a past age God is giving us a way to reach future generations! When I worked for Scripture press in Wheaton, Carol and I hosted a young woman from Russia who had come to Christ in just this way. She had studied paintings in museums and the Gospel message had, through the Holy Spirit, been revealed to her.

Exterior from the coutyard

Pentecost

Small remnant of stained glass - a collection of these
is displayed in one of the rooms

Christ on the donkey

French worship, Art Museum, & Potato Carrot Soup

Léa, our language teacher, thought she was coming down with the flu from her husband so we switched days, and are able to do other things today. I'm working on our France Vie retreat which will be next week. I sooo enjoy working with our team here. Wonderful women and men who know their work well and show great respect for each other. Plus, they know how to laugh. Perfect medicine for whatever may be happening in our lives, don't you think?

Our adventure yesterday, Lord's Day, began around 7:15am as we walked to the train station, caught the train to Paris, switched trains, and tried to buy a bus pass for the last leg of the trip. (This proved unfruitful at Gare du Nord because they kept wanting to sell us a train ticket.) We knew the train ticket was useless because they were working on the rails in Meru over the weekend and the train service was suspended. So we finally bought the our tickets at the last bus station to get to Meru for church service.

I had my sentence prepared in French to purchase my bus pass but it always becomes more involved than telling these nice folks one sentence in French when you want something. The nice thing is I was able to communicate to them that she gave me the wrong pass. After a little while we got our money returned and went to the next place they told us to go. The SNCF people wanted us to ride their train and we told them in French that they were working on the trains on the weekend. So, I think she said, go to the bus station when you arrive and get your bus ticket there. Ça sa? I understood enough. That is a victory you guys! I was not stressed and I understood. Yay!

We arrived at 10:30am with Kathryn picking us up. It was a great day in worship—singing the wonderful French worship songs (some from America so I knew those tunes) and understanding the main points of Andre's sermon and reading the scripture in French and in English to help me. Mark 2 about the paralyzed man and lowering him down from the ceiling so Jesus could heal him. Jesus knows where we are, deep in our hearts, and wants to teach us more about himself and about each other as well as give us healing. This was about our need for community, helping each other and gaining confidence in Christ through each other's help. Good stuff!

The lunch was Raclette - ooh la la - with an apple tarte. Yummy. Raclette is a French dish where you each have your own little pan to melt your cheese and veges in this electric Raclette maker and put it on your plate with ham and a hot potato.

Today, we both had a chance to go down to a museum. We were to meet Chad and another fellow brother to look at art work and decide which pieces to use when we take children down to talk about Biblical Historical art. Then our landlord called and said the dishwasher repairman could come between 1 and 6. Russell went with Chad and I stayed here. Sigh... Oh well. I need to be able to latch my dishwasher/lave-vasseille door closed on this dishwasher. He came and fixed it the other day but now it won't close. He thought he'd fixed that too.

I also need to bake my Texas sheet cake for the art workshop with the children tomorrow with Emilie and Baptiste. Emilie especially ordered that "because the children would like the chocolate brownie like cake." (I know Ms. Emilie liked it too. :0) And I have these huge sweet potatoes so I'm going to make a new recipe for dinner of Carrot and Sweet Potato soup with curry, cumin and onion. Off to baking!

Matches & Q-Tips

Bâtonnetts et Allumettes

There are times when one has to choose. 
      I'd been several places throughout the preceding weeks and been unable to find a couple of items on the grocery list—matches, and Q-Tips. Keep in mind that there are a couple of different kinds of grocery stores here. The small corner grocery/convenience stores are making room for bigger super stores (think Walmart, Home Depot & J.C. Penny combined).
      I'm sure the matches had just been alluding me even in the big stores like CORA but the Q-Tips were genuinely not to be found. One afternoon I bundled up and made a vow not to return to the apartment without both items and set out in high spirits on my quest. To the people in the neighborhood I'm known as, "l'homme au chapeau" (the man in the hat). I'm sure "qui gesticule" is also added after any such outing.
      Following a lead from the cashier at another store, I found the bâtonnetts coton at the local Pharmacie. I was on my way to another of the local grocery stores for the allumettes when I passed the local Tabac. The Tabac is the surest place to find phone cards to recharge the minutes on your cell phone, as well as tobacco, hence the name. It occurred to me that I had passed the one place most likely to carry matches hundreds of times, in dozens of locations, without connecting the dots. Sure enough, they not only had matches, but several kinds and sizes. Since I wanted to light scented candles with them I decided on les grands (the big ones), and returned home a conquering hero. 
      Here is where the choice comes in. When living in another culture there is a tendency to compare things to the way they were done "back home," usually in a negative way. The other choice is to genuinely decide to live the new normal. I recommend the latter. It will fill your days with minor victories to celebrate, and lighten your steps on the way home with your Q-tips. —Russell

More prayer needed

Emily came home yesterday and felt better but today she is not doing well so the doctor told her to come back to the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers as this thing plays itself out. Give the doctors wisdom to have the right course of treatment. Give Emily the strength she needs, the right temperature in her body, a clean bill of heath, no nausea, no headaches, no tingling limbs or upset stomach. Please get rid of this bacteria! She didn't stay in the hospital. The Sepsis is gone and she has to keep on the antibiotics but they think she may have a virus now and told her it will take time to get back to herself.

It's hard to talk about us when I'm thinking about Emily but I want share what's been happening.

We met with a lovely family in our apartment building Friday afternoon. They invited us for tea and brownies. He is a film music composer/arranger. She is a child psychologist and full time mom right now with a 4 month old, 20 month old and 4 year old. Russell makes a fun gran pére. Children love him especially when he brought his cowboy hat up to share. The women I've met are trying to come up with a regular time we can meet.

When our host found out we didn't have a car he offered one of their's when we have a need since they don't use both of them all the time. I doubt we will use it, though, because we don't really need it and it will take a while to get all the road rules here figured out. I need to practice driving a stick shift sometime it's been a number of years and I never was really good at it. The traffic can be pretty scary here during certain parts of the day. People love to honk at each other because of their impatience - not because of an emergency- just like when we lived in Chicago. That can be disconcerting. Most of the cars here are diesels and a stick to save on money and they get a higher price for resale.

The weekend included a time way in a protestant center north of Paris called "Responsable Weekend". It was a time for our France Vie team to get together in St. Prix to go over "The Road Map" in church planting. It was good to meet Joy Ehmann, our speaker, who worked with Russell last year so he could help in designing this 26 page program. We only covered a little bit of it but it was very interesting and worthwhile for creative thinking. This "map" can be adapted for missionaries around the world in 59 countries.

Russell was pretty sick on Monday. There must be a 24 hr. virus going around. He's fine now and fortunately I never got it.   I went to the women's shelter again today in the snow and on the bus to teach English again. Arriving early I decided to venture into that cemetery. Even though many of the tombstones were covered in snow I read some of them and enjoyed walking in the quiet. One tombstone read "Ici repose (here lies) Count somebody and Countess someone else , a general or others in the French legion were buried there. A former Monseigner who must have been very important, a young child was recently buried there. It gave me a chance to pray for the families who had recently died. I finally was ready to go inside and meet these women from all over the world. I had my lesson plan and all went well.  But, I barely got on the bus to return as it was packed with high school students as we squeezed in.

It's fun to look around as I walk... like the nun in her long habit and wimple, the friar in his long black frock and down filled black coat with black backpack and his beret on his head, the high school students with their acne, an old Citroen vehicle on its last leg, and a young couple quietly telling their goodbyes to each other as he gets on another bus and she trudges home in the snow.

Tomorrow will be watching little Luka so daddy can go to a special meeting and mommy can go to her French lessons. It's never a dull moment.

Russell is listening and watching Stargate on TV in French with French subtitles. Pretty funny. We do learn this way as every little bit helps.

Emily is back home!

Emily is now home with oral meds for a few more days so she doesn't have to go back to the hospital!

Update on Emily

Emily continues to be in the hospital. I believe she will be in a couple more days at least. This is a tough strain of bacteria that only an IV anti-biotic can work. She seems to be improved. We will call the hospital today to see what the nurse or dr. is saying. It's hard being so far away from she and Joe. If any of you are in close proximity to Emily she would probably enjoy a visit. Thanks for your prayers.

Prayer for Emily

Our daughter is in the hospital in Lawrence as she contracted E-Coli and Stepsis. We would appreciate prayers.
Merci!

Carol and Russell

The women's shelter

Today was an adventure. Russell and I made an attempt to meet a bus to find our way to the shelter but this particular bus wasn't going to arrive for an hour and a half. I must have gone to the wrong stop. We head back home to study the schedule better.  It feels bitter cold at 25 degrees and going down to 14 tonight. That's in Farenheit terms. I don't know the Centigrade. Let's just say it's cold. I looked at my Kansas City temps on my Google page and see it will be in the 60s! in February. I thought Paris would be milder than KC. Oh well. It's winter, I'm used to February being cold. What I'm not used to is walking in it. :0) That's okay as there is a wonderful bus system in this city of Versailles.

We finally figure it out and head to our destination. The man wanted to take me there the first time so we knew exactly where I was going. Fortunately Carolyn and I had scouted it out before and that helped a lot. There is a lovely cemetery near the shelter which is attached to a Catholic church. When the weather warms up we'll go back and take pictures. I've never seen anything like the cemeteries they have here with the vaults up above. It's like pieces of furniture in a small garden yard for each person. Everything being above ground. It's a lovely, junky but beautiful area with the tombstones, the large cement tombs, ivy, trees, and various assortment of lawn furniture. It's hard to explain. Pictures later.

One of the volunteers opened the big blue door with the black ornamental iron round pull knob in the center. "Bonjour" we both say. I introduce mon mari to her l'homme in the chapeau noir. (the man in the black hat). She looks way up for she is very petite and welcomes me in. I tell him goodbye and he has his own journey back to the apartment to work. As I walk up the stairs there are many women sitting around on couches and various chairs. In the middle of the room is a table with art projects in various stages of design. Their theme is Latin America this month as is their art work. I thought I might help with these projects but when I heard that many of the women want to learn English the woman looked at me and I said, "sure". So we were shuttled downstairs for me to teach English. Have you heard the term "Winging it?" I'd like to know what the person who coined this term was drinking when thinking it up but that is what I was doing. I had no lesson plan but with a little help from my new friend from Cameroon and my new friend from Turkey we came up with a basic plan of thinking of phrases and words, letters & numbers. There will be interesting possibilities and freedom of speech (as He leads) on occasion that may spark some thinking. I would appreciate your thoughts on the work I'm beginning to do and the relationships I am already forming.

For two hours we practiced our English and French. A good time was had by all. One woman was from Mali, 2 women from Turkey, one from Tunisia, another from one of the Stans, another from France and Cameroon.  I didn't always know the French so we did Frenglish. They thoroughly enjoyed it and so did I.

At 4pm we had a "Gouter" (pronounced gootay- There is a circumflex over the letter u but I can't find that on my computer. A Gouter is like having afternoon tea. At the end of the day the women get out the gateau (cake) they made that morning. Coffee, tea and a grenadine syrup is added to water for those who like a saccharin drink. Much like kool-aid. (no thank you). There were 3 children there today and they liked it. Some of these families will go back to their cold tents in the forest and others have a low budget hostel that the government is paying for until they get them returned to their home country or help them get assimilated.

I will teach English again next Wednesday. Bon Nuit! (Good night -Said before going to bed) --Carol

Getting the Mail

Yesterday, I went down to the lobby of our building to check our mail slot. There was a notice from the mail carrier that a package had come. Normally, I have to walk about ten to fifteen minutes to the "Poste" across the street from the Palace of Versailles to present my passport and sign for something like that. So, off I went. When I got there they pointed out, in the fine print, "Check with your guardian." Of course, I had passed the guardian (apartment manager) on the way out of the complex.
     By the time I returned, he was nowhere to be found. I returned later and showed my piece of paper to the guardian's wife who tried to tell me that my 9x12 envelope was no longer there in the office (and with a lot of fruitless pantomime) tried to tell me where to look for it. She finally gave up, walked me back to the lobby of my building and pointed to my mail slot.
     There was the envelope. I had walked past it on my way to the guardian's office. She had been trying to tell me that sometime that afternoon while I was on my way to the post office she had come over and put the envelope in the slot.
     There are times when the theme song from Gilligan's Island runs through my head, "… a three hour tour." At least I'm getting my exercise. And I did stop by the local grocery store to pick up some things on the way back to the guardians office.
—Russell

We're having a Prayer Conference in April. Can you imagine?

You may wonder why have a prayer conference. We care about the people of France and for over 10 years, our organization - France V.I.E., has been praying diligently for these precious people to turn to God to meet their needs; to trust in Him. Some are miserable and depressed and others lonely or looking for real love in many places.
     Some of you may not pray and think it's for foolish people to pray to an unknown "Whatever". For those of us who do pray we feel God is listening and that He answers and acts in response. I've been reading His Book, the Bible, for many years and sense how important it is. It's so powerful or "puissant" (pweesan - accent on the first syllable and you almost pronounce the "n"). My son-in-law said one time that the words carry an authority when he reads them.
     This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to "His Will", He hears us. And if we know that He hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of Him. (1 John 5:14-15)
     Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer an petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)
     Be joyful always; pray continually give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1Thessalonians 5:16-18)
     Be careful how you ask: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3)
     We are having this conference to pray for France and it's people. We believe our hope is in Christ. We are having a relationship with God who is alive and cares for us and wants what is best for us and he wants us to follow him and talk to him. He created us to have relationship and to bring Him glory. (by honoring Him) When I bring Him glory He gives me joy, peace, and an abundant life overflowing! It's a great trade-off. Don't you think?
     With very few French knowing anything at all about God many do not know where to turn when there are questions and some don't have many Godly models. We are not better than anyone else. We are all people who need a Savior. We have been given a gift of huge proportions. This unconditional love from the Father frees us up to love others.
     God promises he will listen to us and prayers are effective. This verse says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16-18. What is righteous? To be righteous we have to be "made right" By accepting Christ's death on the cross to cover our own sins before God and asking Jesus to come into our hearts and lives to be our Savior makes us "right" before a Holy God. He is the one who bridges the gap to God, the Father. The power of prayer is not the result of the person praying. Rather, the power resides in God who is being prayed to.
     We cannot access powerful prayer by using "magic formulas." (allaboutprayer.org) We don't have to use certain words or phrases to get God to answer our prayers. Although, it's not wrong to use certain words or phrases either. And yet we don't want our prayers to become rote petitions that don't have meaning. This verse says, "and when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8) "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm and he guided them to their desired haven." (Psalm 107:28-30) - Talk about power!
     The power of prayer has overcome enemies, conquered death, brought healing, defeated demons. God opens eyes, changes hearts, heals wounds and grants wisdom. It draws on God's glory and might and power in this universe.
     We are asking God to do a mighty work in France and for Europe as a whole. We are seeing the people of France becoming more open to talk and question life on a spiritual level then they've ever experienced it. God is softening and opening hearts and we want to be available to love and help support each other. People are trusting in Christ! If you have a desire to come to our annual Prayer Conference April 11 - 18th please let us know. It's an intimate group with usually no more than 50 - 70 total including France Vie and our guests speakers. That is what makes it so exciting. We are praying that some of you will want to join us this year.
     To see the American version of the Conference brochure follow these instructions: Go to: "Special Sections" to the right. The last section is called Downloadable PDF Presentation Documents. Click that link. Scroll to the bottom click on the link for the Prayer Conference brochure if you want more specific info. For a Canadian or Australian version, please let us know and we can send you one—Blessings to you!
-Carol

My brother asked me if I wake up in the night thinking, "I'm in a foreign country"?

I really think more about being in a foreign country when I'm on a train platform and there is an announcement over the speaker in French saying something like, "the train is not coming and won't be here until who knows, so go do something about it." Everyone starts to leave and I'm thinking "what?" and I follow like a sheep looking for another train that's going my way. I'm not as nervous as I used to be - like back in March and April. That experienced happened today. Then I looked at a guy nearby and went "que?" pronounced "kay" which means "what" and he started rattling off in French and I looked interested and had no clue. Ha.
     I took off by myself for work today. Russell worked on a website banner for France Vie today while I went into the FV office. I went in by myself to do some accounting for the office, turning on the heat. I need those gloves with the fingers cut off. We are going to try to find some. The wall heaters are producing heat as fast as they can and it does save money doing it this way. I did get some things accomplished and will go back tomorrow. It felt bitterly cold on the way back and looked like it could snow.
     Next Wed. Carolyn and I are going to a women's shelter near the palace. There are foreigners living behind the palace in tents. Usually if people stay in a shelter they have to leave for the day. That's pretty standard back in the states too - in Lawrence, they have a few shelters there. Some of our churches in Kansas take turns housing the homeless for a week then the folks go to the next church to stay. Our regular shelters have been more full the last few years because of the economy. They leave for work or to find work or go to school for the day and come back at night to eat, do homework, play games or read and go to bed on cots. Russell and I went up to play games with some teens one evening at MorningStar church in Lawrence and enjoyed it. One of the guys staying at our church in Lawrence that week was selling cars by day and staying in a shelter by night. Rough times.
     But for the foreign women and their children behind the Chateau de Versailles, they can come in for the day and get a bath and food plus take some classes on culture, art or learn French. There are Turkish and Kurdish women who speak their own languages and have learned English (it's the international language now). They do not know French. I can probably understand some simple French sentences but have a hard time with any big conversation. The woman said they need more English speakers to help them with these women. I would love to do that so we are going next Wed. to check it out. There are openings for volunteers on Wed. and Fri.
     Russell just brought in a nice desk that was out on the edge of the curb waiting for someone to pick it up so now I have desk. That's nice. -Carol

Sunday Morning - It was all I hoped it would be!

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye

A lovely trip was made up the road through the village near the large aqueduct with its huge arches a la gauche (on the left) and looking a la droit (dwaht—on the right) over the tiled roofs on the hills. We saw a few rows of cold looking netted grape vines between houses and businesses. The car was zipping along going through the many roundabouts of Versailles and beyond. I don't believe France has stop signs. Our French friends from Olathe, KS said they wouldn't stop anyway. :0)
     Baptiste gave us a quick little detour through St. Germain-en-Laye, 25 min. away. There is a grand palace/chateau there and a very "high end" neighborhood. My excitement couldn't contain itself when I found out today by "googling" that this is where Louis XIV was born and lived for 20 years. But, even more exciting to us is that one of Russell's Grandfather's of the Scottish/British Kingly Stuart line was sent to this castle and lived here after his exile from Britain in 1688. King James lived in the Chateau for 13 years and his daughter Louisa Maria Stuart was born in exile here in 1692. James 11 is buried here in the church. We'll have to come back to take a picture.
     Saint-Germain-en-Laye was founded in 1020 when King Robert the Pious (ruled 996-1031) founded a convent on the site of the present Church of Saint-Germain.
     Prior to the French Revolution in 1789, it had been a royal town and the Château de Saint-Germain the residence of numerous French monarchs. The old château was constructed in 1348 by King Charles V on the foundations of an oldcastle (château-fort) dating from 1238 in the time of Saint Louis. Francis I was responsible for its subsequent restoration. In 1862, Napoleon III set up the Musée des Antiquités Nationales in the estwhile royal château. Kings Henry IV and Louis XIII left their mark on the town.

The Church of Saint-Germain

     Baptiste was preaching this day so we continued on our journey to Cergy LeHaut which was only another 15 min.
      Once we arrived we each gave the traditional French cheek kisses or a hearty handshake to every person and then we were able to enjoy the "louange". The singing began with M LeLevier leading in louange with his spanish style guitar playing and Lydia on the electric piano. There are a number of seminary/Bible institute students or former students who attend. One from Switzerland, two from Germany, and two from France.
     I had my English Bible, my French Bible and journal precariously on my lap as the French was being read. The verses from the message were taken from Thessalonians 2:1-12. This is a very hard passage to think about especially if one is not sure about becoming a Christian or have rejected Christ. It speaks about God giving people over to believing the lies and will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. There are those who don't want to believe but it keeps these same people from enjoying what the Father has for those in this category. It talks about how God who loved all of us and by his grace gave us "eternal" encouragement and good hope, so we can encourage our hearts. He strengthens us in every good deed and word. Wouldn't you want that over the other?! I do. Thank you Lord for your love and for all your good gifts!
    After a great morning we went out to lunch at Buffalo Grill (an American restaurant for a Hamburger and fries/creamy cheese dip instead of ketchup and small French dessert delights). The young seminary Bible students and young pastors came with us. We had a lively discussion in French and English around the table continuing the conversation that was started from the verses shared this morning.
It was a good day. - Carol

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the "Attitude and Blessings" sign.

"Welcome to Flight #2012. We are prepared to take off into the New Year. Please make sure your Attitude and Blessings are secured and locked in, in the upright position. All self-destructive devices should be turned off at this time. All negativity, hurt, and discouragement should be put away. Should we  lose altitude under pressure, during the flight, reach up and pull down a Prayer! Prayers will automatically be activated by Faith. Once your Faith is activated you can assist other passengers. There will be NO BAGGAGE allowed on this flight. The Captain has cleared us for takeoff--Destination - GREATNESS!!"

(I "shared" this from a friend on her Facebook page. I am sorry I do not know where it originated from.)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways...

The last 2 days...

1. A little boy about three wearing a warm, fuzzy hat and a down filled, fat coat looked up at Russell last night as we were walking to the store. Holding onto his momma's hand he pointed and yelled, "chapeau!!" (pronounced shapow)That means hat in French. Russell was wearing his cowboy hat. We laughed.

2. Because I did not leave enough time for us to "get out the door" from lack of sleep, we did not make it to our trains on time. Let's try another train, I suggested, and we'll try to get to a bus when we get there but it only got us so far. We were picked up to head to our language lesson and had lunch with our wonderfully sweet co-worker friends. We sang little baby songs to their petite fille (little girl) in English. Her mama put on an English song with animal sounds. We sang that together. She is 7 months old and her mama teaches sign language to adults and to babies. The babies and parents learn to communicate with sign. They began telling her to go to the bathroom at 4 months old and she will do it on command! She won't think of it on her own though but that is amazing.

3. We saw older elementary and junior highers on the public bus after school -loving their laughter and their animated chatter. Public transportation is a part of life here. We Americans would never consider letting our children get on a public bus without parents. The children swipe their monthly pass and run onto the bus.

4. Our co-workers are having 4 young adults over to their home this evening. 3 are non-believers and one is a Christian. One of the 4, a young woman, went to America last year to study English. She couldn't get into a public school at the time and went to a Christian school to learn her language. Her teacher was sharing with her that she helped to financially support a young French couple in this certain town. The woman told her teacher that was her home town in France! She couldn't believe it.

The teacher let her read the newsletter about this couple's work. The woman is here in France now and is coming over to to their house tonight as she signed up for multiple sessions about what Christians believe and to learn about the Bible. She is an atheist. As the old saying goes, "God works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform".

You are the GOD who does wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. Psalms 77:14

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

An Invitation from a neighbor for Tea

Russell was standing outside waiting for one of our teammates to come over this morning. I was upstairs finishing getting ready. A younger woman was downstairs and began to chat with our guys. Found out she was born in Argentina, grew up in America and married a Frenchman in the states and they moved here later. She said she wants to invite me over for tea. That's very sweet and nice of her. We have something in common besides America. They are without hot water and sounds like they are only getting heat from a wood fireplace.  We have 3 electric wall heaters which are working.

Versailles is experiencing some mild weather for this time of year but it is getting down into the 30s at night and this week the high is 45ish - 50. There are young families who live here as well as elderly so we would appreciate prayer for the workers to be able to get the heat back on sooner rather than later. I'm so thankful we have been having some milder weather. Last year Paris had 16 inches of snow. They haven't had any yet for which I'm grateful.