General Charles deGaulle had a real dilemma about leading France in the 1950’s. He mused about how it be possible to govern a country with 246 varieties of cheese. If that’s the extent of his challenges… his was a good time in which to lead! Challenges are to be expected in the pursuit of any great and worthy goal… and what a goal is ours!

.

Church in Paris-Centre

Last Sunday I was back up to Paris for service at our work in Ivry-sur-Seine… only kilometers from downtown. The first few times, I always took the early train, leaving Châtellerault at 6:45am to be there for the 10:30 service; it gave me a buffer in case of unexpected delay.

This week, though, I took the 7:45am train, more confident about the timing. It still gave me time to walk the 30min from the metro stop to the church.

The music team is really getting very, very good (the current team has been in place for about a year). I was so impressed by them again this past Sunday.

During service, one of the leaders called for testimonies and several stood, emotional about what God had done in their lives… releasing faith into the service. By altar service, not a single person remained in their seats, but all were praying at the altar. God is so good and his presence is tangible when we seek him diligently!

After service, I ate with the folks there at church, then went for coffee with one of the families. After this, I spent a bit of time strolling before catching my train back to Châtellerault..

It was a grey day, but strolling along the river, passing the warm glow of cafés like “Les Deux Palais” and walking through the Sunday bird market kept me distracted from the chill in the air.

(The bird market was a surprise… I’d never seen it before. They had tons of canaries, budgies, parakeets & parrots, but also some lovely quail that would’ve looked good in our yard! …alas, they stayed in Paris).

 

 

Baptism

On Tuesday, we drove 45min north to the city of Tours to meet Danielle who is in France for cancer treatment. She wanted to be baptized and grow deeper in her faith, so we made plans to do that on Thursday.

Wednesday night after service we filled the baptismal tank but met challenge #1: we had to fill the tank using buckets (there is no tap in the baptistry and the hose would not work).

We met challenge #2 when we put the heating element in the tank to heat over-night… it blew the main breaker for the building (because the heat pump was also on).

It was 10:30 pm and we were combing the building with the lights on our cell phones only to find out that the main breaker is at the roadside, where the power comes onto the property.

On the up-side, I’m now more familiar with the electrical panel and entrance!

Danielle was baptized on Thursday here in Châtellerault and would like a home bible study  as well. You can see us pictured above with the sister who initially made contact with Danielle.

.

Our Auzzie-Kiwi-British friends…

One of the unexpected blessings here was meeting the Gelfer-Thompson family back in the fall. We’ve gotten together a few times and yesterday we went over for the afternoon. They moved to the area only a few months before we did and have done the whole homeschool thing as well…. so we “get” each other. It’s so great to hear our kids laughing, joking & going on together without the language barrier getting in the way. Dinner, dessert and a garden tour coupled with some time “fire-side” was a wonderful way to spend a Friday afternoon. We thank the Lord for these new friends.

.

FranceTastique!

If you’re scanning through Instagram… check out @FranceTastique… it’s a new account I’ve created for photos I’ve taken here, to which I’ve added scripture and periodically other quotes as well.

If you’re more into Pinterest… you can also find them there in our FranceTastique board. Help spread the word… pin & re-pin!
.

Thank you

…for stopping by again today. I appreciate you following us in all that God is letting us take part in here. As always, let what you read, inform your prayers for us and for France.