Last of the Summer Birthdays!

Two weeks ago was Dominic, last week was Soph, and today it’s my birthday. Not only that but I get to spend it in France… How blessed am I!?

You know… I started to write that out as a simple exclamation, but it’s so true. I AM blessed. The Lord has blessed with with my family. He has allowed me to walk with Him… inviting me daily to enter into his presence, to find new peace and strength with which to face each new day and the unique opportunities & challenges that may come with it. An invitation that we often take for granted. And for now, He’s allowed me to do all that in France.

We are blessed!

Canada Day

Yesterday was our second Canada day spent in France. Festivities were kept to a minimum as the kids were still working hard to push towards the end of the school year, not to mention that the skies were overcast.

School Daze

It IS worth mentioning that Timo completed his school year, and as such is the first one to do so. His last hurrah…. a history test.

These three pictures capture, firstly his sense of satisfaction at the thought of writing his final test followed by the realization that it is, in fact, an 8 page test!

… may as well go out with a bang!

As for Dominic, he is not far behind. Yesterday he finished his classes but still has some exams waiting for him.

Tour de France

On Tuesday, the Tour de France will pass through our neighbourhood (pics next week). If you would like to do a quick Tour-de-France-themed Missions Moment with your Sunday School… I’ve developed an outline to help you. Click here to see it.

Visit to Chambord

On my way home from IBF last Saturday, I stopped in at the Château de Chambord to break up the trip. At only 9min. off the highway, it’s an easy and rather outstanding stop!

I arrived at roughly 6:00pm so it was too late to actually visit the castle. I opted for the 4km walk around the grand canal in stead… it was during this walk that I realized that I’d left both my suit and by overnight bag back at the church in Melun! Something to collect later.

An unexpected surprise was that by the time I was finished my walk, they were preparing for the annual gala concert of the Chambord Hunting Horn School… we’d call it “the French Horn”.

It’s not the most melodic instrument in the world, but it’s quite something in its concept.

Originally used to communicate information about the hunt to other hunters, it was less a question of musicality and more simply a communication tool. Since there are no keys… differences in pitch are produced according to the amount of pressure applied to the mouth piece… more pressure, higher pitch… less pressure, lower pitch.

Here’s some news footage to get an idea both of the sound of the horn being played as well as the ceremony that surrounds it (the commentary is in French).

Thank you…

You know, in all that we do and all we communicate, we don’t forget the many, many of you that touch base either by Facebook, Twitter, email, Instagram, Skype etc. It means a lot. We pray that the Lord bless you for your kindness toward us!

We need 39 new financial partners by September.

Click here for a full financial breakdown
You’ll see:
– Why the financial requirement changed.
– Why it’s important that we stay longer, and
– The different ways you can contribute