Today we are on our way to Bordeaux for a special youth-themed weekend where the local church is hosting national youth president Samuel Sheikadam. It’s been a long time since our kids have been able to be with other Christian youth so we’re hitting the highway for some youth fellowship.

I’ll fill you in on that next week, but for now, let’s talk about the week that was…

Taking it UP a level…

Since arriving, the boys have been sleeping on a pair of fairly ‘tired‘ single beds by Ikea. While they might still have a bit of life left in them for smaller kids, our two growing teenage boys needed something sturdier.

The Lord provided.

A local furniture store had this bunk-bed for sale. It was the end of the January sales-season and this was their floor model so we were able to get it for an unbelievably low price. The catch… putting it together, which took a good chunk of Friday afternoon and part of Saturday as well.

It also gives them a bit more floor space in their room and extra room for Sophie when her room gets used as the guest room.

A New Sunday Series

One of the challenges we’ve faced this year is the availability of church members. While available on Sunday mornings, they are typically not available during the week, making it difficult to teach home bible-studies.

The solution: I began Rev. Timothy Mitchell’s discipleship course “The Way of God More Perfectly” on Sunday morning and will use it on an ongoing basis.

We really want to see the folks that God has entrusted to our care, grounded in His word. Please pray with us about this study.

On another note… it’s Mimosa season once again. Mimosa is the yellow flower in the picture, a gift from our neighbours. Along with flowering quince and camelia… it is one of the earliest flowering trees here in western France.

Family Visit to Angers

Though I’ve been teaching English in Angers 1-2 days / week since September, Liz & the kids had never joined me and never been to that city.

Since the boys were still on a school break this week, we opted to all pile in the car and visit Angers’ Castle when I was finished classes for the day. I mentioned the castle a few weeks ago when I told you briefly about having seen the 600 year old Revelation Tapestry. I knew that at some point I wanted Liz & the kids to see it as well and this was the week.

Before the tapestry… this is art of a slightly more modern fare…

• Liz & I in the center of a ‘string cathedral’ set up in the castle’s chapel.
• The boys acting as Sophie’s personal photographers.

The Revelation Tapestry

I still intend to do a post entirely dedicated to the tapestry at some point. Not only is it entirely worthy of its own post but there’s way too much to say about it to try including it all in a regular weekly post.

In the late 1300’s, Louis 1st, the Duke of Anjou commissioned a series of tapestries which, together, would illustrate key moments from the book of Revelation. It originally measured 140m (460 feet) in length and 4.5m (15 feet) in height, but only 100m of length remain. Still though… what you see in the bottom photo is roughly 1/2 of the entire tapestry. How impressive is that!?

In each panel, John the Revelator is observing a scene and recording it in his book. Though it bears little resemblance to how we might depict the scenes today, one can imaging that in the 14th century it represented an incredibly vivid depiction of coming events.

I was glad to share this experience with Liz & the kids. Keep your eyes open for a post dedicated exclusively to the tapestry… I’d like to share it with you as well.

Thank you

What a privilege it is to be involved in what God is doing in France. Thank you for taking that journey with us. Each time you stop by for a visit and uphold our names in prayer, you become more part of what God is doing here.

God bless you richly today & this week!