OK, so friends & family back in Canada will be wanting to strangle me… seeing the picture of frost-laden leaves on the ground and using the “w”-word to describe it. Yet, the -1/-2 degrees that we’ve been getting at night are more seasonal temps for us. Friends assure me that several weeks of -15/-20 used to be a yearly occurrence here… but not so any more.
I’m OK with that.
Feeling the need to quickly move on to less controversial topics however, let me tell you about our week…
A Shadow at the Window
Sunday while preparing for service, we saw the shadow of someone trying to peer into the windows at church. They’re a frosted/textured glass, so it’s impossible to see in, but as I prepared to open it, I was curious as to who I might find myself facing.
It was our neighbour, across the street from the church. He came to inform us of something that I likely wouldn’t have noticed until lawn mowing season:
A portion of the fence, at the bottom of the yard, had been torn down in an accident. A utility trailer had come unhitched from the truck hauling it and it careened into the ditch, taking out part of our fence.
He was aware because he’d seen the emergency vehicles, as well as the crane that was required to lift the trailer back onto the road.
As we work through the situation with local government and the party involved, I pray that the Lord use this accident to touch someone that we’ll interact with.
A Weekly Commute
On Monday I decided to change up the route for my commute home from Angers. It was a beautiful day and I was ready for a change of scenery.
I couldn’t help myself when I came through Saumur. I parked and took a quick stroll along the Loire River, with the castle eyeing my every move from the hilltop and the “gabare” river boat welcoming me to the water’s edge.
Yet another gorgeous French city without an Apostolic church… Lord send labourers to this country!
The Family
Where my week began pretty much as usual, it was not so for the kids:
Dominic
…was looking at major practice exams, lasting anywhere from 1-4 hours, pretty much every morning. They’re the first of two dry runs before the actual tests in June (when he’ll graduate). He finished the week by getting his lower braces put on, so he’s in a bit of pain today.
Timo
…on the other hand, was able to lay low on Monday; no school for him. He was on work-term discovery this week where he went to work in a local eye wear shop. He’s making up for Monday’s day off by working today though.
Sophie
…had a relatively normal week. She is part of the student union and they had a laser-tag, team-building exercise on Wednesday – she cleaned house!
Liz
… held down the fort, kept us organized, continued editing a translation project, and taught a Bible study to one of the ladies in our church – there’s NO grass growing under her feet! The both of us were also able to share coffee with Bro. Brochu who was in town for the day.
#BOTT2020
HUGE Shout out to Pastor Anthony Mangun and the church in Alexandria, Louisiana for making their incredible Because of the Times conference available, for free, to missions staff serving around the world.
What an encouragement it is, not only that they should remember us and prioritize our ability to participate from afar, but simply the content of the messages of was a huge encouragement as well.
Thank you POA…
You’re incredible!
“Manual Blessings”
I am SO thankful for two men from church who both work in the building trade. They helped me out with a couple of things down at the church in the past two weeks.
Florian
…helped me look for a tiny water leak that was causing minor staining on our hanging ceiling. He knows the building materials used, what to look for and how to fix it.
Laurent
…spent the afternoon with me Thursday and we changed out the toilet in the washroom that was well aged, and leaking. Again… this is a HUGE help because what he can do in a matter of minutes would be a monumental task of guesswork and uncertainty for me.
The Lord has provided & I’m so grateful.
There may be a ton of beautiful cities in France, like Saumur (up top), but this is our beautiful city… Châtellerault, and this is our church. There have been challenges, but I wouldn’t be anywhere else.
Thank you for checking in today & thank you for your prayers.
Lord bless you richly this week.
AIM Long 