February has slipped by and here we are only a few days away from the culmination of the LEAP YEAR!

I’m currently hiding out at ESSCA’s Angers Campus, waiting for traffic to die down before attempting the drive home. It’s not horrible, but I’ve found that by waiting a while at school, doing a few extra things that need getting done, I can miss the rush hour and shave 15-20mins off my driving time. Truth be told though… it’s as much the aggravation of the traffic more than the time itself that I’m happy to do away with.

So… while the traffic weaves its way s-l-o-w-l-y through the streets of Angers, let me attempt to get you caught up on the month that was February.

Versailles w/ Friends from Turkey

Back in November, one of my private tutoring students let me know that he & his family had picked up a good deal on airfare between Turkey and France… they were coming to visit.

This is a student that I clicked particularly well with so there was no question… We made plans to go up and join them for the day.

Liz & up got up well before the crack of dawn, hit the road and were in Paris by 8:30-ish. Thankfully, the farmers’ protests had fizzled out the previous day, meaning that we didn’t have to worry about whether or not we’d experience serious delays.

We met our friends at a metro stop, drove out to Versailles and toured the palace together on a damp, drizzly morning… but my goodness our hearts were warm. It’s amazing the people that God puts in your life from time to time.

Special Guests

February saw a few special guests come our way during Sunday services.

Early in the month we had a team come from the church in Melun. The young people there undergo ministry training and then are sent out to different churches to be exposed to the work of God in different parts of the country. It’s so important, not only to train young people in ministry, but also to give them opportunities to minister. We’re thankful for the gift of themselves to the work of God in France.

We also had a visit from Pastor & Sis. Majdling, from the church in Bordeaux. They were on their way back from meetings in Melun and were only too happy to spend time with us, but perhaps just a little more with Melanie (their daughter) and Dominic.

What a treat to have had all these folks with us.

Girls’ Day

Spring has sprung… as it revealed by the presence of apricot blossoms in my polytunnel greenhouse. I’m not sure that it’ll get to fruiting stage (they are particularly vulnerable to late-spring cool snaps), but the blossoms themselves are a treat.

The other blossoms (the red ones, painted by Sophie) harken back to a church ladies’ day earlier this week. The gals got together at Dominic & Melanie’s apartment for a time of fellowship, snacks and painting. It was a great activity and the first time in a while that something like that was attempted. It was very good!

That activity, to some extent, grew out of an earlier trip that our ladies made at the end of January, when they went to Romilly-sur-Seine for a national ladies’ prayer event. There is a nice synergy happening there.

Alone Time

Liz & I are looking forward to a bit of peace & quiet this week. All she really knows is that I’ve booked a few days in our calendar as:

“Mom = 100% off duty”

This week will be a mid-winter holiday for both schools where I teach (it’s unusual to have both schools’ vacation fall during the same week), so we’re going to take advantage of a night away that the kids gave us for Christmas last year + an extra night.

(I know…. “last year” … 😅 )

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I’ll leave things there for today.
Thanks for checking in.
Let what you read inform your prayers for us and for France.
God bless you!