AIMKids MM9 – Big-Little Country

February 18, 2015 By in AIMKids Missionary Moments Tags: , Leave a comment

AIMKids Missionary Moments are designed to be a resource for Sunday School Teachers / Youth leaders, to help kids relate to the life of an MK (Missionary Kid). They’re intentionally short because we know you already have a lot of material to cover.

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Everything in one “little” country

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Most of us in North America would consider France to be a very small country size-wise. In fact, Texas is 1.26 times the size of France. Yes… you heard correctly, this country is smaller than the state of Texas.  For those of us in Canada, it might be better to say that the province of Quebec is roughly 3x the size of France.  So for us then, it’s considered a small country although in Europe, it is one of the largest.

One of the nice things about France though, is that, for such a “small” country, it has a very diverse landscape and climate.

  1. AIMLong.caAlong the southern coast (the Côte d’Azur) it is sunny and warm all the time… like Florida or California.
  2. In the south-eastern part of the country are the French Alps, rugged mountains that are great for skiing… like the Rockies in Colorado or Alberta… where you can get snow and very cool temperatures.
  3. In parts of central France and to the north there is incredibly rich farm land where much corn, wheat and sunflowers are produced, similar to the Canadian plains or the American mid-west.
  4. Along the north-western coast (Normandy), the coastline is similar to what you might find in the State of Maine or Atlantic Canada.
  5. In other parts of central France you can find lower, rolling mountains like those in the Appalachian mountains of the eastern US and up into Quebec.

All of that variety in a “small” country… it’s pretty incredible really.

For us in North America it’s hard to imagine isn’t it?
Yet it’s all there… just the way God created it.
– If you like tropical beaches… they’re there.
– If you like mountains… they’re there.
– If you like empty plains or big cities… they’re there.

Everyone can find something that they like in France.

You know that God wants each one of us to be just like France in a certain way. Listen to what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22:

20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak…
I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

That is Jesus’ top priority… that we would teach someone to know Him.

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Prayer Focus:

Pray that we (you in your church and us in France) become a little bit more like the country of France:

  • That everyone we come in contact with might find something in us that will make them think more about God than they did before they met us.
  • That we might become like Paul… we can be kind to everyone, whether they’re like us or not, so that they will want to know Jesus.

 

  • If your students have specific questions, please don’t hesitate to email us and we’d be happy to respond specifically.
  • Please let your kids know that by praying for us regularly, THEY TOO are part of taking Jesus’ love to France… they’re part of missions!

Note: The maps graphics are from the site OverlapMaps.com

“Loving France” this Valentine’s Day!

February 14, 2015 By in Blog Leave a comment

IMG_7583

If you are reading this on Saturday morning (depending on your time zone) there’s a good chance that I’m still in the city of Melun teaching at the Bible School. IBF stands for Institut Biblique de France and is the Bible school operating out of senior missionary John Nowacki’s church in the city of Melun. Students attend one Saturday each month, from 7:30am – 5:30pm, for 3 years as well as a block week each summer. This semester, I’ll be teaching Epistles 1 (Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians.

Liz & the kids, however, are about 3.5hrs away… back in Châtellerault, and so, for our first Valentine’s Day in France – the country of romance – we are apart. No fear though… A backup plan is in place!

Our Week

IMG_7783What can I tell you about our week this week???

  • Last Saturday after our post… We explored the city as a family. We spent some time at the local library and got the low-down on library cards, resources, etc. (they also had free internet access… So we took a bit advantage of that).
  • We discovered Le Lac… The lake in town where many locals go to enjoy their Saturday afternoons out in nature. Timo took his basketball & shot some hoops with Liz while Dominic & I went looking for something that he had on his list.
  • Timo spent some of the money that he got from the church as a going away present(photos to follow in another post some time).
  • We found the local version of Value Village or Good Will. Slim on clothes, but wow… The furniture pieces!
  • We got some grocery items…. (not as exciting, but oh so necessary!), including “mustard pickles” chips… Yummmmm!
  • Liz & the kids led worship on Sunday morning & I preached. Then again on Wednesday, the kids helped Sis Brochu lead in worship… So great to see them involved.

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  • Thursday was a work day around the church: we cleaned up a lot of wood that was leftover from the power company trimming back a treeline…. big bonfire by the end of the day!! During this time others… Worked on a nasty mole problem in the lawn, cleaned up the flower bed by the main entrance, raked leaves & worked on music for this coming weekend… Working together is a great way to get to know one another!

On Instagram?

Are you on Instagram? Want to connect to a photographic stream of life here in France? It’s where I share part of the artsy side on my personality.

Click here to see my profile: MikeLongSJ

There are a few aspects on our family life, but most of the photos are of the scenery here. If you click on the hashtag #CeMatin_àChatellerault you’ll see photos that I take when I do morning prayer walks around the city… Usually a couple times each week.

Prayer

First of all, thank you for keeping us in prayer! Please continue to keep our house situation in prayer. The buyer’s finances are in place and tomorrow afternoon there will be a home inspection – the last major step before closing.

Please keep the Brochus in prayer as they are now where we were in December… Staring down an all-too-soon departure with many things still left to do.

Finally, please continue to keep the kids in prayer… This past Sunday there were 9 in Sunday School… The best in a good while. Not only is that good for our kids, but very encouraging for the other kids as well as their teachers.

God bless your day today & thank you for spending part of it with us!

AIMKids MM8 – French Food

February 11, 2015 By in AIMKids Missionary Moments Tags: Leave a comment

AIMKids Missionary Moments are designed to be a resource for Sunday School Teachers / Youth leaders, to help kids relate to the life of an MK (Missionary Kid). They’re intentionally short because we know you already have a lot of material to cover.

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5 Crazy things French people eat

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  1. Cow Tongue: It’s cooked up and considered a delicacy (I’ve tried it). It tastes good but has a funny texture. The trick is… cut it into thin slices and it’ll “melt in your mouth”!
  2. Pigeon: Oh it’s not like they go to the nearest public park and grab a few while tossing them seeds… These pigeons are cultivated, much like we’d raise chickens or pigs. Originally, only the nobility had the right to own a Pigeon Coop… it gave them free meat all winter.
  3. Foie Gras: (Pronounced “Fwah-grah”) Is really just duck or goose liver. It’s VERY much a delicacy but there are some US states where it’s illegal to produce! It’s a little bit the texture of a can of fancy cat food… but tastes MUCH better!  🙂
  4. Horse Meat: It is common in many parts of Europe to eat horse meat although in North America it’s almost NEVER done… crazy eh!
  5. Steak Tartare: This is basically just raw hamburger mixed up with onions, raw eggs, mustard and worcester sauce, put in a flat round shape and sometimes topped with another raw egg, cuz hey… why not?

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Prayer Focus:

Pray that we (you in your church and us in France) take a lesson from French food, or rather… in how God is not like some French food.

He (God) satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (NIV)
Psalm 107:9 

Bless the Lord… who satisfieth the mouth with good things. (KJV)
Psalm 103.2, 5

In the same way that we can’t imagine eating some things, because they taste bad, smell bad or look bad… people around us will only want to taste or try serving Jesus if we serve Jesus in a way that’s looks & sounds appealing to them.  Jesus will fill our friends with good things, but we have to make them “hungry” for it when they see us!

 

  • If your students have specific questions, please done hesitate to email us and we’d be happy to respond specifically.
  • Please let your kids know that by praying for us regularly, THEY TOO are part of taking Jesus’ love to France… they’re part of missions!

Wet Feet…

February 7, 2015 By in Blog Tags: , 6 Comments

We’re coming to the end of our second week in France so I wanted to give a bit of an update over and above what you’re seeing in the “AIMKids Missionary Moments” posts.

Musically Speaking

with Missionaries Paul & Darla Brochu, Châtellerault, France

If you follow our Facebook page (if not, like it here) you will have seen one of these two photos already… the one of the kids practising before Wednesday night’s Bible Study.

The second one is a composite photo of Bro. & Sis. Brochu helping the kids with their various instruments. It’s not that they’re getting lessons of how to play, they’ve been taking lessons for several years.  Rather, the Brochus have been helping them learn some of the songs that are sung here in the local church which are, for the most part, choruses.  Although they are mostly familiar to Liz & I, they are not the songs that the kids have grown up singing.

It’s good really, because they are fairly easy to pick up… both in terms of the music and the lyrics… making the learning curve somewhat less intimidating.

Timo has not played in a service yet… he’s still working up the courage, but Sophie & Dominic both played for 1/2 of Wednesday’s song service.

Getting Around

du vélo à Antoigné, Châtellerault

In my last picture post you saw a photo of the church in our backyard… We live in the village of Antoigné which is a neighbourhood within the greater Châtellerault area. It’s a wonderful little community and here you can see the kids getting out to explore it by bicycle (on loan from the Brochus).

Two of the three photos will immediately make sense to you… Dominic at rest in front of that little country church and Sophie cruising the roadway near the village. The photo in the upper left corner might, however, be less easy to figure out. Can you take a guess at what it is?

If you guessed ancient community washing machine, you’d be right!

This is called “un lavoir” and would have been found in just about every rural village at one time. Some have disappeared, but our little village has kept theirs very well maintained. The steps lead to 2 small basins at one end of which is a hand-pump (not visible in this picture). Residents would pump enough water to replace any that had run off or evaporated and do their laundry while visiting with neighbours at the same time. Definitely no spin cycle in those days!

Home heating

gaz naturel, cafetièreIt’s pretty common here, and our house is no exception, to heat and cook with natural gas. We’d never done that before so it’s taking a bit of getting used to although I must say that things heat up on the stove very quickly!  Even our hot water is heated using gas.

As I was out walking the other day, I saw a couple of posters protesting the practice of fracking for natural gas.  It reminded me of home… as that’s a real hot button issue in our province.

Daily Details

The last few days have also seen us get more and more settled into daily life:

  • Of course there are some things that you don’t realize you need until you don’t have them within reach… so we’ve made several trips to the grocery store to stock up on some of the staples.
  • I’ve gotten a new French telephone number for my cell phone so my Canadian number will soon be cancelled. For now I switch between the two SIM cards as needed… so if you text on the Canadian number and I don’t respond right away… that’s why.
  • It turns out that you need an appointment to open a bank account… that’ll happen this week. Go figure!
  • Next Saturday will be my first Saturday teaching at Bible School up in Melun…

Thank you for your prayers and for partnering with us!

 

AIMKids MM7 – French Fashion

February 4, 2015 By in AIMKids Missionary Moments Tags: 2 Comments

AIMKids Missionary Moments are designed to be a resource for Sunday School Teachers / Youth leaders, to help kids relate to the life of an MK (Missionary Kid). They’re intentionally short because we know you already have a lot of material to cover.

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5 Fun Facts about French Fashion

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  1. Denim Jeans: Originated in the French city of Nîmes. To say “from Nîmes” in French you say… “de Nîmes” … see the ressemblance with denim?  Denim jeans were imported to California (by Levi Strauss) to furnish mine-workers with durable work pants.
  2. LouisXIVHaute-Couture vs. Prêt-à-Porter:  These are two types of French clothing… Haute Couture means tailor-made (and very expenseive).  Prêt-a-Porter means ready to wear (and affordable).
  3. Big Hair: King Louis the Fourteenth started the trend of men wearing big wigs of curly hair (ugh!). He did it to cover up his own balding head and then people in his palace had to follow the king’s lead… that’s how style works!
  4. Less is More: They say that if you want to dress in French-style, go for something simple and uncomplicated. Scarves (think “infinity scarf” girls) add a very french-flare
  5. Famous Names: Name brands define the value and popularity of many articles of clothing. The bigger the name brand – the more money you have to pay for them. Do you recognize the names: Chanel, Dior, Yves St. Laurent (YSL), Louis Vuitton? They are all from France.

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Prayer Focus:

Pray that we (you in your church and us in France) will be like French Fashion:

  1. Denim: That God will give us the strength to be hard-working for Him!
  2. Prêt-à-Porter: that we not be unreachable but available to help everyone who needs help knowing Jesus.
  3. Big Hair: That we will not just follow the silly trends of the world, but only those styles that please God.
  4. Less is More: That our simple life will be attractive and appealing to those around us… that they notice us because of our love for God.
  5. Famous Names: We have the BEST brand name EVER when we wear the name of Jesus. That gives us the highest value of all!

 

  • If your students have specific questions, please done hesitate to email us and we’d be happy to respond specifically.
  • Please let your kids know that by praying for us regularly, THEY TOO are part of taking Jesus’ love to France… they’re part of missions!

We’ve arrived!

February 1, 2015 By in Blog, Events Tags: 7 Comments

Just wanted to give a quick heads up as to our safe arrival in France.

We have been without internet access for the past few days as we don’t have it at home and will continue to be without it for a little while yet. The past two posts that you’ve seen are ones that I prepared in advance and scheduled ahead of time in anticipation of the break of connectivity.  I was able to get access for a brief while yesterday which allowed me to prepare this  post.

Travel

Église d'Antoigné et Pont Henri IV, Châtellerault

Things couldn’t have gone more smoothly in all aspects of our travel. All of our bags arrived safely as did the bags that we’d shipped via cargo. There were no delays and no extra costs at French customs for the five cases that we’d shipped in separately from our checked bags.

We spent the first night in a hotel in Melun to rest a bit before the long drive to Châtellerault. It would’ve been difficult after a long virtually sleepless night on the trans-Atlantic flight.

It also gave Bro. & Sis. Brochu time to finish preparing our house.

While we will be using their house for the majority of our stay here, we had to have temporary accommodations during the two months where our time overlaps, before their departure. They had the house all ready for us: food in the fridge, some furniture in place, bedrooms set up and even a plant in the corner! All that was left for us was to unpack the luggage which they’d also brought down and had put in the house.

Spending our Time

Châtellerault

We’ve already attended their mid-week service on Wednesday, had prayer meeting on Friday and – by the time you read this – our first Sunday service as well (we are 5 hours ahead of those in the Atlantic Time Zone – the easternmost time zone in North America).

 We’ve spent some time getting things unpacked, getting used to the new neighbourhood and getting over jetlag! (Timo has had the most difficult time with this, but is pretty much there now.)

We also had to make a run to a music store downtown to get Dominic’s guitar fixed, get our welcome-kit and garbage bags from City Hall (yes, city hall provides the regular garbage bags here – based on the number of people in the home – as well as the recycling bags… they give you a 1-year supply at a time… cool!)  

I also had a chance to take an early morning stroll through downtown yesterday and most of the pictures you see are from that tour. The only exception is the very first picture which shows sunset over the church that is literally in our backyard… how European is THAT?!

Besides that here are a few shots of Châtellerault… our town. Once we get increased internet availability I’ll share more.
Thank you for your prayers… we covet them.

chat3

 

AIMKids MM6 – Bike Race

January 31, 2015 By in AIMKids Missionary Moments Tags: 2 Comments
AIMKids MM6 – Bike Race

AIMKids Missionary Moments are designed to be a resource for Sunday School Teachers / Youth leaders, to help kids relate to the life of an MK (Missionary Kid). They’re intentionally short because we know you already have a lot of material to cover.

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The Tour de France is a test of…

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  1. Endurance: The race is 23 days long, but racers spend 21-days on their bikes
  2. Distance:  In those 21 days they cover 3,500 Kilometers (France uses the metric system) or 2,200 miles.
  3. Flexibility: Cyclists have to be good on flat ground (9 days), hilly ground (5 days), mountain roadways (6 days), and high altitude roadways (5 days). 

And it leads to…

A Great Finish: No matter where the race takes them in France, the finish line is ALWAYS on the Champs Elysées in Paris. They cross the finish line and get a reward to the cheers of thousands of spectators.

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Prayer Focus:

Pray that we (you in your church and us in France) will be like racers in the Tour de France:

  1. Endurance: That even though it might get uncomfortable at times… we will stick with it to the end!
  2. Distance: We never know where God’s will will take us… we can go far and do great things for God.
  3. Flexibility: That we will stay faithful to God in all circumstance: good times or bad, easy days or tough.

 

Even the Bible compares the Christian life to a race and gives us the key to finishing well!

Hebrews 12:1-2:

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;

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  • If your students have specific questions, please done hesitate to email us and we’d be happy to respond specifically.
  • Please let your kids know that by praying for us regularly, THEY TOO are part of taking Jesus’ love to France… they’re part of missions!

AIMKids MM5 – Eiffel Tower

January 28, 2015 By in AIMKids Missionary Moments Tags: 6 Comments

AIMKids Missionary Moments are designed to be a resource for Sunday School Teachers / Youth leaders, to help kids relate to the life of an MK (Missionary Kid). They’re intentionally short because we know you already have a lot of material to cover.

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5 Fun Facts about the Eiffel Tower

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  1. Originally just a big gate: It was intended as a temporary gate for the 1889 World’s Fair, but people liked it so much… it’s still up today!
  2. Tons of Paint!  Every 7 years, maintenance workers apply 50-60 tons of paint to the Eiffel Tower to protect the metal tower from rusting.
  3. A Big Radio & TV Antenna: Several radio & TV stations broadcast their signals from the top of the Eiffel Tower, the tallest building in Paris (81 stories) which is taller than the Washington Monument & St. Louis Gateway Arch (see below).
  4. People people & more people! Since it’s construction in 1889, over 250 million people have visited the tower (6 million alone in 2012).
  5. Hungry? If you get really hungry while on the tower, there is a restaurant on the 2nd floor…. but beware, the cost is between $120 and $300 per person!  WOW!

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Prayer Focus:

Praye that we (you in your church and us in France) will be like the Eiffel Tower:

  1. Gate: that through us, people will see and come to know Jesus.
  2. Protected: That we will take care of our “outside appearance” to protect the “core” of who we are.
  3. Antenna: That we will send “signals” that communicate Jesus’ love to others.
  4. People: That God will bring us into contact with lots of people…
  5. Feeding people: …lots of hungry people that we can nourish with the love of God.

 

Want a neat kids activity?  

– Online games & trivia about the Eiffel Tower
– Paper cut-out Eiffel Tower craft  (image credit: papertoys.com)

Compare the Eiffel Tower and the St. Louis Gateway Arch.
(image credit: The Peoria Chronicle)
Eiffel Tower & St. Louis Arch comparison

  • If your students have specific questions, please done hesitate to email us and we’d be happy to respond specifically.
  • Please let your kids know that by praying for us regularly, THEY TOO are part of taking Jesus’ love to France… they’re part of missions!

Departure…

January 25, 2015 By in Events, Process Tags: , 5 Comments

Had someone been walking along the Saint John waterfront, they may have heard nothing at all, they might have heard a faint, far-off, yet indistinguishable sound, or then again they might have heard a 12 year-old boy, as his car crested the Harbour Bridge, yell from his open window…. “Goodbyyyyyyyyee Saint John!”

Those very words were shouted on Friday morning at roughly 8:40am as we drove out of the city where I was born, where our kids were all born and where Liz had made her home for the previous 19 years… the trip had begun. Weeks of saying goodbye had come to an end and we began the long road to Montreal.

Saying Goodbye

Below are some VIPs (very important people); some are from church, some are business connections or service providers and others have been friends for a long time.  It’s impossible to post pictures of each of you and in some cases, when we got together to say goodbye, we forgot to get a photo, but each of you are important to us. You are a gift from God to us. You have contributed to who we are.

saying goodbye

Final notes:

  • Departure: Friday we drove Saint John – Montreal, but today we leave Montreal for France.  It’s a big day and we are so excited.
  • Finances: Two days before our departure, we received a call from someone who made a $200/month PIM commitment for the first year of our stay. What an encouragement that is… bringing our total commitment to date up to 83% or just over $99,000 of the $120,000 required for a full 2-year stay.
  • Car: the car is now sold and a pastor friend of ours now has an awesome second car!
  • House: Incredible news… the night before our departure from Saint John we had an initial offer on our house. The negotiating process ran it’s course and as of yesterday morning, we have accepted an offer on it. THAT is IN-CREDIBLE timing. We thank the Lord for another open door!
  • Luggage: We ended up not being able to stuff everything into suitcases as we hoped to so we shipped 3 totes and 2 suitcases via Air Canada Cargo. There was a 110kg limit before you moved to another fee-structure and, without even trying, our total came to 109kg!  PHEW!  …again, the hand of the Lord.  As you can see… the car was FILLED with the remaining suitcases (and the picture was taken BEFORE the guitar went in!).

2015_01_luggage

Prayer Request

The next time I write to you, I will be writing from France… how exciting is that!?

Please pray that things go smoothly at customs upon our arrival in France. It will not be a problem to bring in any of the suitcases that traveled with us, but pray that there are no hiccups at cargo (no extra import fees, duty, etc.).

Thank you for your support, God bless you as you gather to worship Him today!!

Supporting MKs & AIMKids

January 21, 2015 By in Blog, Process Tags: , Leave a comment

Recently, while looking for something to do with how to be an encouragement to MKs (or in our case, AIMKids), I came across this information from the UPCI’s MK Ministries. It’s wonderful so I thought I’d share… Check out their website to get a whole bunch more information on ways to support & encourage MKs – they are a unique bunch of kids… far from home because of the call of God on their parents’ lives.

Below is a chart on how Ladies’ groups can help. It’s size has been reduced but you can click on the orange links below for full-sized versions of the pages customized for:

Thanks for being interested in MKs / AIMKids and seeking how to be a help and an encouragement to them! You can change a life through this interest!

MK Ministries, UPwithMKs, UPCI

 

 Moving Day

Finally… please keep us in your prayers –

  • Today is moving day… lots to do
  • Thursday… clean-up the empty house, oil change on the car & last supper with my mom (keep her in your prayers as well… it’ll be tough for gramma to have the grand-babies so far off!)
  • Friday we leave for Montreal… we’ll drive up and catch our flight to Paris on Sunday

But that’s getting into the weekend and Saturday I’ll give you a run-down on how today went…