Today started with a 6am wake-up call and a 1-hour bus ride to meet 41 of North America’s finest… but let me come back to that after telling you about the rest of our week first.
The original cook-out!
Not sure I’ve ever had a Barbecue like the one we had last Sunday. Hayko and Knyaz are two Armenian friends that we’ve been getting to know since arriving here. We went to Hayko’s appartment where they’d prepared enough meat to feed an army… cooked on a sword-like skewer set atop a halved metal barrel in which they’d begun a bonfire before our arrival. Supper cooked over these coals while Liz & the kids were upstairs with Hayko’s wife and their little boy. This is an open door through which we aspire to bring our relationship with the Lord.
Feelin’ the Love
Tuesday we got a wonderful surprise by mail: A thickly padded envelope stuffed with note cards from folks in our home church.
We know that folks at home are praying for us, but there’s something special about receiving “snail mail”. …feeling the texture of the paper, reading the handwriting, etc.
Some were from adults, some were from families and some were from our kids’ good friends!
Thank you!
Dominic’s Birthday
Wednesday was Dominic’s birthday… his first in France. On Sunday afternoon, Bro. Kabasele (our assistant Pastor and a trained baker) made a triple layer Genoise cake and decorated it in Dominic’s honour.
Timo got him a soccer ball… not a rubberized plastic one or a foam one… a real one. Sophie & Liz went out shopping and set him up with some “French style”… and he’s wearing it well.
He’s all excited to finally be a teenager and Timo is somewhat concerned by the fact that he’s now the only one NOT a teenager… convinced that he will be blatantly mistreated and manipulated by his conspiring older siblings. (gotta work on his trust factor).
Family time pre-AYC
We headed to the Paris region a day ahead of schedule. Dominic had learned a bit about the Palace of Versailles in his history class and was keen on seeing the Hall of Mirrors. So after a final pre-arrival meeting with Bro. & Sis. Nowacki and Sis. Despinoy, we took the afternoon and headed out.
It was a beautiful day and after purchasing our tickets online, we were told that children under 18 do not pay for museums in France. (Hmmm…. didn’t say THAT on the website. Now begins the attempt to get a refund… we’ll see how that goes.)
Not to have our spirits dampened… we thoroughly enjoyed discovering the palace, although Dominic couldn’t understand why we didn’t just go in the main door and hit the hall of mirrors… ummm… “HUGE palace”!!
We eventually got there, through the throngs of tourists, audio guides, go-pros, video cameras, digital camera & iPhones (it’s a wonder that we could even see the paintings on the wall with all of that other stuff going on!!) and managed to get a “GROUPIE” (is that the plural form of selfie???) IN the Hall of Mirrors.
(ps. it’s REALLY amusing to watch some people attempt to get the PERFECT selfie – strike a pose, flit the hair, tilt the head, brush away bangs, make sure the sleeve falls just so… O my word!! take the picture already!)
As many of you are reading this… we’ll be doing our first orientation session with the AYC team who arrived earlier this morning. Over the next 10 days they will be involved in 7 services in 6 churches and will be part of handing out nearly 5,ooo invitations to church in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (a virtual city-state on France’s eastern border) with AIMers Jeremy & Khrista Favors.
We’ll keep you in the loop and may have and extra post or two over the coming days. Keep your eyes open to our some of our other social media accounts where updates through the week will be more frequent:
Facebook + Instagram + Twitter
You’re making a difference
Thank you for staying aware of what our weeks look like. By staying current on what we are involved in, you are better able to ask God to go before us and prepare the way. We want to be found faithful!
Pray that he leads us and strengthens us this week to help lead this group of young people. Exposure breeds a burden… so who knows what God could do as a result of this week.
God bless you today!
The boys were thrilled to find a basketball hoop for only 3€. Although there’s a court a short walk from the house, they were keen on finding one to mount in the back hanger of the church for after service. It’s not installed there yet, but they couldn’t wait to use it… so they took turns climbing the apple tree in the yard and holding the net while the other tried shooting hoops…
haps I should back up a bit and tell you, too, that this past Sunday was also Mothers’ Day here in France. Bro. Christian preached and Liz brought an “exhortation” that was absolutely right on the mark. She’s not one that cherishes the limelight… but she’s definitely qualified to speak on motherhood… she takes the gold medal!
After my three hours of teaching at Bible School last Saturday, I was able to get away and share some high-French cuisine 
If I think too much about it, it becomes un-nerving but it’s always there in the background. In those times I am thankful that I can put both my present and my future in God’s hands and know that if we’re in His will, then He is working for our good. Matthew 6.34 says not to “worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has worries of its own.” The previous verse, 6.33, says to “seek first the Kingdom of God
We tried something new this week. Several of the major grocery chains have a “Drive-thru” version of themselves where you place and pay for your order online, then specify a time for pick up. At the appointed time, you drive to the depot, where a friendly staff member loads it into your open trunk. Time on the road: 15 min.
In an attempt to prolong our time together and get to know them more, I suggested that we have a bonfire since the evening was fine.
This week we moved from our temporary accommodations into Bro. & Sis. Brochu’s house, where we will be for a good while as they travel on deputation in North America.
Following that service we took a drive to the village of Oyré, about 7km away. It’s a village of only about 1,000 people, but at the center is the Saint-Sulpice Church, which dates from the 12th Century. How amazing is that?! This building is roughly 850 years old.
I’ll start with the bizarre because I promised it two weeks ago and failed to deliver.
I suppose that the lines are really blurred in this last section because it bridges both the new and the everyday.
On a typical Sunday, the kids play music, Liz leads worship and I preach as the Brochu’s also pastor an international work in Paris. This Sunday, however, they remained in Châtellerault in order to officially transfer leadership of the work over to us.
That pretty much expresses the reason that they came to this city some 14 years ago. It is the reason they have stayed here. And it is the reason that our family has joined them in western France. We share a strong and determined belief that God has got greater things in store for Châtellerault!
After the service we gathered in the larger of the two Sunday School rooms 
This may be a bit tough for anyone along the east coast to see without feeling a bit of seasonal jealousy… but in preparation for the services last weekend we spruced up the flower bed at the entrance to the church. Primroses are in full bloom and now’s the time to plant them sooooo…. off we went to get some. Nights still regularly get frost so there’s not a great deal of things hardy enough to withstand… but primroses and pansies are readily available at all garden centers.
AIM Long 