Another monthly #TravelTuesday post for you… just some scribblings I did a while back that I decided to post. Frequent readers to the blog will recognize this place… we’ve been there a number of times… I just wanted to walk you through it. C’mon along! Continue reading
Inukshuks are stone piles, usually in the shape of a man, that mark a location and originated with Arctic cultures. Back home (though far from the Arctic), it’s not uncommon to see small make-shift inukshuks on the side of the highway, made by random passers-by who wish to leave a trace of their passage. The rock piles in this picture are on the eastern-most tip of l’île de Ré (Ré Island). They’re not in the shape of a man… but they were no doubt built with the same goal in mind: Beach goers stacked them as a way to mark their passage.
The sun rises over the Vienne River in Châtellerault.
Today you woke up.
(Perhaps some of you are still in the process of waking up)
Maybe you found yourself mulling over yesterdays worries or last weeks failures; often times those things stay with us a while and oddly enough they are most present in our minds when we are trying to fall asleep or when we awake… potentially coloring our mood for the day.
This small coffee may not look like much, but it represents a quick & quiet moment of celebration after an administrative marathon for Liz…
Got your New Year’s resolutions ready? If not, don’t worry too much about it… you know what they say:
“A New Year’s resolution is just something that goes in one year and out the other.”
🙂 Continue reading
Another week has come and gone and with the weekend comes a chance for me to sit down and tell you about what God has been doing this week in our little part of western France. Are you ready? Pour yourself a cup of coffee and let’s sit for a few minutes. Continue reading
I think it’s fair to say that, with the exception of taking down the Christmas Tree… this was the week that we officially “wrapped up” the holidays. Today I’m teaching at Bible School but here’s the rest of our week.
On Monday morning, we packed up the car and headed north. The first 3.5hrs got us as far as Melun where we dropped off Jacques, our “over-the-holidays Collie-dog“, after which we drove another 4hrs or so to Belgium where we spent a night with friends before surprising Liz’s parents – who did not know we were coming. Liz had prearranged it with her brother. They were well & truly surprised!
While there, the kids got to eat “mitraillettes” which they love! Why are they called mitraillettes (which means “machine guns”)? Lemme explain how they’re made & you’ll understand why:
– take 1/2 baguette
– insert sausage / meat of choice
– fill to overflowing with french fries
(or bullets)
Voilà! …another Belgian treat.
(besides the more commonly known waffle)
On our way home from Belgium, we took a 30-min side trip to see the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge, commemorating the 60,000 lives lost during WWI. It’s one of those places that I think every Canadian should see at least once.
More often than not, Canadians are seen as understated on the world stage, but this sprawling monument of grand proportion defies that stereotype.
6,000 tons of glistening white limestone tower 27 meters above the highest point of Vimy Ridge, overlooking the Douai plain.
It was Canada’s victory on this critical battlefront that established Canada’s nationhood on the world stage… it was no longer just another British Colony.
The last photo above is one of Liz and the kids in some of the trenches at Vimy Ridge. It’s a fitting image of how we see ourselves here… in the trenches & on the front lines. We see the fighting in the spiritual realm around us, we stand just as much chance at seeing shrapnel fly by as we do to take new ground.
We, just like you, are in a battle… Lord help us to maintain the ground that has been won and to follow your direction to take new ground as well.
The UPC of France is joining with UPCI churches all around the globe in making the month of January a month of prayer and fasting in an attempt to refocus our attention on the Lord and on the building up of his kingdom. The theme of the month is: Follow… for if we will follow the Lord Jesus, growth with result: personal growth and church growth alike.
New monthly partners needed in 2016
As I mentioned last week, we need to renew and expand our financial base as we look forward to the Brochu’s return in March.
Will you support us financially in 2016? … Click here.
Also… if you’d like to receive our two special eBooklets (Top 15 in 2015 & Building Engaged Youth, Building Missionaries, through Short Term Missions), Click Here. I’ll send them to you immediately when you subscribe to our monthly newsletters.
Thanks for stopping by today. Let all that you read inform your prayers for us and for the work in France.
As you’re sitting down with your morning coffee, I’m serving you up a few pics of our time away last week along with a few bullet points of the week that was:
Before France was ever in the picture, we began exploring Timeshare ownership. It was fairly onerous and a bit unfamiliar at first, but it paid off last week because we had a two bedroom apartment that cost only the gas to drive there + any visits & groceries on site.
We drove through 115 tunnels to get there… we counted. The shortest was 40m (120′) and the longest over 11.6km (7.2 miles)… hence today’s title.
Though within 45 min of Pisa & Florence and a bit more to Rome by train, we spent most of our time in the apartment relaxing, with the exception of a day in Pisa and two afternoons exploring nearby hill-top villages. Liz & the kids were ready for their first break from school and I did virtually nothing on the computer. What a great break. Monday morning we left for home, stopped on the Italian side of Mont Blanc for a ride up the mountain then made a final push, arriving home at 2am Tuesday.
We are hosting the National Sunday School director and her family for an afternoon of kids & youth activities at the church followed by a Holy Ghost rally tomorrow (Sunday). Pray for the youth that will be present! Because of your prayers & support, you are part of every victory here!
God bless you as you prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus with friends and families this week!
Here are some pictures from the other side of 115 tunnels!
(click for larger versions)
“Can I have a trombone serenade with that length of rope
and cotton candy sir?”…said no AIMer ever, to neighbours they barely know.
But we could have!
Sunday afternoon, following church our neighbourhood hosted its annual flea-market. They call it a “vide-grenier” (“clean-out the attic”) here and it was even more than that.
There were the folks who were setting up tables or selling from the back of their cars…. but there were also antique tractors, a “big brass band” & drummers, antiques, demonstrations of rope-twisting and wood turning… not to mention the treats!
The treats came in both savory and sweet… there was cotton candy and something like beaver tails in strips… but there was also fresh bread being made in a portable wood-fired oven (on wheels) and pig thighs roasting over open coals (see photo). Although we’d already had lunch… we couldn’t resist the treats… can you blame us!?
My favorite was the hot bread straight out of the oven.
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…
(no slam dunk contests here!)
Per
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!
In addition, we gave to each mother in attendance, a small bouquet of 5 roses (you’ve got to love a country where, on Mothers’ Day weekend, you can get 20 miniature roses for 4.50€). Grandmothers in attendance also got a miniature sunflower… because, like the sun, they have the opportunity to “turn the heads” (provide guidance, direction & inspiration) not only of their children, but their grandchildren as well.
When I asked Liz how she would sum up this past week… it was with the word “Conversations.” This week, the LORD has given us some good ones:
Monday we had coffee with a young couple who had visited church twice. He is quite interested in a Bible study but for now she’s working through questions and a family health crisis…
Tuesday we met & had a good conversation with a lady who, although she’d been attending for some time, has begun to express a desire to be baptized.
Tuesday evening we enjoyed great conversation with some neighbours. We had two sunflowers left from Sunday, so we gave one to our neighbour with a little note. They invited us in, showed us around their house & garden and asked us to use “tu” with them instead of “vous” … (a sign of closeness and informality).
Wednesday we did the same thing with the neighbour on the other side and on Thursday afternoon she called over to thank us and let us know how much it meant to her to receive a gift from such new neighbours.
Sometimes a small gesture can crack wide open a doorway that we can then use to bring the Lord closer people. Thank you LORD for open doors and conversations!
In 2 weeks Liz, the kids and I will accompany the General Youth Division’s Apostolic Youth Corps trip to France. 37 young people from across North America along with two chaperone couples will spend 10 days experiencing the churches, culture and history of France. It’ll be a Great Adventure for sure and since “Experience Breeds a Burden” some could find themselves back here on AIM someday. Cannot wait!
– Preparations for AYC in two weeks
– Preparations for Bible School next weekend
– The kids will finish up their homeschool year in the next weeks
– More & more fruitful conversations
God bless your day today… thanks for checking in!
I’m 45, have moved half-way ’round the world, am raising one – soon to be two – teenagers and I’m starting to GROW UP!
At this time last week, we were packed up and on our way to the Pentecost Weekend Convention in Bordeaux, just under 300km south-west of us. I’d asked for prayers and today I’ll tell you why… but first, let me give you a quick run-down of the weekend.
Across France, the Lord allowed several to experience their own “Personal Pentecost”:
– 43 were filled with the Holy Ghost and
– 39 were baptized in Jesus’ name.
The Convention in Bordeaux contributed 6 (Holy Ghost) and 4 (water baptisms) to those numbers, with probably upwards of 160 in total attendance over the two days.
The kids quite enjoyed themselves as they got to hang out with other youth their age. On Saturday night, following the service and fellowship, they went downtown for a walk along the waterfront and a twirl or two on the giant Ferris Wheel… they got back to the hotel (by tramway) at around 11:45pm (nope… we weren’t waiting up for them, nope, we weren’t nervous… haha – we were totally waiting). …Next morning the youth sang together in service… Sophie & Dominic among them. Very cool!
After the Sunday service & lunch we headed downtown for a stroll. This made me much appreciate our quiet little provincial French town of Châtellerault (38K people). Bordeaux has about 800K and I’m sure they were ALL driving or walking downtown that day…
Leading up to the convention, throughout the week last week, I felt a tremendous amount of spiritual unrest: facing a great deal of anxiety, fear, worry, unease… you name it, and I know exactly why. I was the main speaker for the convention. I had been preparing for a number of weeks, speaking is not new to me and I trust the Lord’s faithfulness, but I was bearing a particular responsibility for the weekend which translates to: spiritual TARGET!
This was, in one sense, new to me. Up until this point I’d primarily been a “second man”… in an assistant-to-the-pastor role, and as such I didn’t carry the bulk of the weight… that fell to the pastor, I just helped him. To some extent, for the the first time, I felt like I was bearing a greater share of the burden for that conference that would normally have been the case if, say, I was just attending.
I’m growing up.
Thank you Lord that you ultimately carry the load and accomplish what needs to be accomplished… both in the life of the preacher as well as those who are listening.
Did you notice? …something’s different!
See the yellow & orange buttons at the top right corner of the screen (towards the bottom if you’re on a mobile device) you’ll see the following two new buttons:
Newsletters: If you’re a periodic reader or you’re involved in promoting missions in your local church, you may want to check these out. They’ll sum up key highlights and are published bi-monthly.
Top 10: If you’re NEW to the blog… this page will give a look at the blog posts that have been the most well-received by other readers.
(peonies from Sis. Brochu’s garden)
Tomorrow is Mothers’ Day here in France, so we have a few extra things planned. Liz wasn’t all that comfortable “preaching” so she will share an “encouragement” or a “testimony” before the main message is given. Also we will pay tribute to the moms in our congregation. We’re expecting a couple of new faces as well. If you’re a mom reading this today… then hit up your kids or your hubby and tell them/him that in France it’s your day… (as long as it’s Mothers’ Day SOME-where in the world… mothers ought to be spoiled, right!?)
Try this out & leave me a comment to let me know what they said!
.
Today I’m in Melun to teach a class at Bible School (life of David) and to do some “heavy lifting” planning for the AYC trip coming up at the end of the month of June… Liz & the kids and I will accompany the group throughout northern France for 10 days or so. LOTS to do!
Thank you for reading and again… please let what you read inform your prayers for us. You are part of what God is doing here… you are “Partners” in “Missions.”
AIM Long 