More from France

Our time at the retreat is up. The French staff had time of evaluation and prayer and worship together in the mornings while Betsy, Daryl, and Po prepared the lunch.  Peter and I spent a few hours each morning trying to keep the kids busy. We were mildly successful... I think what 3 year-old Lenny enjoyed the best was making fun of me while we kicked the soccer all. "T'es mort! Tu es degoutant comme les fesses!" (You are dead. You are disgusting like a, well, behind.) All in good fun, right? Here is Lenny and his little sister Maya...

The teens mostly watched movies on their phones and sang the words to recent  Disney movies in French. They seemed a little surprised that I could sing along in English. The majority of the kids participated in crafts that we prepared for them. They all seem quite artistic and when finished asked if they could do another one.

Thursday evening, the owner of the retreat center who is not a believer, but has admired the bonds that the church and the American teams have with each other, dedicated a tree in Betsy's honor.  What a privilege! So fitting, considering the name of the retreat center is La Pépinière which means plant nursery. Here's Betsy and some of her kiddos next to her olive tree. 

Yesterday we cleaned u the place and said our goodbyes. It wasn't as sad this year as last. I think that's because there's a possibility of returning again next year. It meant so much to be with my French family this week. 

And then we returned to Paris.  While the others shopped, I headed over to Rue Montorgeuil to meet a guy whose podcast I've been listening to for a year. At one point at the table, there was me, two San Antonians on their 30th wedding anniversary, an Australian journalist, his Swedish fiancée, and a Canadian tour guide. I wore my Make America Great Again cap just to make things interesting. 

No.  No, actually, I did not.  But I did get a famous tote bag from Oliver and we model them for you here...

Fighting the strong winds and unbelievably powerful pollen, our American team got together for a traditional French dîner at a quaint café in the 11th. I had a lamb stew. I will somehow find their recipe and make it for every meal for the next year. 

That's just about caught you up.  I could describe for you the noises coming through our window from the sidewalks below throughout the night, but we want to keep this blog light and cheery. I'm off now for a day of strolling and getting lost.  I'll post again when we get home tomorrow evening.  

Retreat at la Pépinière

Yesterday morning our American team of five reloaded the Renault van with our supplies and headed out on the autoroute for our hour-long trip to the gite (vacation rental). The countryside out here is pretty nice. If you've ever used canola oil, you should know that the beautiful yellow flower fields in the area are where the stuff comes from. Here is a view of those fields from our back deck.

Yesterday was really low key and was a desperately needed time of rest for the staff and their families. They all had very little sleep as they prepared for their conference. I haven't said much about the conference yet, but rest assured that what their team put together is quite impressive. 

For the remainder of the day we mostly spent our time making the meals, eating the meals, cleaning up after the meals, and enjoying conversation around the meals.  Yes, there's a theme to be found there somewhere. 

While the parents rested , the kids made their own fun.  Some made their own perfumes from plants around the property and sold the scents for men and women for three clover flowers apiece. 

 I bought a sample. I now smell like an alpine forest. Other kids got more creative.  Emily decided to turn squirrel roadkill into a marionette puppet. Kids these days. 

Notice the American flag themed t-shirt. I kinda don't know what to say about that except that I was unable to breathe from laughing so hard. And that I hope she washed her hands before supper.

Thats all for now.

Eric

The Conference

Happy weekend everyone.

It's been a beautiful, but hot weekend here in Brie. There is no AC at the church or hotel! We landed on schedule yesterday and it wasn't but a few hours before we showed up at Église de la Brie to start helping out at the conference. This conference attracted church staff and volunteers from all around the country. I don't get to sit in the breakout sessions but it is evident that those attending the conference are being encouraged to keep doing what they're doing to reach their neighbors and friends with the gospel.

I did my part by helping to park cars...

"They fit how many in that car?"

We've been helping behind the scenes and getting naps here and there. The heat on top of no sleep on the plane and my little amount of sleep this week leading up to the trip has left me on the dragging side.

We've got a half day left of the conference here in Brie and get an afternoon with friends tomorrow. We head out early Monday morning for the retreat center. Please say a prayer for me as I try to figure out another activity for the kids since a material I need is not available in France.

So all in all, things are going well and the five of us on the team are glad to be back with our friends in France!

Last Minute Preparations - a.k.a. getting over the hump

Anybody recognize this guy shown here?  That's me.  OK, you're smarter than that; it's not me.  But if I wore a suit to work and had a nice leather chair, that would be me right now.  Coming off the heels of a hectic week at the office, I'm still reeling from a few not-so-pleasant encounters.  That's life.  You've all been there.

I'm five four days away from going to France and the trip couldn't feel farther away to me than it does right now.  In fact, that's how the whole team is feeling today.  We are all excited about our upcoming journey and can't wait to see our friends and spend some great time serving them over there but all five of us have got a mountain of work to get out from under before we can go.

Would you guys please pray for me and our team?  I'm asking that you pray that we can joyfully plow through our work, thanking God for the simple fact that we have these jobs in the first place.  I also ask that you pray that I stop whining about putting in a few extra hours.  I'll survive.  We've had a couple health scares that, fortunately, have turned out to be "nothingburgers" as the media likes to say.  Please pray that God would take potential disastrous events like illnesses and ongoing strikes in France and turn those mountains into molehills.

Also, would you please be praying for the church staff of Eglise de la Brie in their preparation for the Réactif conference starting this week?  They've got a great opportunity to help spread the good news through the folks showing up to take part.

By the way, I'm happy to let you know that my trip is fully funded!  For all of you who've been able to generously support me financially, thanks so much for helping me to get there and for being a part of what God is doing in France!  It means a lot to me and to the team.

I'll try to be good about keeping you up to date on our progress while we are overseas.

À bientôt.

Eric