More of April in France

 Still plugging away at classes.  I haven't included any pictures of class- we are in a new classroom because the two B1 classes have merged and there were too many for the small room.  I have a new teacher and am trying to learn the new ways of class.  I am looking forward to spring break!

Fête de francophone- this is Chris's project plus this video

3 of these students have delivered - that makes 5 babies so far!

My former teacher in the local band concert.

Sunday afternoon picnic at Lac du Bourget
Guess who packed the picnic and forgot the bread?? Me.

Brrr…..

Only the boys got all the way in-

Say goodbye to skiing for about 4 years….
I can't believe how much the kids liked it!

Birthday for Selah/Easter party

Easter- 1 sick kid, one dish helper, and one very tall boy.

Dying eggs doesn't work quite as well with brown eggs, but it works….

New friend and old friend came together to visit 

Goodbye dinner for our dear friend.

Goodbye!  

Classmates

New baby Dodson-
3 of us went to visit the new babies at the hospital  during lunch break today.

April in France

April is a beautiful time of year in France. My French friends tell me it is unseasonably warm and I am loving it! The flowers and trees are all blooming.  It is glorious to see once 'dead' landscape alive with growth and color.  It reminds me again and again what God has done for me, for us.  Taken a dead soul and given it life.  It is good to celebrate Easter now too!

I am determined to rest - rest in the Lord and have physical rest.  This is hard to do and I still find myself tired many days.  I have been allowed to continue on in my course and not repeat.  Repeating is not bad and is often necessary, but I just don't see it as all that helpful for where I am right now.  God has been gracious and I am starting to be able to use the things I have learned.  I am not quick. But that's okay.

Our last day of class with Catherine

Catherine

More change is here.  My class merged with the other B1 class because the school needed the place and the teachers to take a new class for those who needed to repeat the very first level here.  My class has about 15 in it now.  It makes it tough to speak very much in class.  But we have only had 2 days in the new class, so I will withhold judgement for now.  The plus is I have the teacher from the summer whom I really enjoyed.  I will miss Catherine.  She was an excellent teacher.

Our family has been sick every week since Christmas until this one.  Sickness has been rampant around the Center where we study. Several parents of students have died, 2 student's toddlers hospitalized, one student had gallstones and because she is pregnant was complicated, a classmate fell and broke both her arms, and right now a newborn of a week old is in the hospital awaiting a biopsy to confirm what is wrong with his colon.  Our school has only about 50 students and most of those are married couples.  If you know a missionary, pray for them!  They need it!  The health issues are just one of many for everyone who has left the familiar to go.  We are very thankful that our illnesses have been mild.

Not much new here but school.   Chris made this video for our home church Redeemer Presbyterian's talent show.  Click the link and enjoy.  I need to get back to studying!  Happy Easter.


Carnival- basically a dress-up day at school and a parade

Peintre and porc-épic 

 A fellow MK as papillion

Ben's teacher was a plonger (diver)

A view of the parade from Carnival at school

A view of the parade as the students marched through town

Kristin's teacher is on the left in Black with a red stripe.  She was a pompier for the festival.  She and another teacher are leading the some of the kids in singing.

Skyping with the Grants

Spring Braderie

This man uses a metal detector to find old coins in the area

Se reposer = Rest

Rest.
We all needed a rest from classes.
I found myself overwhelmed with what I know and can not yet use with out thinking really hard.
For the first time ever I failed a class.  Just failed.
I suffered from major test anxiety and made first time test taker mistakes - stuff I tell my kids to do, like skip the hard one and watch your time, I did not do!  I could not make out the words on the taped oral section: accent? pitch? speed? train station voice?  I guessed poorly on things I wasn't sure of.  I missed easy things and got hard things.
I wept.
Then I smiled and kept going to class but my heart was not there.
Thank God it was time for vacation.  2 weeks off.

The school gave us a new couch. Our old one was really broken. So the first Saturday of break I rearranged the living room and put up pictures.  I made it ours.

Week one was mostly sitting with sick kids.  We watched French tv and movies.  We skied one day, but the sick came back and I stayed home some more with the kids.

Our ski day

I had had time to pray, read my Bible, and be alone.  I took a bike ride alone. I walked alone.  I skyped with friends and family and was encouraged.  I rested.  I listened to my old favorite 'Out of the Grey' album and thought about the words. I rested.

Sunday we went to church and took a 20 min. ride up the mountain from Conflans. We ended up taking a walk in the snow near  a fort.  Beautiful.

Snack in the snow

My favorite guy

The kids playing in the 'field' 

Monday kids felt even better.  Kristin and I went to her friend's house for the afternoon.

For dinner we went to our friends' apartment. We felt spoiled by the wonderful time and food.

Faith wearing Ben's hat

Tuesday we went to a chocolate factory and took a tour.

Looking at the beans as part of the tour.

The tasting room

Playground outside the factory

Swan on Lake Geneva

Light Saber battle of course….

Wednesday the pastors from the church I grew up in came to visit.  What a blessing that these folks care enough about us to come all this way!  It was good to talk to people who know the same folks we do.  Clay asked me what my favorite place here is.  I had to think.  The tea shop?  Conflans? Or the bike trail - the one like Blackwater Creek trail back home?  I am thankful that they listened and prayed for us and shared how we could pray for them and Rivermont Presbyterian too.

In front of our school

Pastors Clay and Brett the tourists….

The view of Conflans

Thursday we will go to the zoo in Lyon.  We get to meet our friend Marcus for dinner too.

Then we will rest and study and get ready for school again.

I'm not sure what school will be like this session. But I am thankful for what the rest has shown me.  I need rest!  I need time alone.  I need time with God.  I need to be encouraged by friends close by and far away.  I need friends I can pray with and for.  I need to smile and make others smile.  I need to not stress about French and enjoy living right here right now.  And any success I have in French is definitely a gift from God.  And He is good.  All the time.

A banana from Cameroon to help us remember why we are here

Spring is here!

2 weeks until exams...

I should be studying.  Our next big exams are in 2 weeks.  Our leave date is really dependent on if we pass or not.  I know I am learning- I actually understood most of the sermon this week in church!  I can say more things. My kids still correct me, but at least I understand what they are saying….
This week I gave a talk all in French to the entire student body. There were about 50 students and teachers listening.  So, of course I leaked a few nervous tears.  But I am so thankful for Flo for helping correct/write the talk, for my teacher Catherine for re-editing, and for Sonya for going over my pronunciation countless times.  She even let me record some of it and came an extra day to help.  Wow.  I am SO blessed.
Now I work on more papers for Thursday, reading scripture for Friday's biblical vocabulary class, preparing the next talk for just my class for next week, and trying to review old material and understand and remember the new material.
The kids are doing okay.  Noah has had a few really good days ( I think that means no one picked on him) and Kristin is smiling and doing craft projects.  Ben thanked God today for his good school.  They are loving listening to the songs from Frozen- in English and in French.   I feel blessed.
Chris is still doing most of the cooking and the dishwashing as my fingers heal (I cut them 2 weeks ago.)  He is wonderful.
We are making friends.  It is slow because of the all encompassing feeling of the language learning, but it is good.
I still do not like French.  But I think that is okay.  It is a tool and it is getting easier to use.
We are making time to play games with the kids, to go skiing (thank you for the Christmas present,  you know who you are!) and just spend time together.  That is important.
We are reading Samuel together and talking about David and how hard life was sometimes, but it just didn't change who God was or how loved David was.  And hard times don't change this for us either.  God is still with us.  And he loves us.
Thanks for praying.

My talk - in French it's a culte

Yesterday's sunset
God is good every day

Bienvenue en France.  Vous êtes arrivés avec beaucoup d’anticipation et beaucoup de préparation.  Et maintenant, Vous êtes malades comme moi et tout le monde.  Les appartements  sont très chers et l’électricité est très chère.  La vie est trop difficile sans voiture.  Par-dessus tout, l’apprentissage du français est très difficile.  Chaque jour il y a juste du travail, travail, travail.  Il n’y a pas de fin en vue.  Les examens vont arriver très vite, mais il n’y a pas de temps pour mémoriser les conjugaisons et le vocabulaire.  Qu’est-ce qu’on va faire?

Jacques 1

2 Mes frères, regardez comme un sujet de joie complète les diverses épreuves auxquelles vous pouvez être exposés,3 sachant que l'épreuve de votre foi produit la patience.4 Mais il faut que la patience accomplisse parfaitement son œuvre, afin que vous soyez parfaits et accomplis, sans faillir en rien.

5 Si quelqu'un d'entre vous manque de sagesse, qu'il l'a demande à Dieu, qui donne à tous simplement et sans reproche, et elle lui sera donnée.

12 Heureux l'homme qui supporte patiemment la tentation; car, après avoir été éprouvé, il recevra la couronne de vie, que le Seigneur a promise à ceux qui l'aiment.

Je me suis dit :

Quelle est la joie complète et quelles sont les diverses épreuves que nous avons en commun ?  Et la clé, la patience qui accomplit parfaitement son œuvre afin que vous soyez parfaits et accomplis, sans faillir en rien ?

Je veux quoi ?  Ai-je vraiment envie d'avoir Dieu dans ma vie?

Ou suis-je contente de qui je suis ? 

Peut-être que quelquefois, je suis contente, mais je sais que Dieu veut me changer, parfaitement. Et je sais que je suis loin d’être parfaite. 

J’ai un problème.  J’ai oublié être contente dans ma situation.  J’ai oublié de penser 

Philippiens 4:8 (Au reste, frères,) que tout ce qui est vrai, tout ce qui est honorable, tout ce qui est juste, tout ce qui est pur, tout ce qui est aimable, tout ce qui mérite l'approbation, ce qui est vertueux et digne de louange, soit l'objet de vos pensées.

J’ai une histoire que vous connaissez bien.  Il y a deux femmes.  Marie et Marthe :

Luc chapitre 10

38 Pendant qu'ils étaient en route, Jésus entra dans un village. Là, une femme nommée Marthe l'accueillit dans sa maison.

39 Elle avait une sœur appelée Marie. Celle-ci vint s'asseoir aux pieds de Jésus, et elle écoutait ce qu'il disait. 40 Pendant ce temps, Marthe était affairée aux multiples travaux que demandait le service. Elle s'approcha de Jésus et lui dit:
    ---Maître, cela ne te dérange pas de voir que ma sœur me laisse seule à servir? Dis-lui donc de m'aider. 41  Mais le Seigneur lui répondit:
---Marthe, Marthe, tu t'inquiètes et tu t'agites pour beaucoup de choses;42 il n'y en a qu'une seule qui soit vraiment nécessaire. Marie a choisi la meilleure part, et personne ne la lui enlèvera.

A qui est-ce que je ressemble, à Marthe ou à Marie ?  Est-ce que je m’assois aux pieds de Jésus ou est-ce je m’inquiète et je m’agite pour beaucoup de choses ?  Je dois  admettre je que je suis comme Marthe.  Mais Je connais la meilleur part.  Pourquoi est-ce qu’on me l’enlève?  Comment est-ce que je travaille chaque jour, dans quelle attitude ?  Dans  une attitude d’amour et de service comme Marie ?  (Phillippiens 2 : 14 Faites toutes choses sans murmures ni hésitations.) Je murmure ! Pourquoi ? J’aime ma famille ! Où est ma joie ?  Où est ma paix ? Et vous, avez vous paix et joie maintenant ? J’ai besoin de paix et de joie et je voudrais être comme Jésus.  Je veux servir avec un cœur joyeux. Je pense que nous avons besoin de prier non seulement pour une bonne santé, mais aussi pour une bonne santé spirituelle.

Maintenant je voudrais le faire.  Formez des groupes de quatre ou cinq.  Je vais vous donner quelques versets à méditer.  Priez pour la bonne santé et la santé spirituelle.  Priez pour que vos cœurs soient disposés à agir comme Marie et ne vous préoccupez pas des soucis de ce monde.

Proverbes

Chapitre 14

30 Un coeur calme est la vie du corps, Mais l'envie est la carie des os.

 Chapitre 15

13 Un coeur joyeux rend le visage serein; Mais quand le coeur est triste, l'esprit est abattu.

1 Une réponse douce calme la fureur, Mais une parole dure excite la colère.

Philippines 4

 4 Réjouissez-vous toujours dans le Seigneur; je le répète, réjouissez-vous.

5 Que votre douceur soit connue de tous les hommes. Le Seigneur est proche.

6 Ne vous inquiétez de rien; mais en toute chose faites connaître vos besoins à Dieu par des prières et des supplications, avec des actions de grâces.

7 Et la paix de Dieu, qui surpasse toute intelligence, gardera vos coeurs et vos pensées en Jésus Christ.

8 Au reste, frères, que tout ce qui est vrai, tout ce qui est honorable, tout ce qui est juste, tout ce qui est pur, tout ce qui est aimable, tout ce qui mérite l'approbation, ce qui est vertueux et digne de louange, soit l'objet de vos pensées.

9 Ce que vous avez appris, reçu et entendu de moi, et ce que vous avez vu en moi, pratiquez-le. Et le Dieu de paix sera avec vous.

Proverbs 14:30 

A heart at peace gives life to the body,
    but envy rots the bones.

Proverbs 15:13 

A happy heart makes the face cheerful,
but heartache crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 15:1

A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Philippians 4:4-9    4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.