Salut!

On Thursday night I organised the church prayer meeting in the style of 24-7 prayer, ie arty.  It was a bit of a shock for most people who are used to praying with their eyes closed and their hands together - but I think they appreciated it!

On Saturday night we had the first of our ‘youth worship’ eveings.  Quite a lot of us are complaining about feeling lilke we are in a spiritual desert.  So this was our response.  It was OK for a start.  I think as we continue to spend time together in God’s presence things will get better. Afterwards we ate crepes together - yum!

Sunday evening we had an inter-church young adults group.  It was OK.  I was a bit dissapointed with the turn out, we were about 20…but only 3 churches represented.  Shame. 

On Monday I miss-timed getting up and had a dramatic panic rushing around trying to get my stuff together for a 3 day training course on youth work in Paris.  As I stumbled towards the train station in the middle of the now infamous storms, regretting ever getting up, my umbrella simply snapped in half!  Not inside-out, not blew out of my hands…but in half!  I was left with the handle and half a metal stick in my hand while the other half blew off down the road…things were not boading well!

I managed to get there in one piece and the first few lectures were useful.  An American missionary couple who live literally across the road from the centre had offered to feed and lodge me, but with it being the first time on one of the courses I didn’t know about timings and things and told them ’no’ so that I could spend as much time as possible with the other participants.   But then came the shock…  To eat we had to go to a self-service cafe thing in a super market a 10 minute walk away.  All this in the middle of the storms!  Then the lodgings were in a monestary!  Arghhh!  Long, long corridoors, whistling wind, creaky floor boards and no locks on the cell doors.  It was very sparse and very scary.  I slept with a table pushed up against the door!

The rest of the 2 days were filled with lectures from pastors who had no idea about youth work!  It was sooooo frustrating.  One of them came to speak for a 2hr session with no notes.  One stood up and said he has nothing to do with the youth group but he’d share a few ideas with us.  Mostly I slept, when I managed to get through my feelings of frustration.  It’s true that no one has really seen a funtioning youth group here.  Materials for YGs don’t exist in French.  The idea that one of the church members might spend his precious time caring for the youth is generally unheard of, so usually it’s down to the pastor to do a bible study every 2 weeks with the youth.  Arghhhhh!

After 3 days of complete frustration, boredom and lack of vision I was DESPERATE to get home.  I got to the train station at 1.30pm only to be told becuase of a strke the next train was at 5pm.  ARGHHHHH.

I spent stupid amounts of money of Parisian tea and hot chocolate until I mananged to cram myself onto an overspilling train with lots of angry, bad breathed commuters.

I arrived home and quickly got off to bed.  Only to be woken up at 4am with a tummy bug!  Being ill on your own is no fun!  I was unable to walk more than 3 steps on Thursday without almost passing out.  I managed to make myself a first hot drink of the day at 6 in the evening!  Today I’m still feeling rough but I rang up an old lady who has brought me some soup and eggs.  It’s days like this when you miss your mum!

So - that’s the excitement in Orleans!  Oh and my retarded crocuses have still not bloomed!