Salut!

How’ve you been these last few days?  It’s been a while since we talked. 

I’ve just done a mad dash round the UK.  Leaving Paris early Satuday morning and arriving in Aberystwyth about 3.30pm.  It was WONDERFUL to be back there!  I stayed with a old friend and her fiancee and is was so refreshing just to spend time together - easy time.  You know, where you don’t have to worry about what they think and you can just be you.  So nice. 

Sunday was a St Mike’s day.  Fantastic!  It’s the church where I became a Christian and so precious to me.  So many old friends were there and it felt like coming home.  Just spent the time hugging, smiling and drinking tea.  What a wonderful day!

Monday I was off on the mamoth train journey up North to preston where I stayed until Saturday.  It was great to spend time with family…at Christmas it’s usually quite stressy, but this was just drink tea together or go to the pub.  Nice!  I shared with my Preston church and it was lovely again!  It felt like I had never left!

Saturday I made it through the wind and the rain down to Northampton where I managed to take in 2 churches on the Sunday.  Everyone was so lovely and welcoming I really enjoyed my weekend there too.

So by Monday morning I was feeling quite exhausted and the need not to talk for about 3 weeks.  I made it back to Paris and slumped in front of Greys Anatomy with Annette!

God is Good! 

I’m off back to the UK tomorrow morning at the unreasonable hour of 7am…which means in order to get there and check in I need to leave here at 5.45.  Arghhhh.

Hope to see you in Aberystwyth, Preston or Northampton. 

I’m off to finish packing, eat tea and try to sleep…

My life has a theme at the moment.  Poo.

The sewarge thing has stopped doing whatever it should do which means the contents of our toilets are leaking into the cellars.  It means I’ve got to know my neighbours lots better and can’t go to the toilet or take a shower till tomorrow afternoon.

Monday night I was in a major rush.  Drove back through rush hour parisian traffic to get to my dance lesson.  Ran into the house.  Pulled off my smart trousers, and pulled on some jogging bottoms, while leaving my shoes on.  Only to find out that I had a HUGE poo on my shoe which was all over my bedroom and 2 pairs of trousers.  Arrived late to class after throwing bleach randomly aroung my bedroom…

My car was covered by MILLIONS - I kid you not - of bird poos.  I live on an avenue where the birds are well fed.  I decided that enough was enough I took poor fifi to a car wash.  She was so dirty 2 of the men who work there came and watched!  They stood around and talked about the ’stick ability’ of the poos on my car.  One even stuck his finger in one - provoking sceams of repulsion from me - in order to guage the facility with which they would wash off.

They say things come in 3s.  Well this week I have had enough thank you very much.

Nexy week I would like 3 kittens, or 3 bars of chocolates or even 3 lots of spinach.  But 3 poo stories is a bit too much.

My birthday this year started out quite bad and got better as the weekend went on!  I was alone most of the day Saturday and everyone one at church had forgotten.  I turned up at the meeting at 4pm and realised that they had all made other plans and that they wouldn’t be coming to my little party.  This made me quite sad. 

Anyway, I had a nice evening of pizza and cheescake with Annette and Kim which started to banish my lonliness!

After the service on Sunday I hopped onto the motorway in Fifi and made it to Orleans in record time!  I stayed with Jean-Aime and Myriam my very good friends and played with their GEORGUS (I know I can’t spell it!!) daughter Elliette.  I am one of her Godparents and it is special to spend time with her.  She is learning to talk, it’s soooo sweet.  She can count too - un, deux, sept.  Cool huh?!

Sunday evening we were all invited to Hilary and Emmanuel’s where we ate together and I had to blow out 29 candles!! 

Monday was spent visiting friends in Orleans.  (Monday is my day off.)  So much fun.  It was the first time I’d been back since leaving and I know what I’ve left behind now…

I would appriciate your prayers even more than usual at the moment.  Things are very tense at the church. 

Hey again!

Tonight I went to the place de la Bastille where the ‘Bible Marathon’ is held.  Every year for the past four years about 20 churches in Paris get together and read the Bible out loud from start to finsh non-stop!  It takes about 4 days!  Some friends of mine were doing the slot from 10pm - 2am so I went and joined them.

They have the famous London bus serving tea and coffee and the top deck is reserved for prayer.

Not many people stay and listen which is quite disheartening.  But the Bible says that God’s words never come back empty and that his word is a double edged sword - so I have hope!  I think it is AMAZING that the powerful word of God is being prayed out even now over this great city.  Pray with me that God would do mighty things in this place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ34OOPbzyY

While I was there a guy from the church was talking with a group of teenagers who were all totally drunk and necking back wine straight from the bottle.  He asked one girl if she would like a Mark’s Gospel.  She replied yes, so he handed her the little book.  She looked at him and said, ‘Should I say Amen now?’  He replied, ‘No, thank you will do!’ 

Today I rushed out of my flat at brakeneck speed, late for a doctor’s appointment.  I noticed something brown by the door but didn’t have time to do anything about it. 

After the appointment (with a nice doctor this time you’ll be pleased to know!) I got back home and picked up my insurance papers so I could go to the chemists.  (I have sore knees from running and he perscribed me an elastic thing which is remboursed by the social security!)  As I was half way out the door I noticed the brown thing again and then all of a sudden long legs spurted out.  (I’m feeling sick even writing this….)  I ran down the couple of steps to the main door and screamed, whimpered, swore and hoped one of my neighbours would hear and come to my rescue.  They didn’t.

By this time he was getting bigger and I was hysterical.  Losing all sense of shame I opened the front door and shouted / screamed to a couple of men who were passing if they were scared of spiders!!!  My men in shining armour - one of whom, incidently, was very cute - came over looking quite bemused, went into the house and got rid of the monster while I jumped up and down and jibbered incomprehensible phrases from outside.  Phew!

After getting back from the chemist I spayed spider repellant EVERYWHERE and I’m feeling quite repelled and sick myself.  I have wooden floorboards and every knot is a HUGE cause for concern.  The phone rang and I screamed.  Today is not a good day!

Today I got up early and went for a run while it was still dark.  Feeling very vertuous I had brioche and jam for breakfast and a cup of tea, which goes without saying!  I had a woman with problems coming at 9.30am so I washed up the last 2 days of dishes (!) while drinking another cup of tea.  She arrived with a bag of pastries and a baguette.  I had baked her a cake.  So we ate cake and pastries and drank 2 cups of tea.  She left at 12.30 and I had to leave again at 1.30, so no time for cooking…I’ll eat another pastry!  Off for a brisk walk to visit another lady from the church, trying hard to burn off as many pastry calories as possible.  I arrive and hand over another cake I had baked for her.  ‘Oh thank you, I’ve made a cake too!’  So we sit down to another 2 cups of tea and 2 types of cake.  (By the way…we get on really well, she lives a 15min walk from me and she is very keen to get a women’s group off the ground.  I think we will be good friends.  Please pray.)

So it’s 4.30pm.  I have already drunk 6 cups of tea, eaten 3 different kinds of French pattiseries and 2 different types of cake.  In 3 hours it is the church Bible study… 

It is IMMPOSSIBLE to work in a French church and be thin.  I’m convinced.  Maybe that’s why French women are so thin, because they don’t go to church.  I’m sure someone could do a phd on that…hmmm?!