Salut!

I never cease to be amazed at the difference between the French and the British televised news.  Today it started with the the strikes that will happen tomorrow.  OK.  No problem there as far as reporting goes.  It still seems quite bizare that an entire country can go on strike all together…but anyway!

Then we moved onto the storm which happened 5 days ago.  This took over 15 minutes of the program.  We saw nurses going about on boats, freezers being collected and run all together in the town hall, the oldest lady in the village complaining her flowers had been submerged by water and a grown man crying with relief.  The over riding theme was one of community.  One man even said, ‘Things like this are good.  They make people forget their silly disputes and help each other.’  All this is true and interesting.  But would it have taken 15mins on British news and would it have been positive?  I can imagine scary headlines, insurance figures, sad, long faces, threats of new natural disasters in the years to come caused by global warming…

Then at 21mins they reported that a policemans personal car had been blown up in the police ‘barracks’ presumably by corsican terrorists.  Then at 22mins came a report of armed raiders getting away with 9 million Euros worth of Gold!  I know where these 2 articles would have been on the BBC news. 

It makes me smile.  I think I like it better here.  They are a lot more likely to say positive things in France, which is strange becuase they would caracterise themselves as pessimists and moaners.  Not on the TV news! 

Last week I was in Madrid for this course.  It was very intense but lots of fun; a good break from the situation here.

I learnt lots about the structure of ECM and got to know fellow missionaries from Kosovo, Portugal, Spain, Austria and Italy. 

I stayed with a missionary family and it was a great time.  It was lovely to be part of a family again and have the hustle and bustle of kids.  Breakfast times were lovely, it is so nice to have people to talk to in the morning and someone ask how you are.  I miss that living on my own.

Memorable moments include:

Times of prayer for each other

The storm on Friday and TUMBLEWEED blowing everywhere!!!  Seriously it was sooo funny!  There were these big balls rolling around like in a Western!

Martina finding a leg in a bin!  (Not a real one!)

Things, as you may have gathered, are less than perfect here at the moment.  Today an American pastor and his wife offered to take me out for the day to cheer me up.  The lady said if you are feeling sad you should first turn to the Word and then to the shops!!!

They took me to this real American diner in Paris!  It was sooooo cool!  I had one of those cups of coffee that they keep coming and refilling for free!  Then when I ordered my food they asked me how I would like my eggs…I asked what the options were…they listed all these names and I had no idea what she was talking about!  Anyway, just to let you know I had ‘over-easy’ eggs!  I felt like I was in a film! 

Then we just bummed round Paris and she showed me a few of her favourite shops.  It was so nice.  I don’t really wander round the city on my own, simply becuase I think it’s boring doing things on your own and it makes me feel more lonely.  It was so fun to go into all these little cute shops - Paris is so ‘neat’, as she would say!

Tomorrow I’m off to Madrid for a training week with ECM.  I’m looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making new ones.  I’m very prepared and I’ve just been out to buy a new note pad.  Bravo me!

difficult situations…

Before I left for the UK and left a little card and a little non-expensive box of chocolates outside each of my neighbours flats.  More as a symbol than anything else.

Today has been a hard day.

One of the guys has just been round and given me a HUGE box of Lindt chocolates!  I am very tempted to rip it open and devour them.  But I’m thinking of my thighs and eating a clementine instead. 

But how great is that?  Just when I needed someone to say that they appriciate me, I get such a great gift. 

Count your blessings! 

FRENCH LADY WEARING TRAINERS!  Shock Horror!

Admittedly the extreme weather conditions may have pushed her to forgo her habitual stilettos, but nevertheless it gave me great joy to witness such a rare sight!

I had a lovely 12 days in England!  I ate far too much and dissapointed my dad with my 2 feeble attempts at a run with him.  My clothes are all feeling that bit tighter and with the -5 temperatures here at the moment I don’t think I’ll be doing any running this week!

Things are not that easy still at church.  Please continue to pray for us.  It was good to get back yesterday though and catch up with people.  The old lady of the church is knittingme a scarf and teaching me to knit while she’s at it!  Watch out - you might get a hand knitted scarf off me for Christmas 2009!

It’s been a funny year 2008 - full of change and challenge.  What will 2009 hold?  I’m wondering if I should take the plunge and get a cat.  I’m just a bit worried about going away and getting people to feed her.

It has snowed all morning here and the roads are lovely and white.  Fifi is shivering outside my window: