http://qvls.orleanscity.com/qvls_roller_photos_080420.htm

This weekend has been a bit like Dawson Creek!  Saturday morning I set out with 2 others to put posters up for our forthcoming evangelism campaign.  We came back and ate together and then sat outside my flat in the shade of the trees and had a lovely time of relaxation and sharing.  It is so good to have spiritual brothers and sisters! 

In the evening I was invited to eat pizza with a group of friends.  It was lovely and hot and we decided to take the dessert to the local lake and enjoy it there.  After a bit of paddling, shreeking and water kicking we sat on a little jetty and made the most of the warm night, appearing stars and croaking toads.  Why is that just when I start to feel at home I have to move on?!

I will be in Paris for a training course tues/weds and hope to stick around and start the flat hunting on Thursday.  Please pray.

Yesterday a farmer in the church organised a 40km bike ride!  There were 19 of us who set out mid-morning from the church leaving sun cream vapours trailing behind us.  We arrived at his farm around 1pm after riding though beautiful countryside full of vivid green barley and sunny yellow rape seed fields. 

We enjoyed a sun soaked BBQ where it was plainly obvious we were in France and not England - everybody (very sensibly) sought out the shady areas! 

We arrived back late afternoon tired, somewhat red and, for the most part, smiling!  

It was a lovely day and I’m very greatful to God for allowing me to minister in such a beautiful country!  However, continue to pray with me…all is not what the eye sees.  This country may be blessed with natural beauty but it is suffering from spiritual destitution. 

It is seriously the most BEAUTIFUL place.  All weekend I kept exclaiming, "Comme c’est beau!"  I had to try and stop saying it because it was getting annoying!

We stayed in caravans and ate breakfast each morning on the verada to the sound of cookoos and frogs!  During the days we went on walks through the lush country side, visited castles and caves and eat lots and lots of the delicious food.  Great holiday!

Claire, you may remember, was the young girl who turned up at my house out of the blue in August 2006 and gave her life to Jesus!  She then followed the Alpha course and early in 2007 found a long prayed for job in Chinon.  So we said a sad goodbye to our new sister.  However, we have kept in contact over the year and been out to visit her last September. 

Today was the day of her baptism.  It was a wonderful occasion.  She shared so honestly about the pain and rejection she had felt in her life and the peace and freedom from fear that life with Jesus gave her.  It was a very moving time for me as she was the first person I have seen in France go from conversion to baptism.  It was a real priviledge to be there.

The baptsim itself was in a blow-up paddling pool, which in the baking sun the children had to be physically restrained from jumping in!  When the moment of the baptism arrived a little voice cried out, "She’s so lucky!" 

Another of my language flops:  I was taking with a group of people when a man joined our group who is a bee keeper.  So I lightly asked him how the bees were going.  He mumbled something very quietly and I had no idea what he said, so simply replyed, "Chouette!" (Fantastic!)  The bee leeper looked a bit puzzeled and moved on.  Paul turned round and said, "Chouette?  He just said he had lost 90% of his hives though disease."  ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!   D’oh!

We had a great day in the sun and LOADS of our neighbours came and wandered round.  About 100 people came into the church for the Martin Luther King Exhibition, and many encouraging conversations were had around my little drink stand.  It was a very hot, tiring, but succesful day.  Thanks God!

I mananged to escape the women and have a quiet half hour before heading out to rollerblading.  It has been a wonderful weekend weather-wise and there was about 150 people waiting outside the cathedral.  It brought memories of last September flooding back when I sat on my own, literally terrified of what was ahead of me and ashamed and humiliated that I had no friends.  How things have changed!  As soon as I arrived about half the staff came and did the French kissy hello and many other regulars greeted me.  I felt SO HAPPY!  It has taken so long to simply make relationships and friendships here and living on my own has been very lonely at times.  How much God has blessed me through rollerbalding and prooved that often we have to "Feel the fear and do it anyway"!  I had an excellent evening, got back home at midnight absolutly exhausted but very sastisfied with life. 

I’m going to be (wo) manning the ‘buvette’ - drink and cake stand!  nice!

Here we are starting to put the exhibition into place yesterday…

Anyway, today I went to Chartres with 2 friends who will soon be going back to N. Ireland.  They are here on teacher training and without transport sightseeing has being a bit limited.  So, we put Fifi to good use and set off to see things!  Chartres is a great place for a day trip.   I’ve never seen such a beautiful cathedral.  Really it is magnificant.  A shame that everything is about Mary though.  They have an absolutely beautiful sculpture of the assumption right in the middle of the church.  I tried to ask the guide about the biblical references to this and she moved right on!

We went down on a tour of the crypt and saw part of the church that they believe dates from the 9th centuary!  Amazing!  Most of the rest of the building dates from the 13th - still pretty stunning!  Then we huffed and puffed right up to the very top of one of the spires and had a great view of the city.  On the way down our legs were turning to jelly and we were giggling along.  I made it down intact but the moment I stepped out of the stair well and into the solmen silence of the catheral knave I tripped up, went flying and let out an almighty scraming / laughing fit!  I then had to stiffle it quickly which made us laugh even more…even the attendant managed a smirk!