Janna, Micah, and new baby girl, Aila
Novemeber was a crazy month for me. Not only was I furiously working on my online classes for the States, trying to find an apartment for my return, planning a Thanksgiving meal for 50+ ppl, but I was also trying to study French : ) Oh boy, those of you who know me well, know that I tend to take on too many things at one time, and have a hard time saying no- well, it seems that I can still not say NO even when in a different country : ) Despite that, all is and went well!
I have one of two of my online classes all done - praise the Lord! : ) I will be finishing up the other class this week.
As far as the apartment, I believe that I have found one- I also found a roommate- she was one of my teammates from Africa :) so that will be wonderful- I'll know for sure about the apt. after the 15th of December- if it all works out, we will move in January 1-2 :) I am super excited, because this will be my first apartment and it just sounds perfect! We will see! : )
The Thanksgiving meal went AMAZINGLY well :) I will post some pictures on here from our American Thankgsiving in France : ) I love organizing things, so I sent out invitations to all the families here at the school and all the staff, and then ordered turkeys, assigned food dishes, decorated, etc...and everything turned out wonderfully! Thanksgiving came and went quite quickly. There were about 55-60 people, we all stood in a big circle and shared one thing we were thankful for, before we ate. It was truly a special day! It was also special, because the Americans were able to share our holiday with families from Holland, England, Korea, and France. I believe a wonderful time was had by all, it is always a good time when the body of Christ comes together and fellowships : )
The last Saturday in November, I went with the church here in Albertville, up into the mountains. Every year they distribute calendars that have verses on them- they go to door to the houses up in the mountains handing out these calendars. Some people wait all year to receive the calendars! : ) It was an amazing experience. The group I was with got invited into many homes, where we drank coffee, cider, and wine(a traditional French practice) We also ate cookies, etc. It is an amazing one day outreach, most people were quite thankful and very welcoming. We were able to share God's love with them! After we came back down from the mountains, the group I was with went over to my teacher's house *French teacher*( Her husband was in the group I was with) We went over to their house and had cheese and cider(also a French tradition) It was wonderful! : ) The French cheese is starting to grow on me! After that I went back to my home, took a quick nap, and then someone picked me up to go to another family's house for supper. I ate supper with an older couple from the church, we had a special soup, crepes, and special cookies. Wow- what a meal! : ) It was again, more wonderful fellowship time, as well as French practice! : ) Needless to say, I had no problems falling asleep that night!!
Just this last week, Sharon and I went to visit our friend, Janna. She had a baby back in October, and was expecting visitors this weekend- her parents were/are coming from Argentina for about a month. Janna is an MK. She actually came to the school where Sharon and I, met her husband during her time here, and married at the end of her studies. She and her husband, Laurent, now live in a city about 30 minutes from where I live. They are an amazing family, they have 2 little boys (2 and 4) and a new baby girl : ) Their story of how they met, fell in love, and decided to continue to pursue Christ together, is very encouraging. So, Ive taken advantage of the time I can spend with Janna, because she has been very encouraging during my time here. Anyway, all that to say- this last week, Sharon and I went and visited them. We stayed overnight and helped her do some cleaning and helped her prepare for her parents' arrival. She taught me how to make a traditional French dish, which if I can find the ingredients in the States, I will definitely try to make- you'd be more than welcome to try it, if I can make it- just let me know : )
Hmm... what else.... Yesterday I finally finished writing the papers for my Intro to Linguistics class, and after that I made 4 different kinds of cookies for the all the families here : ) That was my way of celebrating the finish of one class- and I will start to work on finishing the other class today : ( Last night was the official lightening ceremony of all the Christmas lights here in Albertville. They actually turn off all the lights in one place, and have a little ceremony and then all of the lights come on at once : ) It was beautiful. They also had fireworks- and believe it or not..Pere Noel (Santa Claus) came to France- I saw him : ) I'll post a little video clip of him coming! ; ) There were several hundreds of people who were there for the lighting festival and afterwards there was free chocolat chaud and vin chaud. Free hot chocolate and hot wine. : ) It was wonderful. After all the several of us girls came back to our house, and then I made a late supper for all of us. It was the French dish that Janna taught me to make- I believe everyone enjoyed it! : )
The last Saturday in November, I went with the church here in Albertville, up into the mountains. Every year they distribute calendars that have verses on them- they go to door to the houses up in the mountains handing out these calendars. Some people wait all year to receive the calendars! : ) It was an amazing experience. The group I was with got invited into many homes, where we drank coffee, cider, and wine(a traditional French practice) We also ate cookies, etc. It is an amazing one day outreach, most people were quite thankful and very welcoming. We were able to share God's love with them! After we came back down from the mountains, the group I was with went over to my teacher's house *French teacher*( Her husband was in the group I was with) We went over to their house and had cheese and cider(also a French tradition) It was wonderful! : ) The French cheese is starting to grow on me! After that I went back to my home, took a quick nap, and then someone picked me up to go to another family's house for supper. I ate supper with an older couple from the church, we had a special soup, crepes, and special cookies. Wow- what a meal! : ) It was again, more wonderful fellowship time, as well as French practice! : ) Needless to say, I had no problems falling asleep that night!!
Just this last week, Sharon and I went to visit our friend, Janna. She had a baby back in October, and was expecting visitors this weekend- her parents were/are coming from Argentina for about a month. Janna is an MK. She actually came to the school where Sharon and I, met her husband during her time here, and married at the end of her studies. She and her husband, Laurent, now live in a city about 30 minutes from where I live. They are an amazing family, they have 2 little boys (2 and 4) and a new baby girl : ) Their story of how they met, fell in love, and decided to continue to pursue Christ together, is very encouraging. So, Ive taken advantage of the time I can spend with Janna, because she has been very encouraging during my time here. Anyway, all that to say- this last week, Sharon and I went and visited them. We stayed overnight and helped her do some cleaning and helped her prepare for her parents' arrival. She taught me how to make a traditional French dish, which if I can find the ingredients in the States, I will definitely try to make- you'd be more than welcome to try it, if I can make it- just let me know : )
Hmm... what else.... Yesterday I finally finished writing the papers for my Intro to Linguistics class, and after that I made 4 different kinds of cookies for the all the families here : ) That was my way of celebrating the finish of one class- and I will start to work on finishing the other class today : ( Last night was the official lightening ceremony of all the Christmas lights here in Albertville. They actually turn off all the lights in one place, and have a little ceremony and then all of the lights come on at once : ) It was beautiful. They also had fireworks- and believe it or not..Pere Noel (Santa Claus) came to France- I saw him : ) I'll post a little video clip of him coming! ; ) There were several hundreds of people who were there for the lighting festival and afterwards there was free chocolat chaud and vin chaud. Free hot chocolate and hot wine. : ) It was wonderful. After all the several of us girls came back to our house, and then I made a late supper for all of us. It was the French dish that Janna taught me to make- I believe everyone enjoyed it! : )
Well, I do believe that has you mostly up to date with all that has been going on with me : ) The countdown has truly begun- I leave the school 2 weeks from today, and fly out two weeks from tomorrow!! I cannot believe how quickly my time here has gone. So much more than just learning French has happened in my life. God has definitely been at work on my heart. I know that when I return home, many changes will lay ahead. I will be starting my 2nd to last semester of college, moving into a new apartment, finding a new job, etc. My future is unknown to me, but known to the Lord- so I must walk by faith and trust that He will lead me!
Psalm 37:4-7 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this; He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. "
I will definitely be clinging to Him as I look into the future. I must let Him hold the key to my heart. As I continue to daily give Him my control, I continue to fall more and more in love with Him. He is the author of my faith, no matter how busy things get, or no matter how many things fill up my life and my heart, the True Owner of my heart is the Lord. He holds the key to my heart, and for that I am so thankful.
- The video clip of Pere Noel (Santa Claus)- He came to France! : )
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Welcome home again!!
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