From Rouen to Paris to Larodde... a week full of changes :)

Greetings from the mountains of Auvernge! :) What a crazy week this has been.

When I last posted, I was still in Rouen with Kristi. So much has happened since then, that I'm actually having trouble remembering all of what I did early on last week. :) Well, I continued in my last week of classes at the Alliance Francaise. The teacher I had last week was the best by far, and I learned so much from him.

On Tuesday, Kristi and I went on some errands and decided to visit the ruins of castle from the 11th century... You know just the everyday stuff. ;) Seriously though, it was very cool. It is the castle of Robert le Diable, and it's been built, demolished, and rebuilt many times. It's currently under renovation yet again.


Chateau de Robert le Diable

Afterwards we went to the prayer meeting and Bible study at church. I took part a little bit more during the prayer time. It was very bittersweet knowing it would be my last time at the church for a while. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, I continued to take care of details at home as well as spend some time with my friends from school. We had lunch together on Thursday right near the school. On Wednesday, Kristi and I got our hair cut which was really fun. Mine doesn't look too much different, but the stylist had fun with it after she cut it. Here's a photo...  

 



Later that day we visited a young lady from church and had some time to talk with her about spiritual things. She is a believer and has been in the church for many years, but she has much going against her in her life right now. Please pray for her faith to grow stronger and stronger.

 

On Thursday I learned some new cooking skills with Kristi :) and also said goodbye to a good friend from church, Sophie. She will be returning to her home in another part of France soon, so we won't be seeing each other again during the trip. After dinner, Kristi and I spent a while recording songs for a CD she is making for the children of her church. I sang children's songs in French while she accompanied me. So fun!

 

Friday was my last day of French class. It was so sad saying goodbye to my friends there. We have already been staying in touch since then though, so I am thankful for that.

 

 

After class on Friday, it was time to say goodbye to Rouen for now. :( Kristi and I drove to Paris that afternoon to meet the BJU Musical Mission team at the Bixby's home. It was SO good to get to see so many of my friends from school! Kristi and I parted ways that night, and I stayed with another wonderful missionary family, the Coles, in Paris for the weekend. I toured Paris with the team on Saturday, and then they had a concert that evening. The next day we worshipped at the church in St. Denis (on the edge of Paris), and one of my friends from school preached the message. We stayed and fellowshipped with the church that afternoon, and then the team had another concert that evening. The weekend with the team was truly wonderful. It was like a time to recharge and be encouraged in the middle of the trip.

 

On Monday, the next leg of my adventure began--working at Camp Arc-en-Ciel for three weeks. I had to take a train out of Luzarches (where I was staying with the Coles) into the center of Paris and catch the metro to the Paris Austerlitz station where I would meet up with some French friends and take another train to Ussel. While carrying all of my stuff on my back. Whew. :) I am so thankful that the Lord helped me through the transportation I had to do by myself. Asking questions in French (and English) is always a good thing. I left about 7 in the morning and finally arrived at the camp around 4 or 5. It was quite a long day.

 

The camp is run by Tim and Elisabeth Knickerbocker, and it is located in the tiny village of Larodde in the mountains. Going from a city of 500,000 to a village of 50 has been quite a change, but it's really lovely here. The camp has much renovation work to be done, so the living conditions are a little different than in Rouen. For instance, there are no sinks in the restrooms yet, so if I want to wash my hands, I have to go down 6 flights of stairs do so. :) It's really quite fun, but just very different than I am used to. I've enjoyed the challenge of having to be creative in order to get certain things done. It's also been very cold and rainy here, even more so than Rouen, and I've been wearing sweatshirts and long pants. That's been different too. :)

 

One of my friends from school, Jessica Bowers, is here, and we are currently sharing a room. Here's the view out the window: :) 

 

 

Right now it looks like I will primarily be working in the kitchen. I already love it! :) I will also do cabin inspections with a French girl, Lynn, who is working with me in the kitchen. Here are a few food photos. First one is a beautiful beet salad, next some amazing French cheeses, and last are our wonderful cupcakes that we made this evening. :)

 

Every night there is also a service that I get to go to where there is much singing and then a message given by Tim. I'm starting to learn more French little by little and am especially understanding it more when other speak. Listening to Tim's messages has been a real blessing. I can finally follow pretty decently without a translator, and the messages themselves have been a real encouragement spiritually.

 

There is so much more that I could say about the camp, but I shall have to wrap up for now. I must be up early tomorrow for making breakfast! :) Thank you for your continued prayers. Overall, I found myself getting more discouraged this last week, and I really need God's grace to keep running to Him and His Word during those times. Please pray that I would make good use of the time I have here at the camp to be a help to the Knickerbockers and the campers, and that He would also refresh my heart with His Word while I'm here.

 

Bonne nuit!