Follow up on Semsa's Quilt

Since my last post we have moved into our new home (more on that later), I've gone to Turkey and back (more on that later), and passed the one year anniversary of Dad's death while continuing to mourn the loss of Karin. Sometimes life happens all at once.

However, I wanted to give an update. I met with one of the ladies who gave our quilt to Semsa. Semsa has been feeling very isolated and lonely. When she received the quilt she was overwhelmed with the outpouring of love. She said it was the most precious gift she had received. Thank you again to all who contributed in stitches and prayer. Continue to pray for her as the trial drags on, meaning that she has to relive that painful experience over and over.

Karin

Karin was born and raised in South Africa. She spent many years as a biology teacher. Several years ago she went on a prayer journey to North Africa and knew God was calling her to commit her time to taking the Gospel to the world. Three years ago this confident, goal oriented, funny woman of faith arrived in France. I helped her in those early weeks to look for housing, get settled etc. She struggled with enormous culture shock in those early weeks--dealing with French, American and Middle Eastern cultures all at once (our team is a real melting pot). But Karin had great faith and an eagerness to learn new things and experience everything.

In three years Karin became our resident expert on France. Her keen sense of observation caused me to learn much about my own culture. Her dependance on prayer challenged me. She proved to be humble, teachable and full of perseverance.

Monday morning at our home was typical. The phone rang as I was brushing my teeth--no time to talk to my boss now--meeting this morning? no problem. Mark's boss called as well--we're late to drop off the kids--meet with him first thing? no problem. We got to the office and were taken immediately aside and received the shocking news. Karin was in an accident. She died at the scene. She's gone. But her desk is still there--her car, her apartment, she hadn't yet told me about her first trip to America, this is not possible. Karin had traveled to some of the most dangerous places on this planet. She had only gone to Colorado for a training. It was a Sunday morning. She was going to church. I miss her.

The Lord gives. The Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

The Bitter-Sweet Taste of Irony

I was shocked to see that 3 weeks have slipped by since my last post. Our house has become a maze of boxes as we pack, waiting for that elusive moving date. One delay has piled onto another (will we ever understand how everything is supposed to work here?). But keeping our eyes and ears tuned to our Good Shepherd is faith building.

The headlines here in France have been blazing with a story that has made me chuckle out-loud. No, not Sarkozy and his heiress/model/popstar girlfriend. Societé Génerale, the bank that sifts through all their accounts, down to the most meager accounts in order to prevent and extract any undesirables, is enduring a scandal of global proportions. If you recall, our bank closed our account with no warning or explanation a couple of months ago. The explanation we finally received is that we were suspected of money laundering because every few weeks we deposited cash into our account. (to pay for things like rent, utilities, phone--shocking!) They were very keen to keep riff-raff like us out of their bank. Now it has been revealed that one of their young employees managed to play with 20 billion euros more than the entire worth of the bank and lost 5 billion euros (more than $7 billion). Well, at least they don't have to worry about us ripping them off.

Handsome Hubby has pointed out that it would be wrong to rejoice in the afflictions of others. He is so right.

I'm sorry, Societé Génerale for laughing.

La musique

Happy New Year! Today we are taking down the Christmas tree. Monday the kids go back to school. Happily we had a very musical holiday with the following cds being given and received: Sufjan Stevens-Illinoise, Francis Cabrel-1997-2007, Phil Keaggy-Master and the Musician, Hannah Montana,LiveEarth (CD and DVD), Led Zeppelin-Mothership, Michael Buble-Call Me Irresponsible, The Beatles--the Blue Album, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Disney Holiday album and a four cd set of Christmas tunes. We are all wrangling for our favorite in the car, house, etc. The kids made a cd for family and friends called "Willsong--Christmas EP". The boys took the cash they received as a gift and doubled the wattage of their amplifiers. I now can feel the bass guitar in my teeth and through my spine. Guess we need to build a recording studio in the back of the house!

House Update--we still do not know the closing date! It will be around January 15 and we will move bit by bit through the rest of the month. I'm going back to packing now!

Meilleurs Voeux

I sincerely hope that all of my fair readers have had a joyous Christmas. Our hearts (and our tummies) are full. We baked up a storm during the days leading up to Christmas--muffins and scones as a gift to the office folk, sugar cookies and gingerbread people for the church service, two pies and a yule log cake for Christmas eve. Yum. But the greatest joy has been celebrating the incarnation--Jesus humbling Himself, taking the form of a bond servant to sacrifice Himself for all of us--with friends and family. Happy New Year!

Bread of Life

Christmas is coming! We've watched nearly all of our Christmas movies, started reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (for about the 10th time). Practiced and played music at a variety of events, shopped, baked and taken time to sit quietly and meditate on the meaning of it all.

This is the first holiday season since Dad died. Even though it has been many years since I've been home for Christmas, I still miss him keenly. Just yesterday I was struck with such a pain while I was in a check out line at a store. Can't predict when and where it will hit. Of course for my Mom and siblings this pain is very intense.

The past year has had many sorrows and troubles; but it has also been a year full of incredible blessings. God's presence, peace and purpose give meaning and joy in the midst of all parts of life.

This December I have been studying John 6 where Jesus provides for the multitude and declares Himself the Bread of Life. Jesus was born in Bethlehem which means "house of bread". He is the Bread of Life who has come down from heaven, sent by the Father. He alone truly satisfies. So as we look at the nativity scene, and sing beautiful carols and ponder the mysteries of the incarnation may we find our greatest joy and satisfaction in the Bread of Life.

Waiting for Thee

Psalm 104 is one of my favorites. It speaks of God's creative power and His provision for all of creation. Verse 27: "They all wait for Thee, to give them their food in due season." Various trials and troubles have served these past couple of weeks to remind me to keep my eyes focused on the Provider. Some anxiety is linked to the shrinking value of the dollar against the euro. I've discovered that with some effort I can make a week's worth of groceries last 8 days--eliminating one week's grocery bill every two months! The big trial was being informed by our bank here in France that they were closing our account. The fact that we are foreigners being paid by a religious organization does not suit them. (This does not affect our housing loan, Praise God!) Monday we have an appointment to open an account with a different bank. Praying for and serving our national staff experiencing far worse trials really keeps things in perspective. We all are dependent on the Creator and Provider.

Can I count it all joy? In the power of the Holy Spirit may God accomplish the perfecting of my faith.

Cubicle Madness

Working in an office setting can lead one to do silly things. Our office in particular feels a bit like being caught up in a lovely Kansas tornado. People coming, people going, crises, urgentmustbedoneyesterday-type issues. Sometimes we need to release a bit of stress. Recently, following a few days of craziness, my friend and I innocently googled "stapler in jello" (fans of The Office will understand) To our surprise there are many websites with step by step instructions on doing just such a thing. Dental floss is the key. We plotted and planned and giggled a lot. One day we placed the stapler in jello on Josh's desk. Well, we thought it was funny. The stapler still works.

A Quilt for Shemsa

Last April many of us were deeply affected upon learning that Shemsa's husband, along with two other brothers were murdered. As we were grieving and praying for Shemsa and her young children the Lord put on my heart to make a group quilt representing the prayers and love of her sisters in Christ around the world.

Mark left yesterday for Turkey with this quilt tucked into his luggage, along with some notes from women that contributed to making this quilt. 25 women from 3 continents sent blocks for this quilt. It has been amazing to see the outpouring of compassion and love from so many women. After I put in the last stitch on the binding and spread out the quilt I got quite emotional. I pray that God continues to comfort Shemsa and that she feels God's presence as well as the love of her sisters in Christ through this token of our love.
For a recent update on Shemsa and the children here is an interview with her. http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&length=long&lang=en&idelement=5049

I've Been Tagged

I've been off of the blogosphere for a few weeks. My next post will tell why. The Quilter has been quilting.

My friend Be has tagged me for a middle name game. The deal is to say something for each letter of my middle name and then tag someone else. Here it goes:

J-azz music is my favorite. Love it.
E-nglish is my mother-tongue even though it is slipping these days!
A-nnie is my cool California friend who writes so eloquently
N-icole is my MOM and she is also very cool
N-eedles--have to have a sharp one for quilting!
I-ce cream is one of the greatest foods ever
N-orway is a country I would love to visit some day
E-very one in the world deserves a chance to hear the gospel!

Well, I'm not sure if I did that correctly--but Annie you are tagged!

Unexpected Common Ground

Last Friday I was madly dashing about running errands before leaving town. (Never want to leave the hubby and tykes without making sure they have all they need) Anyway, I noticed that there were lots of children at the strip mall, with their parents, not at school. It came to mind that it was the beginning of the 3 day feast to celebrate the end of Ramadan. Instantly I recalled the feeling I have every year at Thanksgiving time, which is such a big deal for our family, a day that we let the kids skip at least half a day of school, but for the people around us it is a day like any other. I thought, this must be what it feels like for my Muslim neighbors to be celebrating one of their biggest holidays while everyone else is having a day just like any other. It is another day in the ex-pat zone.

Back to the Pyramids

Hello from Cairo. I am back in the beautiful country of Egypt--at yet another conference. This time we are meeting with a few people who are director of operations for their national ministries. We are having great discussions and making progress on some important issues, but blah blah blah. That is surely not what you want to know. Of course you are wondering what happened in the Rugby semi-finals this weekend.

France lost
South Africa won

France Wins!

Ah, the Monday sports news was glum for a KSU/Chiefs fan. The only ray of sunshine is the fact that FRANCE DEFEATED NEW ZEALAND! Now I realize that this is no news to Americanos. I scoured AOL sports and could find nothing about the Rugby World Cup--but it sure is BIG news in the southern hemisphere. I encourage you to do a YouTube.com search for the Haka, which the All-Blacks perform before each match. The French team were staring them down with determination and ended up winning the match. France faces England in the semi-final-- South Africa v. Argentina in the other semi match. Woo Hoo! Maybe it will be a France/South Africa in the final. Only in our own little bizarro world is that a thing worth pondering!

And the winner is . . . .

The smile on her face revealed all! She won! As the highest vote-getter, our little Princess has entered the world of politics. The election was not held until Thursday, thus the delay in reporting the results. She is happy, but also serious about bringing justice for the sixth graders at Rosa Parks middle school. (yes, it is really named for the American civil rights hero)

In other news: The Austins took a HUGE leap of faith and signed a "promesse de vente" on a house in Villabe. The signing took 2 1/2 hours as the agent explained all the details in the lengthy documents we had to sign. So, after procurring a loan and going through all the legal and bureaucratic steps we will move in January to our own little nest.

Tonight "les Bleus" (France) face the "All-Blacks" (New Zealand) in the quarter final of the Rugby World Cup. We would love for either team to advance--we shall see.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the next president . . .

The Princess is running for "déléguée de classe"--sort of like a class representative. It is a crowded field with 9 of the 24 students in the running. Last night she was working on her campaign slogan. She wisely chose, "je vous écouterai sans vous insulter". (I will listen to you without insulting you) Today I asked her if she had insulted anyone at school. She replied, "No". I told her that it was a good thing to keep her promise. She answered, "I just said it; I didn't promise it."

The election is Monday. We'll have special coverage of the elections at le Collège Rosa Parks à Villabé. Don't miss it.

A Major Award!

The most excellent Marko has won a major award! Last June I posted about his participating in a show at his magic club. The results are in! Mark won first prize! He has won La Coupe Meldini!!!! (we are still waiting to see what, exactly that is) As Heart used to sing, "he's a magic man".

I'm not sure if it is absolutely necessary for him now to always go out incognito . . . but what do I know?

Ready for worship?

Worship, true worship, is manifested in many ways. We worship God when we share with one another how we have seen His hand at work. We worship when we express our dependance on Him in prayer. Of course, music is a fabulous way to proclaim God's glory. Lately it has been a great joy to have Will and Luke join me in leading worship at our church. I remember being encouraged when I was a young thing at playing guitar and taking part in the worship service through song. I pray that my children will have hearts that love to worship.

By adding another guitar and a bass we are free to experiment with a bit of percussion, and maybe some interesting sounds with the amp. Last Sunday, however we may have gone a bit too far. The kids and I were having such a good time during practice that I decided we could turn up the gain and push the little button that turns on the drive--just for the more rockin' songs. After church a friend came up and after sweetly thanking us for leading worship, mentioned that she heard some static during the singing. I sheepishly smiled and admitted that it was supposed to sound that way. Maybe our little church is not the place to let loose with wild guitar effects. We'll set the amp on "clean" next week.

Rugbymania

It is World Cup time. This September/October it is the Rugby World Cup being played right here in France. Last weekend we watched the opening France/Argentina match. The next day we were completely mesmerized as the All Blacks of New Zealand crushed the Italians. It was essential that we all watch South Africa bury sweet little Western Samoa. The boys looked up all the rules on-line, found lots of high-light clips on YouTube, and voila, instant fans!

Tonight is South Africa/England--a true battle of the titans. Two of our S. African colleagues are at the match. We are scanning the crowd for a familiar face under a hat with horns coming out of it.

Honestly, this is not a game for the faint-hearted. Blood flows freely, these guys don't take breaks for beer commercials or time outs or gaping flesh wounds and they run headlong into the opposition without 300 lb blockers clearing the way. No heavy armour or helmets. It's awesome.

Team USA lost to Tonga.

Go Springboks

La Rentrée

Ah, the end of the "grandes vacances". The neighbors' shutters opened one by one. The traffic in town and on the highway slowly increased to its normal congested state. The school supply aisle at the hypermarket became a scary place where we would dive into the crowd one by one as the more feeble stood by the shopping cart. Fresh ID photos are required for student cards, club cards, transport cards, lunch cards, and extras just because.

It is back-to-school time in France!

We now have three children in three different schools. The Princess (sixth grade) is going to the new middle school in our village. It is beautiful and new, but she was heartbroken that her two best friends are not in her class. Luke is finishing middle school in the next town over (french third grade, american 9th grade). Will is a second grader (10th grade US) at a high school in a town just up the highway from here. I'm sort of drowning in papers to read and sign, parent meetings to attend, and class schedules that are changing daily.

In France middle and high school students have different classes everyday. Things are further complicated by A weeks and B weeks--so some classes are only held once every two weeks. We are one week into the new school year and all three children had their schedules changed today. I don't even know what day it is anymore! Of course this could also be due to a big increase in the work load at the office.

John 14:1--Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God. Believe also in Me.

AMEN

Manpri Phenom

(I wish to preface this entry with the observation that were I a French woman living in the USA, this post would be about brightly colored, odd-looking, rubber footwear in America)

Last week the family took a trip to a local amusement parks. By mid-day I realized that "thrill rides" no longer thrilled me. So I volunteered to hold the bag, rain jackets and camera as the rest of the crew rode "Thunder of Zeus". The wait was about an hour, so I passed the time snapping photos of grown men wearing capri pants--or manpris, if you will.