enjoying our holidays

So, for two weeks we've been chillin'. We thought we'd have ministry this past Sunday but it was rescheduled. We've had a great time resting, visiting great places - especially the beach, but I think we're all ready to get moving again.

Yesterday was probably the hit of the last 2 weeks, with a trip to Nice. The waves are amazing! And the kids had a ton of fun. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the water and the city - "Promenade des Anglais" is a place I could get used too taking a daily run on. :)

The weather is getting a little more chilly - the wind has picked up. Not sure we'll get any more beach time. :(

We have a few more days of 'vacation' before we head to Perpignan on Saturday. We'll attend a wedding, then minister at a church there on Sunday. Then we're off to the mountains for a week! I really enjoyed our time there last year, such a sacred setting where the Hugenots lived hundreds of years ago.

I guess our time here at MacDough's is up. Happy Fall everyone!

one week later...

So we had a wonderful week last week! Monday through Thursday, we did some sightseeing. Tuesday we spent back at the Med Sea - we can lounge around on the sand forever. :)

Wednesday we drove up to Avignon. The GPS took us a through a beautiful scenic route up over the mountains. We stopped and saw some remains from a Roman built place - we couldn't read the signs but that's what I gathered. :) Also it was right by where VanGough painted some of his most famous paintings. So amazing.

Avignon was an adventure. It's quite a large village and Mitch got the experience of driving in a city! All roads are narrow but we took one that was like a sidewalk, praying we could get through. Fun stuff. We visited the pope's palace there. Amazing but also quite an atmosphere of darkness. The spiritual dynamics in this country are not the same as the States, for sure.

Friday we took the train back to Valence for the conference with Pierre-Daniel. Mitch preached 3 services on Friday, 2 on Saturday and on Sunday morning. A grueling schedule but the presence of the Lord was off the charts! People were healed physically and spiritually, they were encouraged and challenged by the Word and encountered by the beautiful love of Jesus! I love this part of our lives!

Now we're back in Istres, sitting at 'our' MacDough's, catching up on life and getting you caught up on ours. :)

This week we'll tour around southern France some more before things get more consistently busy. We'll start October off by attending our first French wedding!

settled in our 'home'

So we still don't have internet at the house, although a great friend tried to help us out - and that would have been free. Darn. So we are still making daily treks to MacDough. And the internet connection here is even slow and sketchy. Arg. Wouldn't be a HUGE deal, except this is our only way for people from the States to get ahold of us. Ah well.

Otherwise, things are going great. I finally got the laundry caught up and the few things bought to get us settled into our apartment.

This morning, we didn't minister anywhere so we attended church here in Istres. (Our apartment is above the sanctuary :} ) A kind lady who speaks a little English sat behind us and gave us the 'main idea' of what was going on. :)

This afternoon, some new friends drove us over to the Mediterranean Sea and the kids got to swim. A great time relaxing on the beach! We are blessed!

Besides the internet, we are still working on renting a car for the next few days and then possibly purchasing one for the rest of our trip. To either sell at the end or leave here with a family so that we could use it again when we return... whenever that would be.

The kids will have a full week of school mixed in with sightseeing around the area (trusting we get a car!) and then we take the train back to Valence to minister at the Master's Net conference next weekend.

The kids seem to be doing better now that we have a 'home' to call our 'own'. They miss everyone at home but it's nice to have a place to settle. So settled we are, doing life in France. Some things are much the same as America - others very different!

a few adjustments

Woowee, I got to sleep in today! And not feel guilty about it! Great first night in the apartment. We are blessed with a wonderful space.

I got a good start on laundry so we're not the stinky fam we used to be. The process is taking a few days because there's no dryer and we are hanging things throughout the apartment. :) Ah, adjustments.

We have about a week 'off' and are looking into renting a car so we can see the area. Including going a short distance south to visit the Mediterranean Sea. Cool stuff. Hopefully we can get a car by tomorrow.

Biggest adjustment we have at the moment is no internet in the apartment. We can walk a short distance to a MacDough but that won't help Mitch with watching the Huskers in the middle of the night. :) We have a friend who is going to help us figure out a solution - he says he has one - so yay!

Better let the next person have their internet turn...

time to sleep

Another awesome service tonight here in Valence! Jesus never ceases to amaze me! His presence has been so near and I so feel like I'm 'at home'.

This morning we were able to visit a village near Valence that was established during the Middle Ages - several stones had dates, one from the 1500's and another from the 1700's I think. Mind blowing, ya know?

This afternoon we spent time with another Pastor's family. Their home is a farmhouse - atleast 200 years old. Beautiful! They had an indoor pool the girls were blessed to enjoy. Lovely dinner, leading to a lovely service!

Tomorrow we leave for 'our apartment'. I'm ready to do laundry! It's been over a week x 5 people's clothes. Yuck.

We have about 7 days 'off' and we are ready for the break. We had a very busy traveling week right before we left. And then had just a day and a half to get over jet lag and see Paris before ministering the last 5 days straight. It's time to sleep!

And speaking of sleep, it's now after 3am and we leave on a train tomorrow. Definitely time to sleep!

the best icecream they've ever had

We are settled in Valence for a few days. We are staying with a lovely family- the son knows English and the mother has the gift of hospitality! Little gift baskets on the beds for the girls and some goodies for Mitch and I as well. We are so blessed.

Last night's service was wonderful. Such an atmosphere of the presence of the Lord. Mitch ministered healing and also prophetically. The kids had some words of knowledge as well. Very cool. Tonight and tomorrow we minister in two different fellowships. And then on to 'our apartment' in Istres.

Yesterday, we got to visit some castle ruins dated back to 900. So surreal. The kids could have stayed there all day I think. We walked through the village center and got some icecream - which the kids dubbed as 'the best icecream they've ever had'! It was very good!

Paris is ... well, Paris. It's breath-taking and amazing. But I could live in southern France. I love it here. Now if I could just speak the language. :)

last day in Paris

We slept in until after 10 today since there was only an afternoon service. It was nice, though I don't think it really helps our bodies figure out this time difference very well. Maybe by the time we leave, our bodies will have adapted - then we'll have to start all over again in America. :)

On the way to the service this afternoon, we ate at McDonald's with our host family In French they say "MacDough" - from now on it will be MacDough to us! Love it!

Today Mitch preached an excellent message on holiness and we prayed for the few people that hadn't already received prayer this weekend. Mitch had several prophetic words and the people were blessed and encouraged. Awesome!

In the morning (Monday), we will take the TGV to Valence. We have services Monday through Wednesday there. We didn't go to Valence last year, so we will be meeting new faces. Always a little exciting, especially when you are trying to meet them at the train station. Ha!

I'm not sure if we will have internet there so if not, we will be reconnected on Thursday when we reach 'our apartment' in Istres (near Marseilles). Au Revoir!

first day of services

So we began a weekend of ministry this morning. Service, eat, service, eat. That's the way to do it!

We met with the Oasis believers today and were blessed with the presence of the Lord. We prayed for a few backs and saw the Lord bring relief to a couple of the people! I love the season of miracles we are in - the reality of the power and love of Jesus is really amazing! Also we prayed for many just to be blessed and encounter the love of God. A woman testified to having an encounter with Jesus - dancing with him and feeling so free. Thank You Jesus!

It's 11pm and has been a beautiful but long day so I'm ready to RELAX! Mitch is going to watch the Huskers in a couple hours. Bless the Lord for internet and the slingbox!

Paris day 2

Wowsers! Long but great day! Chandler tried to start our day 3:45am when she was wide awake. Thankfully we all went back to sleep but not before Mitch watched a bit of football via slingbox. ;)

After a few more hours of sleep, we checked out and left our luggage at the hotel to walk to McDonald's for breakfast. A new experience was ordering via a touchscreen kiosk....niiiice.

Then we walked a few more blocks to the train station and headed into the center of Paris to site-see for a day. Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triompe, Champs-Elysees, and somewhere Mitch & I didn't get to visit last year, The Louvre. What an amazing place! We didn't have near enough time to see everything but we did see the "Mona Lisa" - totally surreal experience!

We were exhausted when we walked back to the hotel this evening to meet our friends. We're staying in a beautiful home, in the northwest area of Paris with a family with 2 beautiful boys - who, though we can't understand them, are a kick in the pants. :)

Tomorrow, we'll start the day off with the first of the 3 weekend services. Praying the kids' body clocks have done some shifting and we can get around early in the morning without much of a hitch.

The Lord is faithful and so near! Lord, encounter Paris with Your extravagant love for them!

Paris day 1

After staying with our lovely friends on Tuesday night, they drove us to the Omaha airport and we flew over without a hitch. Kids did great on all 13+ hours of flying/airport time. No lost luggage, no delays - praise the Lord! :)

We rode a couple city trains (1+ hours of travel) through Paris to get within walking distance of our hotel. We had, what seemed like, easy instructions but could not find street signs and ended up walking for a LONG time, not really sure where we were going. We were finally rescued by a "Chinese Angel". She stuffed all 5 of us and 14 bags into her little car - like a small Toyota. We truly were like the clown cars from the circus!

Once at the hotel, our 'big' (for Europeans) family required 2 bedrooms (because you cannot put more than 4 in a room) so we have a 'luggage room' and a sleeping room. Now we have all rested a few hours and are ready for dinner. Praying our bodies think it's time for sleep again at a decent bedtime.

Our first service is on Saturday morning (which would be middle of the night Friday in America). We have 3 services this weekend in Paris. Pray for the Lord to meet with us!