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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

So this is Christmas






Claire excelled in her decorations again for this, our first Christmas in our lovely new house.

We did the French version of Christmas : Pascal and I attended the Reformed Church's afternoon play on 24th, then we had our Christmas meal en famille. Just the five of us. Claire did the organisation. A game, a film, and one present to open.


The menu: foie gras and tarama; lettuce salad; wild boar casserole and potato balls; local cheeses; and a home made bûche de Noël of which Claire and I are very proud. It's our first!

I always have a bit of a downer at this time because I'm so inbued with our family christmases in Australia. Lots of family, several occasions, church in the morning. I miss that and haven't managed to transmit it to my own family.

The next day, 25th, we had a French breakfast while skyping the family and then we were allowed to open the rest of the presents!

It was pleasant and intimate - we have such busy and varied lives that being together is becoming a luxury and a precious time to keep for ourselves. However, I do have a special thought for all those who do end up alone or isolated or who are far from family and/or friends.

I hope your Christmas was a special time and particularly stamped with the wonder of the Christ child and his mission on earth.

As part of the end of year celebrations ...

This was the last in a series of 9 English lessons for an after-school activity I held. 5 girls came every Thursday and they learned a simplified version of Little Red Riding Hood. They performed in front of their parents and we then shared an 'apéritif' - pre-dinner drinks - to celebrate Christmas.
"Take the cake to Grandma, please. She's very sick."

"Oh, Grandma, what big eyes!"
Claire has helped me each Thursday. She was the prompter and props person.

It was a good time of explaining our different Christmas customs. They were quite fascinated by the Aussie Christmas cards I had kept over the years. They all were born in this area and have lived here all their lives. They are young, modern French families, but very rooted in this country culture. 2 of the families went to England earlier this year, leaving this region for the very first time. They are connected to the Catholic church and send their kids to the Catholic Private school and it's interesting to note the differences in their way of thinking to even the people in our church, who were also born and raised here.

I hope to continue to get to know them.

Next English sessions will be in Spring.

Going back a month

Just wanted to show a little of Luc's surprise party for his 18th.
Hadn't a clue - so a real surprise!

the youth group friends



 And the birthday cake moment:





Thursday, November 29, 2012

Happy Birthday, Luc!


18 years ago the Lord gave us this gorgeous baby boy. His first 6 weeks were spent in Australia in the bosom of his Australian family. His Aussie identity is still very much a part of him inspite of growing up in France. Today we celebrate his coming of age, and we are so proud of him. He first started being more independent when he had to live in at his senior high school at the age of 14, returning each weekend to play sport, to eat, catch up on TV and video games with his brother, and to stir up his sister!

Now he is in his own little flat at Roanne, at an Institute of Technology for 2 years. He's come of age alright and he's doing well. We are glad he comes home nearly every weekend - our family is not complete without him. We try and keep some family time around meals and we listen to his stories, his commentaries, his blow-by-blow descriptions of sports events he's appreciated ! We listen as he recounts what he has learned about the world we live in through his course work. I look at his lovely brown eyes and see the soul of a sensitive, loving, intelligent person. And I thank God for this young man - our young man.

Go the Blues!!


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Where does this road lead ?

Today I went to visit Murielle to buy half a lamb (organic and locally grown!)

She gave me fairly precise directions to find her - she lives out in the country. But I forgot to ask how many metres, no, kilometres, before each section. My mobile phone stopped working. Here I was in a city car winding my way around unknown country!

I arrived at a field and saw another car parked there. Was it Murielle's car with a note on it ? I went to look... and heard someone calling out. I looked around and across the small valley saw three figures watching me. Obviously, it was their car and not Murielle's.

Nothing for it - I had to follow the dirt road and try and find her house. The road looked too rough for my car, so I pulled out the cooler and prepared to walk the next section. A smallish white-haired man was walking towards me "Can I help you ? I'm from the Forestry office."

I explained my mission. "I'm looking for the house called 'le Pouzat'." "You mean the hippy types ? It's another 800 metres from here, but you can't get to it by car - the road is too rough. You will see a grey car parked in a bay. Stop there and continue on foot another 800 m."

Mmm, I'm dubious about getting through. Already I have to turn around and the wheels skid on the wet grass. The other 2 men have joined us by now and push me out of the soggy ground. I turn the car then bump my way through the ruts and over tree roots, find the parking bay with the other car, lock up, grab the cooler and head down the last part of the unmade road. A four-wheel drive powers up toward me. Yay! it's Murielle. She has rung home and discovered I was on my way and has come to meet me. We get to her house in one piece and I get my lamb and a nice cup of coffee.

I'll go back there - not by the same route though. But Murielle wants another visit. She has chosen to live there with her companion and has raised 3 daughters. She is into alternative living. Lives off her pottery and vegetable garden. Her partner is the local pot grower and seller. I will go back, because Murielle is a new Christian and has this incredible thirst for the Word of God.



Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Statistics and public opinion

A missionary colleague working in the South West has published this on her Facebook :

For those wondering about the 'real' statistics in France, at the Lourdes conference the Catholics say France is 5% (not 60%) practicing Catholics (church at least once a month) and 500 000 ( less than 1%) evangelicals (which, I have concluded, pretty much means 'practicing Protestant' here).

We have been using other statistics - but that's not the point. As in many Western countries now, those who are Christians (culturally or in reality) are very much in the minority. What's changing however, is their ability to organize themselves and to have a voice in the public arena. 

The latest example is the motivation within the Protestant organisations and the Catholic Church to speak out in the debate on "Marriage for All" which is the bill which is being debated now in Parliament. This bill is to allow same-sex marriage and open the way for adoption. It's hard to get people motivated for this sort of moral debate because we (I associate myself with the French in this case) have not got the experience and the impetus to speak out about our biblical understanding that homosexuality is not part of God's plan for his creatures. But the urgency of this situation and the realization of the consequences are pushing the usually timorous Christians to manifest their point of view. The challenge is to do it in a non-judgmental way.

Our advantage is that more scientific and psychological findings support our point of view. They need to be made known as well because we can't just argue on moral and religious grounds in our multi-norms society where most are allowed their own version of truth. There haven't been common moral values for a long time. We can state what we believe based on our Theology (as can the Muslims and Jews and other religious groups), but we no longer have the upper moral ground.

Please pray with us as we gather our courage to stand up and be different to what seems to be general agreement on the 'rights' of homosexuals to marriage and children. Latest opinion polls do indicate that there aren't as many French as that who agree.
Pray also that the Lord raises up those who have the ability to speak on His behalf to an increasingly non-believing society.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Two events in the same evening

A truly country girls' effort
Friday night - we don't often go out because we are being taxi-parents and just too tired at the end of the week! But this time I had 2 events to attend.

The first was the official launch of a great initiative in our little country town. A group of women started a magazine; women with no previous journalistic training, most of whom are looking for regular work and who decided to launch this magazine to gain professional experience. They have done a great job! Their goal is to reveal all the richness of the human stories in our Ardèche region and to prove that country women are not backward, but vital and creative.
Their effort has brought acclaim already through 2 national TV stations running a brief story about them and the magazine Elle awarding them a prize from its foundation which will help them run the magazine for a year. WELL DONE, LADIES!

It's the sort of energy, vitality and peps that I would love to see more of in our churches. Openness to the variety and charm of the world around us; the preciousness of the people we live by. Appreciating each other and being full of life.


The second event was the showing of the film "Luther". The other Protestant Church was showing it as part of the 500 year anniversary celebrations, and acknowledging the union now confirmed between the Reformed and Lutheran churches.
In the small audience were : the Reformed pastor and his wife, us with 2 of our kids, the local parish priest and all the nuns from a local convent! We wondered just how much of this amazing story was known by the Catholic contingent. But more to the point, how did they feel seeing the obvious criticism of the Catholic Church ? This year also marks 50 years since Vatican 2 took place and the changes advocated then are well and truly in place in the Catholic Church today. So the face of the Catholic Church has changed, but the things Luther wanted to see changed 500 years ago are only now in place - including the Bible accessible to all in their own language, mass in their own language ...

Authenticity

This marks my first month back in France after a very intense time in Australia. I've spent most of this month feeling unfocussed and like I was living in another dimension. Why? Partly because I was totally myself again in Australia. I couldn't take any of my family with me this time. I was able to do everything I wanted to do and needed to do in the 2 months I had. I was very busy, but felt I was 'home' in my own environment. I really miss the Aussie mentality and realize how tired I often feel, not just because of family and ministry responsibilities, but because, even after 22 years in France, I do not completely belong. I still struggle with the way things are done here, with certain attitudes, the hardness of human relationships even within the church family. I know it's not exclusive to France, but I do find living here hard work sometimes.

An interesting experience helped throw some light on myself. I had a personality profile done for mission purposes and the psychologist suggested I fill out a form in English and the same in French. It revealed differing personality traits! I'm not schizophrenic, but I change according to which country or culture I'm fitting in ! Some of the tensions I feel and the lower energy levels come from having to adapt my 'real Aussie' personality into the French Christian leadership context. I'm sometimes in conflict with myself.

Which leads me to the idea of authenticity.

I've always believed we should develop authenticity - show our real selves - particularly in Christian circles. It's not right to wear a mask. Christian community is about accepting and being accepted just as we are. Seeing others as Jesus sees them. It can be hard, because we don't like to be vulnerable and we certainly are afraid of being criticized or judged. We are also very sensitive to being disappointed by others or disappointing others by our real selves. I find it very rewarding to see genuine relationships develop in our groups. Recognizing our fragility is very good for us since it helps us turn completely to God. In God we trust (where have I seen that ???) Of course we will be disappointed by others, of course we will let others down, but we are only human and Jesus loves us completely anyway; to the extreme of giving up his own life for us.

My friend Susie has also written about authenticity : see her blog article. It's another angle on the subject with which I totally agree.
http://7mouths2feed.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-search-for-authenticity.html

Friday, October 19, 2012

Back to teaching

Several mums are keen for their kids to do more conversational English outside school hours, so I took over what Claire (English friend who has gone back to England, leaving us their house to buy as a new manse!) had been doing over a year ago.

4th October - first day back at work

My first meeting after my return from Australia was to finish preparing our Combined Women's groups day 6th October.
 "Welcome Eternity in our lives" was the theme chosen for the day.
Ecclesiastes 3:11


My pastor-husband was named 'honorary member of the Women's Group of our Church' and had taken over coordinating the organisation whilst I was away. All I had to do was take over preparing the songs, introduce the speaker, make cakes for morning and afternoon tea and direct the proceedings during the day(!!)

Our symbolic action was to take a stone from the bowl and place it at the foot of the cross to reinforce the commitment we made to God to act on our understanding of how being already part of eternity will affect our way of living out our faith. The stones would then form an altar, a bit like the Israelites did in the Old Testament stories, when they made or renewed an alliance with God.
The painting reminds us that Christ is the light at the centre of all creation and each branch represents a season.



22 women came to this day - a first for our ladies' group. We had stimulating discussions, felt at ease to share, enjoyed a simple meal, time out from busy lives and this special moment when we sang a blessing to each other.

Thank the Lord for a great day!

Following on ...

I couldn't seem to edit the previous item as I wished, so I'm starting a new post, which is a continuation of the previous one!


This mommy-like form is my husband ! He has spent the month getting up at 6am to see Number 2 son off to Senior High School (he catches a school bus at 7am), then checking Number 3 daughter is ready for her Junior High day, but since I was around again, he made the most of my presence to sleep on and to catch up. We don't actually have much to do for our kids in the morning, but it's wise to be there to sign notes in diaries, check on any change of programme, to make sure they know what we are up to and that they have their keys.

So I want to salute the magnificent way in which my husband kept things going while I was away. He is one of quite a few examples of men today sharing 100% in home organisation. He continued to work (which is why he is so tired - supplementary hours) and when I'm there, we share all responsibilities, which makes it easier for me as I work as well.

Return to France

Heyho! Here we go!

Well, I've actually been back for nearly 3 weeks, but I hit the road running on Oct 1st and haven't had the energy to get back up to date with the blog.

It was a very smooth flight and I arrived in reasonable form, but it took a couple of weeks catching up with who is doing what where and when! They had all been back at work and school for the month of September. I felt I was living in a parallel world for a while - nothing seemed quite real after the intense Australian experience I'd had. However, getting the house back in order and taking over daily organisation, plus slipping back into church worker mode has helped me get back to normal.


Lollipop the Rabbit





Claire lost her summer time compagnon after a viral illness.
RIP Lollipop

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Home Assignment

This is what I will be sharing at the SIM World Day on Saturday.

Home at last – but where is home ?
Where will I lay my head tonight ?
I know that God is on His throne,
But why do I feel that this part is such a fight ?

They've given me a whole 2 minutes to talk ;
to explain 2, 3 or 4 years of intense activity ;
to say in what ways God has accompanied this walk ;
(I hope I've done adequate photography.)

Children, do you remember this person … ?
Lord, have I prepared them well enough ?
What's the best school and how much will it cost ?
I have to trust the kids are made of sterner stuff.

What on earth is the Aussie word for …. ?
My goodness, they're all using these things now !
I've forgotten where you buy pencil sharpeners.
Do I look dowdy in this ? I feel like an old German Frau.

Now I've been to the office and I've seen the Treasurer,
The SMD and the LT and personnel ;
I filled in all the forms and checked I have the measure
of all the paperwork, admin and other torture from hell.

Folks, it's been such an exciting journey,
I hope you'll partner with us for the next three.
Look at all those photos on their missions board
I'm NOT in competition : God has called them, AND He has called me.

I am sooo happy to see this person again,
Grateful for the ease of our relationship.
But I cry as I leave, inspite of the promise of Heaven,
Mourning the potential of that special friendship.

The time is up ; it's the journey back.
The support's at a 100 and the commissioning's done.
Vaccinations, health checks, visas and all's packed.
Goodbyes at the airport – the next adventure is come.


Home at last – but where is home ? ('In my Father's house are many rooms' Jn 14:2)
Where will I lay my head tonight ? ('The Son of Man has no place to lay His head' Mt 8:20)
I know that God is on His throne,('Your throne, O Lord, will last for ever and ever' Ps 45:6)
But why do I feel that this part is such a fight ? ('Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.' 1 Tim 6:12)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

A Prayer for the Twenty-first Century - John Marsden

I've been in Maleny, with my parents, enjoying Queensland winter sun, beautiful views, time with my parents. When you come 'home' for home assignment - missionary-speak for travelling back to your country of origin in order to catch up with family and friends and to share your missionary stories with all sorts of people and in all sorts of churches - you also have to catch up on the cultural references you missed out on while you were away. I'm now in Sunny Sydney to visit our National Office and my sister, staying with longtime friends.

I have watched much less TV this time around - some news and current affairs in order to understand today's Aussie issues, although there is a terrible sameness with the way things are done on French and British TV - the formats, the negative, fear-inducing reporting, the themes (political manoeuvring, immigration, stock exchanges), the  false social criticism that goes on. One main difference is the senses of humour ! Oh, and I forgot : THE OLYMPICS! (Well done, Britain!)

Have read 2 delightful novels : The Copper Beech by Maeva Binchy (small Irish village life and relationships), and Tuscan Holiday by Holly Chamberlin ( mother and daughter relationships and female identity in the context of relationships with the men in their lives). This is the advantage of staying in other people's houses for long enough!

Wish : that I could spend a year travelling from family member to friend and friend scanning and choosing from their libraries.

Here's a poem I discovered in one of those treasure troves (chez VdHengels), illustrated by modern Australian artists (Ed. Lothian Books, 1997):

May the road be free for the journey,
May it lead where it promised it would,
May the stars that gave ancient bearings
Be seen, still be understood.
May every aricraft fly safely,
May every traveller be found,
May sailors in crossing the ocean
Not hear the cries of the drowned.

May gardens be wild, like jungles,
May nature never be tamed,
May dangers create of us heroes,
May fears always have names.
May the mountains stand to remind us
Of what it means to be young,
May we be outlived by our daughters,
May we be outlived by our sons.

May the bombs rust away in the bunkers,
And the doomsday clock not be rewound,
May the solitary scientists, working,
Remember the holes in the ground.
May the knife remain in the holder,
May the bullet stay in the gun,
May those who live in the shadows
Be seen by those in the sun.

John Marsden - Prayer for the 21st century 


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Hello again!

I've been off-line with family holidays and now in Australia (without my family - I'm missing them alot). 3 weeks with my parents - a valuable time together as several issues linked with ageing and my father's Parkinsons Disease mean they need support.

I will soon have to leave them, and head south to Sydney then Victoria.

Hoping to catch up with many friends, inform existing supporters and welcome new ones to the partnership.

Until we meet in person, God willing, here is an article which says many of the things I could and have said.

Monday, June 25, 2012

It's nearly holiday time!

Thank you for praying for these last few weeks. It has really helped us in our work. I've finished my doctrinal statement for the mission; Luc has finished his final exams and is now waiting for the results in order to see which institute he gets into; Pascal's medical treatment went well and we are hoping for an improvement; Claire has one more day of school left and she and I head to England; Pascal is working until 8th July, and Marc (our no.2 son) is the last one to finish school with 2 days of exams Thurs and Fri.


I've been winding up the year's activities and already preparing for next September's school year start. I find leaving the area is a good way of encouraging other women to develop their organisational and coordinating skills ! but many don't like to rise to the challenge. In the past, I was able to do it through maternity leave! If I can't encourage another 4 women to take over organising a combined women's group day early October, then Pascal will be named honorary female in order to do the coordinating until I get back!!

So, Claire and I are off to England to stay with the friends who were in this house before us, and to hear my parents' wonderful amateur choir sing in the high spots of England and Wales. We will see them singing at St Paul's Cathedral, at St Martins-in-the-field and then they go to Brighton, and Wales for the international eisteddford. They continue their tour to Belgium and into France - and the 5 Girards meet up in Paris to hear them sing at La Madeleine cathedral and at St Merri's church. So we turn into groupies!! The bonus is being in Paris for the 14th July Bastille Day celebrations. The 'unbonus' is that Luc won't see the Tour de France pass through our region or arrive on the Champs Elysée. Sorry, Luc, you can't have it all!!

This could be our last family holiday as our eldest reaches adult status and may decide to see the world differently! It's a golden opportunity for us to show them Paris and stay at the Bible Institute where we met.

My parents return to our quiet country town for a well-deserved 2 week rest before I join them on the flight back to Australia.
And so, maybe we'll catch up in Australia.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Femmes 2000 (Women in 2nd Millenium)

Blowing new life into our relationships : a positive theme with a whole new approach to talking about the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Life.

We had a very rich day and the feedback is extremely encouraging even though many women heard this type of approach for the first time and are digesting what they have heard.


Tatyana is naturally gifted artistically. She held her first exhibition. We asked several artistic women to have stands.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Pentecost

Poem by Bruce Prewer

Lord, you come
like the wind
and the earth grows
hale [healthy] at your breath.
You brood
over the face of the waters,
and in the Body of the Church,
shaping
the world that is to be.

You arrive --
like the wind filling a thousand sails
on Sydney Harbour --
and fill
our slack churches
with new power
and vision.

Like moist air
carrying refreshing rain
to the Flinders Ranges,
clothing the valleys with red hops,
carpeting the slopes with purple and gold,
so your Spirit
brings the colour of Christ
into drab communities.

You sweep in,
fresh as sea breezes across Port Phillip
bringing relief and restoration
to a hot and tired city,
dispersing the smog,
encouraging us to breathe deeply again
of the Breath of life.

Sometimes you roar
like a hurricane, tearing away
the flimsy structures
of our gaudy materialism,
demolishing us
to the Ground of our Being.

As strong as a summer wind
transporting a myriad of seeds
to impregnate distant plains
with new patterns of life,
so you seed us
with new faith,
fertile from the Teller of parables.

Warm as the breath
of a loved one
whispering forgiveness
and unearned respect,
so your Spirit
breathes renovating grace
into our dispirited souls.

Some days you spin
like a willy-willy [Aboriginal word for 'mini-tornado'],
startling, tearing, hurting,
uprooting us from apathy
and leaving us giddy
with new possibilites
in discipleship.

Like a soft breeze at dusk
soothing tired faces
at the end of a hard day,
so you visit us
in the evening of life
when all our work is done,
giving us Christ's peace at the last.

We believe
in the Holy Spirit,
Lord, and giver of life,
Poured out on all flesh,
Who with the Father
and the Son,
is worshipped and glorified!
Amen!

Taken from Australian Accents, Selections from Australian Psalms, Australian Prayers and Australian Images, by Bruce D. Prewer and Aub Podlich. 1988

Sunday, May 27, 2012

What a week!

Busy, busy, busy!

We have friends praying for a special dose of energy at this time and we can testify that God is granting us that energy and the capacity to prioritize.
I had 8 different meetings and rendez-vous this week, but each one was a blessing.

How to blow a new breath into our loving relationships
Our last organisational meeting for our big conference day June 2nd was Tuesday evening. It's all systems go for a special day for around 500 women. We are particularly grateful to be  able to set up on Friday afternoon and evening - it was in doubt for a long time.

On our day off we finished burning the garden rubbish. There's something magic about fires - something primeval!

Pray for Murielle as she discovers more about the Bible. As for many people in the country, she is very busy now preparing her vegie gardens and caring for their sheep. She can't get to our regular meetings.






Pascal celebrates a 'mixed' wedding with the Catholic priest in our church last Saturday. We have very cordial relations with this man, who is a good pastor to his sheep and who speaks in truth. The wedding was the opportunity to meet other locals whom we don't see in church.

We visited Catherine whose long-time neighbour died recently. She was particularly sad because he hadn't wanted to find out more about Jesus. Keep praying for Catherine; she's the only Christian for miles around in her remote corner of Ardèche. Many others in the area are rather New Age in their beliefs.

 Other activities this week included 3 prayer and Bible Study meetings with different women's groups, 2 telephone consultations for counselling, a mammography (!), Youth Group (on Mission), and Teen Bible study (on how to explain one's faith). It's been a good week - full of interesting encounters. The Lord has given us the extra energy to cope with it all and still have some family time.
Monday is a public holiday for Pentecost. Rather ironic given France's secular standing!

Two trips

The pastors of our Union
There were around forty of us at our National Pastor's meeting representing 50 churches.
Our guest speaker reminded us of the history of the Lausanne conferences - the Evangelical Manifestos. He had the privilege of attending the Cape Town Lausanne III conference. He works for the French equivalent of Tear Fund.
His challenge to us was how we Christians within our churches put our faith into practice in our concerns for the needs of so many others in this world.

It was a great time of catching up and we were particularly interested in the mission of 3 of our 4 pastors present who are Army Chaplains.

One of the lovely bridges of Lyon
2 days later we headed off to Lyon. It was the only weekend where I was free to accompany Pascal as he pastors another of our churches. We had the luxury of having a hotel room to ourselves, so when he wasn't in meetings, it was like having a mini-holiday. The church has suffered these last few months with a kind of split. But Pascal is building up the leadership with special training sessions and they are young, energetic and on fire for the Lord.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The new kitchen

Realised I hadn't shown the end result, although we still have the tiling to do.





Thursday, May 17, 2012

10 days of prayer with SIM



17th May - SIM-ers all over the world are going to try and find time to pray for the next 10 days about worldwide mission, the different aspects of SIM and its projects, their inspiration for their own ministries. Our first day starts with :

We've just finished the campaign 'Pray for France' and have got through one Presidential election. We have just had our National Pastors' Conference where we discussed the Cape Town Committment from the Lausanne 3 conference and whether our churches really consider their part in social action or social justice issues. In each situation we are confronted by the injustices of this world, the imbalances and power plays. We are reminded how much our country is in need of healing - perhaps not physically, because France has abundant resources, but in our relationships, in the balance of power and how decisions are made. We have to admit that not all people who live in this country are treated with respect.
So this verse is very relevant to France as well.



Please pray for these same subjects. I will apply the different points to our Femmes 2000 conference day on June 2nd (for unity in our organising team and for this action to bless many women); for our 2 local churches to be renewed by the Spirit and to seek God's leading for a more direct vision for future actions; that all we do will be for his glory in our Union of Free Churches as we pastor our churches to feed our generation and to communicate our faith to our contemporaries.