Rainey Days

This weekend, I left my missionary friends, the Thomassens, and moved to a hotel, since they had already been expecting other visitors this week. For those of you who have faithfully read my blogs this whole past year, I am back in the hotel that was a Franciscan monastery, where I first started my blog. It's historic! Last year I mentioned the sparse accomodations here, in true monastic fashion, but this year, it's much worse. I am in a cell, I mean room, that is 6 feet by 8 feet! Other than the bed, there is a small tray that folds down from the wall where I can eat, type on my laptop, or work on schoolwork. It is slightly larger than one foot square. I have a sink and shower, in a little closet. Each floor shares a bathroom. I can hardly move in the room with my duffel bag and my stuff, so I keep escaping to the lounge with nice chairs and tables. It also has a full wet bar, but I don't know how the monks handled that, ha ha! I saw a toddler with wooden shoes ...

I've just returned from church and lunch afterward. Some missionaries here took me to a church across town, where Don McCurry, the professor of the class I'm taking, was preaching this morning. He preached in English with Dutch translation, and the entire worship service, announcements, etc. was all in Dutch. It was really interesting for me (with no Dutch at all!). I only knew a few of the songs, but the ones I knew I sang under my breath in English. It was actually pretty cool to sing "every tongue, and tribe, and nation will join in the song of the Lamb" with another nation in another tongue! I like that worship song anyway, but hearing it in Dutch was unique. Afterward, the Dutch pastor treated us to lunch at a Dutch pancake house. I had a bacon and cheese pancake (more like a crepe), but it was so filling that I couldn't finish it, and I wish I hadn't eaten as much as I did! The pastor Jan and his wife Alla are both graduates of Zion Bible Institu...

When I moved overseas in 1995, I quickly discovered I needed a good, serviceable backpack both for all my hikes in the Israeli desert as well as all my school books and papers to grade. Mom sent me a beautiful Jansport backpack for my birthday. This week, I've realized that my trusty old pack is dying. For quite a while now, the zippers have been splitting, which makes the backpack practically useless. The straps have been separating at the top, and this week, I've discovered a sizeable hole in the side pocket. I've sent it away once to be repaired, but the damage is so extensive, I think it may be time to let go altogether. I composed this poem today (during class) to my backpack, upon the occasion of it's retirement: Threadbare canvas, faded blue, Straps and seams unraveled- Reward well-earned: repose is due for the many miles you traveled.

Is it a sin to covet your neighbor's groceries? If so, I'm in trouble. Even though both countries are use the euro currency, Holland is much cheaper than France for the exact same groceries. Not only that, but they have a much wider selection here than is available in France. I discovered this last year, and bought as much as I could fit in the gaps of my duffel bag last January. Knowing I was coming again this year, I eagerly planned for what I could bring back to France with me next week. Since I've arrived, my friends George and Muriel Thomassen (N. Dakota district) have been fixing me to some wonderful treats (last night: caramel fondue and fruit for dessert!), and my list of things to take back has grown longer. Yesterday I strolled through a grocery store to see what all was available, and I was salivating before I left the store: cheese dip, waffles, chili peppers, rolos, Campbell's soup, gravy mix, chinese dinner mixes, and more. I just don't have eno...

Okay, technically I haven't seen any windmills yet, but I am in Holland again. Like last January, I am in Amsterdam to take a course on Muslim evangelism at the AG Bible school here. They offer these Islamic emphasis classes each year in English and many missionaries and pastors attend. I loved being here last year and found the courses I took to be a real inspiration for my ministry. So far, this year's course looks to be even better. Don McCurry, a missionary in his 70's, brings 40 years of Muslim missions experience to our class, focusing on very practical ways to reach those of the Islamic faith. I've found him to be a captivating speaker in the few sessions we've had so far. Amsterdam is one of my favorite European cities. Everything is very clean, and that perception is increased by the clean lines of modern architecture throughout the city. There are canals that wind through the entire city and many of them are frequented by swans and ducks. Its very...

I saw the movie Mean Girls not long ago on television here. I know, I know--it's a teenage girl movie, but I actually liked it. The main character Kady, played by Lindsay Lohan, has lived her entire life in the wilds of Africa with her scientist parents. When she is sixteen, they take her back to the States, enrolling her in a public high school. The movie is about her struggles to adapt to the unique social strata of the average high school. There is a line, early on in the film, where she explains that she is taking advanced calculus, even though she is only a junior. The two other teens she's with stare at her in horror. "You like math?" She shrugs her shoulders and says defensively, "Well, it's the same in every country." I was naive enough to think that music would be the same in every country, as well. Obviously the words may be in different languages, but how much can notes on a page change? Music is its own language, I thought. Sure...

I feel that not enough has been said lately in congratulations of my boy Cal who was voted into the Baseball hall of fame. It makes me nostalgic for my teenage years when going to a baseball game meant seeing him playing shortstop, revered almost as deity in my hometown. So I thought in honor of Cal, I would show you two of my prized possessions. First is a set of nesting dolls that I bought in Prague in 2001. I love these guys. You can't see but on the backs, their names are spelled wrong, "Orioles" is spelled wrong on the next-to-smallest, and truthfully, some of them that seem to be painted like African Americans actually aren't in person. Its hilarious. Cal is the biggest one, if you couldn't recognize his more distinctive features. I personally have always gotten a kick of the tiniest one being Brady Anderson, because Brady always struck me as being a little big-headed. But maybe that's just me. Then, I have a collection of newspaper and magazine clippin...

In France over the last few weeks, the Assemblies of God has made the news. Unfortunately, it's not in a good way. In this country, where atheism has reigned since the Enlightenment, pentecostals are viewed as a weird religious sect, at best. There are frequent television “exposées” on news magazine-type shows, portraying all evangelical protestants as crazy, fanatical nuts. A recent event in Perpignan (on the Mediterranean coast) has made it all even worse. These are the facts: in the AG church in Perpignan, a woman (who was not a member but a frequent visitor) felt that God called her to a special fast. She also made her four year old daughter fast with her. On Dec. 26, a young intern pastor and another member of the church were doing a routine visitation and found them weak and emaciated. The young intern went straight out and bought a sack of groceries, imploring the woman to eat. However, he didn't force them to eat; he trusted the lady to fix something after he ...

Something I've been thinking about: Over the last few days, I have heard "Happy New Year" everywhere I've gone. The French take it much more seriously than Americans, I think. For me, "Happy New Year" is what you say/shout at midnight when the year changes over. One might say it on New Year's day to friends and family, but after that, it's pretty much over. Here in France, one has the right to say it during the whole month of January to anyone one hasn't yet seen since the new year began. The French take it one giant step further as well, by greeting people with “ meilleurs voeux ” (best wishes) as a simple blessing. From there, the blessings can be much more specific, depending on how well you know the person. I was pleasantly shocked when someone greeted me with these words on Sunday: “Happy New Year! May this year be a year of blessing for you and your ministry in France; may you have open doors in your work here and may the Lord incr...

Here is the question for open discussion, folks: when is the appropriate time to take down Christmas decorations? I took my tree down on Tuesday evening, mostly to distract myself from Christy's leaving. I finally got all the decorations packed up in boxes yesterday, and I can proudly report that even the annoying fake pine needles have been vacuumed up. However, I have visited in homes here in France that still had their Christmas trees up in February! My neighbors still have their outdoor lights up and blazing at night. I recently had this subject come up in conversation with some family members and we disagreed (*gasp*) on the dates that decorations should be removed, so I figured I would rally you all to my side--I mean, see what you all think. Just for fun : this is a picture of some Christmas decorations in the famed Notre Dame church in Paris. I took the picture because I found the sheep to be hideously inappropriate. The plastic sheep were life-sized, while the nativity ch...

New Year's Resolutions--I haven't made them this year. It's not that I don't believe in them, or that I couldn't think of anything good this year. I just haven't had time to reflect, and I prefer to give it some serious thought. On New Year's Eve, Christy and I spent a quiet night in my apartment watching Pirates of the Caribbean and making chocolate chip cookies. We watched some fireworks from my back balcony (although we could hear lots more) and we toasted the new year with sparkling cider. We managed to stay awake 'til 2 AM. That's quite an accomplishment at my age, ha ha! On January 1, Christy and I were invited to have lunch with Katherine and Jean-Claude Galles, who host my Bible study. They invited several couples and singles from the church who don't have family in the area to celebrate with. We ate from 1:00pm until 6:00pm--a veritable feast!It started with oysters on the half shell, platters and platters of them. Oysters are a delicacy...