France Journal

FRANCE JOURNAL

Day 1
Monday, May 28, 2007
Because of the time change, yesterday and today morphed into one for me. I left Ankeny at 9:15 Sunday morning heading for the Des Moines airport after meeting the Express mail delivery woman this morning at the Post Office to pick up my passport. At the airport I checked in and got my tickets – I was originally going to fly through Atlanta but ended up going through Cincinnati instead. Flying standby can be a pain since you never know if you’re going to make from one place to the next – fortunately I made it out ok on the 11:10 flight to Cincy. I sat next to a woman named Pat who was from Philadelphia and had flown out with her mother to visit some family. She was flying back alone because her mother ended up in the hospital and wasn’t able to make the trip back. It was only in the sovereignty of God that we sat next to each other on that flight. I learned throughout our conversation that Pat was a Roman Catholic and so I was hoping for a chance to share Christ with her. She was a very open woman – going through a tough time because of her mom’s condition, and seemed to be very close to her family. I tried to give different references to God’s control in our lives – even over our suffering – hoping this would be a comfort to her. She was very grateful for our conversation, as I was also since Katie and I had broken up the night before and just talking about spiritual things brought great comfort to me. During the layover Pat allowed me to share some more verses with her and so I went through Romans 1-3 showing that every man is guilty before God. I wanted to make sure she understood the Gospel very clearly – she mentioned faith in God a few times but that can mean so many different things today. Anyways, she followed very closely and then when I read Romans 10:9 she stopped me and said: “you know, that verse is SO important!” She then explained to me how she used to be under a tremendous burden of guilt constantly, believing she was not worthy of God’s forgiveness, until a friend shared this verse with her and she was then able to trust that God had forgiven her. This convinces me that Pat has received the salvation of the Lord by faith though she continues to be a practicing Roman Catholic. She even mentioned something very interesting about a priest she went to one time who told her that she doesn’t need to confess her sins to any man per se, but that she could go directly to God with it. I am hoping to keep in touch with Pat and that she will grow in the Lord.
From Cincy I was able to catch the only flight into Paris which left at 7:30 that night – in fact I was lucky enough to get first classJ I could talk about the perks of first class for a page or so – but suffice to say I was very grateful to be able to sleep some on the trip over. I arrived in Paris CDG airport at 9:30 local time. First stop was baggage – everything was there thankfully. Next I found my way from my terminal to the Subway station which was in between two other terminals. Before getting a ticket I had to find a phone card which wasn’t too hard – then I was able to buy a subway pass as well as a one-way ticket to Thionville. Now the fun began.
I called my connection to tell them I was due in at 4:30, then I boarded the subway at the airport and rode into downtown Paris which was much bigger than I imagined. Downtown I got off one subway and found my way to different line. I rode this one for only 1 stop where I was supposed to find a different train system completely that would take me to Thionville. Finally someone pointed me upstairs and I came out in the middle of downtown Paris, right across the street from the Train station. In the train station I had to find my train on the tv monitors and wait for the platform number to be announced (30 different platforms or so). Everything went well with about 20 minutes to spareJ - I took this train to Metz where I had to get off and board a different train to Thionville. I got in right on time and Dr. Stauffacher was there waiting for me. The rest of the evening was relaxing thankfully and I went to bed pretty much right after dinner (7:30).

Day 2
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Today I met many people at the Bible institute. I had a good conversation with a man named MichelJ - he spoke fairly good English – and with a man named Xin who was from China studying abroad in France and also spoke good English. It was interesting to hear the different cultures relating to food as well as to church life and different things like that. This evening we had a Bible study – I didn’t understand a word of it, but it was fun to try and sing along and pronounce the words correctly.

Day 3
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Today I painted for 6-7 hours with a man named Jose who didn’t understand a word of English. He tried his best to give me instructions and I tried to follow them. Fortunately painting isn’t too complicated so we made a pretty good team. I think I’m supposed to help him put some flooring down later this week....that could get a little more interesting. So far the meals have been pretty decent. Nothing too exotic to eat. Tonight definitely wasn’t my favorite – even though it was a fancy banquet for them..........I had bread with smeared sausage (like a jelly), and smeared fish.....I had prunes wrapped in bacon.........salad with a bitter sauce and bitter cheese..........and little sandwich thingies with tomatoes and other interesting bits on them. Dessert was good – angel food cake with strawberry topping, brownie, and vanilla ice cream. This banquet lasted for over 3 hours – it was an end of the year thing and good-bye to the Stauffachers who are moving (they’re the ones I’m staying with). It consisted of a really long slide show and a game where each student guessed which student was being described. Once again I sat there and tried not to look like a dumb American who didn’t know any French. I’m out.


Friday, June 01, 2007
Well today I went out to Joelle Stauffacher’s house (John’s daughter) – she is now married to a man named Johan or something like that. His parents were also there so everyone spoke French most of the time and once again I was lost. Twice Johan offered me some wine to go with my meal and later with the cheese – this is very customary in France – wine is perhaps the thing they are most proud of in their houses. The meal consisted of lentils and potatoes, bread, and salad - pretty typical French lunch (their big meal of the day). It was good to talk with John on the way back about the culture and ministering as a Christian in France. I also got a chance to interview Xin today – it was very beneficial. His testimony is blessed. Well I’m pretty tired now. Yesterday I hiked along one side of the Algrange valley – at the top of the hill. I got to see some pretty cool cites – like Notre Dame (a catholic grotto on the side of the hill). Then I ran back from the Bible Institute to Stauffachers.’ Off to bed am I.

Sunday, June 03, 2007
Well it is almost 11:00 PM and class starts at 8 so I won’t be too long here. Yesterday was a full day. In the morning I helped Margaret unload the attic in preparation for their move in 2 weeks. In the afternoon I did yard-work for John......Mowing is an absolute pain here in Algrange. Every square inch of his law is sloped and it exists on 4 different levels. There are dividers, fences, shrubbery, and everything you can imagine to form obstacles and his lawn mower is electric to boot. Just a day at the mill for the European I suppose. Everything over here seems more difficult than in the states. I also went for a run and did some pull-ups on a railing over the entry way. Then I packed up and moved over to the dorms in the institute before dinner. After dinner Ariel (the other Faith student) and I played a couple of card games with Anne and Linda (Anne is French and Linda is from CHAD). Both of them speak very limited English – first Anne taught us a game, then we taught them a game. It was actually lots of fun trying to overcome the language barrier.
Today we went to an English speaking church in Luxembourg. We met several Americans and some foreigners as well. There were 2 girls in front of us – the one was from Germany but spoke very clear English; the other was from Luxembourg and knew 6 languages! (English, French, German, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, and Philippino)
After the morning service we went to the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg – that was quite a site. Very beautiful place and very sobering as well to think of all the men that gave their lives for our country and for the world. Every grave was decorated with a cross – a picture of the ultimate selflessness.
This afternoon we just hung around the institute – I watched highlights of the CAVS winning the Eastern conference finals for the first time everJ The other two guys from Central East are interesting – Jamie is really soft-spoken and a pretty cool guy...Dr. Windsor seems to be very knowledgeable. Tomorrow we start class – can hardly wait..........peace.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Monday we started class.....Monday night I went out to Thionville with Michel, Anne, Fred, Mi-Mi, David, Jamie, and Ariel to a fair. It was very American – even had a “Las Vegas” sign and a “Bellagio” sign. We rode the bumper cars, ate cotton candy and walked around for a while. After that we went to Madeline’s house – a middle-aged single woman who speaks very good English –she will be the Hebrew prof at the institute next year. We basically just talked to each other and laughed and had a good time. Communication flowed pretty easily even without the best understanding of words. We then came back and played cards for a while – hearts and Uno. It’s funny that some of the same variants to the UNO game were known over here (like jump Uno). Yesterday was tough because I didn’t get very much sleep. Class was ok – Jeff Brown taught Monday and Tuesday on Congregational Rule essentially. He talks very slow – sometimes that’s frustrating but for the most part it was a decent course. Today John Stauffacher began teaching European Church History – this has been very good; he is extremely knowledgeable. I also had a very good discussion with Jamie last night – he is definitely a changed man who is seeking Christ with all of his heart. It’s refreshing to someone so dedicated to Christ. He reminds of Allan Davidson a bit with his NC accent. Today I have much to do.

Thursday, June 7, 2007
Last night we went to a park here in Algrange and played basketball for a while. As soon as we started a dog came running through and tried to grab the ball – he succeeded a couple of times and the owners (kids around age 10) refused to tie him up – they said he should be free. So with the dog on the prowl we really couldn’t play at all so we started chatting with the kids (through Michel and Geraldine). There were 6 of them from ages 4 to about 11 and although they were very cold at first, we invited them to play with us and they loosened up and had a good time. (once they started to play with us they decided to tie up their dog).

Saturday, June 9, 2007
We have done quite a bit with the students this week and that has been a lot of fun. The students that are left here at the institute are: Michel, Jeff and Sarah, Geraldine, Natalie, and Samuel. We played soccer yesterday afternoon with Immanuel and another married student who I can’t remember his name right now (maybe Luciano?). We went down to the public field and a bunch of kids decided to play with us (ended up with about 15 or so). It was a good time. The average European kid is probably a better soccer player than the average American – but it was nothing to write home about. I think many times people like to exaggerate differences between Americans and Europeans (or any other people group) – maybe it makes you look smart if you can tell people how different another culture is or something. In any case – France is just like America for the most part – different architecture, different language, but many similarities.
One difference I have picked up on this week (this may be true only in the Bible Institute) is the time it takes to eat a meal – much longer than in the states. Not one person has accused me of being a slow eater here – and I’m eating much slower than in the states. Breakfast takes around 30 or 35 minutes. Lunch takes at least an hour. Dinner often takes an hour also. You’re sort of expected to hang around and talk for a while after the meal is finished.
Today we took a field trip to Fort Hackenburg built a long time ago by the French as a part of the Mageneau Line that was supposed to protect them from another German attack. It really was fascinating to see this fort – like 10 kilometers of tunnels under ground or something like that. The technology used back then is astounding.
Jeff is staying in my room now – he’s a pretty cool cat. Speaks very little English – but we still have a good time together.
We also had a cookout at the Visser’s tonight with the Risachers. This was enjoyable.

Monday, June 11, 2007
Yesterday we went to Thionville church – about 40-50 people attended. They had prayer time standing up for about 20-25 minutes and throughout this time 3 different individuals started singing a hymn and the congregation would join in. It was unique but well done – I enjoyed it. Yesterday afternoon I did a lot of reading – we went up to Notre Dame and read some up there – then we went and ordered Kabob sandwiches for dinner and brought them back and ate with Geraldine and Nadalie – once again it was fun to try and communicate through hand gestures and such. Today we started class again with Rich Visser. This afternoon was spent writing a paper. French class with Michel has been very profitable – it is similar to Greek in some ways. Tonight after dinner we had a birthday cake in honor of Michel’s birthday (he made it), then we sang for a couple of hours – I taught them many new songs and different ways of playing chords – John Felix learns very quickly. I have really formed some neat friendships here even though we don’t speak the same languages – it’s too bad I couldn’t stay here longer. Linda left today – I just found out that she knew some of the people in V. Ben Kendrick’s book of martyrs. I also said goodbye to John Stauffacher – since he is moving. Bonne nuit.

Wednesday June 13, 2007
Right now we’re telling parking stories/train stories in class – supposedly as an example of culture shock. It’s basically the same cultural shock as a farmer going to the big city for the first time. It seems like our professor is addressing us as people with inferiority complexes or severe paranoia. It reminds me of a counseling session more than a seminary class. I suppose the class is supposed to be on cultural adaptation so maybe it’s hard to find material to put together for it.
Yesterday we had class – then I finished my paper – then we went over to Steve and Viki Pounds’ house for dinner. They have three kids – Joshua, Anna, and Julie. We also met another guy named David who was a Doctoral student from Georgia Tech. We really had an enjoyable time together – Viki told us about her family growing up – her dad got saved out of alcoholism and packed the family up (10 at the time) and moved to Spain to plant churches (from S. America). He had no mission board and no supporting churches – worked as an insurance salesman – philosophy of ministry built off of the Apostle Paul’s methods in the NT.

Friday, June 15, 2007
After class got out we went and played soccer again with a bunch of the locals. Sports is such an easy way to build relationships – after we finished playing I stuck around and did some 1-on1 stuff with 2 guys – both of which had very good foot – skills. I wish I could speak better French so I could talk with them more – I also wish I could stick around longer and play with them some more. If I’m ever a missionary in France I’ve got to try to do something with soccer.
Tonight I stayed up pretty late hanging out with some of the students. First we had a sing-a-long with all the institute people and missionaries and that was fun. Then after most of them had gone we sang some more in just a small group. After that I tried to teach them how to play poker which proved to be very difficult but eventually we did get 1 round in.

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Well today was a very interesting day – a designated travel day for the most part. I got up around 8:40 – thinking we were leaving at 9:40 only to find out that we were leaving at 9:20. This I found out as I was finishing breakfast and before I had started packing.. So, leaving Algrange was a rush which is too bad because I really wanted to take longer to say goodby to everybody. As it was – I gave all the girls 2 kisses and the guys handshakes and ran to the van so nobody would miss the train. Most of the students came out to the street and gave the French version of a deck wave without a deck. From there we drove to Thionville where Dr. Christy caught the first train and Jamie and I caught the second. From here the plan was simple – Jamie and I would ride to Paris where we would have a two and a half hour layover before we caught the train to Bordeaux which we would take with Dr. Christy. So we were going to take the subway across town to see the Eiffel tower and the Arc d’Triumph and then go find our second train station. Everything went well until we got off the subway the first time and Jamie left one of his bags on the train. We then spent the next two hours chasing the train to the end of it’s route and then speaking with people through a translator who spoke very broken English and was under some alcoholic influence. All that and we didn’t even get the bag back – but we ended up hanging with that guy all the way to Bordeaux where he met Dr. Christy and got the address of the church. So maybe God ordained this to bring about his salvation. After arriving in Bordeaux I went straight to a young people’s meeting where they evaluated areas of spiritual growth from the year – I didn’t understand anything but I got to meet several people and kiss some more girls.

Sunday, June 17, 2007
Well, in the last two days I have kissed at least 15 different girls – some aspects of European culture are easier to adapt to than othersJ Today I went to church here in Bordeaux with the Christies – had a very good time. There are lots of fun Christians there who are friendly and easy to talk to in a different language. One boy named Benoit was 11 and sat next to me at the afternoon meal. He spent half the meal teaching me German on the tablecloth. German is difficult enough – but he was teaching me German in French – which made it really interestingJ It was fun building that bond though. In the late afternoon we went to Grant’s baseball game – he plays in a men’s league which is really the only way to play organized baseball in France. The level of competition was pretty sad – comparable to a rec. league baseball team around 16 years old in the states. One pitcher threw maybe in the upper 60’s – some of them were around 45 or 50 though. Tons of basic errors. Grant had a big hit in the last inning that brought his team back. After the game we went downtown Bordeaux to have dinner with his team (mostly men in their 20’s). We met at a Moroccan restaurant and had the upstairs to ourselves – ate on really nice couches and had a feast. Dr. Christy has really tried to bring out cultural differences – he mentioned on the tram that we would need to talk quieter than normal because Europeans are quieter. This group however was not quiet – very American like in their conversation. The difference perhaps was in the length of the meal which lasted about 3 hours.



Monday, June 18, 2007
This morning Pastor Bixby took Jamie and me down to Saint Emilleon and gave us the tour. It was quite an experience to say the least. We took a guided tour down through the Catacombs under the town – over 120 miles of catacombs exist under the city and the surrounding land. This included the largest monolithic church in Europe. The cites were pretty incredible. This afternoon Grant and I did some surveys together in a tram station – it was pretty fun except that I couldn’t understand anything that was said. I could read body language however – and this was similar to the people of the states.....one guy was very cooperative and talked with Grant for quite a while. A black guy dressed in sleek clothes listening to an ipod was polite but too cool to be interested. Several said they would not even participate. Almost all of them were fairly guarded since the survey dealt with what you believe. After this we came back and had dinner – stir-fry is becoming one of my favorites very quickly – I need to make it in the states. Last night we went to a neighbor lady’s house and trimmed her hedge for her – spent like a hour and a half on it – she was very grateful and hopefully the Christies will have further chances to share Christ with her.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Yesterday I did some painting at the church with Dr. Christy, and we also had prayer meeting last night. I gave my testimony while Grant translated. I also practiced with the choir (6 people) which was lots of fun. I noticed tonight that the prayer meeting ratio is poor like in the states. There were only about 10 people there as opposed to 50 or 60 there on Sunday. Today we went down to the tram stations again to evangelize – more surveys and conversations. This does seem like a good idea for ways to make contact with people. I also sat in on a discipleship session between Dr. Christy and John Pierre. I didn’t understand much but it seemed pretty similar to something we would do in the states for discipleship. Tonight we watched Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort DVD’s on evangelism – they gave some good things to think about. I’m not sure I totally agree with everything. We also watched “I Spy” – and all pulled chairs around the computer like my family would do also. Their family is very similar to my family in many ways.

Thursday, June 21, 2007
Today I went to Grant’s baseball practice and participated. Between the three teams that play, there were 5 of us at practice – including me. We took fly balls and BP and that was about it. I did ok for not playing in 6 or 7 yearsJ Nothing culturally caught my attention except perhaps the fact that nobody showed up. I think that’s the nature of the league – men with jobs and things. After practice, Grant and I went downtown Bordeaux for the Festival de Music. This was something to see. There were several hundred thousand people on the streets of Bordeaux all out for the party of the year – June 21st. On this night anyone can set up shop somewhere in a street and perform their music and crowds just gather around to watch. We walked down the longest walking street in Europe which is where most of the bands were set up. We saw almost every kind of music you can think of – including one American Indian on his flute. There were also a ton of drunk people and lots of broken beer bottles and vomit everywhere. At the end we watched some fireworks on the river – pretty decent. I don’t think I’ve ever been to something like this in the states – it was very interesting. I didn’t see any fights break out which surprised me but I did see ambulances and police cars coming and going all night long. We left around 1 and the party was still going strong.

Friday, June 22, 2007
Today I went with Dr. Christy to visit an older lady in the church – we went to read and pray with her – she took over however and preached a heart-felt sermon (I didn’t understand it however). This evening I went to a family’s house in the church to unload a computer for them. I guess he doesn’t come very often but they were a very nice family. Again – there wasn’t much English spoken so we didn’t converse a whole lot....but at the end he pulled out a bottle of South African Wine and asked me if I had ever heard of it. I told him no and he then gave me the bottle and said it was his gift to me. I have officially experienced French cultureJ We also went over to Bixby’s tonight and hung out with a big Bob Jones group which was fun – at least I met some OSU fans so that was cool.

Saturday, June 23, 2007
Today I traveled to Paris by train and met up with the Barnes. Then I toured Paris for the day. The sights were all wonderful and all that......I noticed twice on the subway men who gave preference to others and offered their seats. It was not something I expected to see on the subway. I also enjoyed talking with the Barnes a lot. He told me about the crime in his neighborhood – very rough section, their home has been burglarized on several occasions. I noticed that both of the Barnes not once slipped and spoke French to me – they have been in France for 33 years so none of the other missionaries really have an excuse. I say that only because it really seemed that sometimes some of the other missionaries would speak French to me – and sometimes a lot. It seemed really fake sometimes – like they were trying to show me how much they had adapted into the culture or something. The Barnes are very genuine and very hospitable and I really appreciated them a lot.

Sunday, June 24, 2007
Right now I’m sitting in the airport waiting to see if I will make it out today – it doesn’t look too good – I’m just praying God will work it out so I can make it to Miami before Tuesday morning.

Au’ Revoir!