12 (Douze) I was crowned, and other random events…
I never thought this moment would come. Sometimes reaility is different than expectation. As I lay flat on my back, a very bright light in my face, and mouth as wide open as I could muster, I was coronated. There was no clapping. But it was In France…by a real French person…with a real French Crown. I didn’t exactly ask for the record of her bloodline but let us just imagine. The French crown is sort of unassuming. It is white in color and resides in the background. I like that! I do wonder about the return of the French Revolution and the guillotine. It didn’t spare anyone. If you wore a crown, off with your head. I will be keeping my mouth shut and head down.
The story of how I joined the royal family to receive my French Crown is very unceremonious. As I was eating popcorn, I broke my tooth…
We have been very busy and thus tardy with our posts. It’s time to catch up….
We had quite a few visitors this month! Keith and Karen Wedel from Roxton Falls were the first of our visitors. They flew into Paris and made it to our house on February 13. I believe they stayed in France for a little over a week. We also had a young man named Joseph visit at the same time from the Czech Republic. (He has a sister in Lyon, France).
Here is one little humourous story to share about when they were with us. The guest bed had been having problems and we needed to get some replacement wood bracing. So, Keith, Joseph, and I headed to LEROY MERLIN for supplies. We picked out the matching boards and Keith suggested we buy a handsaw to cut them. I was thinking of Lowe’s and how they cut boards for free, no problems. (Don’t compare with USA). We made our way to the back of the store and there was a cut station. To have them cut the boards we first registered our name, phone number, address, income for the last 3 years, pants and shirt size, and most importantly…if we approved of the American Political system. This was tricky as you can imagine. If we answered the wrong way on the last question, they may cut us instead of the boards! (Just to clarify, I was in jest about all that except the first 2 questions). So we waited for about 15 minutes and Voila! Keith was texted and told we were second or third in the queue. We got to the cut station and the other people in front of us had cleared out already. (Maybe they answered the questions incorrectly?). We gave the man (3) 1x4 boards to cut into 9 pieces. He looked at them in disgust and said, ‘No, these are too small. We will not cut! ‘. To small? Seemed backward to me. He followed up with, ‘You will have to cut these by hand. There is a handsaw in the front of the store. ‘. Bienvenue (welcome) to France.! My guess is in France the saw must be considered sacred. We had disrespected the saw. Because in France there is always a chain of command to everything. Maybe even in the sawlife.
While Keith and Karen were here, we made a trip to visit several contacts. The first contact was in Paris. Her name is Karin. She welcomed us in and gave us pistachios, peanuts, dates, and almonds to snack on. She also offered loose-leaf tea and café. She said people like giving her chocolate and she is tired of it and wants to eat healthy. It felt like we were back in California! She is from Algeria originally. The Mediterranean coast has a similar climate to the West Coast. Karin had a very warm spirit… It felt good to talk to her and share hearts. She told us about her son who is quite involved with the Virtual World. She asked us to pray for him. Let’s do this for her sake. We sang some songs together and had a prayer.
We then headed to the Alsace Region of France. This is about a 6-hour drive from Paris. We didn’t get into the area until night fall and the terrain changed a lot from Paris. It was quite hilly and the fog was creeping in. Our destination was the Monastery of St. Odile. (It has been made into a place for lodging.) As we continued climbing the fog was getting denser and denser and then the road narrowed and there were no more marks on the road except the reflector on the side away from a sheer drop-off. (Makes sense right?). As these things usually go, the inside of the car gets rather quiet and everyone focuses on the road. A certain part of the area turned into blowing fog, which I’ve never experienced. Quite similar to driving snow but you still have traction. We found the old chateau built on a huge rock and got into our rooms at 9:30 or so. It was charming and warm and cozy inside.
In the morning we headed down to meet a contact near Strasbourg. She wanted to help pay for a box of tracts she had requested in January. It was amazing to hear her story. She had traveled from France to Mexico to pass out tracts in January because she felt like those people needed to hear the gospel. She described dire situations in Mexico but she had been happy to spread the Word.
At lunch, we visited a couple in Barr, France. Some of our people have been in contact with them. Thierry and Denise Blessinger are their names. She is from a military family and grew up in Germany and Seattle. They both speak English very well. Denise is a descendant of the Jewish families that used to be in this area. The Alsace area has changed hands between the French and Germany many times. Can you imagine one day being in the USA and the next in Mexico? You would have to learn a different language, money, tax laws, etc. Over the years these Jews suffered persecution and then in World War 2, they were sent to Concentration Camps. Ironically ,the Barr, France area is about 30 minutes away from where the Amish were founded. Whoever has a Pennsylvania Dutch background has some ties to this fragmented area. If you look at the area on Google Maps (RHINE RIVER VALLEY) you will see it’s a very rich farming area. Back to Thierrys..Denise cooked us up a good meal and then Thierry took us on a long walk up the mountainside through the grapes growing on the hillsides. He is a very knowledgeable history buff and it was an interesting walk. He told us that in WW2, even though this area was considered Germany, the men of the village had been sent over to fight with the Russian army. The Germans didn’t trust the men of the Alsace region because they were not perceived to be loyal to the ‘Motherland’. I asked Thierry what would have happened if the men of the area had stayed to fight the Americans in 1944. He answered quickly, “Of course, we would have laid the rifles down and welcomed them in!”. While we hiked to the top of the hill and overlooked the town, Thierry described in detail how the battle took place in 1944. Very interesting if you appreciate history. Thierry and Denise would ask for your prayers also. He rides the train for 4 hours, ( 2 hours there and 2 hours back ) to get to and from his accounting job. Rain or sun. And he works a full day on top of it. They would like to move out of town to a place in the country…Something to pray for…
We left Sunday morning and hurried home. Joseph had wanted to have a church service with us on Sunday. We gathered in our living room and sang some French songs. We then had a little SS discussion and then Keith shared some thoughts with us in French and English. It was a special service.
Thanks for all the prayers and the support we feel. Especially the ones helping us in Guntersville that are making this all possible…you know who you are…
PS. Louis XIII keeps coming around. He has long black hair (fur) and shows great taste in food. We offered him milk in a dish but he only wants pieces of French sausage and French cheeses. Even the cats have preferences in France!
-Tyson-
p.s.s. From Lydia- I will write a blog next week to report on visiting a Gypsy community on the outskirts of Paris…..Also about our special visitors from Poland!! Missionaries Aaron and Deanna Haynes and co. , Emily Boese and Vince and Jenn Toews….(((Have a good Spring break Guntersville!!!!)))
