Vingt-et-un (21)-Lavender Fields, Hitchhikers, & A Stolen Car..
Bonjour à tous,
Here are the happenings of October…
((We will try to write together again…hopefully it won’t be confusing!))
T & L
In September, we received a message from a contact in southern France. He told us that a church group near Marseilles needed some help and wondered if we would come check it out. The man who contacted us is a deacon in a similar church nearby and sometimes comes and helps this little church. We visited him and his wife and children in April. (Jeremey and Sabrina) They were the family who had built a new house, and we had an amazing French meal with them and their first cousin ( who spoke a little English.) I recall it was the cousin's first time in the new house as well. I remember him saying, “Ok, Ok, très bien, Bienvenue (welcome) to the Trump house.” (It was his way of saying it was a “very nice” house, I guess).
We left at daybreak and drove 9 hours to a motel near Aix-en-Provence, a famous region known worldwide for its lavender production. The next morning, we arrived at the village where the church was located. It was far up in the hills surrounding Marseilles, and we could watch the airplanes entering the regional airport.
We were slightly apprehensive as we made our way to the church. What would it be like? Would they be friendly? What kind of service was it? Also, Southern France's accent differs slightly from that of Northern France, as they are close to Spain and Italy. It takes a little bit to get used to. One consolation was that the people in southern France have always been very friendly. Luckily, Jeremey was already there to welcome us in. We tried to find an inconspicuous seat near the back and found out later we were sitting in the seat of the Speaker Man! It wasn’t a very big crowd, about 18-20 people.
We sang off a projector during the service, and it was nice to sing with a group again. Another interesting thing was that they had a “quiet time." (It may not be the best phraseology, but you get the point.) We all sat quietly, and then someone in the small group would begin to pray about a certain situation, a prayer for strength for weakness, or a prayer for unbelievers or the countries at war. They were very vulnerable in their praying, and listening was special.
The pastor delivered a well-rounded sermon, and then there was a communion service (we didn’t partake). We met some very interesting people. Every person has a story to tell—a life spent pursuing what? Usually, there will be a person who has learned English and wishes for an opportunity to practice with somebody.
One couple introduced us to some people they pick up from the homeless shelter every Sunday on their way to church. They bring them for the service and, after, feed them lunch. We left with a good feeling about them, even if it is quite a different setting than what we are used to. Continue to pray for these situations, as it is difficult to understand the best option to help. On the way out of the church, we saw our tracts from Gospel Tract and Bible on the rack. (It was a special, quaint little church building; quiet, small, and cozy. It reminded me of the little mission church there in Mtn. Grove, Mo., when it was at the Old Rose Hill market building. It brought back some sweet memories. -L-)
We thought maybe after church, Jeremey and Sabrina would eat lunch with us somewhere, but she had a nasty sinus infection and had missed most of the church service. I felt bad for her; she looked miserable. So we said our goodbyes at church.
It was way past lunch; we knew the options for finding a place to eat would be limited. Quite a few restaurants are closed on Sundays in France. For sure, the restaurants that the native French operate. After looking for a while, Lydia suggested we pick up some food from the grocery store and have a little picnic. ((Sometimes a picnic hits the spot! The kids were enthused. They feel like guinea pigs at times being experimented on with different foods!))
We found a little grocery store specializing in locally grown products and hurried in! “Allez, allez.” (Go! Go!). You will hear these words a lot in France. The store was closing in 15 minutes…We chose olives grown in an area near Cassis and some chèvre. (Goat cheese). We ended up with a great assortment of options…(some grapes, apples, olive oil, pistachios, walnuts). Then we hurried to the Boulangerie next door before they closed. Three baguettes for the road!
We had a place on Google Maps scoped out for a picnic. The Waldenses hid out in this certain area many years ago. We didn’t realize that they picked the area for difficult access! What felt like 300 curves later, we ended up at the base of a mountain on the edge of a lavender field!
We were so far out of the way that on one steep dirt road, we were met by a truckload of men in orange hunting gear who stopped and asked if we needed help. When hunters stop by on a nice sunny Sunday and offer some assistance, take note: you have gone far enough!
I put the Peugeot 5008 in reverse and with a Big Lurch. We were on the field road by the lavender field. Lydia said, “Right here. This will be great.” We sat munching our little meal, all food raised within 30 minutes of this spot. There were fluffy clouds overhead and the mountains behind us. We sat breathing the lavender-perfumed air; we couldn’t help but agree with the Waldenses that it was a perfect hideaway!
The next day was Sterling’s birthday. We decided to check out the nearby “Grand Canyon of Europe” for something special. This is a canyon that is the deepest gorge in Europe. It was simply amazing! (Sterling’s only regret was that he didn’t have his bike with him!) There was a little village built on the side of the canyon. It was a neat little town to stroll through. Every area in France seems to have a special feel, but the Provence region is hard to compare with! It has the highest spot in Europe and the deepest, not far from each other. Plus, you have lavender fields, and olive orchards sprinkled all over the hills nearby, with little unmanned farm stands selling honey or lavender products. A place where, without thinking, you find yourself saying, “Maybe we should move here.?”
Le Gorge du Verdon-Grand Canyon of Europe
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie-village in the canyon
On our way back to Lille, we passed through the city of Grenoble. It won the distinguished award for being the best town to live in worldwide! I’ll drop a link below for the FCs. (fact checkers) Yes, I have lots of cousins who are known for that activity. ;-)
Article 1-The best city to live in article
Article 2- Lest you were still in doubt :))
We picked up hitchhikers at two different stops in this area. One, we met hitching near a roundabout. You could see she was in a bad situation; she was weeping and disheveled. She had been abandoned by her friends the night before, 3 hours from her home, with a dead cell phone and no way to charge it. She cried for the first 5 minutes, and then we got it out of her that she needed a ride to a train station. Over the next 15 minutes, she would go into quiet periods and then cry more. It was a bit of a tense situation. We felt sorry for her and gave her some tracts with our number on the front. We never heard from her, so we hoped she made it home.
The other girl we picked up was very cheerful and could speak a little English. She said she didn’t have a car and liked to “faire du stop” (hitchhike) instead. She explained that it gave her a chance to meet all kinds of different people. It was interesting to hear about her life in the 30 minutes that we were with her. It is true, you definitely would get to know people, but it sure seemed a little dangerous to us, but hey, to each their own!
In the end, Grenoble was a fantastic area, as we had read, and we loved driving through it. However, judging from the number of hitchhikers, It did seem like there was a shortage of money for buying a car…
Somewhere in the middle of the month, we woke to a startling discovery. Sterling had just finished eating his stack of Jonnie cakes and had walked outside to get something out of the car. He came back in with a bewildered look..”Uh, Mom, where is the car??” Uh-oh! Our car had been stolen in the night. (it was locked, and both keys were inside the house;/) Tyson and Sterling were about to head out on a trip that morning, so we rushed around to get a rental car! We dropped them off at the airport in Brussels and drove straight back to file a police report at the local police department. It has still not been found, but the leasing company had a new Peugeot 5008 waiting in Paris for us a week later! It was slightly disconcerting, but I guess all is well that ends well!
We got some unexpected visitors on the 23rd. Wow! Were we ever pleased when our friends Ralph and Nancy Thiessen (Justin and Monica’s parents) texted and said they were flying into Paris for a little vacation to visit friends in Germany and Switzerland. Would we have a little bit of an opportunity to see them? Of course!!!! Do you know how lovely it is to sit in a coffee shop and sip pumpkin lattes with people you know? And who know other people you know?? (by the way, the pumpkin lattes were the real deal, not just syrup!) It was lovely to be with them, and watching their little rental car drive away was hard!!!!!!!!
A few Sundays ago, it felt like we had a real church service! We had three couples here, along with Phillipe, our local attendee. The Andries family from Roxton Falls, Quebec, was visiting their grandmother in Belgium and stopped in for the day. Phillipe showed up right on time, all dressed up “French style.” He was very pleased to meet more church members and have a service. Thierry A. gave a nice introduction, Hugues A. gave the sermon, and Jesse followed up with some thoughts. They did a fantastic job! We were very thankful! Everyone stayed for a meal of Boeuf Bougingioun. There was lots of visiting (and coffee), and we could tell Phillipe enjoyed the French speakers from Canada! :))
The next day, on Monday, the London missionaries arrived with sister Subrina (who joined the church in London a few years back and was originally from Bangladesh). The missionaries are Dalys and Karin Thiessen from Dewberry. They were with us until Thursday; getting to know them and showing them France was lovely. We had some good talks and good laughs! They even got in on some tract packaging and tract work with us. We were in the village of Tourcoing passing out tracts with them a day shy of the anniversary of our coming to France a year earlier. This was the area where our first Airbnb was!
On the VISA front….we are still waiting to hear if our VISAS will be renewed. They are still just in “submitted” status…(a.k.a. they have not been looked at yet). That is fine for now. We have little papers that say we are okay being in the country until a decision is made either way. So we wait and have faith that God will work all these things out for us. We can do what we can, but God knows the big picture! :)
