retrouve le chemin

So, spring has finally arrived and I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am! This Frenchy winter had me thinking we were in Siberia or some other desolate winter wasteland (sorry Siberians).



It's been a long time since I last posted, but I don't want to give you a long-winded account of what's been happening. Boriiiing. Briefly, I went on vacation in February. I came back to work after one week spent in the sun/rain in Menton, France (and Monaco!) and the second week in St. Etienne. I really needed that vacation and I enjoyed traveling with Shannon, Ashley, Laura and Brigette.





*the view from "our villa". While traveling we met some other Americans on vacation from their studies in Italy. Ashley informed them that we had rented a villa for the week... Think of a really big apartment complex =ing a villa and that's closer to the truth. It was great all the same :)



Did I mention we were going to a lemon & orange festival? The south of France, apparently, is a huge producer of citrus fruits. Naturally they have a festival to celebrate!



Ahh, the Mediterranean Sea.



The big Casino in Monte Carlo. We felt we were not properly attired to enter such a glamorous place so instead we took pictures out front. Can you believe Grace Kelly was a princess there?? Do you think she ever felt morally opposed to the casino??



Saw this in a molding bathroom stall. Yes, I held my scarf over my face the whole time I was using the toilet for fear of mold entering my lungs. Anyway, it says: Merci, C'est Dieu d'univers qui donné la victoire, Jean 5.14 (though when I checked the scripture it didn't really jive with the sentence "Thank you, It's the God of the Universe who has given victory"...maybe I misunderstood something).



Soaking up some much needed sun in Monte Carlo..mmmmm.



Beautiful port and the rolling sea.



My week in Saint Etienne, while restful, was full of ministerial activities. On Friday the Gorrells, Raphaël, Horace and myself headed to Grenoble to meet up with a friend, Lahat. The Gorrells had a meeting in Grenoble with their mission and Lahat invited us for dinner afterward. This is me trying to out wrestle a Swissy. Unfortunately for me, Mr. Horace, from Bénin, decided to help out Raph and I ended up losing. I'm sorry, America, if I've let you down.



This is all of us together except Ruth Ann, who was taking the picture. Ray, Horace, Me, Lahat, Raphaël and Lahat's dad. Lahat is from Sénégal.

I'm currently trying to figure out how to best spend my last two months here in France. I know, I can't believe I'll be leaving in two months either! Time really does fly. For the first part of May I know I'll be spending some time with Rebekah in Spain. As for my two weeks in April I have no idea. All suggestions are welcome!

Sadly I will not be attending Easter Vigils in San Antonio with the Schiffer family this year. Instead I will be heading back to Geneva for a youth weekend (Pâques 2010) at the Bible school there. I'm excited about getting to spend some time with the youth in a God-centered environment; I'm really praying that these kids would take advantage of the teachings that will be offered as well as the Christian fellowship. They have so few opportunities to interact with Christians their age that I think this weekend will kind of blow them away. Please feel free to join me in praying for the kids :)

The Lord is so good. I reread a passage in Isaiah yesterday that I thoroughly enjoyed.

But now thus says the Lord , he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life." Isa 43:1-4

I hope you're having equally lovely weather. Que Dieu te bénisse aujourd'hui!

les yeux qui nous regardent

"In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people's trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God!" 2 Corinthians 5:19-20

I'm listening to 'His Renown' by Watermark and I feel like it just speaks to many things that have happened to and around me this week.

"Who will we say He is for the little eyes watching you and me?

We just can't wash our hands of this and walk away
And blame the ones before us 'cause it's easier to say
Than to listen to His heart beating for the coming age

So let the hands go up around the world in surrender
And let the voices echo out a new sound
So the ones who come behind us
Will follow in His name and see the greatness of His renown

We are a doorway and window to the truth
We have one passage of time
What will we say then?
How will we live?
This burning passion is a gift

So let the hands go up around the world in surrender
And let the voices echo out a new sound
So the ones who come behind us
Will follow in His name and see the greatness of His renown"

It's good to share with others what we know about the Lord, in what we say and how we live. As the French would say, "Ça fait du bien".

Ça déchire

There are a couple of students who live at the school during the week and I see them at the cafeteria every night. Each week I learn a new phrase or expression and the boarders always have the best ones.

For example: (Expression, literal French translation, equivalent English expression)
"Ça déchire!!" -- That tears -- Awesome!
"Ça pète!!" -- That farts--Excellent!
"C'est mortel!!" --That's mortal/fatal--Awesome!

If I'm not 100% correct on the translations, I hope you'll forgive me. Anyway, the above expressions have become a part of my daily vocabulary and I just love tossing out a 'ça déchire!' or 'ça pète' around the young guns. They MDR (mort de rire, die from laughing) when I speak their lingo...or try to, haha.

Everyone I work with has been buzzing about what they'll be doing over the upcoming vacation. We have a two-week break in February which corresponds to no holiday I ever had in school. In Louisiana we did have a week for Mardi Gras, but I'm not sure if that still exists. In any case, these kids have to go to until the first week of July, so I'm all for a two week va-cay in Feb-ray!

Shannon has been trying to put together a little trip to the Côte d'Azur for the Festival Citron de Menton during the first week of our vacation. Right now we are looking at renting an apartment for a week and splitting the cost between 4 or 5 girls. I hope it all works it out because Lord knows I need me some sunshine. We'd be at the edge of the beach...lazing around...for a week. Ahhh what bliss :)

As for my little slumber party last Saturday, we did indeed have a 'nuit blanche' and I still haven't caught up on my sleep. That's the problem with hanging out with young people, you know. Seriously friends, I'm turning into more of an old lady with each day. While sitting in my living room yesterday I thought, "Now where is my housecoat?" ...



To make matters worse, I've been having some digestion problems (surprise) and I bought an economy-sized bag of prunes, prune compote, prune/blueberry yogurt, broccoli, coffee and I've been downing mineral oil. FYI: Mineral Oil is disgusting to swallow. Not very much makes me gag, but I just want to heave that stuff up as soon as I feel it gliding down my throat. Yuck.

The only thing keeping me from being Mr. Rogers is an electronic train set and a magical puppet world on the stage one set over from my house set. Nah, I have a real apartment; you can ask Mr. McFeely if you don't believe me!

It's strange to be young and feel so old. I would take a nap everyday and turn in at 8 pm if my body would let me. For some reason, right around 8:30 I get this energy surge and I'm up until...well I won't tell you because my mother would be worried. Let's just say I'm up until an unholy hour and you can think what you want.




Ok, kids. Well, I'm outie cuz I have a bus to catch. I hope you are well this week and enjoy a blessed weekend.

Scripture Memory:

'Jésus répondit "Il est écrit: L'homme ne vivra pas de pain seulement, mais de toute parole qui sort de la bouche de Dieu".'
Matthieu 4.4

Actualités: Egalité

I'd forgotten how much I like "Hide & Seek" by Imogen Heap. Today while skimming my iTunes library for a jogging mix (hold your applause) I came across this treasure. Catlin gave me her version of the same song for a CD made to raise awareness about the political discord *ahem* between China and Tibet.

This week I've been doing lessons about Martin Luther King, Jr. since we celebrated his birthday this past Monday. I found a really upbeat video of his last speech in Memphis by my favorite auto-tuners on youtube. Every time I watch it this overwhelming sensation to change the world hits me. When I think about what I want to do in the future, I can see myself dedicating my life to the movement Rosa Parks, MLK Jr. and so many others started way back when. I was perusing the NAACP website today, but didn't really find what I was looking for... Time will tell.

Social Justice is the theme of the week, serieux! In reading one of my favorite blogs, I followed a link to this article at NPR. Basically women are taking over the world. It's about time.

Still reading? Ok.

Well, not really... The article just shows some new numbers from Pew research concerning marriage trends. Seems that more and more women are becoming the breadwinners (gentlemen, are you happy?) and marrying less intelligent men (ahhh, life is vicious sometimes, isn't it, ladies?). The last bit of the article was more encouraging as it noted that people with more education are more likely to get married despite the reality that many girls leave college without the infamous MRS degree. So, yay.

Haïti may become my lesson plan for my Secondes next week. Social justice has been the theme this week, but I'm thinking I can make civil rights and justice more tangible for them if I can show them authentic altruism... Civil Rights just seems so long ago and far away from where they are today. I tried to compare discrimination in the States with discrimination in France and it really wasn't computing for most of my kids. They live in a different world, it's true, and so do I, for that matter. My foreignness never escapes me. I need a Diet Dr. Pepper, srsly.

In other news, I'm hosting a slumber party chez the Gorrells on Saturday. "Une Nuit Blanche" as the French would say, meaning a night without sleeeeeeep. That's exactly what I expect with three teenage girlies.

Colton visited this weekend. I was a bit stressed about him making all the connections on his own, but he managed just fine and made it to Germany with relatively few problems. Susi and I had a great time being hostesses at our apartment and at others' apartments in Saint Etienne. Thanks to Françoise and the Gorrells for hosting all three of us. I've been so blessed by people hosting me this year. The Lord continues to show me His love and it's abundantly clear when my friends are willing to open up their homes and hearts to me. God is good!

All right friends, I really need to get to exercising this bod, so I'm gonna head out for a jog. You would all be so impressed with my handstand. It just gets better everyday!



Much love to you from me where ever you are and may the Lord draw you closer to Himself.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année...un peu en retard!

Chers Compatriotes...

I hope this new year will refresh and rejuvenate you wherever you are! Some wonderful, funny, bizarre and normal things have happened to me in the last seven days leading me to believe that 2010 will be an adventurous year.

For those who are interested in the chaos before Christmas, skip to the next paragraph. For those who are interested in the what's happening now, move on to the paragraph beginning with '...'. For those who are uninterested in everything I've already written, please navigate away from this page.

Well, two weeks before the Christmas holidays I was having a bit of trouble getting my plans in order.


I didn't have plane tickets, I didn't have train tickets and I hadn't bought Christmas presents.

Thankfully something lit a fire under me (thank you Clint Whatley for the phrase of the century) and I got things shaking around St. P. After shopping at the local Tabac for a Twilight calendar and cookies and an African art exhibition, I had the majority of my presents taken care of in three hours. The principal of my school, out of the profound kindness of his heart, gave me an extra week off of school for traveling purposes with no strings attached. That enabled me to purchase an affordable, Paris-Houston plane ticket during the 'cheap and semi-restricted period'. Finally, my church in Saint Etienne is supported by a Korean lady from California who happened to be randomishly working in Paris, and when I asked her, offered a place for me to sleep the night before my flight.

All these things were stressing me to the max, but God in His infinite goodness provided for each thing.

Christmas was lovely and I still contend that there's nothing like Christmas at home. My mom said this year was her favorite Christmas of all time, and I'd like to think it's because I wrapped the presents so well. Courtney, you can argue with me if you like, but rolling a t-shirt up in Christmas paper and twisting the ends so that the gift looks like a big piece of candy is elegant.

Most of the family is doing well and my grandmother celebrated her 80th birthday this year! So 2009 while a bit turbulent, ended on a good note.

As for seeing my buddies in Texas, I must say 'chapeau' to the gals in Dallas. We had a blast and my besties came from all over Texas to spend the night in the Big D. We drank margaritas, played Guess Who?, ate tomato soup, talked ourselves senseless, laughed our heads off at Piggie's and enjoyed all the time we spent together. I love them girlies.

Le Jour de l'An was spent in Francey with the Cordier family. We stayed in a village outside of Tours at the Cordier family's country home. Maryke and the Blaise family were in attendance as well. We ate a traditional Chin-french-ese meal for New Year's including escargots, beaucoup de vin, shrimp dumplings and speculoos!

Actually speculoos is neither French or Chinese, but it's delicious and I know how to make it.

S-P, Marie et moi. Sparkling juice anyone?

Thanks Mommy for the horns!

As you can see, we had a blast aaaallll night long.

Even when the kids busted out the video games.

And buddy boy, I've never seen so many adults get down....

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, DDR has returned!

Since then things have been a bit calmer. We had a lot of snow this weekend and that may traveling hard for me. Again the Lord provided for me and all turned out well.

Be blessed this year you friends and inconnues! I wish you nothing but the best and that God's glory would shine upon you.
Luke 2:14
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
Luc 2.14
"Gloire à Dieu au plus haut des cieux! Et paix sur la terre aux hommes qu'il aime."

le bazar de ma vie!

Well hello everyone! I'm just sittin' fancy here in France-y. Today marks my ?? day on the other side of the Atlantic among the Europeans. I think I've finally started to fit in because I've started to sport a wool sweater-jacket and black boots. As soon as I open my mouth, however, it's back to foreigner land I go. So funny how conversation changes when the natives find out you're not one of them...

Anyway, I've had a hilarious evening.

Nearly every weekend since I've been in France I've traveled back to Saint Etienne. My church family is there and I feel sincerely wanted, so I return again and again. This weekend was no exception and I've just propped my feet up in St. Pourçain after a long day of traveling back from the Rhône-Alpes.

Just to get an idea of why I had a hilarious night, this is what my schedule is like Vendredi-Lundi (Friday-Monday) ::

Friday >> leave from St. Pourçain at 1:09 pm, arrive in St. Etienne 5:00 pm
<< Monday leave from St. Etienne 12:33 pm, arrive in St. Pourçain 6:15 pm

Now, before I explain in more detail why I am a klown for the village people of St. Pourçain, let me tell you I am not complaining about the travel time. The opportunity to be with my church family and friends in Saint Etienne definitely merits the exhausting travel from St. Pourçain. Bear in mind that by car, St. Pourçain is two hours from Saint Etienne...

So, story: Tonight, per usual, I was on the school bus from Vichy back to St. Pourçain. The bus picks us kiddies up in Vichy at 5:10 pm and usually arrives between 6 and 6:15. We arrived at 6:15 and, per usual, I allowed everyone else to 'descend', or get off, the bus before me. Now before you go thinking I'm such a saint, let me remind you that I travel with a backpack that's the size of two small children and weighs as much too. It would really be heinous of me to elbow my way off the bus first while swinging my beast of a sack around the bus. So all the school kiddies got off and then the slow people and then me. As I'm saying thank you sir to the chauffer, I miss my step going down and, yes, tumble off the bus rather awkwardly. Fortunately there some spectators around to laugh and sort of catch me. My friend, another bus driver named Pascal, quickly tossed his cigarette before reaching out to help me and saying, "Whoa Brooke, whoa!". Was I humiliated? Mmmm, when I walked away, yes. While I was standing chattering with Pascal, all I could think was, "I really need to pee and I'm glad I didn't twist my ankle." Thank you Lord for the small bodily distractions, cause otherwise my neck to my face would've been bright red in front that giggling gaggle of people.

Everything else here has been quite dandy. Much to my surprise and elation the weather is still quite agreeable!

I have more to say, but I've gotta get working before Susi comes back. We share the webs and she needs to prepare some lessons for her classes tomorrow. The teachers are striking tomorrow, so maybe her work will be in vain. Who knows...

Love you all.
God is good. Psalms 34:8


PS. For those of you who care, and those of you who don't, I've seen New Moon twice. Both times in French. And, yes, I'm slightly embarrassed of myself. But, it was fun!! Both times!!!

SliDeSHoW

I have a post about my time in Switzerland written somewhere around here, but I just had to put up this slideshow cuz it's brilliant!




And, I just realized that everything I am learning to do revolves around food. Well, nearly.