Towards Reconciliation

A Typical Week

On September 29, 2013

Every day, we open our curtains to LOTS of sunlight and beautiful scenery. There are mountains completely surrounding us here in Albertville, and the mountains look different all throughout the day. M/T and Th/F we have classes we start the day by walking Isaac to nursery, which is on the first floor of our apartment building. He plays with his friends, sometimes does artwork or goes outside, sings songs and hears a little French from his teachers. Isaac takes better naps at his school than he did when we were letting him come up to our apartment for naps. After we drop him off, we walk over to our school which just has a small parking lot in between our school and the apartment building/nursery. We have a devotional and/or worship time with the other students every morning for about 15 minutes before classes begin. From 9:15 – 11:45, we are in class (we have one 15 minute break at 10:30). Kimberly is in and out some with the baby, but since he is a decent sleeper (he naps in the nursery), she is able to attend most if not all of the lessons each day.

At 11:45, we break for lunch. We walk back to our apartment to eat, study, and/or rest. In France, all the local stores, bakeries, and government buildings are closed from noon till around 3pm. There are a couple large grocery stores that Josh sometimes bikes to during lunch if we need some grocery items. It takes him about 15 minutes to bike to these stores. The roads here are all very pedestrian and bicycle-friendly. They have a pedestrian lane and a bicycle lane painted on all the roads, so it is easy to get by without a car.

At 1:50 pm, class begins again. We stay in class until 4:30 (with one 15 minute break at 3). After school, we pick Isaac up and let him play outside with all his little friends in the sandbox. There are tricycles, scooters, basketballs, and a little playhouse that the children love to play with. He is in kid heaven here with almost constant playmates! Kimberly makes dinner and we just do regular bedtime activities. After the kids are in bed, we usually have 1 ½ to 2 hours of studying to do each night just to keep up with the intensive material we cover each day.

Wednesdays, we have no classes, but we both take turns studying or sometimes hire one of the nursery workers to play outside with Isaac for a couple hours so we can get some studying in during the morning. Then, we try to focus on making the rest of the day a fun family day. Sometimes, we take the bus into town and get groceries and eat pizza. Sometimes, we go to a park or just play outside with the other kids. Sometimes, we stroll downtown (a five minute walk) and visit a bakery for a fun treat. Saturdays are similar. We have an evaluation that we both have to complete. So we take turns doing that and then spend the rest of the day having fun.

Sundays, we go to l’Eglise Protestant Evangelique– the one church option we have in Albertville. We are enjoying the church more each week as we are able to understand a little more each week of what is being said in the services! The people are very friendly and we are hoping soon to be more regularly involved in a sort of home group (Kimberly) and a bible study (Josh) that both alternate meetings every other week.

So, there you have it! A typical week in our lives here in France!

kimberly

Isaac in France

By josh

On September 29, 2013

In Family, France

Isaac is learning to say a few things in French. His nursery teachers speak French to each other, so he picks up a little bit. They also have manner words and commands that they use in French to speak to the children. I think most of the time they are still speaking in English to the children for now at least. Here’s a few illustrations of Isaac’s interaction with the French language:

We give Isaac something to eat and instead of saying “Thank you” he will say “Merci!” without us prompting him. He is learning this from nursery, I am sure.
Sometimes, instead of saying, “Merci!” he combines the French word for “thank you” (Merci” with the French word for “please” (S’il vous plait”) and makes his own word, which is, “Merci–vous plait!”
I went to pick Isaac up from nursery last week and was the first mom in the room one day. Isaac jumped up and loudly said, “Moommmmyyy!!!” The teacher said, “Isaac, doucement!” Which means, “Quietly, gently, or slowly.” He quietened right down. Now, Josh and I have started using that word in our home to help him understand when he needs to calm down. So far, it’s been successful.

The French way of interacting with children is a bit different from how we do things in the States. Not wrong or bad. Just different. I am so impressed when I peek in at the children at lunch time and see a completely silent group of toddlers eating lunch and using manners. Isaac never comes home with food on his clothes. He and the other children are also always seated quietly at the table when they are waiting for their parents to pick them up at the end of the day. When the teacher says it is time to “tidy” – they do it. One time I heard Isaac crying in the afternoon and we asked why about 30 minutes later when we came to pick him up. She said, “I am very sorry. Isaac did not get a snack this afternoon because he did not tidy when I told him to.” He has tidied up every day since then. I know they dance and play and have lots of fun during the day, because I peek in some, but Ms. Corrine, the teacher, knows how to keep order with a bunch of toddlers. We could learn a few lessons from her, I think!

A few of Isaac’s favorite things so far in France:

Riding the bus to town
Taking the train to Chambery (an hour away)
Taking bike rides with Daddy (he has his own seat mounted to Josh’s bike with his own blue helmet!)
Playing in the sandbox
Going to the bakery to get a cookie, donut, or fresh bread
Picking a flower every single time we go on a walk (There are LOTS of flowers here and as long as they are outside of a fence, towards the road/sidewalk, we are allowed to pick them.)

First Day of Class

By josh

On September 6, 2013

In France

Today was our first day of actual class. It’s about 2.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 hours in the afternoon. One thing about France – they take a long lunch break in the middle of the day. So the schools actually let out and the parents pick the kids up and then bring them back around 2. Many shops also close for a couple of hours in the middle of the day.

I will be attending full-time, and Kimberly part time for now. She’ll come with me in the mornings, and then get the kids for the afternoon. I’ll go over the lesson from the afternoon with her after the kids go to bed. She may eventually leave the kids all day in the nursery, but for now this works best.

The classes are very intense, with new material covered every day. There’s a test every 7 weeks or so to determine if you move up to the next level or repeat the current level. It will involve speaking, writing, and reading. We have been impressed with the quality of the teaching staff. Our teacher has a university degree in linguistics and has been teaching at the school for like 15 years. I think she will be a great teacher.

josh

Thoughts from our First Week

By josh

On September 3, 2013

In Family, France

Wow, crazy week. We’re finally feeling a little more settled. After the first few days here we started working on getting Judah to sleep on his own. Amazingly, it only took about 2 days of working with him (and listening to a lot of piercing screams) until he would go to sleep on his own in his crib. Praise the Lord! Now we lay him down, he cries a little, and then goes to sleep. Those of you who know how difficult Isaac was will understand our amazement and relief.

Today was our first official day at school, though it was just a tour of the building and a placement test. Well, as expected, it didn’t take long for them to figure out that we are true beginners. The school uses the standard European system of language learning that starts with level A1, then A2, B1, etc. Completing the A levels basically means you can survive in a francophone country, and although you may speak like a 3 year old you can perform basic tasks such as greeting people, buying food, asking simple questions, and so on. The B levels begin to deal with more complex skills such as expressing thoughts and feelings or constructing an argument. I don’t know how many levels there are, but I think we’ll be in B1 or B2 by the time we leave. The goal for us is to be able to perform tasks such as visa renewal, renting an apartment, paying bills, etc. We anticipate doing very little ministry in French, because we will be learning the heart language of the people we’ll be working with. But French is necessary for any dealings with government officials or more highly educated individuals

Isaac and Judah started nursery today. It went pretty well, although all Isaac talks about is that the teacher wouldn’t let him go outside. Hopefully they’ll be able to get outside some while the weather is warm. It’s in the 70s and 80s during the day here, great weather for being outdoors.

josh

Arrived in France

By josh

On August 27, 2013

In Family, France

Arrived today in Albertville, where we’ll be going to school full-time to learn French for the next 10 months. It was a long trip and we’re exhausted, but we’re here. Praise the Lord for getting us here with all of our luggage. The lady driving the bus that was sent to pick us up spoke very little English, so it was fun when she called to tell us where to meet her. Fortunately after wondering around a bit I passed a lady carrying a sign saying “Meyer” and I knew I had found her!

We’re going to try Isaac sleeping in a twin bed – we’ll see how it works. Judah has a crib, but he’s still sleeping with us. Our first priority before school starts is getting him sleeping on his own in his crib. Pray for us!

The apartment is small and very simply furnished, but it is sufficient for our needs. We can already tell it will be very interesting living in community, with so many other families above, beside and below us. We can hear kids crying, yelling, running, all around. It will be good preparation for Africa though.

Destination: Chad (by way of France)

By josh

On May 16, 2013

In Chad, France, Ministry

Well, after a crazy 6 months of having our plans to go to another African country upended we have decided to go to Chad. We will spend a year or so in France, just outside of Paris, learning French before heading to N’djamena, the capital of Chad.

We are excited to have a new direction after the disappointment of the last several months. We have been praying and discussing the possibilities with each other, our church, and our wise mentors within our organization. Chad will be a very difficult place to live but there are so many opportunities for work!!

His grace is always sufficient to accomplish his work.

josh