In the UK, Jean-Baptiste was one of the youngest in his class. He was born in July, and the school age runs from September to August. In France, the ages for a same school group goes from January to December. It means that he is no longer one of the youngest. Some children will only be 5 in december.
Month: September 2010
Market outreach
Every Friday, Guingamp hosts a big market in the town center. A lot of people come from the surrounding towns and villages to do some shopping. It is quite busy, noisy, smelly, colourful. every other week, a few people from the church go out on the market, trying to give a few tracts away, and trying to engage in conversation.
It is a daunting task. Stopping people in the street is not something I like doing. By nature, I would also be reluctant to stop people to ask for directions, or to ask for the time. But you are welcome to stop me, I’ll be happy to have a chat. But one of the important things is to be present regularly so that people get to see you.
It was good to be there, and it will get better as times goes and as I am getting used to it. This morning was quieter than usual, but still busy enough.
The car
Well, I phoned the garage this morning. No hope to get our car back today. But it should be ready tomorrow by 5PM. In the meantime, a couple from the church has lent us their car until, so we can move again. Continue to pray we’ll get it back in time.
Adapting to a new rythm
People sometimes ask me: “Is it difficult to drive in France with British car?” To this I answer no. All the infrastructure has been built up for cars to be on the right side of the road, so there is no choice, you don’t even think about it very quickly after you get out of the ferry. It can be difficult to overtake a Lorry on a small road, but you learn to be patient. The only risk would be late at night, when you are very tired.
It seems to be the same for other aspects of life. You just adapt, without thinking about it, no choice. It’s no easy, but you have to.
Take meal times for example. In the UK, Jean-Baptiste finished school at 15:45, we had tea (our evening meal), between 17:00 and 18:00. We kept that habit until school started last week. But since he goes to school, things are different. He finishes at 16:30, gets home, has a snack (like every French kids would), goes to play a little. By the time we get around to preparing food, it is 18:30, or later. It also means that the children go to sleep later than they would have in the UK. But that’s life in France.
Christ’s presence with his people
I found this helpful quote in Gordon Keddie’s little book on the Lord’s Supper (Evangelical Press).
The son of God is present with his people in a distinctly personal way. This is a loving, gracious, caring, guiding presence, in which he acts as the believer’s interface with God as a heavenly Father, in terms of his being the accepted sacrifice for their sin that reconciles them to God. he has told the church in the world, “And lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). that is, in every situation and circumstance, both collectively (i.e., the church as the temple of God and the body of Christ, 1 Cor. 3:16; 12:27) and individually (i.e., each believer as a temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 6:19), he is truly and constantly our Immanuel.
Gordon J. Keddie, The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of Grace
It’s the clutch
I could see it coming. For 5 minutes, something odd was going on. And then it happened, while waiting at a set of traffic lights. The car started to shake, jumped. I turned the ignition off. We managed to push the car backwards and to park it on  a parking space next to where we were. It’s the clutch.
I managed to get the phone number of the local Fiat garage. A recovery lorry was there in less than 15 minutes, and dropped us in the garage, the other side of town. Maria Hartiel then picked us up, and we are safe at home.
The garage has ordered the faulty pieces, it should be ready by Friday, hopefully.