A glimpse of Christmas in Paris

All the main streets had lights on display

Little bread shop not far from us

Christmas markets throughout the city

Get your onion soup and omelets at this one

The  famous Champs-Élysées

Chocolate shops

Awesome window displays

And animated window displays for kids!

The  famous Galeries Lafayette ceiling & upside-down Christmas tree 

More street illuminations

Each design is different

The lights are paid for by the shops on each street

Peppermint chocolate donuts & countless other yummy treats 

Fun parties with friends and teammates

Christmas Eve candlelight service

Our humble tree 

...and the Notre Dame Christmas tree

Reflecting on the season

This year marks our second Christmas in France and also our second Christmas away from where we grew up and family. Last year we went to Strasbourg, France right before Christmas which was such a treat to see Christmas lights decorating that beautiful town and to visit all the Christmas markets that lined the squares and streets. This year we are staying in Paris, but we are all settled in our apartment, which feels more and more like home (although home feels like a less clear concept these days). Paris is lovely this time of year. All the main streets have lights running across them, each street’s display is unique in color and design. And there are large Christmas markets the whole month long in several locations. There is mulled wine, bratwurst & sauerkraut, oysters, Champagne, chocolates, and all kinds of gifts. It’s been a pretty full Christmas season, more so than we anticipated, since we have met several new friends in recent months and have been interning at a church in central Paris. Tonight we will go to a candlelight service with some friends, and tomorrow will be a low key day at home as we rejoice and reflect on Christ's coming, eat good food, Skype with loved ones, and open some presents as well. 

We’ve started observing Advent more and more the last few years and it really helps me to remember each day what it means that Christ came and what it means that he will come again. This year the word Immanuel or “God with us” has been my focus. Tim Keller’s message on God with us was really helpful for me. The message is about: “The meaning of Christmas is that the Creator of the universe has become a human being. It means that the terrifying God who appeared in the Old Testament as a whirlwind and a fire has become a vulnerable baby in order to be close to us. What, in turn, will we do in order to be close to Him?” It is really worth a listen if you want to better prepare your heart this season or if you just want to better understand what Christians believe.

Merry Christmas and may God’s loving and merciful presence draw you closer and closer to him. 

My first French Association

‘Associations’, or clubs, are a vital part of life and culture here. Not everyone, but many people, are involved in one or more association. And you can find an association for just about anything; sports, art, activism, cooking, choirs, wine, hiking, the list really goes on and on. In just our section of the city, there are hundreds of different groups. To help people choose a group, each September there is an Association Fair where many clubs get a small table to promote their groups. Ryan and I went with our friends in September and we were excited but nervous. Although we had prepared beforehand (which took hours to look at hundreds of groups and their descriptions in French) and knew which groups we wanted to talk to, when we arrived there was so much activity, we couldn't find any of the groups we had planned to search out. 

The Association Fair, booths were lined both outside and in the Mayor's building

We saw a few weddings finish up as a few newlywed couples
exited the building to loud cheers from their friends and family

After an hour and a half or so of exploring and talking with different club representatives we were starting to reach saturation point, when I noticed a very simple and discreet table with a small sign that said “new community garden in the 15th.” I had thought about a gardening association and had even noted a few that I was looking for, but this one was brand new. So I worked up the courage to go over, and waited patiently as 2 or 3 others pushed their way in front of me (this happens a lot to me, I am often too timid in situations like this). But once I made it up to the front, I had a nice chat with the woman, the President of this new association, and she said I was in luck as they still had space available and the garden was just a couple minutes walk from where I lived. I just had to write a 1 Euro check to the association to reserve my place. So I joined! 

A couple weeks later, I went to the first ever meeting for the association, and tomorrow, I will go and get a key to the garden. It is in an enclosed park space, but it will be open for the public to enjoy a few afternoons a week, and also when any of us are there to garden, we leave the gate open so nearby neighbors can come check it out. It will be a team gardening approach, so for each plot, 3 people will work together to plan, tend, and one day share in the harvest. I am still a little nervous, but mostly eager and excited to both get my hands dirty and to get better acquainted with several others who live nearby.

2015 Paris Prayer Conference: Save the Date

Each year World Team invites those interested to come and see what God is doing in France and to pray. The date for next years conference is June 15–22, 2015. Registration for this conference will be opening soon, and you can get more information by emailing info@francevie.fr 

The Summer of 2014

Today’s post is just a short and sweet “let’s get back on the blogging horse” post. Things have been going well. Summer in Paris was beautiful and very different than at other times of year, especially during August, when most of the city's residents left for vacation and were replaced by tourists from around the globe. We enjoyed the slower-paced Paris and watched free movies in the park, visited other parks, read several books between us, and put several afternoons into decorating our place. We also went to Budapest, Hungary in August for a European Conference with our organization. It was refreshing to drive there and see a bit of Germany and Austria along the way, and it was fun to explore a new city for a couple days. The conference was on leadership development and we took home a lot of new skills, which should serve us well. 

As soon as we got back, it was “La Rentrée” in France, which is the kick start to the new year here (both scholastically and professionally as many families returned from their month-long vacations). It felt like “La Rentrée” for us as well as we jumped into an internship at a French church, started a (much lighter) course load of French classes, and began meeting with our ministry team to start discussing all the BIG ?’s like the why, what, when, and how we plan to start a community of believers in our neighborhood. But all these activities are going well and as we dive into the activities of the church, where we are interning, we are starting to build some relationships and feel more settled. We also have had the chance to get to know some of our neighbors a bit better too which has been great. 

But more on all of these topics soon… maybe?! Summer photo montage time...

Free movies at Parc Villette

Exploring Paris parks, there are so many great ones 

Ryan having fun climbing giant rocks at Fontainebleau forrest

Kids playing in fountains at Parc Citroen, 
totally ignoring the sign saying it's forbidden

Visiting our first medieval castle in Pierrefont 

Paris Plage (beach along the Seine for 1 month in summer)

Walking around the St German de Près area

Parliament building in Budapest

Tour of Budapest

Nightlife in Budapest

Language School Wrap-up

It is hard to believe, but our full-time language studies have come to an end. We will continue to study and work on our french until we feel fully confident and comfortable in the language, but not with the same intensity as these first 10 months. We've now experienced and seen how important it is to be very strong in the language if we want to invest in France long-term. Not feeling fully confident can add extra pressure and stress to both the little and the not so little things we do everyday. But we can say with confidence that in these 10 months of intensive study, we have learned a lot and improved a ton. There are days when our french just flows and we have no problems, but there are still days that we struggle to find the right words or sentence structures. It is such a cool thing though, to learn another language, and so far it has been very rewarding. 

We are so thankful for the school we attended and the amazing teachers who passionately taught us with patience and perseverance every day.

The place where we studied, laughed, cried, and even lived for several months

Our amazing teacher Régine whose passion and humor made learning a blast

Our class (1 of 4 classes, with around 50 students each year)

Our class, throughout the year many others came and went as well 

The learning environment 

The phrases we learned well and still use a lot!

Our Paris Kitchen

In a post a couple weeks ago here, I mentioned that we were doing some work on our kitchen. In France and other parts of Europe, it is still fairly common to get an apartment with next to nothing in the kitchen. When we got our place, our kitchen had one very old cabinet with a huge sink and a gas range... and that was it. So we had to get appliances, and we decided it was worth it to replace the base cabinet and add a few other cabinets for more storage. The kitchen has a lot of interesting angles and old external pipes that made planning a little bit tricky. But with a little planning and the help of friends, teammates, and a trip to IKEA, our "petite cuisine" or little kitchen became a whole lot more functional. Here are some pictures that capture the process. 

The before shot

We got a great deal on our oven and fridge from a couple who was moving 

Our kitchen still in boxes

Demo day, we had to clean behind the cabinet and the pipe needed re-sealed

Ryan and our friend Andrew assembling all the elements 

The day of installation

Two of our directors worked for us for the day, what an incredible gift!

And here's our kitchen now, this is the first time we've ever had a dishwasher,
or a washing machine. We feel truly blessed and maybe even a little spoiled. 

If we get a microwave, it will go where my cookbooks are, we still
need to add a new backsplash and touch up the wall a bit

The other wall

So if you come and visit, I will make you dinner