Blog – Monday 6 October 2008
Sitting in the park as it is warm again today and we are now in our third week of waiting for our telephone line to arrive. Gill met someone recently who told her that her line took nine weeks to arrive. We might therefore get a landline this side of Christmas (this Christmas, that is).
The church was launched yesterday afternoon. Praise God. In some ways it has seemed a long time waiting, but at last. We had 50 people there in Gordon and Kerry’s house which was, therefore, almost full on our first occasion. Having said that, I am sure there were a few there specifically for the launch who might not be expecting to return another week. Still, we were very pleased with 50! I shall suggest to Gordon that he builds an extension for next month.
We started very late because of when people were arriving mainly due to getting lost and to parking problems (the French version of the Car Show is on at present just down the road and that caused a few parking problems to say the least).
I was anchoring the meeting which I found considerably more difficult in French than any other language I have ever had to use in anchoring meetings, but it was fine really. Gordon preached from Nehemiah 1 although after at least half an hour Gill was still thinking he was preaching about Naomi! Her excuse was that they sound the same in French. She clocked that it might be Nehemiah when she thought Gordon told us to turn to the book of Naomi!
We saw one woman healed instantaneously from back pain which had prevented her from walking normally.
Instead of tea and coffee in plastic cups at the end of the meeting (like we might do in the UK) we had a sort of champagne based aperitif which was great anyway, but also meant that everyone stayed longer to chat etc.
We will not start cell/house/life groups until early next year so Thursday nights we will all be together. This week I am speaking about passion for the Kingdom of God.
Gill was wearing a very fetching outfit on Saturday when she was stopped by a passer-by who suggested she looked like someone out of the 19th century! I think that’s a compliment. She wasn’t so sure!
Meanwhile on Saturday I went shopping on Gill’s bike with a dodgy back wheel (buckled). I reached the nearest major shopping centre and decided to buy some wood to make some 3 large shelves for our bedroom. I don’t know what weight of wood I carried on the bike back to the apartment (at least 2 km), but I must have looked a right sight. It was virtually impossible to steer so I was having to ask 90 year old ladies to get out of my way. All a bit embarrassing, but the shelves look great. The end justifies the means?
Michael has been with us this weekend. Our first visitor staying in the flat. It was wonderful to see him and good to have him around for the church launch too. He managed to break the bath, but that wasn’t too bad as he was with us two nights.
Just before I go as it is beginning to get dark, my new teacher (Anatole) does, as feared, speak quicker than the TGV. Last Monday I noticed that he only took three breaths during the four hour discourse on the French higher education system. I found out the following day that he had actually been teaching on the French Parliament!
Thankyou for all the encouragements and, no doubt, prayers.
Will keep you informed of developments!
George and Gill