Archive for November, 2009

Thanksgiving in France

Friday, November 27th, 2009

When I first found out that there was no Thanksgiving in France, part of me actually wondered why there was no day for giving thanks. And then Jo reminded me that it was a celebration of the Pilgrims coming to America and it all made sense.

So needless to say, Thanksgiving was a little different for us this year. Growing up it usually consisted of trying to out eat my cousins. Then, for dessert, each of us would grab a pie plate filled with a smattering of the bajillion different kinds of pies, cookies, cakes and other goodies adorning the table in the kitchen and gorge ourselves even more. Who knew the human body could consume so much food?

But this year, aside from there being no turkey (chicken, instead), we did have stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pies and a few other things that made our Thanksgiving feel more American. Culinarily speaking, we were able to recreate it as closely as we could. But there was one thing that could not be recreated…being around my family. Having an ocean in between us didn’t help.

So Thanksgiving morning (the night before Thanksgiving, in America), I was talking to God about my sorrows and fears about the holidays. And God answered me in two ways. Not one-minute after I had said ‘Amen’ did my sister call me on Skype. But it wasn’t  just her; my whole family was there. So God in his gracious love gave me, at least for a little while, the very thing that I was just talking to him about. It was great and I was riding high the rest of the day.

The other way God answered my prayer was through the community that he has blessed us with here in Chambery. We spent that evening with 15 or so other missionaries (and a few Mormon friends), laughing, eating and talking. So even though I couldn’t fill a pie plate with my cousins, God was gracious enough to give me friends to make the holidays feel a little more like home.

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Watch Your Step

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

This post falls under the category of ‘odd cultural notes’. So I hope you enjoy.

As Jo and I are finishing packing up our groceries outside the store, (they don’t have a bagger inside, and they kind of rush you, so we just put everything in the cart and bag it outside) I suddenly get a whiff of something that came out of the south end of an animal. At first I tried to ignore it, but the smell grew in strength. It got so bad, I had to say, “Where is that poo?” And much to my dismay, I was standing in it. It was right there on the sidewalk, outside the grocery store. Where everyone walks. Not the grass, not behind the building, not in a neat little baggy and then thrown away for the safety of others. Right there stuck to my shoe. This story brings me to my cultural note.

The French don’t pick up after their dogs. I have learned they have the mentality of ‘you should have been watching for it.’ So if you are ever in France…BEWARE!!!

p.s. – Sorry I didn’t make a spiritual parallel.

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Friday, November 20th, 2009
As Kat said, and I’m going to steal her line, this post is “delinquently overdue”. There’s a lot to update on since last time we met, so here goes.
Alya just lost the battle with the naptime fairy, and has finally quit crying and drifted off for that glorious hours I relish in everyday – morning nap time. Yesterday this lasted 3 hours (she’s battling a cold), so we’ll see how long this bliss lasts today.
As I look around me, I see interesting things today. I see the new polka-dot curtains on the window beside our recently-delivered couch. I see a France tour book I was just thumbing though to get ideas for what to do in Grenoble tomorrow. I see my sweet husband’s cereal bowl left on the table. And I see our massive drying rack full of clothes, cloth diapers, and odd socks hanging by hooks. Since we don’t have a dryer in our appartment, we hang dry everything.
The whirring of the washer in the background reminds me of the other chores I have to do after I finally wrench myself away from the computer and my only connection to home these days. Our phone doesn’t work, so the internet is the best way to keep in touch with our dear friends and family members.
If I haven’t made it clear enough yet, we are now living in France, and what a wonderful thing it is to be able to say that. Everyday I find myself battling with all sorts of different emotions about this big change. Most days it elates me, knowing that I can walk out of our apartment building, look up, and see the Alps, walk down the street to our favorite neighborhood boulangerie or chocolaterie to get some goodies, of go up two floors in our building and see some dear friends.
But there are moments when I find myself missing the close community of living with Josh and Kat, and 10 minutes from my sweet parents. I love Tennessee, and at times I miss it. Which I don’t really think is a bad thing. It would be bad, I think, if I didn’t miss my friends, family, and hometown at all. The connection is strong to those people and places, so I think it’s healthy to miss them. The potentially dangerous thing I have to guard against is to focus solely on bad aspects of this move, miss my old life too much, and miss out on blessings here. Yes, there are sad things, but there are also amazing things. I now have my own kitchen and home. I walk all the time to get anywhere, which helps in this on-going battle to reclaim some semblance of my pre-baby body. I am meeting and spending time with like-minded people who have the same goals in life as we do, and similar priorities.
I miss Mama, but isn’t it neat how God knew I would, and He put people here before I even got here who would help me through this process of “leaving all for the sake of Christ”.
He is truly good.
I know. I’ve heard that my whole life. God is good. Blah blah blah.
No, seriously, He is so GOOD! He wants good things for us in life – he desires to bless us. He meets our every need, and even some of our wants. (Maybe not those purple boots I saw downtown, though…) His presence is sweet and fills me with more love than I’ve ever experienced from anyone else. He touches my days and fills them with reminders of Him, and of His love for me. The sunshine I feel on my face pulls me to think of His glory. The laughter of my daughter as I play with her and the joy that brings me shows me how my delight in God and His presence brings Him joy.
He is overwhelmingly and exceedingly good, not just the regular kind. Remember that, and thank Him for it.
-Joanna

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We Are Up and Running

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Hello to anyone who reads this. We now have internet in our apartment. So we will be able to send out newletters, check e-mail more frequently, and, if we stay on top of things, post on our website. So we hope this is the first of many. A quick run down of what has been going on.

We flew into Geneva, Switzerland from Chicago about 3 or so weeks ago and since then we have gotten over jet lag, started learning the culture (more me than Joanna), started classes, set up internet, bank, etc, and are just all around gertting settled.

Classes are great and I (Nathan) am learning a lot. Even though I am starting at the most basic level, I am already able to go and order a pizza without getting laughed at. That’s all for now, but I just wanted to drop a quick update.

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