Ten Totally Trivial Tidbits

1. Restrooms in Poland are labeled "Toalety." Apparently the Y at the end of a Polish word makes the word plural. Interestingly, when I went to use the toalety at the hotel where I was staying a few weeks ago, I found myself in a conundrum. I don't know the words for "Men" and "Women" in Polish, but even if I did I'd have been at a loss, because the doors did not have words on them. Neither did they have male and female stick figures. One door had a triangle and the other had a circle. If I hadn't read The Divinci Code I'd have been sunk. All that symbol business became instantly relevant to me!
2. I was in Poland for the European Leadership Forum, and one of the speakers was a man named Ajith Fernando. He is the leader of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka and he taught us each morning from the book of Nehemiah. His teaching was powerful and I am still feeding off of his words. One of the best things he said was this: "Burnout is not caused by hard work. Burn out is caused by insecurity, because insecure people refuse to rest. Sabbath is an act of faith--it is what it means to be secure in Christ."
3. We saw Jurassic World in 3D. I loved the raptor pack. 
4. I have written a bazillion reports this week. Some were annual reports for supporting churches. Some were evaluations for grant makers who have funded various projects in France. Some were for scholarships. Some were for our annual employee review. The administrative tasks in life make me very tired--and yet...it is amazing to look back over the past year and see all that God has done. If they would call annual reports "Glimpses of God's Glory" I'd probably enjoy them a lot more. So that's what I'll call them from now on! 
5. Chandler has one more week of greulling tests and then a couple of greulling weeks waiting for results. This French Baccalauréat is intense business. 
6. We have submitted applications for two different apartments in Lyon. Both are about the same size and about the same price. One has three bedrooms, and that is the one that I would prefer. Please pray that God makes His will and His way known. We trust Him.
7. Graham bought a tiny little amp that will be perfect for a dorm room. Not sure which part of that sentence makes me happier...that Graham bought it himself, or that Graham finally has an amp that he likes in the States. It's orange. And apparently it sounds great. Wish I could hear him play. I miss that guy!
8. I traveled a lot over the past month. Every time I came home, I suffered from horrible allergies. I thought it was environmental. But then we started to notice that the allergies acted up when I was close to David. It turns out I was allergic to a new deoderant that he was using. Weird. He's thrown it away, changed brands, and I haven't sneezed since!
9. My stove--which I love--will not fit in either of the apartments that we like in Lyon. It's a large, five-burner gas stove that brings me much cooking joy. Store it or sell it? That is the question. 
10. So I've almost finished Hobbes 2.0, and I've run out of orange yarn. I went to the yarn store to try to buy more and they didn't have anymore. So a Hobbes head, four Hobbes paws, a Hobbes body and half-finished Hobbes tail are sitting in a basket on the coffee table. It's a sad sight. And I'm not sure what to do about it. I know. First world problem. 

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Praying for Lyon

This week I was in Lyon for a conference. My friend Tim, who is leading our church plant team that will launch to Lyon this summer, was also at the same conference. Since the conference was all about church planting, our colleagues gathered around us right there in the heart of the city and prayed for us and for Vieux Lyon, the neighborhood where we will plant.

We were blessed and encouraged by their love, support, and camaraderie. A Polish couple who just happed to pass by, stoppped by and joined in the prayer, as they were believers themselves. Then we dispersed into the city to pray and bless the community.

Here I am praying for a woman who was working as a living statue near the cathedral square. We had seen her earlier, and all of us noticed a tiny tear slide down her cheek. So we asked if we could pray for her and she was quite open. I also asked her if there was anything that she needed, any need we could meet for her. But she said no. 

I stayed over after the conference to look for an apartment, and I think I may have found one! Pray that our application will be accepted if it is, indeed, the place God wants us. We're moving from 200 square meters to 87 square meters. So pray for wisdom as we try to discern how to simplify and scale back! 

And in case you didn't see on FaceBook--Chandler just found out that he got accepted to the medical school in Lyon, so he'll be moving to Lyon with us. Rumor has it this is one of the best (if not THE best) medical schools in France.

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