Note to Self!

Self, there are a few things that you should remember as you continue your time in France. They are as follows....


-Note: Only take one carry-on when boarding a European airplane.

-2nd note: People don't really like being hit up side the head with your guitar case

-Note: Notre dame de la Garde is only kind of cool the first time you go.

-2nd note: It is not any cooler the second time you go.

-Note: Don't make a lot of noise in our apartment cause then man below us....who has lived here for 60 years...said he would kill us!


-2nd note: I think he was joking!


-Note: Getting a bank account requires a minimum of 5 visits to the bank.

-Note: You will feel like an idiot sometimes as you are trying to speak your own language...a cross between French and English!

-Note: European cars....much like American cars....will continually die when starting in 3rd gear.

-2nd note: If you smell burning....let someone else try!

-Note: Young french girls WILL scream when a vehicle lurches in their direction.

-Note: The sticker found on the drip pan in your oven should be removed before turning on the oven because it will burn and release toxic fumes.

-2nd note: You should also remove the clear blue plastic film covering the pan.

-Note: That cat that you see running across the road in front of your door is not actually a cat, it is in fact a Rat!

-2nd note: Del does not think that Benny is a very good rat name.

-Note: Simply introduce yourself as "Courtney....like Courtney Cox!" And everyone will know how to say your name

-Note: Learn how to say "Leave me alone." in French, that way, if a drunk, homeless man ever picks you out of your whole group and grabs you around the shoulders from behind again...you know what to say!

-2nd note: I hear a punch is the international symbol for "Leave me alone"!

Pictures you say?

So, many of you have requested pictures...well, here they are. I had some complications with my computer, but everything is okay now and I can post them! Some are from my layover in frankfurt when I decided to take a walk around the city and the rest are from my adventures around Marseille! I'm posting quite a few so....Enjoy!

The city of Frankfurt

Modern Art (it was right next to some really old statues!)

The Frankfurt Opera house

An Organ Grinder (they exist)

A Bratwurst! (I mean, can you go to Germany and not eat one?)

My first night in Marseille, this is what my room looked like! A few days later this matress went into a bed.

Marseille Streets (During the mornings where will be an open air market on this stretch of sidewalk)

Castellane, This is the round point right by our house

Veiux Port (Old Port)

Look at the blue

Katie looking contemplative

Castellane

Parc Borley (People spend time with their families here in the evenings and weekends)

Kids playing in Parc Borley

Ladies and Gentleman....The Meditteranian!

Well its Katie Again!

La Prefecture at night

This was one night when we decided to go out and get some food...And ended up going to Buffalo Grille (sound America? it was!)

I'll post some more of our apartment at a later date so you can see actually where we live! I love you all and thankyou so much for your prayers!

Wait. Patience, Courtney. In MY Time!

Greetings from Marseille! (Pronounced Mar-say-yuh if you are from here!)

Katie, Del, and I are all settled in our apartments. All the furniture is built and it can start to feel like home! We’ve been filling our time with getting to know the area (and in my case, the good places to get coffee! You know it!), getting to know our team, and now, learning the language!

This past week the 3 of us started language school which made for an interesting experience. Our teacher is a wonderful woman and very helpful. She conducts most of our class in French, so after she asks us a question, often the three of us look at her with blank stares, then she repeats it a little slower, and we still look at her I’m sure with a big question mark over our heads, and then she has to explain it in English! This is a very funny order of things, but let me tell you, after following her questions for 4 hours of class, I leave with my head spinning!! Actually, today was probably the first day when I didn’t leave class a little frustrated. Praise the Lord!

Last week I was able to spend a little alone time in a park near by, Parc Borely, and then a little time down by the Beach! I’m telling you, there is something awe inspiring about coming over a bank of rocks to find a BLUE horizon, only broken by the occasional island composed of white limestone cliffs! The ocean is so clear and majestic here! I sat on this stone wall, writing in my journal as the waves crashed below me! Thank you Jesus for your majestic creation!!!

Here are a few things to lift up to our Father!

• Pray that we are able to pick up the language quickly and with out too much frustration…there is always a little when you are learning a new language in a new culture.
  
• That during language school, we would find some people around us who would be willing to help us practice, and that we would be able to build relationships with these people.
  
• That our Father would continue to help me depend on His ultimate timing. That I would remember that he has brought me here for a purpose and that in time, maybe not right away, he will reveal his path for me here in Marseille.

To thank the Father for!

• We survived our first week of language school! It was a lot of information in one week, but even now I feel that I can understand more than I did when I came! Hallelujah!
  
• Our team is getting along really well! Some teams need quite awhile to adjust to each other, and although we don’t know each other completely,
  
• The other night I was able to have a short, but understandable conversation with a man in a small sandwich shop near our house! Praise the Lord! He understood me! Those small victories are the ones that make me smile!
  
• Our team leaders just returned safely from a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

May God keep you and bless you as you continue in your walk with the Lord!

1st Report from Marseille

Hey ya'll!!!

See I'm living in France with a whole bunch of people from the SOUTH!!!! And they say ya'll when they're not speaking in French!:-P

So we're all here now! I've been in Marseille about a week now and I'm loving it! Its interesting walking around in a place where everyone is speaking a different language. But it is not so terribly different that I have experience any extreme culture shock, and I thank God for this. Katie and I have settled into our 5th floor, 2 room apartment. Most of our furniture was from Ikea and so all of it is now built. We have our clothes stored in the huge closet we both share, and we have spent several nights in our hoodies and sweats watching tv shows on DVD sitting on our almost comfy couch, that others might affectionatly call a fouton.

We both feel very blessed to have such a wonderful, clean place to live. It tends to be a little cold, but thats what happens when you try to save money by not turning on your heaters! haha

So far most of our time has been spent settling in. Starting tomorrow we will have language school at an American university in town from 8:00-12:45 in the morning. Then at night for the next week we will be having some language orientation and administrative training from some visiting directors.

Yesterday, Del, Katie, and I walked down through a commercial part of town where they have lots of stores, and then down to the old port. I have pictures that I would love to show you, however my computer is refusing to add any more pictures right now, so I'll have to add them later on this week. Basically there are hundreds of sailboats and old buildings that surround the port. Its cool to just walk around and explore our new home. Marseille is a big but old city. If I step out side my front door (which is right by the resteraunt that we live above) all I can see is buildings, but about a 40 minute walk away is the ocean and some very beautiful beaches! We haven't been to the crystal blue beaches yet, but hopefully soon.

Well I feel this post is a little scattered, but I hope it gives you a little glimps into what my life has been like this last week. When my computer is deciding to cooperate, I will post pictures to give you a better idea! I'll leave you with a few prayer requests.

• As we start school this next week, pray that we will pick up the language quickly and be able to effectively put it into practice soon.
• Pray that we all will be able to wait patiently on God's timing. As a group we have discussed that we all are having a hard time with the fact that our ministries as we see them cannot start immediatly because of language barriers. Pray that we will desire His perfect and holy will and surrender to Him our own desires, as Jesus prayed in Matthew 26:39 "Yet I want your will, not mine."
• Pray that even now, when we can't communicate very well with those around us, that God will be tearing down barriers. Pray that the strongholds of the "strongman" will be broken. (Matthew 12:29)

I hope you all are doing well this weekend! And i hope all of you will enjoy the Superbowl!haha We're not sure if we will be able to watch it, but don't email me with the winner, because we won't get to see it until monday, after you all have seen the game. I love you all! Enjoy your Sunday!

Courtney