Take joy my King in what you hear...

Day 3- Astorga to Foncebadon- 26.3 km

2009-09-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

Big Day in many ways. We hiked total 30km today. The plan was 27, but it was 3km to get out of town. We left and 6:05AM. It was chilly and the sun hadn’t risen yet. But we hiked 21km by 11:30! The last 6km were BRUTAL!!! It was uphill and there were moments of very steep inclines. Everyone made it although we were all sore, some peoples feet are in bad shape and now we are all exhausted.

Originally we had planned on going only to Villadangos del camino, but last night decided to go a little further. So that last 6km was to Foncebadon. When we got here, we realized that it’s a SMALL town with only about 20 houses, 10 or which are in ruins, 2 auberges, 1 hotel, and 2 restraunts. Right before we arrived, kate, Galen, Heidi, and Taylor took the last 4 spots in the 1^st auberge. We went to the second and by the time we waited in line they only had 15 beds left!!1 So we took 7 of them. PTL!! However, there was a group of 6 of us that left Astorga at 8AM instead of 6AM. They arrived much later, around 3 or 4PM, instead of 1PM. By the time they got here, we had seen 100s of pilgrims turned away. But they found a place in the hotel for 25euros/person! Expensive, but at least they have a place to sleep.

At one point, I went to their hotel looking for them, but couldn’t understand the girl. I thought she was telling me there wasn’t a hotel there. So I went to the auberge section and found Vy who started to show me where, when we met the same girl and Vy translated. She was saying I couldn’t go up there unless I had paid. Ok!….so then I went down with Vy to the Auberge section to say hey to those of our group there and to have Kate text Katie and tell her Patou and Julie had arrived. Well while I was talking to Kate, before I could get the story out, this SAME girl came into the room. “What is your name!?!” she asked “Courtney” I said. And then she procceded to say the same thing as before in Spanish. So apparently I wasn’t supposed to be in the hotel section OR the auberge section. So I leave the room and in the hall I meet Vy and I tell him the rest of the story to pass on to kate. As I’m mid sentence, the owner guy comes around the corner and yells at me and points to the door! So Vy folloes me outside and I finished the story. I think the girl thought I was being insubbordenant and rude. I just didn’t understand! Lost in Translation!

Along the road today, God and I had a great moment. On the last 6km, I prayed that as I was alone, that God would direct my thoughts. That I wouldn’t spend that time thinking of silly things.

So he directed my thoughts to Phillipians 4:8 “Whatever is pure, knoble…think upon these things.” But I couldn’t remember the verse exactly, so I pulled out my Bible. But I felt God was telling me to start at the beginning. I decided since I was alone, to read out loud and almost immediately I was brought to tears. Man the Word has Power!!! But God gave me a new outlook on Phillipians. He showed it to me not as the reader, but as the writer. Pauls sadness and happiness in his seperation from the Phillipians. His willingness to turn the ministry over to others and his desire to see others succeed in the ministry there, not just him. It was as if I could have written it for my exit from France. I don’t want to leave, but sometimes God’s timing is different than we want it to be. And His is ALWAYS better. I’m not sure that this view of Phillipians was a for sure “You should go home!” but it was definitely a start. I have been asking God to speak and today, he certainly did. Continue to speak Lord!

Quote of the Day:

“With every step, I feel I give a little bit more of myself” –Alice

Prayer:

Praise:Downhill tomorrow!!
Feet
Unity (God is blessing in this area)
Place to stay
Continued Direction from God
Divine Appointments (We are seeing a lot of the same people in the hostels)

Day 2-San Marine to Astorga- 24.7 km

2009-09-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Today was MUCH harder! Probably because it was day 2. There were a few more hills. Yesterday we went 27km and today we went 21. But the hike seemed more challenging. There was also no cloud cover today, where yesterday it was partly cloudy most of the day. We started at 8:30AM and arrived at Astorga at 3PM! We snacked on the way, but there was no good place to stop for lunch. Surprisingly, I was not hungry when we arrived. We ate pizza and pasta at 3:30 in one of the plazas after finding a room. We went to San Javier first, but when I told him 18 people, he said “no, no” however, other people were given rooms after us. So we think if we had gone in small groups we would have gotten a room. Oh well. We back tracked to the entrance of the town and there we got a room. We are all staying in a large dorm style room. The name is Siervas de Maria.

I think in the future for dinner we need to not eat at a restraunt right when we enter a town, but instead, wait til dinner time, buy stuff at a market, and make dinner. There are several people here cooking and eating together, but we have already eaten. As I said before, we aren’t meeting a lot of people along the trail, but in the auberges. Myriam and her group is in our auberge, so I got to talk to them again while they cooked.

Still no revelations as to what I’m supposed to do in 2 months. But every day I am away from Marseille ,it gets easier to see myself moving. I need to release myself to His will. Even if its not my preference.

Several people are having REAL problems with their feet. All of us are sore in one way or another, but Alice and Suzanne have HUGE blisters on their feet. This auberge has a foot doctor so I know Suzanne is going to see them and she might end up staying a few days to rest.

Also, we had 4 people join us today. They met us at the castle which was a great meeting place. Tomorrow we only have 20km to walk but I m afraid that some people have already decided NOT to do the 32 km the next day. Its going to be hard and I will do it, but I’m not sure everyone wants to.

Prayer:

Feet and muscles
Unity
Divine appointments
Wisdom in intentionality
Leadership for future
Morale boost

Day 1- Leon to San Martin-27.2 km

2009-09-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

Today we started our journey. We left Leon at 8AM and headed toward Villadangos del Pamaro. That was 22km away and to our surprise, we reached the town by around noon. The path reminded me a lot of AZ. Brown, kinda flat, bushes. We had great conversation as a group, but we didn’t come along too many other pilgrims along the way. Today was Sunday so when we reached Villadangos we found a “Banederia” which was a snack shop and decided it was our only option for food. They had bread, chorizo, cheese, empenadas, and fruit. The peach I got was GLORIOUS!! So for 2,72 euros, I had a cheese sandwich and 2 peaches!

We reached Villadangos in such good timing, that we decided to go on to the next town, San Martin. We pushed on even though personally I could feel the tension in my muscles. I also got a cramp in my side. But after a few minutes of deep breathing, it went away.

When we reached San Martin, the auberge Santa Ana, was about 100m up the main road. We had called ahead from Villadangos to make sure they had room and they let us reserve rooms. We spent the afternoon reading, sleeping, showering, stretching, and eating. Just relaxing. We had an incident with the showers and half the girls ended up taking cold showers!

For dinner we ate “Tortillas” it’s a Spanish dish that is like a huge omelet with potatoes, egg, and ours had green pepper. Also we had salad and bread. All that for 1,44 euros!! It was VERY filling.

After dinner I went to the back of the auberge to check my laundry I had hung. My towel dries SO fast! Its crazy. While I was out there I noticed a girl soaking her foot in the canal that passes thru. Her name was Myriam and she was German. She was walking the path with her sister and 2 friends. It was cool to talk to her and hear her story. She has been on the trail 9 days now.

I was also surprised at how friendly everyone is along the trail. Passing cars honk and passing bikers or walkers say “Bien camino!” I’m not TOO sore, but my muscles are sore. Will need to stretch in the morning!

Prayer:

Myriams foot, its hurt and swollen
Divine appointments
Unity in group/positive attitudes
Ears to hear
Eyes to See
Safety and Strength

My Camino- Trek TO the Starting line

2009-09-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

8/8/09

Today was a LONG travel day. We woke up at 5:30AM this morning to leave London from Stanstead Airport. We flew to Madrid, Spain where using the metro, we went to the Charmarin train station. While we (Katie, Tisha, Jason, and myself) were eating, Darby and Del joined us. The train was an adventure. Spanish people speak MUCH louder than the French. Also, someone threw-up on our car! We had to switch cars because it smelt SO bad!

After 4 1/2 hours on the train, we made it to Leon. Jake, Suzanne, Esther, and Jeanette had found a hostel, so we joined them and then Vy and Alice (friends of Tisha and Jason) joined us for dinner at Dominoes. LOTS of carbs for tomorrow. I’m now waiting for Kate and Galen to call. They got in later and don’t have keys.

Mood: TIRED….ALREADY!!!!

Requests:

Energy
Unity
A heart willing to listen
Divine Appointments
Deep Sleep

My Camino- Last day in Germany

2009-09-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

8/7/09

Today we are leaving Germany to head for an overnight stay in London. We’re gonna get some good American type food before we head on the Camino.

Everyone seems pretty anxious and there are several people that don’t think they’re gonna be able to complete the whole thing. My pack weights 10kg but that is with my shoes and Katie’s shoes inside. So hopefully some of the weight is because of the shoes.

I REALLY want to complete the whole thing. 13-19 miles each day is going to be hard. But I’m really excited. I’ve decided I’m going to keep a positive attitude and not complain. I know my legs will be sore and I might get a headache, but I want this to be a great memory and a positive experience. I’m praying that God helps me keep a good attitude even if those around me are negative.

Mood: Excited

Requests:

To stay positive
Divine appointments
Open eyes to see these
Discernment and understanding with other Americans and hikers
Unity within the group
Safety
Health (a few others have colds already)

My Neighborhood....MY neighborhood....my home

2009-06-14T07:20:00.001-07:00

I had a realization the other day that "Centre Ville" Marseille has become MY neighborhood. I was walking home from lunch and along "Rue d'Italie", my street, I was able to say hello to 4 people that I recognized on the street! Store owners, friends, and restraunt owners.

When you first move to a new place, whether it be a new neighborhood, a new state, or a new country, you can feel really lost. I know that when I moved here, knew no one, and didn't speak the language, I had moments where I felt very alone. Being a person who surrounds herself with friends and family, I was a little sad to find myself home on a friday night with nothing to do and no one to call! But how happy I am now to realize that I can walk down my street and see people that I know and who know me!

Also, the lady at the cafe where we hold English Club, which is right around the corner from my house "bisoued" me the other day. A "Bisou" is a kiss on each cheek. This is the way you greet friends or friends of friends. One day I dropped in to the cafe just to say hello and she stopped her work to come say hello and give me a bisou! It made be really excited!! The sign of acceptance was so COOL!

I am so blessed that even though God brought me here to a place where I know no one, he has brought so many people in to my life and Marseille has become my home.

I'm Sorry....WHAT?!?

2009-02-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

Ok, so sometimes when you are in a different place, you see things that don't quite make sense to you. Well try this....

As I was passing a pub that is right down the street,
I saw a man who was already inside,
come to the front door,
crack it,
lean outside,
light his cigarette,
and then walk back inside to exhale a large puff of smoke!

Isn't the point of going outside to smoke the cigarette? not just to light it? And why didn't he just light it inside?

Guess I'll never know! haha

To Yahweh

2009-02-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

In January, I went to a conference in Germany and was able to share some stories with other people who are doing jobs very similar to mine. It is always very encouraging to hear others struggles and victories and hear how similar they are to your own. But I thought this was one of the more interesting stories....enjoy.

A couple of our friends, also living in France, have recently been meeting a lot of new friends. During a discussion with one of their new friends his tattoo came up. He has a tattoo on his forearm that in Hebrew says "To Yahweh" which he explained means "Belonging to God".

The new friend turned to my friends wife and asked "Does that bother you?"

"Excuse me?" She was a little confused cause she had never been asked that question.

"Does that bother you that his tattoo says he belongs to someone else? Shouldn't it say he belongs to You?"

Hmmm, So I ask...

Who do you belong to?

Movie Night

2008-11-11T08:42:00.001-08:00

So we had an English Club movie night. It was our first one and we had 8 students come. We showed the movie on the projector at Del's apartment and had lots of snacks. It was a good night.

We showed Shawshank Redemption in english and then we had a discussion about the movie afterwards. We discussed the theme of the movie, reviewed any words that the students didn't understand, and went over the meaning of the word redemption. The meanings given for redemption by the students were "its when you are forgiven for the bad things you have done" and "its like what Jesus did for us". Pretty good answers I think!

Del settin up the movie

I told you we had snacks!

French food!

2008-11-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

So I'm a nerd, but here are pictures of the food from the party! The party was catered and they did a GREAT job with the food. Enjoy the marvels of French cuisine.

The "spread for the day" A lady with a ham dress, some kind of fish jellied pate thing, vegetable flan, and this dish I can't remember the name of (a chicken leg, where the skin was carefully peeled back, the meat removed along with all but the end of the bone, then the mean was mixed with vegetables and put back in the skin. It is cooked and then sliced.)

Yes Ladies and gentlemen...that is ham and butter!

Impressive huh?

The cakes...these were made out of cream puffs...

and this once was chocolate! mmm

HALLOWEEN

2008-11-11T01:37:00.000-08:00

Well here they are! It took long enough...but here are the pictures from our Halloween party! We had a GREAT time and the man below us didn't get mad at us. In fact one of our neighbors said "Did you guys have a good Halloween? Your party was very calm." Phew!

The Apartment

The Spider

Graveyard Cake...Myriam did the footsteps!

Samira, Me, Nadjate

Bruno, Lea, Stephane, Me

Katie "forgot" her costume, so she borrowed part of Brunos

All the costumes

Katie, Kristina, Marianna, Manon

A devil, a dead prisoner by the electric chair, and a scary lady

Stirring her brew!

Uh...Scary!

Carving pumpkins, as you can see, we found one orange one and the others were this weird peach color and had wart lookin things all over the skin. oh well!

Lea and Benjamin

Right after this picture was taken, Bruno acted like he cut his hand with knife. He even used fake blood to scare us!

Before the face was carved

Katie and manon degutting the pumpkin

"Jack" and "Two Face"

All the pumpkins on our mantel!

ooooooohhhhhhhhh

Del was football player

Kristina with Somebodies cool mask! oh wait....

And the winners of the Jack O' Lantern contest...and me, I didn't help.

I dont know....

Benjamin impressed us with his card tricks!

Adrienne and Lea

Videos from Open Mike Night

2008-10-03T06:58:00.001-07:00

Well here are the videos. I hope you guys enjoy them! Thanks for your prayers as I worked toward this night! :-P

Teardrops on My Guitar

Bubbly

Hallelujah

Performance at L'Intermedia!

2008-10-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody!

Thanks for the reminder that I needed to post an update Sherry! :-)

So Tuesday night was AWESOME!!! Thank you for your prayers!!! Bruno and I perfomed 2 songs together, I preformed one song solo, and Bruno performed one song with his drummer. It was SOOO fun! Despite a few memory slips, which resulted in a few made up words (oops), the songs went well. After we finished, several people got up on the stage with Bruno and his drummer and started jammin. So I went up during the second song they sang and did a little improvising. That was fun! One of my friends took video so I will work on getting that up in the next week or so. I'll let you know when its up. Thanks again for all your support!

When it rains, it pours…

2008-09-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

And I mean that literally and figuratively. Although right now as I sit at the table look out the window, the skies are blue and there is a cool breeze blowing through the house, yesterday was the complete opposite. It was the type of rain that reminds me of the middle of a Monsoon in August in Phoenix when you swear the raindrops are the size of golf balls! I really love the rain! Especially the scent right after or right before it rains. But I’m not a fan when it starts raining just as you are starting an English club at an outdoor sandwich stand about 500 yards from a building! Haha The group ran to meet in one of the buildings but I decided to stay at the sandwich stand for a few more minutes in case any other people came looking for our English club….bad idea! The rain only got harder! So I was forced to run in the rain and cold wind…in my nice light cotton shirt, with no umbrella…to the building only to find out that group hadn’t moved to that building! So I had to cross 2 streets, both of which had now been replaced by rivers, and in the process, managed to fill both my shoes with water and splash water about a foot and a half up my pant legs! Awesome huh?!? When I finally found Del and Katie, I looked like a soaked dog…and they were perfectly dry! Haha, oh well, I still love the rain!

Also speaking of pouring...I have had so much fun over the last 3 weeks meeting new people! We have had SO many responses from people interested in our English clubs and in language exchanges! So awesome! Through this we have met some people who are truly becoming our friends! YEAH for friends! I asked for many of you to pray for Friends and God has totally answered our prayers! So thank you! Its so nice to know people to go out with and have fun with!

Lastly… I have been telling you that I have been looking into playing at a few open mike nights….well Bruno, one of the guys that we met through a response to our flyers, is a musician!!! So…. tomorrow, Tuesday night, he and I will be playing a few songs at and open mike night at a bar called L’Intermediare!!! A friend of mine is going to be taping it, so I will put the videos up as soon as I get them!

I'm from a Soda State! ~ Another Random Entry

2008-09-11T06:03:00.001-07:00

I was listening to Air1 the other day and found this news story funny! Luanne von Schneidemesser, PhD in German linguistics and philology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and senior editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English researched and then wrote an article on the coke vs. soda debate. He then created a map to demonstrate what areas of the United States say coke, who says soda, and who uses pop! So find your state and see if you agree. Apparently I'm from a Soda state!

A product that wouldn't sell in the states!

2008-09-02T02:37:00.000-07:00

Onomatopia at its best!

My Birthday Party!

2008-08-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

So in follow-up to my last blog with the pics of the birthday box, I thought I would show you how we used the stuff the church sent. We had a cluster training meeting in Spa, Belgium and my birthday landed right in the middle of that week. So I decided to take my loot along and have party with everybody there! Everyone had a GREAT time and they were all SO blessed by the generosity of my home church! Love you guys! Enjoy the pics!

A Birthday Belgian Waffle!
Sippin the plate clean (I bet my mom is SO proud right now!)Karaoke with Claire
Fun with balloons!

Wyatt with one of the LOUDEST noise makers EVER!!! The parents loved them! haha Claire with her Prize!
NO No No...the Donkey is THAT way

What would a party be with out cake smeared in someones face...

... or Guacamole if you're out of cake. Look at those BEAUTIFUL donkey tails!
Would you like a Pirate Mask or a REALLY LOUD noise maker!
And GO!
Sarah, the Queen of Musical Chairs....she won the adults round!

About to play pin the tail on the donkey!

Princess Claire with her treasure, including a tiara and a ring carefully picked out and sent over by the beautiful princess of Chats-a-lot!
A war of the noise makers!

Decorating donkey tails...Claire's was of course pink...and Will's was of course anything BUT pink!

Wyatt....I mean, Peg Leg Pete...
My party was invaded by pirates!
Look at all those kids and donkey tails! We had SOO much fun!

THANK YOU!!!!

2008-08-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hello there!!

SO this post is simple. I have been reminded in the last week how much all of you support me and I just want to say THANK YOU!!!! Every few weeks I get a comment or a note from someone just saying they are praying for me! One story from this week and then I want to share some specific prayer requests with you since I haven't been very good at doing that.

Last Tuesday our doorbell rang and it was FedEx with a box for me downstairs. So I went down to the ground floor to meet him and signed for my package. He then proceeds to return to his truck and then emerges with an ENORMOUS 50lbs box!!! He said "Merci et pour vous!" I was shocked...I actually asked him..."For me?!? Really!!" haha So he left and then I turned around and realized that i was now going to have to take this wonderful, 50 lbs box of surprises up 4 flights of stairs!!! AHHH It was quite entertaining! When I did open it up it was a bithday box from my church with SO much amazing stuff in it! My favorite was the heart attack they sent me. For those who don't know that that is I have included a picture, but basically you cut out hearts and write messages on them and then secretly hang them on someones door or in their office. Kind of like teepeeing....but MUCH nicer!!! So they sent me the hearts and some tape which I hung up on my wall!

So thankyou WG! I love you guys and am SO blessed to have such a wonderful home church! Thanks to those of you who responded to my last blog and since then! Your short notes really do put a smile on my face and remind me that there are not only people praying for me at home, but people who love me as well! So thanks!

Some prayer requests:

Travel to Brussels, Belgium next week for a conference. Pray for safe travels and that attendees will been encouraged and challened.

Music Opportunities: If I'm honest, fear has held me back in some ways. I have been feeling some doubt in my abilities since I came and I know that has held me back from just jumpin into some of these musical areas. Please pray that God would give me a confidence that is build in Him and not me and that Satan would not be able to use that to hinder my involvement here

Meeting people in September: Pray that God would arrange meetings with students and that we would respond if we see opportunities to meet people.

Friends: Its hard to meet people here and I REALLY wanting people that i can just call to go to the movies with, or to go get some coffee. Pray that God would send some girls my way that I can truly call friends!

Love you all!!! And I would love to hear from you and hear what is going on in your lives...even if you think its mundane, I love the stories...I mean i certainly tell enough of them ;-)

My birthday box!!!

Look at all the stuff they sent! I'm actually standing in the box they sent it in!

A Heart attack! What you can't see is that EVERY one of those hearts has a message on it! :-D

Good Times Had by All!!

2008-07-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hello from Massy, France.

Massy is the town where our school is at. The school is small, but there are about 50 others here studying with us. I am definitely being challenged. I understand the concepts being taught in my class since they are mostly review...however my teacher talks SOO fast! The first day she talked very slowly...and then I guess the 2nd day I think she had too much sugar before coming to class and ZOOOOM away she went! She is very animated which makes class fun sometimes.

So overall I am working very hard, learning, reviewing, and doing the homework we are given everyday. But don't worry, there is plenty of time for fun! :-P

Last weekend I went to EuroDisney and I thought I would share some of those photos. Also included are photos from our American soiree (we had tacos, chips and salsa, applepie with ice cream, and we line danced!) As well as pictures from the British soiree that took place tonight! Hope you enjoy them!

Thanks to those of you I have heard from in the last few weeks and I will attempt to reply to all of your emails...but there are many of you I would love to hear from. Now you know about the fun I'm having here...what are you doing? :-) Thanks again to you all!

Katie, Jeff, and I

Check out the guns! :-P

Crash's Coaster

Buzz Lightyear ride! I am a level 4!

Castle

Cotton Candy at the end of the day!

Amazing!

Fireworks!!!!

American Soiree

Line Dancing

Showing the Cotton Eyed Joe

Dosey-Do

Electric Slide

British and Netherlands Soiree

Dancin in the garden to Spice Girls!

Peek-a-boo

The Queen of Netherlands

Regine, the woman on the left, is my teacher

So there was a blue wig around....

Goodbye Marseille...

2008-07-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well...at least for the next 3 weeks! :-)

Tomorrow I am headed to London for 3 days of wonderful vacation in a place where they speak English! Don't get me wrong...I am really comin along with the French, but it will be nice to understand everyone for a couple days. In fact it will probably be a little bit of a shock! :-P

After 3 days in London, Katie, Del, and I are off to Paris for a 3 week language school. We will be participating in an intense language course on a campus just outside of Paris. We will probably be doing alot of reveiw which will be wonderful since I am shocked when I realize how much I have forgotten! Also, we will have some free time so we are planning on getting out to see a few places...Normandy and Versaille being two of those.

So we are hoping that our French skills prove strong enough to survive the classes. Also there will be some side sessions that we are hoping will prove very helpful. The 2 I am taking are Biblical French and Singing in French (it is actually a little different than speaking).

So if you think about it, please pray that we will be safe in all the traveling we do in the next few weeks and that we are able to recall our French and remember what new stuff we learn while in the classes.

I love you all and thanks to those of you who have sent letters, emails, or facebook messages!

Marseille is....

2008-06-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well lets just sum up whats goin on in Marseille right now!

Marseille:

...is HOT and HUMID! No air conditioner...temperatures in the upper 80s and 50% humidity makes for too much sweating. Now I know that those of you sittin back home in Phx in the 115 degree heat are laughing at me...but it really is very different. I mean....when just sitting at my house I start to sweat! No moving needed! I really don'tt like sweating unless I'm going for a run or have some other good excuse to be sweating :-) But...I'm not gonna complain cause you in Phx and just as hot as me...and I have friends in places that are even hotter than that!

....is pretty different during the summer. Alot of people go on vacation so our schedule is pretty free right now...but thats doesn't mean there still isn't stuff to do. A typical day for me includes

a morning run,
cool down in the park (cause its cooler than my apt) where people like to walk if they aren't working or where people like to bring their lunches to eat,
go home and eat some lunch,
clean up and go meet one of my language partners or if its Wed. we have an english club
spend a little more time out in the community...shopping, going to our neighborhood boulangerie (bakery), going to a cafe, shopping for fruits and vegetables (I think the lady at the stand is starting to recognize me now! yeah!)
and then I come home, make some dinner and call it a night

May seem like a simple schedule...and it is, but we are still concidering many other ways to get involved in the community, some of which we might try to start soon...and some of which won't start until September when school starts back up and people return from vacation. But as for now, there are alot of people out and about...hanging out in the shade at the park...eating ice cream and things resembling icees

....is a place for weird stories to happen. Replacing a light bulb the other night I slightly electrocuted myself... which then caused the circuit to blow for all the lights in our house. Would have been ok, but apparently something happened when it shocked me and when I tried to put the new bulb in with out touching the exposed wires this time....it sparked and blew BOTH the breakers for our house. So after flipping all the power back on, I promtly stopped trying to replace that lightbulb.

...will not be my home for 3 weeks in July and August. Katie, Del, and I are headed to Paris for an intensive French school where we will basically have an intense reveiw of the French that we have already learned a nd probably learn some new stuff too.

....is the site of our new English club held every Wed. night at 5 PM!!! This is exciting news. Basically we meet every week and speak English with whomever would like to come for 1 hour! Its a great way to get to know people and help them with their English.

....campuses are a great place to find language partners. I have had 16 responses to my fliers I put up on the campuses. I am hoping that those 16 responses will lead to about 5-6 weekly partners. We meet for about an hour, once a week, and speak half english and half french, so we are helping each other on language. Once again...a great way to meet people. I have met some really great people through the fliers! YEAH!!!

...is my home for now. I am enjoying the time I get to explore Marseille. There is still so much that I haven't seen in this town or in the towns surrounding it! However, I do miss all of you at home. All of you at the newly named West Greenway Bible Church (very excited about that by the way!). And although I am enjoying my new home, things can get quite lonely here at times... so, PLEASE, send me messages...facebook messages (apparently the newest fad at the WG)...emails...cards...packages!!!

I am going to repost my email for those of you that might not be on my email list...if you would like to be on the email list let me know!

godlymelody@hotmail.com

Thankyou all so much for your prayers...but please let me know how ya'll are doin! Love you guys!

Maroon 5!

2008-06-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 28th we went to a concert in town. It was a French DJ and the American group, Maroon 5. We got there and we were able to get a spot about 15 feet from the stage! That was awesome. Of course it was raining! So here we are…all 5 of us that went…plus bout 1000 of our closest friends J packed like sardines trying to protect ourselves from the rain that varied between a mist and Pouring. Of course, when you put up your umbrella, the closest 6 people push to get under that umbrella, which then causes you loose your footing and lurch in one direction…which THEN causes you to poke your neighbor in the eye with your umbrella and them to respond with some VERY angry French comment! Oops!

So, I thought I would share these pictures with you! It was really fun! And come to find out, instead of just cheering for an encore…the French sing! They have these little chanting songs that they also sing at soccer games that they sing to show they want an encore. So enjoy the pictures!

We had fun!

So for those of you who may not be familiar with French fashion...if you don't have an umbrella here, you simply fashion a hood out of a grocery sack!

There were SO many people there!

Katie just can't WAIT for the concert to start!

Questions anyone?

2008-06-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

Thankyou for all of your interest in my Blog! I have had so many encouraging responses both through the blog site as well as by email. God is doing a great work in my life and I really want to share it with you, however it might take a few posts. So keep reading!

Also I wanted to let you know that I am available to answer any questions that you have. I have not had the opportunity to meet all of you that have my blog. I know that some of you may have questions about what I do or where I am…or whatever. So, I’m going to suggest that you email me. That way I can answer your question directly. My email is:

godlymelody@hotmail.com

If you have a question, please email me instead of posting it in a message simply because if you post a message, I have no way to answer you back. Since you are not required to enter an email address or even a name, I don’t have a way to answer your questions and some I might rather answer in a personal email than using a post.

Well, email me if you have any questions…and make sure that you’re checkin my blog to catch up on the happenins in Marseille.

Love you guys!

Oh my soul rejoice!!

2008-05-25T16:02:00.001-07:00

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of our participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
~Philippians 1:2-6

Stealing words from Paul to open up there! :-P Man God is good. I don't want to say that he has really been working the last week. cause I feel like he has really been working every day since I got here...but from a human perspective, the work he has been doing in the last couple weeks has been REALLY encouraging! :-) I will share more in a later blog, but I just want to ask that you PRAISE God with me and thank him for his faithfulness to watch over his children, hear their cries, and answer their prayers! Hallelujah! Thank you for your prayers!!! Please know that God is hearing them and answering them!

I want to leave you with the words of the song that inspired the title for my blog!

I love you Lord,
And I lift my voice!
To worship you,
oh my soul REJOICE!

Take joy my king,
in what you hear!
May it be a sweet sweet sound
in your ear!

Music...my home sweet home!

2008-05-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

So it is right now 2:31 AM and i just got back from one of the bars in town where Tiffany and I went to go and see a few bands play! It was a really great show! It was at a very small venue, but a great atmosphere to be in! Plus, Tiffany (who speaks French unlike me! :-P) read on the front window that on Wednesday and Thursday nights, this place has an open mike night!! Exactly what I've been thinking about doing! How perfect! So I'm gonna be looking into that in the next few days and see how I can incoporate those open mike nights into my summer plans.

I have decided that musicians are the same all over! I went to a music store near my house...walked in saw all the instruments, the books....and the guy with long hair flowing over his shoulders who worked in...where else...the guitar section of the store! The guys tonight...definitly a child of the 80s...long hair in a ponytail...but MAN can he play guitar! His riffs were SOOO incredibly fast! GEEZ! The Bass players in the bands were Obviously the relaxed goof balls of the group! The first band that played, their bass player was really good, and he rocked back and forth as he played with a big smile on his face! :-) Anyone at the WG want to guess who he reminded me of? (If David Brandon doesn't not read my blog...someone tell him to look it up!)

Anyway, I felt kind of awkward at first, cause there weren't many people there and I wasn't with the band :-), but as the music started and I saw the love that these people had for their art, I felt right at home! Right there in the Dan Racing bar. It was encouraging to see people who could actually play the guitar, but just to hear the music, and relize its not all that different from American music (although I must admit it was a little strange hearing the guy sing...and almost yell the rock song...in French?).

This is the second concert I've been able to go to since I've been here and I really enjoyed it! I am hoping that this summer will be filled with many opportunities to go to concerts and explore the life of the clubs and bars that I haven't been able to explore because or our morning language classes. Doing these music things really makes me feel at home and as if there is actually a place in Marseille where I belong! :-D...despite language barriers.

I dropped the ball on the updating every two days...and both Lisa and my mom reminded me to write..and I still forgot. I believe Katie's most recent quote was "Courtney, do you have the memory of a goldfish?" This might be true!

I know there aren't any big reports in this email...but i just ask that you rejoice with me in the fact that I have found a place to play at open mike nights (and I think they even have a piano!) and that our time at the concert went so well.

Pray that I will find a couple of bands that I can follow, simply to get in with their groupies :-) And pray that I will be able to be disciplined and get together a set of music that I can play at an open mike night.

Thanks guys for all your prayers!

NOTE: Ladies, if you ever come to France, don't make eye contact with a gentleman in the club...cause he just might come over and play an invisible piano for you while dancing....

Almost Forgot...

2008-04-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

So officially I have missed my deadline for the blog considering it is 1:28 here in France, however, I figure that most of you who read this blog are in America, so is still Monday for you! :-) So here goes...

I did promise to tell you about the childrens english class. Myself and 2 other ladies on our team get the great opportunity to go to an elementary school in the area every tuesday night to teach an English class for 3-5 year old kids!! The class is an hour long after school from 4:30-5:30.

A little background info...School in France starts at the age of 3 for kids! And school doesn't end until approximately 4! I'm not sure what time it starts!

So we get these kids after a full day of school and right at snack time (French: goute).

During our class we do several activities, read books, color pictures, watch short films, play games, and sing songs...all in English. The kids are very quick and understand several things we say....now wether or not they choose to follow what they hear is another story :-D! One of their favorite songs is Head and Shoulders, Knees, and Toes! They really are very cute, however, think about these things we are up against...end of the day...energy to burn....listening to some lady speak English when they don't understand...that makes for a lot of reasons these kids should get distracted! Some days are very hard, while other days are relatively calm....Relatively! :-) Last week in our class we had Spiderman, a Three Muskateer, 5 princesses, a fairy, and few other unknowns!, they came to us after a festival at school where they all wore costumes! They were pretty cute!!

Pray that God would give my teammembers who are doing this with
me a chance to talk to some of the other moms. They are moms themselves and
this is a GREAT way to build relationships with some of the other moms.
For me, it just gives me a chance to hang with some kids for an hour and love them in jesus name! :-P

Pray that God would help us to be patient with these children, and that
even at such a young age, they would see the difference in us and then ask their
parents or us what that is!

Well times up! Next time I think try a little more of a spiritual update as far as our team and myself are concerned! Thanks for your faithfulness to pray.

And now for ... the Rest of the story!

2008-04-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

...So I did this blog once...and then my computer erased it...so here I go again,

....and we talked about American TV shows and movies we have all seen. They told me that they wanted to come to America for a few months just so they could live in the life that they see in these shows. I had to explain to them that life isn't EXACTLY as Hollywood portrays it! Anyway, it is great talking with them. Our conversations are often slow as they have to correct me quite a bit. They definatly correct me A LOT more than I correct them. They are so patient with me and help form correct phrases or questions and then sit patiently while I repeat them 4 or 5 times! :-P

Language, man...its tough! We are still having class 4 days a week for 4 hours a day. 9-12:45....so its nice to get it over in the mornings and have the afternoons to get out in the community. There has not been a lack of confusion, frustration, or challenge in the learning of French. Its very difficult to learn a new language and a very humbling experience. However, we have fought through the rough days, and God has given us the ability to continue with the course. Monique is our wonderful tutor and has been very patient with us as we go through our rough days and laughed with us on the good days! She has been very nice to reapeat instructions or even single words 3-4 times to help us understand. We have 2 months of class left and then we will be finishing the language school part of our time with a 3 week intensive immerrsion program in Paris where we will be expected to speak ONLY French for those 3 weeks!

Please pray that God would give as a renewed vision for why we are here in
France. It is alot easier to stay positive about learning the language when you
remember the all important reason we are here...to tell people about his love
and salvation.

Please pray that God will give us patience as we fight
off the temptation to give up in times of frustration. Pray that God will give
us a drive to work and a good recollection of what we learn in our classtimes!

To come in 2 days: Spring time in Paris, the kids English class...and much much more!

The First of Several Posts!

2008-04-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

First of all I want to thank you all for your encouraging comments and for your faithfulness to read and respond to my blog. Second, I want to apologize for allowing a month to pass before writing again!! I really don't have much of an excuse! I was talking to my mom the other day and I told her that now I just feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of information I would like to share with you guys...so she had GREAT suggestion. So make up for the last month of slacking...I am going to write every other day for 2 weeks. I'm gonna set the timer for 10 minutes and write about something...as soon as that time is up, I will stop and then continue two days later. So I encourage you to be checking my blog over the next 2 weeks as there will be many new posts!

So...here we go! Starting the timer....and GO!

Let me tell you, the past month has been very well..interesting here in marseille. As most of you know, our team in Marseille is a new one and so everything we do is an experiment of sorts. Sometimes we do things and they succeed, and other times we do things and find that there is no response. Two weeks ago we met to organize our information to start English clubs with the students in the area. Right now is a great time to start these conversational English classes as students are preparing for their oral english exams at the end of the term. We set up times for the meetings, someone made flyers, and set a date to go to the university. We went last wednesday to the campus and stood right outside the front gate near a bus stop with fliers and an information table. During our 4 hours of standing behind this table..we had one person stop by and take a flyer...the only person that signed up was this girl named Courtney Hail who had a peculiarly familiar email address! :-) Anyway, we ended up ending the day by placing some of our fliers around campus so that people might see them and sign up on our website.. I believe since that time we have had 1 or 2 people sign up for classes! Praise Jesus!!

Prayer: Please pray that we would be sensitive to Gods guidance as we try to
figure out how to use English clubs to reach out to the students here in
Marseille.

I have had the awesome opportunity to meet for the last few weeks with a girl "N" who has agreed to be my language partner! It is great to have conversation with someone who knows the culture some much better. Her family is not originally from France, but she has lived most of her life here. We usually meet for coffee or a coke at a cafe around the corner and just talk. We are only really supposed to meet for about an hour, but our last 2 talks have been 3 and 4 hours! Praise God! She speaks in English and I correct any mistakes I hear and I speak in French with her correcting my french. Last week her sister actually joined us and....

TIMES UP!!! more to come in 2 days! Love you all!

Note to Self!

2008-02-24T05:32:00.001-08:00

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?

2008-02-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-02-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

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

Got a Visa?.....Botta Bing, Botta boom!

2008-01-26T00:08:00.000-08:00

So talk about fast! I recieved my visa in the mail on Monday afternoon. At this point I called the IMB to let them know I had recieved it, thinking they would want to get me on a plane the next week. Well I didn't know they would get me on a plane on SUNDAY!! But thats Exactly what they did!

So I will be leaving to go to Marseille this Sunday morning, January 27th. I am very excited to get to France and join my partners. I can't wait to see how the Father is going to use each of us individually and as a team!

Over the last few weeks I have experienced so many blessings I just have to share these praises with you:

My visa came!!
A plane ticket was ordered
All of my stuff fits in my suitcases :-P
Our team in Marseille was able to find an apartment for Katie and I and an apartment for Del
God has given me opportunities all over the place to talk about what I'm doing and that often leads into amazing spiritual conversations!
I was able to see my friend Tatums's new baby boy! Thank you God for Babies!
I was able to see how God is really blessing my home church, the WG, with several new college and career students and in so many other ways!!
I was able to spend some great quality time with my family
And I was able to spend some quality time in the word with my Lord! My uninterrupted time with our Father is so valuable!

A few requests:

Please pray for safe travels as I will be traveling for just about 2 days to get to France
Pray for my family as it will be very different to send me so far away for such a long time
Pray that we will be able to settle into our new apartments quickly
Pray that God would give us superior language retention as we start language school with our tutor in a few weeks.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! And for those of you whom I didn't get to say goodbye to, I'm sorry, but know that you are in my prayers and I thank God for every one of you! Next time I write you, I will be in FRANCE!! Praise Jesus! God Bless you all!

Its Coming!! Its really coming!!

2008-01-19T23:26:00.000-08:00

How faithful our Father is!! How great He is to hear our pleas and answer our requests!! After much prayer and patience.....my passport, with a visa stamped in it, will be in my hands on Monday!!! Yeah! Thank you Father God, my Provider!

So...whats next you might ask?

On monday, once I have my visa, I will call my supervisors and ask them to authorize my travel agent to buy me a ticket. Once the agent finds me a ticket, it will be issued and I will be on my way to Marseille some time in about 5 days to 2 weeks!! My time left on this side of the ocean is very short, so there is alot to do.

God has also provided a flat for Katie and I in Marseille! Hallelujah! Over the next few weeks we (well that is... Katie until I get there) will be buying funiture for the apartment and getting settled.

Thanks for all of your prayers concerning my visa, but please don't stop now!

Requests:

Pray that God will give me safe travel as I head for that wonderful place called Marseille, France
Pray that God will help our team as we are meeting new people in our new home and that God will lead and guide our relationships to be honoring to Him
Pray that we will continue to have a desire for our personal time with the Lord. That the newness of our situation and surroundings won't become yet another distraction to our time with the Father. This will be especially needed as I fill my remaining time at home with packing and goodbyes.

I love you all, and thank you to those of your who have sent me updates and even pictures! I can't tell you how comforting it is to know that I am not coming to my Lord alone. He hears my small voice, but isn't it comforting to know that we are "surrounded by a cloud of witnesses"!

God Bless!!

Courtney

Keep it Up!!

2008-01-13T19:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Dear Warriors!

Thanks for your encouragement this week! I haven't received my visa yet...but God is faithful and will get me there when he wants me there! So keep praying! "The prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much!"

Del got his visa last Wednesday!!! So he is on his way to Marseille this coming Tuesday!! How exciting! Please pray for safe travels for him as he goes.

Katie is in Marseille. She is trying to find an apartment for her and I. Pray that God would lead her to the right place and that God will begin to prepare the hearts of those who will become our neighbors for the next 2 years.

I wanted to share with you a devotion I was asked to write. God really spoke to my heart as I was reading Matthew 22 last week and as I was sharing it with my Dad he asked if I would write a devotion for a newsletter he contributes too. I think this is an important verse for all of us to look at. So I am going to put it under of this post and I hope that it might encourage you in your discovery of the Bible during your own study.

Please keep praying! I am praying for you all!!

Courtney

Matthew 22:1-14

2008-01-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

As I was reading Matthew 22 the other day I came upon the parable of the wedding feast (v. 2-14). I was disturbed by the King’s treatment of the man who had come to the feast not dressed in his wedding clothes and verse 14 which states “For many are called, but few are chosen”. What do these words mean in verse 14 and why was this man not chosen?

As we look at this parable Jesus speaks of 3 different types of people. First we see those who were initially invited to the wedding feast and yet chose to ignore this invitation. These are the ĸλητόϛ (kletos) or the called. Jesus has called them to the Kingdom of God (the wedding feast) and to follow his terms for life, but they are ignoring His call.

Second, we see the group of people invited off the local highways. This was a mixed group of people, described as both evil and good. While surveying the group the King addresses a man who has come to the feast dressed inappropriately. This man, and the others with him, are also ĸλητόϛ (kletos) or called. Jesus called them to the Kingdom of God (the wedding feast) on His terms. The group accepted the call, however, this man chose to respond on his own terms, not Christ’s. Therefore, he is not chosen, resulting in the treatment that followed.

The third group is only spoken of but not seen. These are the έκλεκτόϛ (eklektos) or the chosen, spoken of in verse 14. The chosen are called to the Kingdom of God; however, unlike the man who was cast out, they have made the conscience choice to accept not only the Lord’s calling but also His terms. Therefore, God calls, but we must choose.

As we look at these three groups, I challenge you to look into your own Christian service. We are all ĸλητόϛ, called; are you like the first group and ignoring that call? Or maybe you are like the man and have heard that call; but have you only accepted it on your own terms? I would hope that we can all call ourselves έκλεκτόϛ, or chosen. If so, we can look at our lives and see that we are answering God’s call and abandoning our own terms and conditions to accept His. As we start 2008, I pray that we as Christians all are able to give into the almighty will and plan of our Lord Jesus Christ, accepting it in full, even if that means making sacrifices and large steps of faith.

"What are you still doing HERE?"

2008-01-07T23:08:00.001-08:00

Katie, Del, and I

Hello Friends!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! I'm sad that I didn't get a post out to say these seperately, but I hope both holidays were a blessing for all of you as they were for me. I pray that you were able to spend time with family and friends and most importantly remembered to thank God for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, and for the gift of a New Year in which we can honor Him.

I felt it was time to update you on my status. Not because you couldn't know before, but because I have been neglecting communicating with you through the blog. Thank you for all of your prayers and responses. I have had several of you email, call, or talk to me just to see how I am doing and where I am in the process. In fact...most of your comments have been "What are you still doing HERE?" Haha I love it!

Well, easy question to answer. "NO VISA!" Yes I am still waiting on my visa. I wrote to you last asking for your prayers in that direction. There were several bumps in the road, but my application has been IN the official process for about a month now. We are waiting on a positive response from Paris, and at that point the LA consulate will give me the all precious stamp in my passport. Once I have my visa in hand, the IMB can most likely book me a ticket for about a week to 2 weeks out.

This is my most crucial request. I ask that you join me in praying for a quick delivery.
I am asking that God please bring my visa in the first part of this week. I have faith that He can move mountains. In fact, I have believe that if I truly have faith, and ask God for his power, that I can move mountains.

Ask that God would deliever the visa within the first part of this week.

Katie, one of my partners, has made it to Marseille safetly and is currently doing some apartment hunting for us.

Please pray that they will be able to find a landlord that is willing to rent to two American girls for the next two years.

Also pray that Katie is able to adjust well to her new surroundings. She is living with one of the career missionary families there in Marseille, so she does have some American contact.

Del, the final member of our team, is going to the Atlanta consulate on Wednesday to pick up his visa.

Pray for safe travel from South Carolina to Atlanta

Pray that once he recieves this visa, the IMB can find a quick flight for him so he can get to France as soon as possible.

I thank you for your prayers during these waiting times. They truly are very important. During my time at home I am focusing on packing, learning some more French, playing a little guitar, and speaking at churches. If you would like me to speak at your church or to your Sunday School, please let me know. I don't know how many weeks I have left in the states but if I can, I 'd love to come speak. So far God has blessed me with some great opportunities to speak and I have been very blessed by that.

I love you all and I hope that you are all enjoying this New Year. I included the pictures above so that you can put some faces to the names you will hear so many times in my blogs. I want to leave you with a verse. This verse was sent to me in an email from one of you and it has SO greatly encouraged me, I have shared it with others who are in the same position.

Proverb 16:9-A man’s heart deviseth his way;
But Jehovah directeth his steps

Remember that although we have a direction we would like our lives to go, God always is there to guide us and his plan is supreme!

Thanking God for all of You,

Courtney

Introduction

2007-11-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hello to you, my faithful prayer supporters.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers over the last week as I have started training in Richmond. Through the last 2 weeks there have been times of trial and times of peace, but through it all I have a learned a great deal.

Most of you know me and have met me, however, there are a few readers who I have never met, so I wanted to take a second and introduce myself. I am Courtney Hail, and I will be going to Marseille France as a Journeyman for the next 2 years to spread the gospel. I have lived in Arizona my whole life and just last May graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in choral music education. I can't wait to serve God in ministry using my passion for music and people. And if you ever have a conversation with me, which I would love, I apologize now for talking to much! :-)

As I prepare to go to France, please continue to pray for Gods guidance. I have been in contact with the French consulate concerning my visa (necessary for living in the country) and contrary to what their website says, I have to go in person to apply. So I will be flying to Phoenix for one day to meet with the honorary consulate representative. Please pray that a date for this meeting can be agreed on quickly as it will take 2-3 months to process the visa and every day only pushes back the date of my arrival in France.

Second, continue to pray for my team here in Virginia. I will be working with two other Journeyman, Katie and Del, and together as a team we are working on learning the French language. We have some people here that are helping us as well as some great language programs, but as you can probably assume, it isn't the easiest thing we do here. SO pray that God would give us patience and retention of what we learn.

Finally please pray for the post modern movement as a whole. For those of you that don't know what the word 'post modern' means, I would encourage you to google it. Post moderns (a word that describes a large percentage of college students all over the world) are a group of people that do not believe in absolute truths and do not believe in a one true God. What is you believe is true is fine for you, but don't try to make me believe. So pray that GOd would open up their heart to an absolute truth!

THankyou so much for your prayers. Please send me your prayer requests so I can be praying for you as well!

May God Bless you and keep you my friends!

Courtney

His strength shown in my brokeness

2007-10-13T12:58:00.001-07:00

Thank you to those of you who have chosen to support me with your prayers! I can't tell you how important your prayers are as I prepare to leave for training in a week and a half and France in two and a half months!

This week I have experienced God grace and seen his love at work in unexpected places! This week he spoke to me through the death of a friend, Linda Graf. Some of you had the honor and blessing of knowing Linda, but for those of you who didn't. Linda Graf was a wonderful God-fearing woman who dedicated her life to telling others of the salvation of Jesus Christ. She went to Mexico, Thailand, and many other places including areas in Phoenix spreading the Good News she knew was more important than her own life.

On Thursday I attended her funeral. Linda impacted many people, from all areas of the world, and many of them came to the WG to honor her life and love for Christ. The mike was opened for people to share their memories of Linda, and I was so blessed by people's stories. The one common thread was the importance that Linda put on prayer, praying with everyone she came into contact with. Many stories where told about how she was willing to abandon her own identity to touch the hearts of those around her. And as I sat hearing the ways in which Linda blessed those around her, God began to speak to my heart.

Is my heart prepared for the calling he has placed on my life? Do I put others and Christ in front of myself? Is my life a testament to Christ at all times (even when there is no else around)? All questions that I must answer myself and when I've discovered the answers, ask God for forgiveness for my inadequacies. In my broken and humble state God encouraged me with a few verses:

Ezekiel 18:31- Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!

Psalm 51:17- The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a
contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

God doesn't see brokeness as a weakness, instead it is a time when He can step in and make you strong! God overall is preparing my heart for the adventure coming in the next 2 years.

Prayer:

God please fill my heart with love for the lost who need the hope found abundantly in your love. Ephesians 1:18

Lord, protect those traveling to Richmond for training in a week and a half and those personnel that are currently leaving for areas all over the world. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Prince of Peace, please grant your peace to the family of Linda Graf as they go through this time of change and sorrow.

Thank you again for your prayers. If you have anyway I can be praying for you, please let me know! You can leave it as a comment to this blog, or you can email me at godlymelody@hotmail.com. I leave you with one final verse:

Psalm 19:14- "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer."

I love you all! May God Bless you and keep you!

Courtney

P.S. You can now access my blog by going to http://www.godlymelody.com/

My first post

2007-10-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Blog! This will be the way I will be communicating with you, my prayer supporters throughout my time in France. During my 2 years in France I will use this space to share experiences, blessings, praises, and prayer requests. I will also try to share pictures when possible and maybe even some videos.

I am so thankful that all of you have chosen to partner with me in this new calling for my life. I am already seeing how important your support will be. Those of you who have been praying me through this process have been such an encouragement to me. I will definitely miss all of you here at home, but I know that in spirit and through prayer you will be right there with me as a fulfill God's purpose for my life in the next 2 years.

Well, this is just a short post to welcome you. I am not sure how many more will follow until I start training in October. But please look for an update around the end of October or beginning of November.

As for now, I am already seeing the many distractions that Satan can throw in the way to get in the middle of myself and Christ. Please pray that God will give me a desire to be in His word daily and that he will clear a way through these distractions.

Also, some of these distractions can be attributed to the many things I have to accomplish before I leave. I am trying to remember that "I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me." ~ Philippians 4:13. Pray that God would help me to manage my time and anxiety as I try to balance getting ready and life.

Finally, please begin to pray for the people of Marsielle. The city is a place where religion is not seen in a positive light and the students are not open to being told that Jesus Christ is THE WAY. Please pray that God would prepare the way for myself and my teammates. Pray that God would open hearts and prepare their minds for the conversations we will have. Pray that God would use us to speak to their hearts in a way that they can identify with.

Thank you prayer supporters! Your prayers are greatly needed.

"Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love" ~ Ephesians 6:24

"Que Dieu donne sa grace a tous ceux qui aiment notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ D'un amour inalterable." ~ Ephesiens 6:24

Courtney