"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!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Music...my home sweet home!
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....
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....
Monday, April 7, 2008
Almost Forgot...
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!!
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.
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.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
And now for ... the Rest of the story!
...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!
To come in 2 days: Spring time in Paris, the kids English class...and much much more!
....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!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The First of Several Posts!
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!!
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!
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!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
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: 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"!
-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"!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
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!
My first night in Marseille, this is what my room looked like! A few days later this matress went into a bed.
Kids playing in Parc Borley
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?)
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
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!
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