School Excursion

This past Monday we went to L'Hermitage, France; located on the Rhone river. We all piled on a bus and drove 1hr 30min to the final destination. We were given an 1hr 30mins to walk around town and then meet up for lunch. The first stop on some of out lists were the M. Chapoutier wine shop. We walked in and it was amazing. There was wine everywhere, they had samples of the gravel that the grapes grow in, barrels and wine bottles. One look at the price list thought and out first comment was "No way," then we found the affordable wine. I ended up purchasing 2 bottles, a red and a rose, as gifts for the parents. We had time to walk around the town and visit bakeries and take a view at the Rhone River. Lunch was a 3 course meal, during which we experienced a huge rain storm that was blowing chairs all over the place. Once most of the rain had subsided we left for our excursion at the Valrhona Chocolate Factory. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the factory but the chocolate was delicious. We got to see the whole process of making the ingredients for chocolate. The chocolate bars and candy themselves were all made at the Valrhona school. At the end of the tour we were given a gift back with sample chocolates and recipes books. All in all it was a very fun and interesting day.

Food in France

So the food in France is not much different then food in the rest of Europe. He have had a lot of meat, vegetables and bread. An interesting fact is they do not put their bread on their plate, it is placed on the table to the corner of their plate. It is also rude to keep your hands in your lap during the meal. Our lunches everyday consist of an appetizer, the entree and a dessert. The other day we had Salmon Mousse with spinach. I decided that I would give it a try and ate half of it but it was difficult. I am not a very big fish eater and I can't eat it if it tastes like fish. This did. The appetizer though was delicious. It was either couscous or small pasta with tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions and lime juice. I was glad I had a big helping of that so I was full when the entree of fish mousse came.I am learning to open up my mind and try new things. We will see how the rest of the 2 months pan out.

"New Englnd is the New American Missional Frontier"

I read an article today by Jared Wilson, a pastor of a church in Vermont. In the article he talks about how he is a man from Texas who lived in Tennessee for more than a decade but God was pulling his heart toward the unreached New England area. He states that New England is the New American Missional Frontier and gives three reasons why.

1. It is the least churched region
2. The few churches that do exist do not preach the gospel
3. It is spiritually fertile

Whether to stay in Providence or not after I graduate is something that has me on my mind for a while. I have decided to stay in Providence for a while helping the campus ministry at Johnson & Wales. I do believe that even though college students are where some of the focus should be because they are the next generation. Not all of the focus should be on them. What about the people who ride RIPTA, those who you pass on the street, at the mall or sit by at work? What about your neighbors? We all need to share a little everyday with the people we meet. You never know how much of an impact you could have on someone's life.

Update

It's been a while from the last time I posted something and a bit has happened since then. In September we went to Ireland for a week for my cousin's wedding. As a traditional Irish Wedding it was over the course of 3 days. The wedding was Friday, there was a party at the bar on Saturday and Sunday was a family lunch. Then they left for their honeymoon. It was tons of fun and we got to travel for a few days. Although at the wedding cousins were coming out of the woodwork that I didn't even know I had and they were either named Ann, AnnMarie or Marie (I am never naming my child any of those names). What was interesting about the ceremony was that she grew up catholic and he grew up protestant so they had a priest and a reverend perform the ceremony. It was quite interesting. For traveling we went to Galway, Cashel, Cobh, Kilarney, Blarney and the Cliffs of Moher. All within 3 days. It was a lot of fun. I even kissed the "Blarney Stone."
We got back from Ireland and the Bazaar was at the base the next weekend. I worked that all weekend with my mom and then left on Wednesday for Yssingeaux. My mom and I decided that to leave a day earlier than I had to be there so that we could stop along the way. We made a pit stop in Nancy and Dijon. Nancy has what is considered the most beautiful town square in Europe and you can't go to Dijon without buying some mustard.
I made it to Yssingeaux yesterday and today was our first full day here. It's been slow, cold and wet all day but that's ok because we have the whole weekend free and plenty of time to get used to the town. I will keep you updated on the school and all my travels while I'm here but from my first impression it looks like it is going to be a great program and we are going to learn a lot. Bye for now.

This Little Light

So one day my sister and I decided that we would buy some CDs. Well we ended up spending $45 on 4 CDs....crazy? I know. Not sure why CDs are so expensive these day since everyone buys them online now.I ended up buying Addison Road and I forget the other one, but they were both christian, very rare to find at the BX here. They always have gospel and hymns but hardly contemporary christian artists and if they do they are under pop or something else. Anyway there is one particular song on the Addison Road CD Stories called "This Little Light" . Listening to it again recently after everything that has happened this summer brought me, I guess you could call it, comfort. It talks about how we all have a light in us burning for christ and how we should nor lose it during the happy times and the sad. We need to remember through it all that we are child of God. A God that loves us very very much that he sent his Son to die for us so that we may live with him in eternity. A God who has shown us mercy, peace, grace, joy, sorrow and pain, but has NEVER EVER left us. We also need to cherish the time we have with those around us because a life could end just like that, but also to never forget those who have gone from our lives because they are in a better place and they served their purpose here.

"This Little Light"
There's a little flame inside us all
Some shine bright, some shine small
The rains will come and the waters rise
But don't you ever lose your light
In this life you will know
Love and pain, joy and sorrow
So when it hurts, when times get hard
Don't forget whose child you are

Chorus:
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine, gonna let it shine

May you live each day with no regret
Make the most of every chance you get
Let your eyes get wide when you look at the stars
With the same sense of wonder as a child's heart
With the ones you love treasure the time
And for those who are gone keep their memories alive
Hold on to your dreams don't ever let go
There's a fire inside you burning with hope

Chorus:
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine, gonna let it shine

There will be days when you want to give up
When the clouds settle in
But after the rain comes the sun
Don't you ever forget
One day there will be no more pain
And we will finally see Jesus' face
So until then I'm gonna try
To brave the dark and let my little light shine

Chorus:
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine, gonna let it shine

There's a little light inside us all

Family Wedding

Last weekend my Mum, Heather, Rachel and I drove 6 hours (should of been 5 but there was tons of construction) to just outside Dresden for my cousin Adam's wedding. The party was over a three day period because as the invitation said they like to celebrate. My cousin and his wife have been married for a year but they never had a church ceremony. We were staying at a hotel/hostel run by Monks and some mission. What the mission does is help people in East Germany who have dropped out of school or been in jail and they teach them different skills and morals and things in life. The buildings on the property were all restored and were actually built with the help of the people who have been through the mission. My cousin, his wife and her family have had strong ties to the mission and what they do for a while. The rooming situation though I have to say was a little awkward. Everyone else had rooms with the people they came with and my mom ended up with her own room because the room we were going to have was going to be used for something else. So Rachel, Heather and I ended up sharing a very large room with Marci's (Adam's wife) brother and his girlfriend and a friend of Adam's. The guys however were up in the loft so we did not sleep on the same floor but it was still slightly awkward because we didn't know them.

We arrived in time for the BBQ and the rest of the festivities. That night   we had a BBQ with friends and family from both sides of the couple and then celebrated the Baptism of Adam that evening. As the evening led on some of us sat around the table for a little chat and get to know each other time. Breakfast was a traditional German breakfast followed by free time till the wedding at 3pm. So we decided to go into Dresden for a few hours. We only walked around a small area of the city but it was fun to
 see all the old buildings and the beautiful detail on everything. It used to be where the Royal family of that region lived. before leaving we stopped for lunch and had the most delicious flammkuchen (a very flat pizza with no marinara sauce); my sisters ended up getting bratwurst. the funny thing is is that we don't think the cook charged us for the bratwurst and my sisters are convinced it's because the cook thought I was cute but I'm not totally sure. Anyway it was a neat little cafe where they cooked the pizzas and food outside and served it to you sitting down at a table or standing up. We made it back to the hotel in time to change for the wedding, which was in a very small rustic church, completely their style. After the wedding on the way to the reception, Germans do a vehicle line where they drive along behind the happy couple honking their horns till they arrive at their destination. We returned to the hotel for tea and cake, had a break and then had the remainder of the reception and dinner.

A neat little thing they did was a picture guest book where you would have your polaroid taken and then stick it in a book with a little message for the couple. They also did this thing where everyone went outside to the lake where they had a little dingy set up and the couple got in and rowed out to the middle kind of as a crossing of the water because he's from England and she is from Germany. They then set up fireworks from behind a set of bushes. I must say it was very romantic. I enjoyed many things about this celebration and one of them was that almost everyone who attended was a Christian, which was very enjoyable because many of our conversations were about Christ and the church. They were also all very welcoming and friendly. It was amazing to see such a loving couple who are completely dedicated to Christ and furthering his work, join in a holy union set up by God. It is very encouraging and gives one hope for the future and the people of the world.

Not another one!

This summer has turned out to be a very morbid one filled with accidents and death. We were away this past weekend at my cousin's wedding and so we did not receive the phone call until last night. Apparently my Great Uncle Joe passed away on Friday from natural causes. I had not seen him in many years but from what I remember when I was younger, is that he was a really fun and nice uncle. Why all this stuff is happening in one summer I am not sure but I am glad it is this summer because I am not sure if I will be home next summer to help my mom. I suppose though that you have to be joyful about their life and pray that they lived it to the fullest.