a new season

Perhaps you remember when our first Pépinière student arrived in August...

Or when Tonio was helping the 2 students with their paperwork in October...

Well, it is with heavy hearts that we have had to close La Pépinière program due to some unforeseen changes and the sudden departure of some of the leadership.

I'm comforted by this though:

"To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven..."

 "La Pépinière closes its doors!"

Pierre and Tonio pray for Andrew before he returns to the states 

and for Hayley, who has already returned.

"...A time to be born,
And a time to die;"

Andrew's farewell with the guys group.

Thomas, Andrew, Tonio, Nathanael, Jean-Rémi, Rodhlann

"...A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted..."

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 

La Pépinière is "the [tree] nursery" in French,

so this verse sums it up quite perfectly.

We were hoping to plant, but for some reason, it's been uprooted.

Sure, we are bummed, but we are very thankful that God is our portion, our ever-present help in time of need.  And it has also been a blessing having my Dad here to encourage us during this difficult season.

Thank you for your prayers.

We do look forward to what God has in store.

Love Linz

 

daily life kind of stuff

It's fun to share photos like the ones we took in Cinque Terre,
but it's also nice to just share some everyday ones...

I like to read Oswald Chambers' devotional along with my Bible.
He often stresses the importance of our reactions in the mundane, the ordinary, the everyday...

Voilà, four poorly lit, somewhat blurry glimpses into our reality this week:

We've had a roommate for almost 6 weeks, unplanned, longer than expected, but it was his birthday on Tuesday, and we wanted to bless him.  He's far from home, moved to France for a year to serve at Calvary Chapel Nice, and birthdays are just not as fun away from friends and family.  So, I went balloon crazy.  He thanked us.  I hope it made his day a bit better.  He moved out later in the week to another home.  We miss him, but it is nice to just be the Monsieur and Madame at home again ;)

My amazing husband is a gifted teacher.  I love listening to him teach the Bible.  We are studying the book of Mark.  Wednesday night, he took us on a "journey" following the path of Jesus.  I must say, Jesus was probably in pretty great shape for how much walking He did !

 And this was last night, watching the France vs. Ukraine World Cup qualifying match.  France lost 0-2.  Now, they have to win against the Ukraine on Tuesday night by at least 3 points... let's just say we might not see France in the World Cup in 2014.  Who knows, they could surprise us on Tuesday ! [pictured: Rodhlann, Andrew, Nathaniel, Tonio, Livia, and me below]

Maybe this quote will encourage you, as it did me:

"We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength." 
-Oswald Chambers (October 1st)

I hope you can find your stamina and strength is the One who never runs out of either !

Love Linz

etcetera...

some photos i haven't yet shared

8 Octobre, 2013

this hi-tech outside vacuum cleaner is actually made to clean up dog poop

the offical job title of this guy is "surface technician" - not bad, huh?

 

9 Octobre, 2013

tonio is teaching the book of Mark on Wednesday nights

i'm so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man of God

 

20 Octobre, 2013

after the wedding on Saturday, Tonio let me sleep in Sunday

so, I took a walk to a park in the hills and enjoyed my Creator

 ponytail fountain... short hair is funny

 i'm really enjoying the change

21 Octobre, 2013

my journal from this morning

i was encouraged... perhaps you will be, as well

thanks for enjoying some randomness with me

Love Linz

premier cours

first class of La Pépinière

Tonio a commencé le livre de Marc et c'était excellent.
Tonio started the book of Mark and it was excellent.

Si vous voulez l'écouter, ça va être disponible dans quelques jours.  Écouter!

Love Linz

getting ready for a student

La préparation pour une étudiante 

La [R]entrée pour la Pépinière

[Back]-to-School for the Pépinière

The [R] and [Back] are in brackets because it's actually the first year of La Pépinière,

so NEXT YEAR we can say BACK to school or RE-entry, as the French say.

 Tonio et Shawn travaillent bien ensemble chez Marie-Christine 

pour préparer une chambre pour une de nos étudiants.

Tonio and Shawn work well together at Marie-Christine's place 

to prepare a room for one of our students.

Presque fini !

Almost done !

Love Linz

apocalypse 6

revelation 6

tonio est un prof super passionné - j'aime bien quand il enseigne

tonio is a really passionate teacher - i love when he teaches

je ne connais personne qui aime étudier plus que lui

i don't know anyone that likes to study more than him 

on a pris une petite pause pour nos têtes

we took a little break for our brains

{Vasnetsov, l'artiste}

cette image représente les 4 premiers sceaux ouverts dans ce chapitre

this image represents the first 4 opened seals in this chapter

::ce chapitre::

::this chapter::

i'm enjoying this study tremendously, 

not just because it's a little nuts studying the end of time 

along with all the crazy happenings, but because through it, 

God is showing me how much He really does love every person on this earth, 

me included...  

He doesn't want anyone to perish - not one.

--Love Linz

God does listen

So, I had one of those "Wow!" moments the other night.

I've asked for prayer, perhaps from you specifically, 

that God would help me learn French.

In the middle of taking notes at our Tuesday night study, 

while my gifted husband taught Revelation 3,

it dawned on me...

...I'm writing in French !!!

I'm listening to French !!!

I'm understanding French !!!

I can speak French !!!

Thank You Jesus for hearing our requests and answering.

You deserve all the glory.

--Love Lindsey

4 things

1

tonio m'amené à voir ce film dimanche soir

tonio took me see this on sunday evening

 {IMDB in English or see trailer in French}

hilarant - hilarious 

2

j'ai commencé cet étude de la Bible cette semaine

i started this Bible study this week

{via LifeWay Ministries}

thanks karey - can't wait to meet on skype !

3

j'ai commencé à faire le danse classique lundi !!!

i started ballet on monday !!!

La Classe de Danse

{by Edgar Degas. Painted in 1875}

4

tonio et pierre enseignent le livre d'Apocalypse les mardis soirs

tonio and pierre are teaching the book of Revelation tuesday nights

Four Horsemen of Apocalypse

{by Viktor Vasnetsov. Painted in 1887}

--L

la vision du monde

world view

Tonio a commencé une serie de 5 cours sur les bases de la foi chretienne.

(Tonio started one of five classes on basic Christianity.)

Chaque semaine, nos devoirs sont de lire un Évangile 

et répondre à quelques questions.

(Every week, our homework is to read one Gospel 

and answer some questions.)

Je crois que tous les gens sont très interessé...Je sais que je le suis.

(I believe that everyone is very interested...I know that I am.)

--Lindsey (Tonio's biggest fan)