another lesson

i think perhaps God is teaching me patience, in addition to love. i really wanted to go to this play last night. 18-25 year olds were free with a limited amount of tickets. i knew i had to get there early to get the ticket! well i hurried of with plenty of time. as i was leaving the apartment a bus was just leaving as well - so i missed it and had to wait 8 minutes for another one even though the schedule said it would be 5. i got on the next bus to catch the metro only to realize that i hadn't bought my metro ticket for this week yet. no big deal - i could buy a metro ticket at the machine. well, when i got to the machine, they didn't take cash and i'm using my credit card sparingly due to international fees, so i couldn't buy a ticket. i ran up to ground level and caught a bus to take me to the next nearest station where i guessed there would be a teller. when i got to the next station there was a line. so i waited. i bought my ticket and headed to the platform... except i was probably the farthest away from the specific platform that i could be in one of the bigger metro stations in paris. as i was finally approaching the platform, a train was pulling away. so again, i waited for the next train. the whole excursion took about 50 minutes when it should've taken half that.

i got to the theater, found the ticket counter only to find out that there were no more free tickets available. darn! i lost the battle, but wasn't willing to just turn around and go back to the apartment after all that. i checked out the pricing and found out that last minute tickets (if available) can be bought at a reduced rate.

i ended up sitting in one of the better seats in the theater for only 12 euros. i was so close! so i didn't get a free ticket... but God had a good laugh with me and i had a good time at the theater. i probably wouldn't have gone if i didn't think i was going to get a free ticket!


patience is a virtue, right?

6 months already??

my dear boaz - i can't believe you're already 6 months old! you're growing so fast! happy half birthday, little man! i wish i could be there to celebrate with you and the family! enjoy some cake for me :) love you!

so it's been a few days

...and there have been some complaints from the peanut gallery. but its just because i'm keeping busy. after 3 years away at college, my parents have figured out that when i don't call, it's usually because i have a lot going on. so if i was blogging all the time, i couldn't be enjoying paris, right? so consider that my excuse: i'm enjoying paris :)

i filled my week since i posted last. the past week has been a lot of helping out around the house as i mentioned before. tomorrow the passion world tour (www.268generation.com) makes its stop in Paris. this is a big project for Al, so it's been my priority to help with the family this week which meant extra runs to/from school and doing what i can around the apartment. i ran alot of errands with nicole last week which i really enjoyed. they may have been boring in a sense, but hey... i've never been to a french pharmacy or supermarket before! i also got to join emma and elizabeth on their annual checkup at the doctor's office. france has a public health care system and as apart of that, all children (0-6 years old) receive free checkups and vaccinations to make sure children are healthy and that parents are informed. my days following around a 'french' parent definitely allows for good cultural immersion!

wednesday and friday were my writing workshops at the french alliance. i really enjoyed both sessions. i interacted with adults from (literally) all over the country. the only common language among us was french! i was the only person who spoke english as their first language. it was a bit challenging, but a really great experience. there was a mixup on the first day of the workshop with my online registration... so that was frusterating. however, it turned into a positive experience because i spent a greater part of my morning with a french professor working out the scheduling (in french) and it was a good opportunity to have an extended one-on-one conversation involving comprehension and speaking. and with the timing of the mixups and the classes, i had 3 free hours to kill. i opened up my map and found that i was just a couple blocks from the Luxembourg Gardens... so i was able to spend a few hours enjoying creation and the sunshine. pretty cool.

thursday night i helped out at le pave d'orsay with an artist's 'vernissage'... which is the unveiling of a new gallery (or, the varnish. get it?). the vernissage was apart of an event called 'les portes ouverts' (or, the open doors).. where all the galleries in the area (it's a very artsy area) open their doors for the evening while people walk around, in and out, talking to artists and friends, eat free food, etc. our gallery wasn't too busy so i had the chance to walk around with adrian for a while. adrian is an american who has been doing an internship with la fonderie for the past year. it was great to have the time to interact with another 20-something, hear a little about her story and enjoy a parisian evening together!

when i'm not helping out with the family or coordinating events, i'm wandering the city. my mother has subtly (was it subtly? :)) asked a few times if paris is a safe city to walk around at all different hours of the day and night. surprisingly, paris is just as busy in the evening as it is during the day... but that doesn't come without caution. it still is a city and i still am a 21-year-old female. while i am cautious walking home/taking the metro late at night, i haven't felt overly unsafe or threatened. i try to take the time to pray for the people i pass and ask for God's blessing on the streets i walk along and the locations i pass. it keeps my mind focused instead of being fearful. but don't worry, mom... i still carry my pepper spray in my pocket. ;)


as i sit in the little office of the small apartment that is home to me for the remaining 2.5 weeks (yea, i'm halfway done! crazy), i'm trying to iron out what it is God wants me to learn while i'm thousands of miles away from anything familiar. i'm trying to help out with the feria's as much as i can while i cram in so much of paris while also trying to polish up what french i can understand/speak. a lot of what i do seems pretty trivial especially while i'm helping hang laundry or carry groceries or the french person resorts to using english with me because they see i'm slow at comprehending their french...
but even as i type this, i'm reminded of a quote from mother theresa (as quoted in shane claiborne's irresistible revolution), "we can do no great things, just small things with great love. it is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."
so i'm probably not here to do great things. maybe i'm just here to learn how to love... love strangers i can barely understand, love a family who is doing the best they can to share Jesus with parisians, love a city who doesn't really care about God, love annoying tourists and point them in the right direction of the notre dame (even though i have yet to visit it).

...but then again, maybe that's just today's lesson.
tomorrow is another day with more faces and different challenges.



on the docket tonight... hopefully a free play downtown - woohoo! tomorrow - spending the day keeping nicole sane with the kids while Al prepares for passion. and tomorrow night - Passion Paris! :)


grace, peace, & love.
<3 jenn

from across the sea...

looking good, bro. happy 24th birthday, peter! hope it's a good one for you! love ya :)

it's raining in paris, france

well, it was a rainy day in paris today... and it looks like it might be that way for the rest of the week, unfortunately. after walking the streets a bit this morning and taking care of some business details (money & metro pass!) i was pretty wet. i picked up elizabeth from daycare and stayed at the apartment all afternoon for some "cultural acquisition." i watched some french television and did a lot of research about the city, the country, the culture, etc. all while drinking some french coffee and eating a pastry. in retrospect, i think i did pretty well with the gloomy day.

tomorrow i have my first language workshop. i signed up at the french alliance language school downtown. this is an oral french workshop, so i'm hoping it will help me be more confident with my speaking and get me more into the swing of things. i understand what people say on the television and on the streets and whatnot for the most part... but i tend to freeze up with the face-to-face interactions. i have a hard time comprehending that quickly and then i have to get a response out. it's not pretty. in general, french people are very proud of their language so there is a lot of pressure! i'm convinced the ladies at daycare think i'm a stupid american who can't speak french. hopefully that will change before my time here is done.

al is working on a lot of preparations for passion: paris which is a week from today. the final details and arrangements are keeping him busy so i'm trying to be available for nicole where i can. i have 2 events this weekend for la fonderie that i will be helping with as well. also, they are hoping to host a group of about 10 students who are in paris with YWAM (youth with a mission) for dinner this weekend, too - so i'm on deck for that!


thanks for thinking of me and checking in on my blog. your thoughts and prayers are appreciated as i work on this french thing i've got going. specifically, you can pray that i can be an intentional blessing to the family where they need me, that i can make some connections with some french people, that i will be intentional to listen for God's guidance while i'm here and that i can get a handle on this language!

grace & peace, jenn.





the first two pictures are from the two events i attended this past saturday at le pave d'orsay... with the wheaton group and the french trio, respectively. the third (this small version doesn't do it justice) is a picture of le louvre museum from my walk back to the apartment saturday night. the final picture is from my sunday afternoon walk around the town... street performers by l'arc de triumphe!

it's my fifth day here in france and i feel like i've done soo much already as an "intern" and a tourist! so far i've had meetings and worked at events and tackled a lot of the sites around the town. i think i've successfully grasped the bus and metro system - i was made for the city! i love public transportation :).

i'm still ironing out my "responsibilities" while i'm here. a big part of my time here will be to intentionally help around the apartment and herd kids. nicole, the mom, is pregnant and there are three little ones already. It can be a bit crazy at times, so i'm glad to do what i can! i learned the route to the school and daycare very quickly so i will be helping with at least one or two trips each day to drop off kids. this allows me to be out in their community and also interact (aka speak french!!) with their teachers. a big part of al and nicole's focus (and their heart) is to build intentional community and love others. often, this is done on a small scale... and that starts with building relationships with teachers, going to the same stand at the market every week, buying bread from the neighborhood bakery, getting their kids involved in community activities, etc. already, i've met a lot of the people that they connect with on a weekly basis. and this week, they are opening up their apartment again to a group of about 10 students who are doing some leadership training in Paris for a short term. it's been exciting to begin to grasp a bit about their ministry here and try to find my niche with them.

another responsibility i have is to be involved with the arts' ministry, la fonderie. as well as help coordinate events at the art center, le pave d'orsay - both of which al works with. friday, i attended a work team meeting for le pave d'orsay. following that, al and i headed over to the train station to intercept a group of about 30 wheaton college students and professors as they arrived from london. as a wheaton alum, al was pleased to help host them while they were in paris as well as network with students and the staff members for future parisian visits. the professors played a concert in a brunch-setting at le pave d'orsay saturday morning. the quartet was very talented and well recieved by all. saturday evening, i was back at le pave d'orsay to help setup and run another concert at the venue!

church this morning was pretty cool. it was all in french and while i didn't catch every word of the sermon, i think i got a pretty good gist. just don't quiz me later. :) i had some "jenn" time this afternoon wandering around paris. i spent a majority of the afternoon sitting by the eiffel tower, taking pictures and sitting and watching people. i enjoyed it.



what tomorrow will bring... i'm not quite sure, but i kinda like it that way. maybe tomorrow will bring pictures at least... maybe.

grace & peace.

just a glimpse...

today, i saw my first site of eiffel tower. granted, it is pretty tall and hard to miss... but i hadn't seen it yet. i didn't even know it was coming... and all of a sudden, there it was! a pleasant surprise. i squealed. tomorrow... the real deal. ohhh yea.

bonjour paris!

i just woke up... in france.

very cool. the last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind. monday, we spent the day walking around thessoloniki, greece. beautiful! i had an amazing greek pita from a little hole in the wall for lunch... and a greek salad for dinner (i had too!). tuesday (my birthday!), we were in three countries. we woke up in greece, had a layover in italy for a few hours (we left the airport and saw the colleseum and the trevi fountain and ate some gelato!) and finally made it 'home' to belgium before midnight. wednesday morning i repacked my things and got on the train to paris!

yesterday was a good day to get settled and acclimated with the kids and al and nicole. we had a young couple over for dinner. they work for YWAM out of Quebec and are currently traveling to visit some teams. it was cool to meet with them and hear a little of their heart and passion. (oh, and we had a french dinner... crepes!)


i'm excited to be here and see what is going to unfold for me! so far, it's been an 'easy' transition to this whole european thing. europe pleases me :). please continue to pray that the transition goes well and that i will be able to connect with some specific people while i'm here!

this morning i'm going to walk with the kids to school so i can get a better idea of the neighborhood, etc... we're leaving shortly!

grace & peace.