This has been such a full and fun year. We have been really blessed and are very thankful to God for everything.
I'm back to lists, and have a new game. I can play it in any room of my flat, and it's called "Where are you going?" I just look round and ask every object that question ... of course they leave it up to me to answer!
I'm going to be very sad to leave, but I'm surrounding that with thankfulness. You're only sad about losing things and people when they've been a wonderful gift in the first place.
The park near our flat. (I do miss parks when we're in Benin!)
We can tell it's the end of the school year. Concerts, sports day and school summer fairs ... the first two are past, and we have two summer fairs to go.
Simon's half of the school and Benjy's half of the school had their concerts on Monday and Tuesday evenings last week. I was quite moved to see our boys up on stage with their friends, because this is exactly the kind of experience we hoped they would get this year. Homeschooling has some advantages, but being able to put on a concert with so many other children, classmates who they know so well, isn't something they will be doing in Benin. And I don't think it is something they would have chosen to do - another advantage of mainstream schooling!
Simon even said a line into the microphone to introduce one of the songs in his concert. It's probably a good thing Benjy didn't have to, as he looked quite stagestruck when the curtains first opened, and didn't really looked relaxed until the last line of the last song!
Here is a photo - I have blurred it since you shouldn't put recognisable photos of other people's kids up on the internet, but you get the idea! Benjy is the one in the middle at the front with a yellow T-shirt and beige trousers.
Marc and I were asked to lead a Family Service in our church at the end of May. Not long after we were asked to do this, one of our supporting churches in England (Christ Church Bedford) said that they would like to send a small team of people to visit us. They would be able to spend time with us to encourage us, and to find out more about our ministry in Benin and our current life in France. We said we'd love to have them, and asked whether they'd be prepared to help lead the Family Service, which they said they would.
We chose the theme of "teamwork", and Marc prepared a short talk around the idea of the bench that footballers sit on when not out on the field playing. He pointed out that in our Christian life we sometimes find ourselves not out in the centre of the action but "on the bench" ... where we still have our part to play, encouraging our teammates and celebrating or commiserating with them.
He gave the example of missionaries, saying that when we are out in Benin it is really important for us to have people "on our bench" - meaning the churches who support us financially, in prayer and with messages of encouragement. But we also play that role to other people who are "on the field" in other activities, encouraging them from Benin as we rejoice in their service for God wherever they are.
Our friends prepared a game, a story, a testimony and a song on the same theme of teamwork, and despite them only arriving on the Saturday evening, our service held together very well. We then had a lovely afternoon and evening with them. It's great to have them on our team!
At the Botanical Gardens:
