We're back at Marc's parents' after three weeks away. First we had a week down in Caderousse, near Orange, at the SIM France Headquarters. There was a two-day Conference with other missionaries and the missionary office personnel, and with a very interesting speaker, and then our debriefing spread out over three days. That gave us time for two sessions with the Director talking over our last 20 months in Benin and the next 20 months in Benin and beyond, and also a meeting with the Treasurer to talk about our financial support, and another with the Communications Officer to talk about the way we share our news. I also spent some time with the Communications Officer designing and ordering magnets for our regular supporters.
The children had a great time on borrowed bikes ... though of course they also had to keep plugging on with schoolwork whenever Marc was free. They also enjoyed talking with other missionaries at mealtimes.
Marc's cousin Marielle got married on the Saturday at the end of that week, just an hour-ish from Orange, and an hour and a half from the church where we were due to speak in Lyon on the Sunday - very good planning!
The wedding was lovely, and we had a brief but fun time in Lyon, presenting our work, catching up with old friends and making new ones.
After that we spent a few days at Marc's brother Sam's family home near Belfort. We presented our work to their small group one evening, and also enjoyed hearing about their church plant project.
We then had a week in Nancy, where we lived until 2007 and the 2015/6 school year. It feels like home to us all now. We have some wonderful friends who invited us to stay with their family for the whole week, and it all went very well. We presented our work at church on Sunday, and Marc preached and I led Sunday School, and we also organised a picnic for anyone who wanted to come along with their sandwiches on the Tuesday, which was a Bank Holiday. We also caught up with our lovely Léa and other friends, and I managed to fit in a trip to my gynecologist (the kind of necessary medical visit often hard to fit into a short stay in Europe).
Home Assignment is often hard for people to understand. To some people it sounds like we are on holiday - but as you can tell we aren't just relaxing! SIM tries to encourage us to make the most of all opportunities to share about our work - whether in meetings or just informal chats - and to get the previously mentioned medical check-ups - but also to get some rest while back in Europe where living conditions are so much more comfortable.
It will be easier once school is over for the kids! This was our room in the SIM Guesthouse turned into a classroom:
After the wedding ceremony our kids discovered the French tradition of driving to the reception venue in a convoy of cars with lights flashing and horns blowing!
Fun photo at Léa's flat:
Picnicking in our favourite Nancy park again:
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