I tend to say that Bible translation isn't a very photogenic ministry ... Home Assignment meetings aren't much better!
lundi 28 mai 2018
Upfront
I haven't taken photos in all the meetings we've spoken in, but here are a couple of photos of Marc:
I tend to say that Bible translation isn't a very photogenic ministry ... Home Assignment meetings aren't much better!
I tend to say that Bible translation isn't a very photogenic ministry ... Home Assignment meetings aren't much better!
jeudi 24 mai 2018
Smells like the dentist!
"It smells like the dentist in here!" exclaimed Benjy, as he entered the dentist's surgery this afternoon. The dentist seemed concerned about this, and sprayed some essential oils to try to get rid of this apparently distinctive smell!
We are in and out of medical appointments at the moment, trying to get check-ups and vaccinations up to date before we leave France again. So far so good!
We are in and out of medical appointments at the moment, trying to get check-ups and vaccinations up to date before we leave France again. So far so good!
mardi 15 mai 2018
Another world
While there are things we miss about life in Europe, there are others we most definitely don't. Yesterday was a mixture of both for me!
I went into Paris - that alone is far from my daily life in Benin! - to meet a friend who I first met over twenty years ago, and have been writing to - and occasionally meeting up with - since then.
(Yes, definitely Paris!)
I knew it was a strike day on the trains, but while I was concerned I might not get a train, I hadn't quite realised what it meant for conditions on the few trains that were running. I was lucky to fit into the already-packed train, and then spent an uncomfortable half an hour packed like a sardine as we travelled towards La Défense. One poor lady started feeling very unwell - I felt sorry for her but encouraged by the way people around her did what they could to make her feel better. Our train terminated at La Défense, and fortunately I realised that it would be best to get out at the station before, and transfer to another train there ... when that train reached La Défense it was quite scary to see people standing packed together 5 or 6 deep on the station ... I don't know if I'd have had the pushiness to get myself on a train in those conditions!
It was a great relief to get off that train, and to take another, less full, underground train to my destination. I have never thought I'd want to live in a big city, and that experience did nothing to change my mind about that!
It was lovely, though, to visit the National Museum of Asian Art "Musée Guimet" - suggested by my friend - and to admire artefacts thousands of years old. It always makes me wonder about the people who saw or handled them daily all that time ago. And again, a very different experience from life in Pèdè.
Catching-up with Rachel was wonderful too. We write to each other often enough to know the important events that have happened, and the main news about our families, but it was really nice to be able to ask a question and have an immediate response instead of the 6-8 weeks it can take with the post between France and Benin. (Obviously for urgent questions we can use email, but we really prefer pen and paper!) Nothing beats face to face communication!
I went into Paris - that alone is far from my daily life in Benin! - to meet a friend who I first met over twenty years ago, and have been writing to - and occasionally meeting up with - since then.
(Yes, definitely Paris!)
I knew it was a strike day on the trains, but while I was concerned I might not get a train, I hadn't quite realised what it meant for conditions on the few trains that were running. I was lucky to fit into the already-packed train, and then spent an uncomfortable half an hour packed like a sardine as we travelled towards La Défense. One poor lady started feeling very unwell - I felt sorry for her but encouraged by the way people around her did what they could to make her feel better. Our train terminated at La Défense, and fortunately I realised that it would be best to get out at the station before, and transfer to another train there ... when that train reached La Défense it was quite scary to see people standing packed together 5 or 6 deep on the station ... I don't know if I'd have had the pushiness to get myself on a train in those conditions!
It was a great relief to get off that train, and to take another, less full, underground train to my destination. I have never thought I'd want to live in a big city, and that experience did nothing to change my mind about that!
It was lovely, though, to visit the National Museum of Asian Art "Musée Guimet" - suggested by my friend - and to admire artefacts thousands of years old. It always makes me wonder about the people who saw or handled them daily all that time ago. And again, a very different experience from life in Pèdè.
Catching-up with Rachel was wonderful too. We write to each other often enough to know the important events that have happened, and the main news about our families, but it was really nice to be able to ask a question and have an immediate response instead of the 6-8 weeks it can take with the post between France and Benin. (Obviously for urgent questions we can use email, but we really prefer pen and paper!) Nothing beats face to face communication!
samedi 12 mai 2018
The road is long...
... but we can drive a bit faster than is usually sensible in Benin!
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:
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:
mercredi 18 avril 2018
April...
We have certainly had April weather since getting back to Europe. Easter Monday saw our excited kids playing in snow in Chesterfield...
and I felt cold, despite the sun, at my cousin's wedding in Wales last Saturday ...
But we have also enjoyed warm sunshine this week, seeing the kids playing outside in T-shirts ... those photos haven't made it onto the computer yet!
Fortunately, despite having to do their schoolwork while other kids are on holiday, our three have had time for plenty of bike-riding and playground-visiting with Papy (their French grandfather).
We are now getting ready for a bit of travelling - down to the SIM France HQ near Orange for a Conference and our debrief - then some visits to supporting churches and friends. Plus another cousin's wedding thrown in!
and I felt cold, despite the sun, at my cousin's wedding in Wales last Saturday ...
But we have also enjoyed warm sunshine this week, seeing the kids playing outside in T-shirts ... those photos haven't made it onto the computer yet!
Fortunately, despite having to do their schoolwork while other kids are on holiday, our three have had time for plenty of bike-riding and playground-visiting with Papy (their French grandfather).
We are now getting ready for a bit of travelling - down to the SIM France HQ near Orange for a Conference and our debrief - then some visits to supporting churches and friends. Plus another cousin's wedding thrown in!
samedi 31 mars 2018
Journeys
We left Pèdè last Sunday morning and drove to Parakou. We spent two nights there so that we could have our "End of Term" appointment with our Personnel Coordinator (and friend, Lee) and so that Marc could meet up with a mechanic to talk about getting our car properly fixed at last while we're away.
Tuesday we had a taxi drive us down to Cotonou. Unfortunately the A/C wasn't working, but otherwise all went smoothly. We saw the usual aftermath of accidents like this one on the way into Cotonou, with the lorry blocking 3 of 4 lanes:
As always we wonder how on earth they managed to end up like that!
We then had one and a half nights in Cotonou, getting up in the middle of the second night to be at the airport by 3:35am. We then flew to Morocco, where our airline paid for a hotel for 24 hours because they'd changed our flight times (fortunately ahead of time so we knew it was going to happen).
Enjoying the hotel ... and watching "Casablanca" in Casablanca!
We finally arrived in Manchester yesterday (Good Friday) afternoon, and were very happy to at last get to my mum and dad's. It's a treat to be able to celebrate Easter here.
Tuesday we had a taxi drive us down to Cotonou. Unfortunately the A/C wasn't working, but otherwise all went smoothly. We saw the usual aftermath of accidents like this one on the way into Cotonou, with the lorry blocking 3 of 4 lanes:
As always we wonder how on earth they managed to end up like that!
We then had one and a half nights in Cotonou, getting up in the middle of the second night to be at the airport by 3:35am. We then flew to Morocco, where our airline paid for a hotel for 24 hours because they'd changed our flight times (fortunately ahead of time so we knew it was going to happen).
Enjoying the hotel ... and watching "Casablanca" in Casablanca!
We finally arrived in Manchester yesterday (Good Friday) afternoon, and were very happy to at last get to my mum and dad's. It's a treat to be able to celebrate Easter here.
mardi 27 mars 2018
Finishing up...
Our last month at home in Pèdè was very busy! Full but fun! We're leaving for a Home Assignment of 4 months, and so lots of people wanted to see us before we left. We also had Léa (our short-termer) with us, and other missionary visits, plus the Ladies' Bible study I'd taken on for our last 4 Sundays.
Léa's time with us was rich and rewarding, both for her (she says!) and for us. She came at everything with such enthusiasm that together we got a lot of work done. She also got on very well with our kids, and even did some dance lessons for Benjy and Eve. Benjy had to for school, and did it reluctantly, but Eve loved it so much she asked for extra lessons once the obligatory ones were over!
Léa is staying in Bénin for a couple of weeks longer than us. She'll be visiting other translation teams and helping out with some more English-French translation for the SIM Benin-Togo office, so we hope all of that goes well for her!
Léa's time with us was rich and rewarding, both for her (she says!) and for us. She came at everything with such enthusiasm that together we got a lot of work done. She also got on very well with our kids, and even did some dance lessons for Benjy and Eve. Benjy had to for school, and did it reluctantly, but Eve loved it so much she asked for extra lessons once the obligatory ones were over!
Léa is staying in Bénin for a couple of weeks longer than us. She'll be visiting other translation teams and helping out with some more English-French translation for the SIM Benin-Togo office, so we hope all of that goes well for her!
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