Road Construction

Arianna showing what "joy" is.

Caleb showing the results of his bike accident.

Angie showing us walking down the road.

Showing the construction, the boys liked the big rocks,
they actually has to use dynamite to remove one of them.

Lilia showing some new clothes.

I am trying to show the mud on the car.

Arianna showing how happy she is playing outside.



Arianna showing us her ball.

 We have been busier recently, with life.  I can't name exactly what has been keeping us busy.  I guess recently the work on our road has been throwing a curve into our routine.  They are widening our road and so we never know throughout the day if we will be able to use it or not.  That means sometimes we have to park at the end of the road and walk up to the house.  The boys really enjoy this.  The distance is not that great, maybe between a quarter to half a mile, but still it is something that you have to factor in.  Last Thursday we got a call that someone might come look at the house.  We spent Thursday getting it ready and packed up a couple of boxes as well.  Friday morning, we called to let her know that the road was muddy because it had rained overnight, and found out that she had cancelled.  We have been having the Bible Study at our friends house in Magrie because of the road trouble.  They are supposed to be finished this Friday, but I doubt they are going to make their deadline.  Just now, I have to straddle a trench going down the middle of the road for a few hundred feet.  Otherwise, things are going well.  Lilia is still enjoying school.  The boys as well.  Micah went and played with some classmates Sunday afternoon, twins who are new to this area.  It was nice to meet them.  Arianna is happily walking all over the house and grabbing for everything that is within her ever expanding reach.  I met a lady at the park yesterday who had a 20 month old little girl that was quite a bit shorter that Arianna who will be 14 months old at the end of the month.  This past weekend, the temperatures dropped down to around 40 degrees, but yesterday it got back up to 80, so looks like the Indian summer is not over yet.  Let me add some pictures and let them tell some more about what is going on.  God bless, JASON

Summer Outreach

The Bible Exposition in Carcassonne.



Interesting stallagtite in one of the
 caves we toured with my
parents.



 My parents arrived home without any problems.  We have had a good time with the Mission Vacances team (United Beach Mission).  On Friday, we passed out tracts with the information about our work to about 1900 houses in Limoux.  The group had lunch at our house and then everyone crashed.  I think the 100 degree heat wore everyone out.  Saturday morning we stopped by to drop off some Bibles at the church in Carcassonne, they had run out and need some to have until their order came in.  We also did a little shopping and finally got Arianna some shoes that will work for any occasion.  Saturday, it was just plain hot, it got up to over 85 degrees inside.  It is actually not too bad, as long as you don't wash dishes or cook.  Angie doesn't care much for the heat, so in the late afternoon we went for a drive to cool off.  We explored a couple of areas of Limoux that we have not seen yet.  Sunday was another hot one.  Angie stayed home, there was going to be a crowd at church and there would not have been enough seats for all of us. We had a familly from Wales eat lunch with us.  They are Christians who have been staying in the area on vacation.  After lunch we visited in the afternoon.  In the evening Angie went with them to a special service in Carcassonne.  It was a conference on Catholicism.  I heard it last year and so Angie went.  She really enjoyed it.  The man who presented it was a teacher in a Catholic school and very active in the Catholic Church.  He shares his testimony of coming to the faith and shares about some differences and ways to aproach them.  Angie got back late, so we ended up having supper together as well.  Monday I went to the Bible Exposition in Carcassonne.  This is the third time that we have helped with this.  It is an exposition of old bibles and and gives a lot of information about the Bible.  It is a good opportunity to invite people into the church and talk with them about God's word.  There were only two that stopped by while we were there.  This morning I finally got our papers turned in for our house.  We should have a response in a week.  I have no idea how it will go, and either way, I will not be upset.  We just pray for God's will to be done, as I could be happy in that house, just as well as staying in this one.  I'm going to try to go to a few basketball practices this week.  I have not been in about 6 week, and I know that it is going to show.  The weather has cooled off and little and they're calling for rain in Wednesday.  God bless, JASON

Quotation in the American Cemetery

Summer Shopping

At the last youth meeting in Carcassonne, they had a
picture scavenger hunt, I am not sure why but this was
one of the pictures they took.



Andrew with the soccer ball he got for his birthday.

 We had a good weekend.  Services went well Sunday at Carcassonne, there was a first time visitor. We enjoyed a meal after services and a nice Sunday afternoon here at the house, including listening to our home church services in Texas.  Monday the kids started the real vacation.  It was warm, so we let them go swimming in our little pool.  Angie went shopping in Carcassonne, one of the members of the church there wanted to buy each of our kids an outfit.  What a blessing!  July is a month of sales in France and you can find some good deals.  Tuesday, the girls went grocery shopping, (and Angie bought a purse for 70% off) and I managed to finish preparing my lesson for next week.  I played basketball with the guys Tuesday as well. It was 90 degrees, 27 % humidity, and no shade on the basketball court. Somehow I still managed to play for two hours. It was good exercise, but it took a while to recuperate afterwards. Caleb and I got home to find out that Angie had grilled because it was warm in the house.  Today we started working on a video for a church in the states.  Their Vacation Bible School is going to be taking an offering for us and we are making a short video for them.  It is going to be fun to put together, I hope to have it finished by Thursday or Friday.  We are about to leave and visit some friends on Carcassonne and also run a few errands.  We have a new cell phone that we are trying to get used to and we want to use the older one in place of our old prepay phone.  Tomorrow I will have my language session, I will be filming on location in a couple of areas, and also preparing for the Bible Study.  I hope that you are enjoying your summer as well.  God bless, JASON

Summer School

Summer school is off to a good start. We have classes in the mornings and at night. There are 53 students which is a good number, many of the are missionary kids whose parents send off to learn a little french, have a little vacation, and make friends. I met an older man there who was very interesting. At the age of 59, God called him to the East African nation of Djibouti, a largely Islamic nation. When asked what his work was he replied, "to walk with God and answer questions." When asked further, he was the only Doctor for 70,000 people. I liked his simple response, just to walk with God and answer the questions that others ask about him and his faith. I have really enjoyed the lessons so far, we have learned a lot of slang and abbreviations that are important for normal conversation. Right before our vacation, Lilia was talking in her sleep, speaking french. Here is a link for a french movie called "Bienvenue chez les ch'tis". http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ypl0qgdAt2c It broke the record for highest grossing movie in France (previous record holder Titanic). It seems real funny and I can't wait for it to come out on DVD. If you do a search on youtube with the title there is a version with english subtitles. God bless, JASON