Indian Summer

I took these pictures of Arianna at the party, I don't know why but I really like them.

Birthday surprise party.

We have been enjoying an indian summer.  The temperature has climbed into the 80's everyday, which is abnormally warm for this time of year. Monday we had a surprise birthday party for Angie at our friends house. She had a good birthday and is still younger than I am :)  I was wondering why it worked out that we did not get to have the Bible Study last week. Well, now I know why.  We found out early in the week that some people were coming to look at the house on Wednesday.  So Monday and Tuesday we gathered up some boxes and filled up about thirty of them with items that will not be neccessary over the next couple of months. Angie showed the house Wednesday evening while I took the kids to the store and over to McDonalds.  Seems like both families that came, liked the house.  Thursday night Bible Study went well, we held it at our friends house, here in Magrie.  After promising to redo our road for the last two years, they have started this week, which might mean the road being muddy or partially closed.  Oddly enough, they worked Monday, Tuesday morning, and about an hour on Friday morning.  I do not think that they will make the October 14th deadline.  I did have a few people stop by the booth on Friday morning.  Friday afternoon,  laid down to take a "short" nap, and got up two hours later.  Once again, I was a little down that I had let that amount of time get away.  Of course, God knows all, Arianna, who is still getting over a cold, woke up at 2 in the morning and stayed awake until 4.  So we hung out. We talked, played, sang, ate a donut and two hotdogs, and she even chewed on a raw onion for a while, before going back to sleep.  Today, we had lunch with an Irish family we met last week.  We took a wrong turn and had a nice scenic drive getting there,  but we had a great visit and meal together.  At the end, Caleb had a fall on the bike and got a significant amount of road rash.  It took a good while to get him calmed down (meaning about an hour).  He will be sore for a while and have something to show off to his friends at school at least.  God bless, JASON 

House Approved

Arianna and I praying.

Arianna's first watermelon.

Andrew at the lake.

Arianna's birthday party.

The important news that we just received this evening is that we were chosen to get the new house.  We (esp. Angie) are excited about this opportunity, having more space, being in town with more contacts, having a home easier accessible, all more the same or even a little less a month.  It will probably be the end of October before we move in.  Other than that, the week has been good.  We took the kids to the lake on Tuesday afternoon.  We celebrated Arianna's first birthday party with a few friends Wednesday.  This morning Angie and Caleb went and picked up some clothes for Caleb that Angie bought online.  Online shopping is a real blessing, she looks most often at leboncoin.com or ebay.fr (petits announce).  You can great condition clothes, good brands, for sometimes one euro or less per article. We had a good bible study with three present this evening. Tommorrow, I will get new tires on the car, and while that is getting done, I will walk into town and visit at the market as well as run a few errands.  In the afternoon, Angie will hopefully finish getting Lilia prepared for school, we still need to get her lunch ticket and her bus card.  We will hopefully get some packing done as well.  We will be leaving the house, Saturday, around 6pm to arrive at Barcelona at 9pm, we fly out at 12:35am, four hour lay-over in Athens, arrive at Courfu at 9:30 Sunday morning.  It should be a fun time.  Maybe ?  We are looking forward to spending the week with friends, relaxing, hearing some good preaching and conferences.  I may not have the chance to blog, but I will sure update you when we return.  God bless, JASON

Back to Summer



The birthday party pick.  We had two cakes !



Andrew fell asleep in the car, Arianna
would play with his hand.



We have enjoyed the last few days with my parents.  We returned the rental car on Monday and spent some time shopping.  I picked up a Petanque set for dad's birthday.  He enjoyed playing with us and so I hope he can introduce the game to the States.  Monday afternoon we had an early birthday party for Dad and for Arianna. Tuesday evening we attended the Bible Study in Carcassonne.  We had some friends eat lunch with us Tuesday.  Wednesday evening, Mom and Dad watched the kids and let Angie and I go out.  We had a nice supper together and then helped the church in Carcassonne with their outreach at the walled city.  The team Mission Vacances (United Beach Mission) has come to help with outreach this week.  They will be helping us out here in Limoux on Friday.  At the walled city they set up a stand with some tracts and sing and few songs and have a testimony time.  There are usually a couple of contacts made, mostly tourists.  My parents and I, along with Lilia and Caleb, left the house this morning at 5am to drive them to the airport in Toulouse.  We really enjoyed their visit.  I know that the kids are really going to miss them, especially Arianna.  The weather warmed up these last few days and it looks like we are finally having a summer. It got up to the upper 90's yesterday for the first time and should be even warmer today.  It is back to work now.  I need to finish preparing the paperwork for the house in Limoux that we are trying to get. We are looking forward to the outreach tomorrow.  I will most likely haave my stand at the market, while others go door knocking and some pass out tracts.  Today is my Dad's birthday and we figured out at lunch time that this will be his longest birthday, 41 hours long. God bless, JASON



We also repaired the kids bikes.

Birthday comes around.

Arianna enjoyed Andrew playing with his birthday bubbles.

Thursday night the Bible Study was good.  Friday morning there was a threat of rain so I did not go to the market.  We did have a friend over for lunch.  Friday night we had a good basketball practice.  It has gotten warmer and I think everyone was soaking wet by the end, so we didn't mind that it was raining outside afterwards.  Saturday was my birthday, now 33 years old.  We attended the 14th aniversary celebration of the church in Carcassonne.  I really enjoyed the services.  They gave a history of the Baptist Church of Carcassonne and had the President of the Bible Institute at Brussells, Belgium as a speaker.  Afterwards we had a picnic lunch at the park as a family.  The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and having fun with the kids.  We played some games and went for a walk.  Angie got us some McDonalds for supper, which was a nice treat for the whole family.  Sunday services went well.  We ate lunch at church afterwards.  We enjoyed the fellowship.  For supper this evening, I guess I had a little birthday leftover, I enjoyed my favorite meal, hot dogs.  Lilia attended a dance recital with some friends and we let the boys stay up a little late.  They have no school tommorrow because it is a holiday, Pentecost.  I plan on staying up and watching game six of the NBA finals.  I am hoping that Dallas can win their first title.  Looking forward to a good week, have some important porjects to get done this week.  God bless, JASON

Résumé

I noticed that once again it has been over a week since I last wrote and update.  Let me do a résumé of last week.  Monday I finished up preparations to go to Marseille, which was complicated by the fact that our internet was down.  I actually had to go to McDonalds to get online for a little.  Monday night, however, Angie had fever and Micah woke up sick to his stomach, so we postponed the trip to Marseille.  It worked out well because we didn't have everything prepared.  Wednesday, Lilia was invited to a birthday party of some new friends we made, we joined her afterwards and enjoyed an aperatif together.  Lilia had a wonderful time and was able to meet a lot of girls her age.  She will have some extra friends when she gets into Jr High next year.  Later that evening she asked when she could have a cell phone and her own facebook page.  Thursday, we had the Bible study at another couples house in Magrie because Angie was still not feeling good and Arianna had come down with it as well.  Friday, I went to the market for an hour and a half, there were not many people out, most likely because it was 26 degrees.   I lasted for an hour and a half, but when my toes stopped tingling, I decided it would be a good idea to head back to the house.  I did make a contact in the form of a hitchhiker that I picked up twice last week.  Basketball practice is going well.  I was told there will be another game on Saturday that I will be able to attend.  I had a couple of doctor appointments last week as well.  I had a lump checked out and it turns out that it is just a cyst.  The weekend past well and we are looking forward to getting the trip to Marseille done tomorrow.  I made the final preparations for the trip.  I had to have a tire patched on the car, it had a large screw in it.  Andrew also had a Doctors appointment this evening, that think he has exzema, they had thought it was ringworm.  Also if you would like to listen to that audio of my Christmas sermon at the church in Carcassonne, you can find it by clicking here.  God bless, JASON

Busy for an awesome God.

Lilia seems bothered by her brothers
hovering over her.

Lilia's birthday party went very good.  There were 9 guests. It ended up lasting several hours.  That evening I had basketball practice.  I had the opportunity to speak with some of the players.  Just chit-chat really, but still an ocassion to build the relaitionship.  I even stayed a little afterwards talking with some of the guys. Wednesday the kids started school back.  I worked most of the day on the lesson for Thursday, I had it ready earlier, but added quite a bit.  Thursday, I made the final preparations for the bible study.  We had a good turnout. Eight people came and we had a good time of study, prayer, and fellowship.  Angie said afterwards that my French was really good.  I think what probably helped was having gone over my lesson several times during the previous days.  Friday morning, I set up the stand in the market.  It was a beautiful day, getting up to around 65 degrees and sunny.  I made several contacts.  One man stopped by and talked for a minute or two.  A lady took a

gospel of John.  Another man stopped by and asked some questions about the different bibles I had on display.  Near the end another man stopped by and we talked for about 25 minutes.  I confessed to know Jesus as his saviour.  He has had four wives and has five children.  He has only been to church once, and that was the Catholic church.  He does read his bible.  I'll call him Monsieur B.  Be in prayer for him, he took one of the invitation cards for the Bible Study.  Friday afternoon, I started working on the lesson for next weeks Bible study.  Friday night meant basketball practice again.  Usually there are a lot more people on Fridays.  It went well. What surprised me was we played a short game, first team who scored twelve points wins.  I scored 8 of the twelve points.  I was surprised as well.  This morning I am finished up the lesson for next week and the Sunday school lesson for Sunday.  For the Sunday School lesson we are starting a series studying the life of David.  I am looking forward to the study.  After lunch, I will need to get a few things done around the house.  We have a birthday party to attend later this afternoon and then I am meeting with Cédric, my language helper this evening.  I wanted to also share a blessing.  Our ministry needs were larger this month because we had to pay about $1000 for our visas.  Thankfully God knew this in advance, as our supporting churches gave almost that exact amount above normal this past month.  Isn't God awesome! - JASON

All French.

The Bible Study, Thursday evening, was well attended. There

was a first time visitor so I spent some of the time reviewing last weeks lesson.  Meaning I had to stray from my notes,  that is always more difficult.  Friday, my throat was still bothering me, so I didn't set up the stand at the market.  Angie and I spent most of the day working on finances and getting a financial plan for the coming months.  On Saturday, I noticed that it would be rainy for the next few days, so I herded the kids outside and played the game, "Tickle Monster".  It consits of me chasing the kids and tickling the one that I catch. They seem to really enjoy it and it gets them some good excercise, and me too.  Thankfully, I remembered to turn the clocks back before going to bed. Sunday, there was a conference at the church in Carcassonne in the afternoon, so after services, I took the Angie and the kids back home and returned for the conference.  It was very informative.  A former Catholic, who was even an instructor in a Catholic school, who had converted to Christianity, gave his testimony and spoke about the Bible and Catholicism.  Sunday evening, seeing as it was Halloween, I wanted to scare the kids with some scary stories.  Didn't happen. Even with just candle light, the kids could not be scared.  Especially Micah, who was analyzing the stories and predicting what would happen next.  Monday we ate lunch with our friends and had a really good visit.  Five hours of french really gets you messed up the rest of the day.  There was French words and phrases popping out the rest of the day.  That is good though and I would like that to happen more often.  Today we are preparing for Lilia's birthday party that will happen in a few hours.  Her birthday is tomorrow, but they start school tomorrow.  This will be the first birthday party, entrirely in French, that we have had.  Lilia will be 11 years old.  Wow.  Everyone told me that time would go by fast once I had children.  They were right.  Well, I am going to help make the final preparations for the party.  Enjoy the pictures showing what the kid have been up to the last few days, painting, playing Legos, and enjoying Arianna. 

 God bless, JASON   

 

The associations

We made it through everything going on Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday

Arianna's first ride in the stroller.

we took Lilia and Micah to their swimming time.  They are going at a different time this year and there are more kids, meaning mire parents waiting together for 50 minutes.  I pray that we will have the opportunity to build relationships with these parents.  At the Bible study we have five in attendance.  One young lady was missing because she is helping in the potato harvest.  Friday, I prepared the lesson for the childrens Sunday school.  I showed them a cool video that went real well with the lesson, I will attach so that you can see it as well.  Saturday was the day all the associations have their booths set up in Limoux.  Me and Andrew went and then Lilia and Angie.  It was interesting.  I am considering joining a basetball group.  I am acutally a little scared that I will not be able to play up to a level I would consider worthy. In other words, I am afraid that I am going to embarass America.  It will be fun and I will be able to meet others.  Lilia is thinking about joining the cheerleading group that cheers for the Limoux rugby team, the Grizzlies.  Angie had a good long talk with the lady in charge of the group (a former dance teacher at a private school) and was encouraged.  The lady assured Angie that this was a sport and not about other things (she explained what those other things were, but I'll leave that part out).  She even chose to call it "cheerleading" instead of using the French term, "Pom pon girls", to make clear the difference.  They practice the same time and same place as the

All the kids in the car.

basketball group.  The only negative things is that this occurs on Tuesday night at 8:30, which means on most weeks, I would not be able to attend the Bible study with the church in Carcassonne.  We can try it for a month before we make the committment.  Yesterday as well, our landlord came by to begin cleaning out the house next door.  We have already began praying for the family that God will move in next.  Today is Angie's birthday.  I made her a cake yesterday, chocolate cake eith chocolate chunks and chocolate icing.  You can never go wrong with chocolate.  For her gift, I am preparing a DVD of all the videos that we have of the kids.  It has taken longer that I expected, sorting through over 600 videos but I am sure that she will enjoy it.  We are looking forward to this week and to what God has instore for us. God bless, JASON

Micah's birthday



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Arianna asleep in my arms.

This weekend has passed well.  Saturday we did the last minute shopping for his birthday.  We found a good used bike that I'm sure will be the highlight of his birthday.  Sunday services went well at Carcassonne.  I taught the older kids sunday school class.  I thought it went well, and Lilia confirms, so I guess that means they at least understood me.  Angie stayed at home and rested, she is a little sore and had a small fever Saturday, she might be getting un infection.  I had planned to take it easy on Sunday afternoon and take a break, have a birthday party for Micah.  There was a knock at the door.  The family of our neighbors was moving the rest of their items out of the house (the neighbor who was arrested).  They asked if we knew the landlords number and if we wanted the aquarium because they didn't have room to transport it.  We went to take a look at it because we had talked recently about getting the kids an aquarium, because they had wanted pets.  When we arrived we found that the aquarium was huge.  And it had fish in it still.  I am shocked, they mentioned that the pump alone cost 600 euros.  It took several hours for me and the kids to empty and clean and transport it to our house.  I do not know how big it is, but we filled up two bathtubs with the water and still had several inches left.  They also gave us some patio chairs.  The afternoon got hectic, with getting the fishes moved, having the birthday party and then supper.  It all was fun and exciting for Micah. 

Here are a couple of his quotes from yesterday.  Micah commented on his red and brown icing cake with one tall candle, "It's a mixture of blood and chocolate and the eiffel tower!" That just sums up a young boys dreams. Then during supper, out of nowhere he says, "All you need to win a fight is a rope. . . and lasers coming out of your eyes." And one more, Friday on the way home for school, I had to get on to Micah for not behaving in the car, so I told home he could not talk until we got home.  Suprisingly he made it, at the table, I was telling Angie about it when Micah says, "Oh yeah, well I was talking in my head, ah hah."  I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.  Today will be just as busy.  I'm getting caught up on paperwork and will get the house cleaned up.  Angie will get a birthday cake made for Micah's class to share this afternoon.  The kids get out of school at 5 and go to their doctors checkup right afterwards, just a physical for their swimming class.  At 6 there is a parent/teachers meeting at the kids school, and at 6:15 is Caleb's swimming time.  I am not sure yet how we are going to juggle all that, but I'm sure it will go by fast.  I am still really enjoying life in France, sure there are still those difficult cultural moments.  But it has been a wonderful experience and God has blessed.  I am thankful for God calling me here and I pray that I can be a blessing to all those that I meet. So I will close with a different ending to this blog.  Go bless!  - Jason

La Vie en Rose.

La Vie en Rose is a famous song by the most popular French musician Edith Piaf. It is a sweet love song. The song title means "the good life" somewhat similar to "life is a bed of roses". I feel that sentiment often. Our Bible study went well again last night. We praised, prayed and studied God's word. The subject was baptism and afterwards one lady approached and said that she wanted to be baptised. She was forced by her parents to be "baptised" as a child and wants to follow through. I had explained that baptism is a public acknowledgement, declaring salvation and a desire to be a disciple. I always get excited when people hear the word of God and react. That is what the Word of God should do in the life of a Christian. It should cause a reaction.
La vie en Rose is continuing today as I celebrate my birthday. Angie and I took the car to the dealership to have the windshield washer looked at. As they worked on it we did some shopping and I bought her a cappuccino at McDonalds and we sat and talked for a while. We priced some Air Conditioners and looked at buying a Gas grill for my Birthday. We returned to find out the car needed a new washer fluid pump as I expected and so we will bring the car back in Tuesday, it is covered under the warrenty so we will not be out any expense. Looking forward to family night and birthday party for myself this evening. I have requested my favorite meal of Hot Dogs and have bought a few Dr Peppers for the occassion as well. Last 32 years on this earth have been blessed, even though not every moment of every day has been la vie en rose. I can truly say that it has been more wonderful that I deserve and I am looking forward to the future. Below is a version of La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf with an English translation as well (see on youtube). God bless, JASON

Empty Attic

The kids enjoyed playing Croque Carotte Friday evening. Micah really enjoyed teaching everyone how to play. Friday I got a lot of work done on the new blog. This blog will have all of my lessons and sermons in French. You can get there by clicking biblerichesses.blogspot.com or the link in the list of links to your right. Saturday morning we visited our first Vide Grenier (ilt. empty attic) or garage sale for us Americans. We found some wonderful deals on furniture, dishes, even a nice bike for 25 euros. We returned with a car load. After lunch we had Andrews birthday party which went real well. He enjoyed his cake and gifts. In the afternoon and into the evening I was able to get the new blog finished and updated and even planted a few rose bushes. It was a warm day, got up to about 85 outside and 80 inside. I will have to look into possibilites of getting an Air Conditioner for the house. In the summer we can usually keep it in the 80's just by venting at the proper times and closing the shutters. But Angie, being pregnant, was close to miserable at 80. It was a little cooler today (Sunday) because some rain moved in, and it is supposed to stay like this all week, so I will have a little time to research the A/C prices. Services went well at the chuch in Carcassonne. They were having Anniversary services, celebrating 13 years. They had a guest speaker and a meal in between the services. I enjoyed getting to hear
the sermons and getting to know the guest speaker who we might have been related too, as he was Irish and his last name was "Clark". Angie taught Sunday School this morning as well. I took them home for lunch and Caleb and I returned for the afternoon service, Angie was a little tired and didn't feel like staying for the meal. I was suprised to see just now that the Euro has dropped to its lowest level since 2006. Hungary announced problems with debt and possible bankruptcy. It will be interesting to see how the world handles this global crisis. Will this end with a global currency? Will one individual step forward with a solution for all?

I need to work on visa paperwork and getting our car worked on this week. The pump for the windshield washer fluid has gone out, but it is still covered under warranty, I think. Attached are pictures of the Birthday party and Angie teaching Sunday-School. God bless, JASON

Lilia's Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Lilia's 10th birthday with our guests. Her big item was a bike. She had been asking for it for a while. She unwrapped a riding helmet first and didn't put together that it was a bike helmet until I walked in with her bike. She didn't seem to mind that it was black, so it could be passed down to her brothers as she out will outgrow it. Today we enjoyed the services at church. A friend loaned us a car while they were out of town to use so that we could all go. It worked out good, because half-way there Andrew got sick to his stomach and so Angie returned with the boys and I went on in the other car. Services went well. I did the announcements, prayers, and led the singing. I think I was understood. I know that I messed up on the tenses of many verbs. It is bad when you realize right after you say it that it is wrong, but I think it better to continue on as long as the idea is understood. We had Dominos pizza for lunch (Lilia's request) and now we are having a restful afternoon. God bless, JASON

I forgot.

Let me update you with a couple of things that I forgot to mention from last week. Tuesday night after the Bible study I was stopped by the police. They were doing a sting I think, because they pulled over every car. I just showed my papers and he let me go on. I was a little glad because I wanted to know if I had everything I needed to keep in the car, and now I know that I do. Angie's birthday party went well saturday. She was feeling a little better and went shopping but came home exhausted. She is still not feeling back to normal. I got Lilia and Caleb signed up for classes at the swimming pool. They go on wednesdays from 11:25 to 12:10. I stopped by the gov. office and they confirmed that it should not be a problem to extend the visa. Then they said that we needed paperwork for our children as well, but no one had ever mentioned that to us, at the other office they assured that our paperwork worked for our kids. So obviously rules vary by place and person perhaps. All that to say I won't be sure until I have the new visa in my hand. Our car is still performing wonderfully, for the last week and a half I went 4.3 liters per 100km. Okay, I'll translate that for you, that equals 54.7 miles to the gallon. Awesome. And that is driving around town dropping kids off, not real highway miles. Services went good in Carcassonne Sunday. I am getting excited about the idea of having our own services. It has been four months since I last preached, not including to Angie or the kids. A member of the church in Carcassonne brought us supper last night, which we really appreciated. The family is probably getting tired of my cooking. I cook pretty good, but I do not balance well. For example, I see not problem in having rice, potatoes, and pasta in one meal. Angie seems to think that it does not go well together :) We are still waiting on internet to arrive. It has been two weeks. The attached picture is the boys watching a movie in English and eating American candy while in Greece. God bless, JASON

Birthday

Thursday went well. It was the only day this week that we did not have a test. After school we had some friends over for supper as a little birthday party for me. We had a wonderful time. As a meal I requested Salmon, green beans, Risotto, and garlic bread. It was great. Friday after school (test included) other friends invited us over for another celebration at their house, with Tacos. It was great. So far 31 feels about the same as 30. We have a little more homework than normal this weekend. I took the kids to the park this afternoon to let Angie get a head start on it. We are still waiting to hear from the real estate agent concerning our house. I just realized that we only have two weeks of school left. Things are going to get busy quick after that, especially if we do not have our house closed on. Attached is my birthday picture with the kids. They were real sweet. Lilia carried everything for me on the way home. Caleb had made me 6 birthday cards. Micah after he finished eating, laid his head on the table and sighed and then said, "Happy Birthday Dad." God bless, JASON

School break.

Angie went to a concert Thursday night with some of the teachers and students from school, She had a wonderful time.

School has finished for the rest of this year. Angie beat me by several points again, but I am used to it. We said "goodbye" to several students that will not be returning the new year. Our prayers go out to them and their various mission points and ventures. We have reached level B1. I will have to find the paper that describes exactly what that means.

At three this afternoon, I meet with man who is the works closely with many Christians organizations in France. I found out from talking with him which organization would line up with our goals and beliefs so that I can pursue getting our invitation for a residence visa through them.

As Angie and I where on the way to school to pick up the kids we were passing a building where there are usually several mentally handicapped people. Angie had crossed this way before when a girl had asked to go home with her and when Angie said "no thanks". The young lady burst into crying and tears. I have seen the girl several times always crying, loudly. Today as we were just about to walk by, Angie saw this same girl approaching. She mentioned for us to cross to the other side of the street but it was too late. Suddenly this voice shouts out next to me in French (loud enough to make me jump), "I must go home!" She repeated this several times when her attention was draw away by another person we crossed the street. After giving this person the same demanding statement she started crying and continued down the road. Then I hear her say, "Monsieur, Madame?" And I see her crossing the street and she makes the same statement to us again. I was just going to say "No", when Angie spoke in her sweet voice, "Be careful walking in the road, are you ready for Christmas?". The lady made a few brief remarks that I couldn't make out and then crossed back to her side of the street. And she started singing her phrase, "I must go home." over and over again, in a completely happy and content voice. What a change can be made by just a few kind words.

I was blessed yesterday with two occasions to help others, one elderly women to climb some stairs and another lady move her trashcan off the street. I feel really good when I have the opportunity to help others. The elderly women's entire countenance changed and she was happily talking to us and telling how nice it was of me (I did have all the kids with me, they probably were the reason for the nice comments).

Attached is a picture of Caleb on his birthday, Wednesday, with the cake he picked out for himself. God bless, JASON

Another Birthday.

Angie's birthday was Friday. I purchased some eclairs and took them to school for our class to enjoy. It was a slow day at school thankfully. We had about 3 hours of homework on Wednesday Night and an hour on Thursday night. We started to watch a movie last night dubbed in french. It was about the crashing of a 747. Jimmy Stewart was in it. It was dubbed in French of course and it had been a while since I had tried to watch a dubbed movie. Normally it is just kids cartoons. I was surprised by how much more I caught on to. We stopped and went to bed with only about 30 minutes left in the movie. I imagine they escaped from the underwater plane okay. I am looking forward to my parents coming to visit. Last time we talked to them they said goodbye and see you in a few weeks. I didn't realise that it was that close. I have a lot of things I am looking forward to doing with them. Just sitting and talking with the kids will be fun. My Dad and I are planning to hike into Paris. I would like to take part of the same path we took earlier, walk to the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and La Tour Eifel. It would be a nice walk, especially since we would not have to hurry. Now I am going to see what Angie is doing in the kitchen. Thanks again for the prayers for us and continue to pray. We are in the process of looking toward getting our French drivers license (more on that later), and deciding where we will go after language school. Our prayers go out to those who are having financial trouble in the US. We had several churches that had to drop supporting us because of financial hard times. We know that God is in control and has infinite resources. God bless, JASON

Joyeux Anniversaire

We have had another blessed week. School has been going well, we had our first test and like usual Angie made higher than me by just a couple of points. I told her the night before while we were studying that she didn't need to study. She just needed to make sure I studied because she would always make just above my grade. Lilia told us a funny story after school one day this week. They were playing rugby in school and Lilia's team was supposed to hold the ball and the other team would try and tackle them, just tackle them and not take the ball. The boy who tackled Lilia (I know this sounds rough) took the ball away from her. So Lilia goes to tell the coach what he did. She tells it like this, "I told the coach the boys name and then I forgot what to say (in french) so I looked down at my shoes and laughed and then I remember how to say it." It was funny hearing her tell the story.

Today is Micah's birthday. He is now four years old. Unlike most kids it was not a big deal to him. This morning he didn't even want Lilia and Caleb to sing happy birthday to him. He wasn't overly excited and begging for stuff either, which was nice. We had another family from the language school who also had four kids over at the house and they played well together. Interestingly four of the kids ended up getting themselves stuck in a room. Somehow the door was jammed and the knob would not turn. I think it must have happened from the boys trying to get in and the girls trying to keep them out. I pried, tried credit cards, screwdrivers, took the door knobs off and still could not get it open. The younger two inside started to get fussy so I finally kicked the door in. After looking at the door knob assembly it somehow had come loose (do not try to picture this unless you are a little familiar with french doorknobs, which are a little different than us ones) and would not turn. It was a little hard to tell what damaged I had done when I kicked it in and what damage was pre-"me". I think I've got it fixed and will try it later to make sure. I'm going to get some homework done now and work on my devotional for Monday. I plan on visiting services tommorrow at the church that meets at the language school. Pictured is Micah with famous Romanian skateboarder and missionary kid, Brandon Rutherford, and some birthday pictures. God bless, JASON

Catching up.

Here are just a few pictures from the last couple of weeks including fathers day, my birthday and Caleb with a popular haircut for kids here.

Joyeux Anniversaire

Today is my birthday. I am now 30 years old. I have started to approach "the hill". To celebrate Angie and I went to a local mall, without the kids. Awesome. We browsed around for a while, Angie took me out to eat at McDonalds. The mall was huge, three stories about 190 stores. It took a 30 minute bus ride to get there but it was worth it. We drove through a part of town that had several gypsies' trailers. Later we had my birthday party, for the cake we had eclaires. Very good. We let the kids stay up and watch part of "Horton hears a Who". I was working on homework, but the parts I saw and the laughter I heard, it seems to be a pretty good movie. Just finished watching a soccer match. I enjoy watching soccer. The games are different than most sports games. They are usually low scoring, but the game is like a soap opera. It has it's ups and downs and personality. That is why people like it even though there are not that many scores. As americains I think we tend to looke forward to the scores and miss a lot of the game. If there are any other soccer fans out there reading this, here is a link you would enjoy
http://youtube.com/watch?v=31qv2oMPqls it is the Italian Soccer team practice. Anyway, I think I had better say goodnight to another birthday. Rumor has it that there may be a birthday party for me in our class tommorrow. God bless,

The weekend already.

It is hard to believe that the weekend is here already. I am not sure what all happened this week. We had the normal amount of homework and tests, but things seemed busier. I think it might have been all the birthdays. Caleb had a friend's birthday party Wednesday. Andrew had a small family only birthday party Thursday. Last night he had a joint party with another two year old from the language school. Friday at school he had one with his classmates in the nursery. Monday we had a joint birthday party and going away part for students in our class. Thankfully this week ended a period of many family injuries. Micah had a huge knot on his head that has finally gone away. Andrew had a cut on the end of his big toe that has healed. Lilia's leg is better and she went to school this week. Angie had a little cold last week that she has recovered from as well. I am looking forward to services Sunday. We pray that you have a good weekend, God bless, JASON