Getting a French Driver's license

These are a few pictures from the "Toques et Clocher" festival.  Caleb, Micah, and I went.  It was quite crowded and I can not imagine seeing more cars parked.  They were packed in every spot.  I did enjoy seeing some antique cars and some wooden models of the churches that have been repaired.  Sunday went well.  We received word that one of Angie's uncles had passed away.  He had been sick for a while, but it is still sad to hear about it, and not be able to be with the family.  We enjoyed the services in Carcassonne and also listening to the morning services of our sending church.  Today I dropped of the paperwork for our drivers license exchange.  If you do not remember the history of our driver's license issues, let me summarize.  We found out that getting a french driver's license the french way is very expensive.  We also found out that there were several states that had a exchange agreement with France.  Colorado was one of these states, and also one that did not require proof of residence.  It was actually cheaper for us to fly to Colorado and exchange our Texas driver's license than to go through the process here (classes, driving lessons, exams).  Thankfully I have a aunt that lives in the Denver area that hosted us for our trips.  When we arrived and received our Colorado driver's license we tried to exchange them, but because our visa (carte de sejour) was issued before our driver's license we could not.  We did found out that we could drive with a US license the entire time that we were students.  So we had some time to spare.  After language school we returned to the states to get our visa changed to non-students.  We arrived back in France, and received our visas (thankfully before 1 year was up, because you can only drive for one year in France with a US permit if you are not students).  All the paperwork we needed was a couple of photos, proof of residence in France, marraige license (for Angie to show her maiden name), official translation of the Colorado license, stamped and addressed envelopes, copes of our visas and driver's license.  I got that all turned in this morning and ours should arrive soon.  I didn't even have to pay, excluding the cost of the translation.  I think this could be the smoothest paperwork trail that we have done since being in France.  I will let you know for sure when we have the French "permis de conduire" in hand.  God bless, JASON   

Daddy Jim



Lilia and Caleb with Daddy Jim

 

Micah in the snow.



This is what we called our Grandfather on my mother's side.  I am not sure where the nickname came from.  Daddy Jim, Jim Taylor, passed away on Friday night.  He was a good grandfather.  He pastored churches in Arkansas, Kansas, and Texas for over 50 years.  He served in the marines in World War II and the Korean War.  We received the news Saturday morning.  Read his obituary here.  He is the third grandfather that has passed away since we have been in France, Clyde Clark was my Dad's father, Harold Davis who I consider as my spiritual grandfather passed away these last couple of years.  If I could mention one thing that I had learned early from watching him, is that preachers and christians can have a good time.  He loved to have fun and he could talk to you about so many things.  Saturday it rained almost all day but in the afternoon it turned to beatiful snow.  It kind of made a good summary of our week, things get tough but God's still there and he can turn the bad into good.  Sunday's service was good as well.  I had a little trouble when we sang the french version of  "How Great thou Art".  The text for the message that morning included 1 John 3:2 "My dear friends, we are already God's children, though what we will be hasn't yet been seen. But we do know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is." We look forward to seeing Daddy Jim again.  Back to work for now.  God bless, JASON

Andrew got shot.

The weeks is off to a good start. Angie took Lilia and Caleb to the Dr. yesterday to get their vaccinations. When they returned I asked Andrew how the Doctors visit went. He said, "He shot me". Lilia and Andrew each got one shot. I was amazed to find out that Andrew didn't cry. He watched the doctor do it and when it was over he said, "That didn't hurt very bad." Yesterday I finished the rough draft for the bible study. Of course I will constantly be revising it and changing things. Today I will work on the lesson for the prayer meeting in Carcassonne.

Let me mention for those who may not know, my former pastor Harold Davis is near death. Doctors are saying it could be just weeks away. Bro. Davis, as I always called him, was my pastor the first 16 years of my life. He was a great preacher, he could take the most complicated passages and explain them in the simplest way. At a young age he preached a sermon about hell. I realized that I was headed for that horrible place and spoke to my father afterwards about. My dad explained the way to avoid hell and gain heaven, by turning away from our sin and turning towards Jesus. Afterwards we went and talked with Bro. Davis in his office and he used his trademark quarter illustration to illustrate that once saved, always saved. He baptized me soon afterwards. My father has a website created that has his sermons. He preached through books of the bible and many are already on the website. They make good resources for pastors and christians around the world. You can visit it by clicking here. It is possible that I could be back in the states in time for his funeral, but in either case, I will see him again. The picture is of Bro. Davis and my father a few years ago. I'll end with quoting Bro. Davis words, "We cannot stop Armageddon from coming, but we can flee now to find a place of safety for our souls. Every man, woman, boy and girl in the world ought to flee to the cross and trust, call, upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of the soul. I would like to give a special warning to all who are unsaved: Get ready today just as if you knew that Jesus would come today. Look to Jesus right now in prayer and ask Him to save you. I would like to give a special appeal to all who are saved: Get just as busy for the Lord today as you would if you knew that Jesus would come today. Look to Jesus right now in prayer and ask Him to help you to live for Him. Ask Him to use you in His service." God bless, JASON

Home.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we made it home okay. The trip went real well and God even granted us the chance to get into a spiritual discussion. I will give more details and share pictures in the blogs to come. Just received the news that my grandfather, Clyde Clark passed away yesterday. He was a godly man . He trusted Jesus to save him as a young man. He had a great sense of humor and great faith as well. He was a missionary and pastor for about 50 years. I praise God for his example of faith, for raising my father up in the way of the Lord, for his support of me and my family and our work here. He died yesterday, but he is doing great now. He was a saint, all who are saved are saints. The greek word for saint, sounds like - hagios, is from two words meaning literally "not of earth". Those who have accepted Jesus' sacrifice for their sins and put their faith and trust in him as savior are just temporary dwellers on this land. Now, he is truly home, in heaven with his Savior Jesus Christ, he will be missed here on earth, but I will see him again. Pictured is me, my father and grandfather. JASON