Lake at Puiverts

Tuesday morning I attended a funeral for one of the ladies who attended the church in Carcassonne. She had no family that could be found and there was just a small group of friends there.  Tuesday afternoon, we went to the lake with some friends.  It was a small lake, what I might even call a pond, but it was nice.  There was a nice play area for the kids and the beach and swim area was not too big.  It was cool and cloudy so there was not a lot of people there. Arianna did not care much for the water so she spent most of her time hanging out with the grown-ups or sleeping.  The kids swam while we played petanque.  I happened to win every game, a shock because this was only my second time to play.  We breaked for lunch, and played a little more in the afternoon.  We really enjoyed the drive there and back.  It was a nice relaxing day. 

Pétanque and Le Cross

Micah is on the far right.

The crowd approaches.

Lilia in the purple.

Caleb in the blue with the hat.

Lilia, purple shirt, helped registering students.

Wow, we are just finishing a busy weekend.  Let me catch you up from the last blog point.  (For your information if you see a highlighted work, it is a link, meaning that if you click on it it will open another window with more information related to the highlighted word.)  Tuesday was spent studying and preparing for lessons.  Wednesday afternoon, I had a lesson for Lilia and another teenager in Magrie. Thursday morning after my language session, we walking to the Magrie Mayors office and picked up Angie's visa.  An answer to prayer, just to have it in hand.  Thursday night we had two for the Bible Study.  Friday morning at the maket  I talked with several regulars and also met a lady from a village about 20 minutes from Limoux, she was already Christian and we knew some of the same people.  We talked for a while and she seemed interested in the prospects of having a work in Limoux.  Friday afternoon, my counseling sessions went well and the week finished with basketball practice.  Thus began the busy weekend.  Saturday morning there was the "cross des mille enfants", it was a long distance race with over 1300 children from schools in the area.  Micah, Lilia, and Caleb participated.  I had a choice of either serving as one of the volunteer crosswalk guards, or getting pulled into racing along with the kids.  That's right, I chose being the crosswalk guard.  I attached several pictures of the event.  After that finished we grabed lunch and prepared for having some guests over for an "apéritif" (snack before the evening meal).  We had a great visit with them, I play basketball with the husband and there kids go to school with ours.  Sunday we left immediately for a BBQ (french style) put on by the basketball coach for celebrating their last game of the season.  We arrived just as everyone else did and had a great time.  I during the afternoon, everyone asked about why I was here and what my work entailed.  In typical french fashion, it took about three hours before all the eating was done.  Afterwards, we played a game of  Pétanque, briefly explained a French game kind of a mix between horseshoes and bowling.  My team won. By the time the BBQ was over it was almost seven.  We ate a quick supper and helped the kids get the homework finished before calling it a day.  It was a great weekend.  We had the chance to build some great relationships. I also want to attach a music video.  I try to help you get a glimpse into French culture.  This music video won two awards.  The artist is Ben l'Oncle Soul and he won two awards for this song entitled Soul Man.  I was surprised by the style of music.  There is an English Version and also a version with French subtitles if you want to cheat.  (see youtube) Below is the original.  God bless, JASON