Friday, May 29, 2009

Other photo albums

Here are the photos from outreach week 3:

http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/France%20Outreach--Week%203/?albumview=slideshow

Trip to Reims and Epernay:
http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/Trip%20to%20Reims%20and%20Epernay/?albumview=slideshow

Outreach, week 4:
http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/France%20Outreach--Week%204/?albumview=slideshow

Enjoy!

Paris Photos

Here are the photos from Paris!

http://s622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/smithmj13/DTS%20goes%20to%20Paris/?albumview=slideshow

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Happenings in France

Hi friends! It has been another amazing week in France! We moved back into our rooms upstairs, which is nice. We had some amazing weather this week--very springy. We had a BBQ for one of the guys who has been helping out at the base and left to head to his next venture in life. It was fun to hang out with the base folk. I played with a couple of the kids most of the time, which was really fun. Kate, who is four years old and has adorable red hair, is my new friend. I will post pictures of our adventures if facebook ever decides to cooperate...

When we went to church this weekend, Liz, Brea, and I helped with the Sunday school kids--so much fun! We taught them Father Abraham and then took them to the park to play outside. After church, we decided to get lunch at the pizza/kebab restaurant in town. One of the ladies from church (who happens to be a primary school music teacher) saw us in the restaurant and gave us a bunch of certificates to pay for our whole lunch!!! SO NICE! We came back that afternoon and hung out in the beautiful sunshine at the base. It was pretty much the perfect day.

On Monday of this week, we went to Reims and Epernay, which are north of Le Gault. Reims has a huge cathedral where the kings of France used to be crowned, and Epernay is the champagne capital of France. We toured some churches in Reims, walked around the city, and ate morning tea at a really delicious bakery. We saw a street magician who must have been working on his portfolio because he had a video camera following him around. He was pretty good, but not as good as Heath Page (for any of my CSIN friends who know who that is....). When we went to Epernay, we toured the Mercier champagne factory, which was really interesting. They take you on this lazer-guided tram tour of their underground factory and tell you about the whole champagne making process, which is incredibly intricate. I bought a bottle of champagne that I am excited to crack open as soon as DTS is over... ;-}

This week, I got to babysit Yannick, the son of a couple from the base. He is a little guy--maybe around two years old, and he is SO CUTE!!! We ate lunch, read heaps of stories, and played with a stuffed Babar while we should have been napping. We also had a CRAAAAAZY thunder storm that almost felt like a tornado with how windy it was! We had way too much fun--I'll try to put up some of the videos I took of the lightning--it was pretty unbelievable!

Last night, Eliane, Brea, and I went to a home group that was totally awesome! The group is mostly non-Christians; neighbors and friends of the family who runs it. We played some worship songs, did a sign language performance, and Brea and I shared our testimonies. It was a really powerful time--I saw tears in people's eyes while Brea and I were speaking. The people were incredibly warm and hospitable, and we had a great time getting to know them and sharing with them. I am excited for how God is going to use what we shared last night to touch those people's lives.

Other than that, it's business as usual here! We're getting ready to leave for Africa on Monday! It's coming SO SOON! We're all really excited. I'm not excited to pack again, but I am excited to move on to the next adventure God has for us. We'll be spending a few weeks in the north working with some ministries there, and then we're going into the mountains for 6 days, which is going to be hard, but amazing! I'll try to get as much internet/Skype time in as I can this week, because we're probably not going to have as reliable internet in Africa as we do here. Still trying to upload my pictures. I think I've given up on Facebook, so I'm trying Photobucket, but I'm worried that I'll go over my limit because I take too many pictures!!!

Love you and miss you all!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Visit to Paris, etc...

Hey everybody! It's been another crazy week in France! On Tuesday, we all went into Paris to see the sights for our day off. It was pretty much amazing! We left SUPER early in the morning, so we were all way tired, but we wanted to have heaps of time to see everything because this was probably our only shot to get to the city. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Town Hall, the Paris Opera House (where Phantom of the Opera was set and the movie was filmed), Notre Dame, the Louvre Courtyard, and a bunch of other amazingly cool places. We went to one church and saw a Lutheran Choir from Wisconsin getting off a tour bus. We went up and talked to them, and it turns out that one of the guys is from PARKLAND! I flipped out! How random is it to meet someone from Po-Dunk Parkland in Paris!?!?!?! We had lots of fun, despite a few snags in our travel plans....

I haven't done much but sleep for the past two days because I've been sick, which is kinda lame... But I'm on the mend, so it's all good. We've moved out of our rooms at the base we're staying at because they booked a huge group in here before our travel plans changed, so they're being amazing and bending over backwards to find a place for us to stay. Four of us girls are crashing in the lounge room at the house we have been in, the other four are in the basement prayer room at the other house, and the boys are tenting it in the backyard. We're here until the end of the week, then we get to move back into our rooms.

Travel plans for the next leg of our journey are really coming together for our team. We heard from a contact who wants to take us into the mountains to work with an unreached people group, which is really exciting because our team has gotten heaps of words from the Lord about mountains! We're in the logistics phase right now--trying to figure out travel and accommodation plans. Keep praying that everything works out and that we go and do exactly what God wants us to.

Keep lifting up the France team in prayer as well. They are under some serious attack from the enemy with their travel plans, and they need breakthrough! Pray that contacts and people to stay with will come out of nowhere and that God will orchestrate their travels and outreaches.

Love you and miss you all! I'm in the process of posting pictures from Paris, so be expecting those as soon as our internet decides to cooperate!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Exciting news!

Hi friends! We just got word this morning that our contact came through for us in North African Country Number 2, so we're officially going!!!! I can't tell you how excited I am, especially since that's the country I've had on my heart the whole time! We're staying in one city in the north for the whole month unless we find contacts in other cities. Keep praying that all of our travel plans go through and that we go to the exact places God wants us to go. Also be praying for one of the staff from that base who is really sick and is having surgery on Wednesday. Pray for a full, quick recovery so she can continue her ministry in this country. Also be praying for the France team, as their travel plans are slightly more fluid than they would like them to be (aka, they're supposed to be leaving here on Wednesday, but they don't have a place to go...) Pray that God's will be done and that people will take the swift action they need to take to make things happen for the France team.

Thanks SO MUCH for your prayers! The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective! They're not just words--we pray to a living and active God who changes circumstances on our behalf. God is so good!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Week 2 Update

Hey friends! This has been a CRAZY week! We had an open air in a town called Provins (pronounced pro-vAAn, with the French sounding nasal vowel) on Thursday. We had prepared a bunch of stuff, and as often happens, things turned out completely differently than we had expected. There were heaps of kids in the square we were in, more than the base staff had ever seen before. We taught them Bambalela, a fun African praise song we do all the time at our base, and did a drum circle. Some of the kids came and played drums with us, while others played a game like musical chairs, but with scraps of paper instead of chairs. We handed out pieces of paper folded like hearts with scriptures and encouraging words on them to the kids afterward. It was really exciting for us, because God spoke to us before we got here about ministering to children and how they were going to be the key focus for our ministry.

Last night, we went to a house group run by some of the people from the base. We lead worship, and then another French person who has been at the base for a while shared his testimony. It was really fun to be able to meet with and bless some of the people from the community, as well as continue to build relationships with the family from the base.

Today, we had a crazy move of God's Spirit in our team time. The Lord brought up a lot of stuff for us to deal with, and there was a lot of healing that took place in relationships with each other and our relationship with God. God spent all week preparing us for this morning with different words and things he was speaking to us, and I think now that we've gotten rid of a lot of junk in our own lives, our ministry will be much more effective. I'm excited to see what God does at the Youth Group service/hang out time tonight at the baptism service we're helping with tomorrow!

In my last update, I mentioned that we were having trouble with our visas. Turns out, there's no way for us to get visas for the country we were going to, short of going back to each of our country of origins and applying at our local consulate (which for me, would have meant applying in person in Washington....DC!). The option we're exploring now is going to the other country in Africa that we were originally planning to go to but cut out of the plan because of finances and timing. If you're confused about which country I'm talking about now, e-mail me and I'll give you a hint... :-} We need mad prayer!!! Pray that our contact in Africa still has room for our team to come in June and pray that everything with finances and travel works out. We've had a lot of changes and disappointments with our travel plans so far on this team, and I think all of us are ready for a little stability! Pray that God would speak to us clearly about what we're supposed to do and where we're supposed to go. Pray that he will open up doors and provide contacts for us so that we can have effective ministry in the places he wants us to be. Pray for our team to be encouraged and strengthened by the Lord, and that these changes won't distract us from the plan he has for us while we're in France.

Thanks for all your prayers! Love you and miss you all!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Africa Update

Hey friends! Our leader went into Paris yesterday to work on our African visas at the consulate office, and they told her that because we're not French citizens, we can't apply for a visa to the African country we're going to while we're in France. She's going to call the base tomorrow and see what to do, so we're kind of in limbo right now. Be praying for us! Pray that God will grant us favor with the governments and give us wisdom so we can get to the places he wants us to go! I'll keep you all updated when we have any new information.

I had a chance to upload a few more pictures from the last few days. I just can't stop taking pictures! It's too beautiful here!!! ;-}

Week 2, #1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046905&id=44901593&l=3072b32196

Week 2, #2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046915&id=44901593&l=8b52e604dc

Thursday, May 7, 2009

First Week of Outreach!

After a good sleep our first night here, I finally felt like a real human being again! We had a pretty chill day our first full day of outreach--cooking, grocery shopping, and a talk with some of the people involved with ministry at the base about France as a mission field. It's going to be really challenging--pray for us! France is known as the most pagan nation in Europe and has a reputation for burning out missionaries faster than almost anywhere else in the world. The people have pretty much turned their back on God and everything that he stands for, so we have our work cut out for us! We're going to be working with a youth group in the area and also doing a lot of practical work around the base.

Yesterday, we had some prayer and intercession, then went on a tour of our village which is pretty amazing. We did some practical work in the afternoon and had more prayer and Bible reading in the evening. We also had a chance to start planning for the youth group meeting that we will be leading on Saturday. The worship team is attempting to learn One Way Jesus (the chorus), Majesty, and Our God is an Awesome God in French. Pray for us--we're gonna need it.... ;-}

We led a Youth Group meeting on Saturday which was really fun, then we led worship for a church in a nearby village on Sunday. Next week, we are going to a nearby town to do some performing arts in the town square, which we are all really excited about.

We have heard some awesome news from our other team in Tahiti and the base back in Sydney. In Tahiti, the team had a healing meeting their first week, and a lady came and got healed of a whole bunch of stuff and dedicated her life back to the Lord, which was amazing!!! They also said that two of the team members had significant healing with ear problems they've had. At the base, they had their second Youth Street meeting this last weekend. They told us that four kids gave their lives to the Lord!!!! AMAZING! I'm so excited for all that God is doing, and I hope to see some of the cool stuff he wants to do in France first hand in the next couple weeks!

I have been trying to upload all my pictures for the last week, but I keep taking so many that it's hard to keep up! Like I said earlier, the base is absolutely beautiful! A little country village about an hour and a half outside of Paris. I am expecting the garden in the backyard to make for some amazing quiet times in the next three weeks!

Here are the pictures from our last week at the base--our final dinner together before outreach, and the launch of Youth Street:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046666&id=44901593&l=6415ada3fa

Here are the endless albums from the first week of France. You may need a week's worth of food and water with several breaks in order to get through all these pictures--my camera is going to get a work out here!!!

France 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046667&id=44901593&l=8da40bf59e

France 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046671&id=44901593&l=53c84a7d0e

France 3:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046735&id=44901593&l=9ffd4072e7

France 4:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046856&id=44901593&l=605c9c3a15

France 5:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046865&id=44901593&l=5a54291f89

France 6:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046866&id=44901593&l=613885e265


More to come very soon!
A plus tard! (Actually pronounced "aye plu tar" and means "see you later"!)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

France!

Hey all! After 21 incredibly long hours in a plane and a two hour layover in Hong Kong, we have arrived in Paris! The rest of our team (the ones who flew through Korea) will be here this evening. The flights were a little sketch--everyone was wearing face masks, and before we landed in Paris, they hosed down the whole plane with disinfectant spray! EEK! Hopefully none of us will come down with Swine flu....

We're staying at a YWAM base in the countryside about an hour and a half out of Paris. The base is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I took a bunch of pictures, but I can't upload them yet because my computer's film card reader is being funky. I'll try to get them up ASAP. We have wireless at the base, so I'll have readily available internet and Skype for the time that we're here! YAY! More updates after I have slept and can form coherent sentences... Hopefully I can stay up all day and beat the jetlag--I've slept about 4 out of the last 70 hours, so I'm pretty loopy right now...

Je vous aime! (French for I love you all!)
~Maggie

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Travel Update

Hi friends! We went to the travel agent again yesterday, and to get us the best deal, they had to split us up on two different airlines. They had only confirmed 5 of the tickets when we went Friday night because it was so late, so they were only able to get 7 of our team on Korean Air. The rest of us (including me) are flying through Hong Kong. We don't have a stop over on the way there, but we do on the way back, so we'll get to spend a night in Hong Kong, which is pretty cool! It's lame that our team is split up, but I'm just happy that we have confirmed, booked, paid for tickets! It's actually good that we're split, because we leave in the afternoon, and the base hadn't taken our ground fees out of the bank yet, so if we had all left on the early Korean Air flight, we wouldn't have gone with any money! I guess God really knows what he's doing, hey?

So, we leave TOMORROW!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!! SO excited! Pray that we are all able to make out last minute preparations without any hindrances. Also pray for protection as we travel--no Swine Flu in Jesus' Name! I don't know what our internet situation will be in Paris, but I'll try to keep you updated as often as I can. It's the start of another big adventure, and I can't wait to see what God does!

Love you all!
~M

Friday, May 1, 2009

GOD IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (just in case you didn't know)...

Ok, so God is pretty much amazing. Just thought I'd let you in on that little secret. So, before the fundraiser, we still needed over $27,000 to get everyone on our school to outreach. We raised $3500 at the fundraiser, which was amazing, but we still had a long way to go. As of today, we are down to **drum roll, please** $2,000!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?!?!?! GOD GAVE US $25,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know why I'm surprised honestly... He is the God of the universe after all. The rest of the money is totally coming in, and we are going on outreach!

Once we heard the good news about the finances this afternoon, I started looking for plane tickets again. I had found fares anywhere from $1,400 to $2,500 per person for Paris round trip. When I started searching again today, all of the fares I found were SUUUUPER expensive--way out of our price range. I immediately forgot the God who provided the $25,000 just a few hours ago and began to stress about how we were going to get plane tickets. Long story short, one of the staff members at the base found an AMAZING deal for all of our team on Korean Air for $1590 a person!!!! We went and booked the tickets tonight, and we're leaving for Paris on May 4th! I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! The really fun thing about our flight is that we get a night's stay over in Seoul with enough time to get out and see the city AND a hotel stay included in our ticket price! We have two South Korean students on our outreach teams, so they're pretty stoked to see a bit of home, even if it's just for a day.

So, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers! God is so faithful to provide in HIS timing and HIS way, and I know that your prayers played a huge part in that! Keep praying for us! There is one person on our team who doesn't have her money in yet and might have to fly out later than the rest of the group. Pray for a miracle for her finances so she can come with us! Also, be praying for us to find cheap airfare for the second leg of our journey and pray that we will get our visas processed ASAP!

Love you and miss you all! I'll be sending you greetings from Paris in three days!