Well another day here at Champfleuri. It's been an easy day as the camp that is here takes care of itself in essence. Last night we got to watch the most magnificent thunder and lightening storm. We sat on the front steps of our new home with our umbrellas so that we could see everything! I love storms and the ones here at Champfleuri put every storm I've seen in my life to shame. They are incredible! This morning we got up sooo early and set off to work thinking we'd beat the campers and get something done around here without running into them. Sadly this plan backfired and we ended up spending the morning doing basically nothing. In the midmorning we finally kicked them out of the game room just long enough to actually clean everything. After a morning of annoying waiting for them to change rooms we finally gave up and went grocery shopping in the nearby town. We got a little lost...okay a lot lost and ended up taking a really nice driving tour of the towns around here. It was soo pretty even despite the rain. When we finally got to town we went to two stores, a health food store for Lorraine and a huge store that resembles a walmart minus the great deals. Here we bought some stuff for the house (ie a shower holder and picture frames!) and then some much needed groceries so that we can continue cooking. The lessons continue and I can make eggs, hashbrowns, apple pie, pizza, rice stirfry and many other things. Kristin is a very good and patient teacher. She has also recently passed the camp driving test, which means that we can now go anywhere in the valley by ourselves! Ahhh such a nice perk to living here. Except we checked the price of gas and the conversion is about 8 bux a gallon...so driving isnt going to happen except to the store and church on Sundays. Speaking of church tonight Sam called and hes picking us up in about an hour to head to Grenoble for our first youth group! It's super exciting as it's a chance to not only meet some local kids, see sam's church, but also after a week and a half of no sam get some quality sam time! It continues to rain here so we've been stuck inside, thus the constant updates from both Kirstin and I. We've also discovered a bunch of games so we're going to be learning some great french childrens games! It's been so nice to have some time to relax and just talk. We've become coach bums during the evenings, either sitting watching a movie with the group or just taking. It's been nice to catch up after a rather rushed summer and just to express some thoughts and ideas about this year. It's been amazing and we're getting pretty close. It's going to be sooo strange to not share a room after eight months! We've also been recounting old stories with each other so I will leave off with a great one from Freshman year:
It was a normal wintery day and Catherine, Gio, Kristin and I where driving to LCA with my mom in the SUV. Just after we passed the northshore mall we hit a little snow, nothing too bad so we just kept going. Quickly though we found ourselves in bumper to bumper traffic sitting in about half a foot of snow...gosh u gotta love new england in the winter! So my mom decides to take some backroads to get us to school. It was a pretty important day for Catherine as Kristin and I recall it being the day of her health presentation...man its been a while huh? haha so either way here we are sitting in traffic now on the backroads and we decided to stop at this little dunks for a coffee and some breakfast as we where getting no where fast. Well after breakfast as w're all piling back into the car this snowball comes out of nowhere (actually it came from Gio's hand) and hits Catherine square in the back. What happened next was the best snowball fight Kristin and I can recall. It was sooo funny and then we spent the whole rest of the four and a half hour car ride to LCA completly soaked. Turns out when we got there that every class was basically a study hall and Catherine didnt have to even give her speach! So much for all the driving...at least it makes for a good memory!
off to youth group!!!! So syched!
God Bless,
Emily
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Moving Day
Well as Kristin and I just discussed over a rather late dinner it feels like today was actually a week. This morning we made a huge breakfast with the Babyak family and then afterwards bid them bon voyage! Today they will take a cho cho train (aarons new word) to Paris and then tomorrow morning bright and early they fly to Senegal, Africa. They are about to embark as long term missionaries. It was amazing not only getting to spend time with them here at Champfleuri and enjoy their positive personalities, but also to hear some of the details of preparing and planning their trip. As many of you know both Kristin and I feel a call to missions and so hearing firsthand the stories and hardships of actually going out into the world was really inspiring!
After the family hit the road we proceeded to look over out new abode. The chalet is a little house that sits right in the heart of camp and has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a dining/living room. It's sooo exciting to actually get a whole house to ourselves and to finally have the chance to move out of our suitcases. So this morning we began the long and very trying process of cleaning the whole house top to bottom. Boy have I gained an appreciation for moms as they do spring cleaning. This is a small house with no belongings strewn all around and it has taken us the better part of today and will take us all of tomorrow to finish! So far we have finished our bedroom and the bathroom. We still have quite a bit of work ahead of us! Kristin also learned how to mow the lawns at Champfleuri today with the genius help of Allan the Great. This guy is amazing and multifacited! He can do anything! So today alone he taught us to mow, fixed the broken toilet, ate enough food to feed a small village, taught Kristin to drive a stick in France in the Alps, and managed to fix all the camp computers...well thats a typical day around here folks! Ahh my favorite story from today has to be Kristins account of Allan finding a new toilet seat as we seem to have broken one.
While sorting through all sorts of mowing equipment (ie. the gas, oil, etc) Allan suddenly emerges from the shed and points in the direction of the other end...
Allan: Hey, look what I found, a toilet seat!
Kristin: wow we just happened to have one of those lying around?
Allan: Actually I got it off the toilet we just happen to have hanging around!
yea thats it!
Anyways back to the day here. I think we paused for lunch, but I don't really remember that much about it. Afternoon was filled with tons of cleaning and music. Kristin learned to mow and drive a stick with allan's help. And then this evening has been filled with amazing pasta and meat sauce, garlic bread (without dairy), and french fries! ahhh a perfect dinner after a long day of cleaning. Now we are off to move all our stuff to the perfectly cleaned room we have set aside. It had three beds, but one was a trundle so now we have tons of space and if anyone needs a place to crash we have the spot...let us know! Next we're going to continue walking around searching for anything deserted around champfleuri for our new home. Already I have scavengered some speakers, a headset (that may end up being blains...we'll see if he goes on a rampage anytime soon :)) , a light, mirrors, shelves, a table, shower curtains, towels, blankets, shoes, and i think thats it sooo far. Champfleuri is awesome in that theres tons of stuff just lying around waiting for the taking...and we've got our eye on a toaster! So I'm off to move and then unpack some. Tomorrow will be filled with the rest of cleaning, moving totally into our house, and decorating!!!! I'm sooo excited about this one. It's such a cute little house and its nice to finally be settling in somewhere!
After the family hit the road we proceeded to look over out new abode. The chalet is a little house that sits right in the heart of camp and has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a dining/living room. It's sooo exciting to actually get a whole house to ourselves and to finally have the chance to move out of our suitcases. So this morning we began the long and very trying process of cleaning the whole house top to bottom. Boy have I gained an appreciation for moms as they do spring cleaning. This is a small house with no belongings strewn all around and it has taken us the better part of today and will take us all of tomorrow to finish! So far we have finished our bedroom and the bathroom. We still have quite a bit of work ahead of us! Kristin also learned how to mow the lawns at Champfleuri today with the genius help of Allan the Great. This guy is amazing and multifacited! He can do anything! So today alone he taught us to mow, fixed the broken toilet, ate enough food to feed a small village, taught Kristin to drive a stick in France in the Alps, and managed to fix all the camp computers...well thats a typical day around here folks! Ahh my favorite story from today has to be Kristins account of Allan finding a new toilet seat as we seem to have broken one.
While sorting through all sorts of mowing equipment (ie. the gas, oil, etc) Allan suddenly emerges from the shed and points in the direction of the other end...
Allan: Hey, look what I found, a toilet seat!
Kristin: wow we just happened to have one of those lying around?
Allan: Actually I got it off the toilet we just happen to have hanging around!
yea thats it!
Anyways back to the day here. I think we paused for lunch, but I don't really remember that much about it. Afternoon was filled with tons of cleaning and music. Kristin learned to mow and drive a stick with allan's help. And then this evening has been filled with amazing pasta and meat sauce, garlic bread (without dairy), and french fries! ahhh a perfect dinner after a long day of cleaning. Now we are off to move all our stuff to the perfectly cleaned room we have set aside. It had three beds, but one was a trundle so now we have tons of space and if anyone needs a place to crash we have the spot...let us know! Next we're going to continue walking around searching for anything deserted around champfleuri for our new home. Already I have scavengered some speakers, a headset (that may end up being blains...we'll see if he goes on a rampage anytime soon :)) , a light, mirrors, shelves, a table, shower curtains, towels, blankets, shoes, and i think thats it sooo far. Champfleuri is awesome in that theres tons of stuff just lying around waiting for the taking...and we've got our eye on a toaster! So I'm off to move and then unpack some. Tomorrow will be filled with the rest of cleaning, moving totally into our house, and decorating!!!! I'm sooo excited about this one. It's such a cute little house and its nice to finally be settling in somewhere!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Girls Week!
I have not written in a few days as we've been going going going here at Champfleuri. We are in the middle of a transition time as we switch from Champfleuri run and organized summer camps to end of summer college retreats not through champfleuri. With these new types of camps we dont actually have to clean, cook, or anything for the camp! It's amazing, they are paying half price so they do everything! Yet we still had to get the camp completly ready for their arrival. When they are here we will begin to do some of the bigger jobs around camp that havent been done in months, such as dusting and ironing and other random jobs that someone must do!
This past week has been filled with cleaning all of the camp and then a few days off! On Wednesday Kaja, Kristin and I took a day trip into Grenoble. We had to get up super early...for an emily...so that we could hike down the hill to champ-pres-froges and catch the bus for Grenoble. For only 2 euros we took an hr bus ride through some awesome little villages and ended up in the middle of the city. From there we began to shop for the things on our list...yes we actually made a list! We got some stamps, postcards, shoes, sunglasses, a fresh baguette, some books in french to practice with, a hairdryer for the camp, and a bunch of other random supplies. Since we have been here this was our first trip into town, so it was nice to finally get some of the stuff we had been missing from home. It was sooo nice to walk around and people watch. I love the way the europeans dress and the architecture in downtown Grenoble. We took sooo many pictures and shopped for sooo long! It was really nice to just shop because it seemed so much like something the girls would do back home...a much needed connection after a month and a half in another country. One other thing I love about Grenoble is the little cafe's and fountains that litter the streets. They are everywhere in town and tons of people sit and eat outside so as you pass you get to see some amazing looking food. Sadly we didnt actually eat at a cafe, we decided to buy bread and make our own picnics in a little park nearby. It was actually really nice because we were surrounded by soo many other picnicers and it was such a beautiful day to eat outside and relax after walking around for so long. It was also such a good day to go to Grenoble because summer is ending and fall beginning so there are tons of sales...which us poor american teens love! Then we caught the bus back home, took the longest hike up the hill to champfleuri, and made some friends (they where sheep and sooo cute).
Yesterday was equally as exciting, if not more. We got up hoping that the weather would be beautiful and it was such an amazing day instead of the rain we where supposed to have! So Lorraine, Kaja, Kristin, and I piled into the car and headed to the venacular. This is a track set into the mountain with a little train like car that takes you to the top of Chartruesse mountain. It was such a good view and we had such a nice time taking tons of pictures as we rode. At the top we didnt have that much time as we had an appointment at 1 with the hang gliding company! Literally it was one of the easiest things I've ever done. We walked in, confirmed our appointment and then had our picnics. Afterwards we loaded a truck and headed to a take off spot a little bit from the town. It was one of the fields that we see everyday from champfleuri and when we got there we could see about 10 other people taking off and many others setting up for their flights. We literally got out of the car, put on helmets, had a 2 second explanation of how to take off, hooked ourselves into the parachute with our friendly little drivers (thomas et julienne) and then Kristin took off. The trick is you walk down the valley and at first it looks like a cliff, but its really only a drop and then a steep hill that you then begin to run down as your parachute climbs into the sky behind you. When it gets all the way into the air it lifts you off the ground and your flying! I actually didnt realize for a second or two that I was up in the air and thomas got a really good laugh as i tried to keep running! The only thing thats a bit creepy is as you leave the grass and go over the cliff and you take your first look down into the valley below. We were only in the air for about 25 minutes, but we got to see a waterfall, experience some air pockets, see sheep, little villages, record a video, take a ton of pictures, and some of ur even learned how to steer. It was sooo exciting and out of all the extreme sports really not as extreme as I anticipated. I would definitly do it again and recommend it to anyone. The view is incredible, unlike anything I have ever seen. I could see the entire belledonne chain and the chartreusse and Grenoble and the valley. It was amazing! I actually starting to sing praise songs and poor thomas just thought i was losing it! But I could hardly help myself, here we are dangling by a parachute in the sky and you are just struck by how huge everything is and how grand and beautiful. God really is good. Thomas was soo funny and taught me a whole bunch about flying. He also told me that this is his summer job and he flies about 8 times a day, but in the winter he is a ski instructor...lucky guy right? To land its sooo fun. Thomas spins us in circles lower and lower to our destination and it makes you super dizzy, but its soooo fast! The actual landing is pretty simple too, all you do is stand up and your done! Kristin and I then walked back to the venacular to wait for Kaja to fly down and Lorraine to come back down on the train. I still can't believe that Kaja could talk Kristin and I into jumping and that we actually did it and loved it! We both want to do it again, mabey if our siblings come to visit we'll take them flying for the day :) That's basically the entire story of our flying adventure. It was incredible and everyone should try it because its not in the least scary! O and for our families and friends back home, we're still in one piece and nothing is broken or injured.
Today is the last day of girls week as Kaja leaves in the evening. So much for all the evenings of chick flicks, learning to cook, making jam, ballroom dancing, and going on random adventures planned by kaja. It has been such a good past couple of days and its been really nice to relax and not have to really do much work at all! It's going to pick up again here soon, but for these past days we've gotten to finally stop and explore the place we're going to be living in a little! Gosh are we excited about the coming couple of months, there are so many neat things to do here and so much to see that we will never run out of adventures!
This past week has been filled with cleaning all of the camp and then a few days off! On Wednesday Kaja, Kristin and I took a day trip into Grenoble. We had to get up super early...for an emily...so that we could hike down the hill to champ-pres-froges and catch the bus for Grenoble. For only 2 euros we took an hr bus ride through some awesome little villages and ended up in the middle of the city. From there we began to shop for the things on our list...yes we actually made a list! We got some stamps, postcards, shoes, sunglasses, a fresh baguette, some books in french to practice with, a hairdryer for the camp, and a bunch of other random supplies. Since we have been here this was our first trip into town, so it was nice to finally get some of the stuff we had been missing from home. It was sooo nice to walk around and people watch. I love the way the europeans dress and the architecture in downtown Grenoble. We took sooo many pictures and shopped for sooo long! It was really nice to just shop because it seemed so much like something the girls would do back home...a much needed connection after a month and a half in another country. One other thing I love about Grenoble is the little cafe's and fountains that litter the streets. They are everywhere in town and tons of people sit and eat outside so as you pass you get to see some amazing looking food. Sadly we didnt actually eat at a cafe, we decided to buy bread and make our own picnics in a little park nearby. It was actually really nice because we were surrounded by soo many other picnicers and it was such a beautiful day to eat outside and relax after walking around for so long. It was also such a good day to go to Grenoble because summer is ending and fall beginning so there are tons of sales...which us poor american teens love! Then we caught the bus back home, took the longest hike up the hill to champfleuri, and made some friends (they where sheep and sooo cute).
Yesterday was equally as exciting, if not more. We got up hoping that the weather would be beautiful and it was such an amazing day instead of the rain we where supposed to have! So Lorraine, Kaja, Kristin, and I piled into the car and headed to the venacular. This is a track set into the mountain with a little train like car that takes you to the top of Chartruesse mountain. It was such a good view and we had such a nice time taking tons of pictures as we rode. At the top we didnt have that much time as we had an appointment at 1 with the hang gliding company! Literally it was one of the easiest things I've ever done. We walked in, confirmed our appointment and then had our picnics. Afterwards we loaded a truck and headed to a take off spot a little bit from the town. It was one of the fields that we see everyday from champfleuri and when we got there we could see about 10 other people taking off and many others setting up for their flights. We literally got out of the car, put on helmets, had a 2 second explanation of how to take off, hooked ourselves into the parachute with our friendly little drivers (thomas et julienne) and then Kristin took off. The trick is you walk down the valley and at first it looks like a cliff, but its really only a drop and then a steep hill that you then begin to run down as your parachute climbs into the sky behind you. When it gets all the way into the air it lifts you off the ground and your flying! I actually didnt realize for a second or two that I was up in the air and thomas got a really good laugh as i tried to keep running! The only thing thats a bit creepy is as you leave the grass and go over the cliff and you take your first look down into the valley below. We were only in the air for about 25 minutes, but we got to see a waterfall, experience some air pockets, see sheep, little villages, record a video, take a ton of pictures, and some of ur even learned how to steer. It was sooo exciting and out of all the extreme sports really not as extreme as I anticipated. I would definitly do it again and recommend it to anyone. The view is incredible, unlike anything I have ever seen. I could see the entire belledonne chain and the chartreusse and Grenoble and the valley. It was amazing! I actually starting to sing praise songs and poor thomas just thought i was losing it! But I could hardly help myself, here we are dangling by a parachute in the sky and you are just struck by how huge everything is and how grand and beautiful. God really is good. Thomas was soo funny and taught me a whole bunch about flying. He also told me that this is his summer job and he flies about 8 times a day, but in the winter he is a ski instructor...lucky guy right? To land its sooo fun. Thomas spins us in circles lower and lower to our destination and it makes you super dizzy, but its soooo fast! The actual landing is pretty simple too, all you do is stand up and your done! Kristin and I then walked back to the venacular to wait for Kaja to fly down and Lorraine to come back down on the train. I still can't believe that Kaja could talk Kristin and I into jumping and that we actually did it and loved it! We both want to do it again, mabey if our siblings come to visit we'll take them flying for the day :) That's basically the entire story of our flying adventure. It was incredible and everyone should try it because its not in the least scary! O and for our families and friends back home, we're still in one piece and nothing is broken or injured.
Today is the last day of girls week as Kaja leaves in the evening. So much for all the evenings of chick flicks, learning to cook, making jam, ballroom dancing, and going on random adventures planned by kaja. It has been such a good past couple of days and its been really nice to relax and not have to really do much work at all! It's going to pick up again here soon, but for these past days we've gotten to finally stop and explore the place we're going to be living in a little! Gosh are we excited about the coming couple of months, there are so many neat things to do here and so much to see that we will never run out of adventures!
Monday, August 20, 2007
The Hardest Day Yet
So yesterday was amazing here at camp. It was Jonathon's last day so we bid him a fond farewell and then headed to church in Brignoud (theres a bit of a discrepency here about the spelling of the town...but we're gonna go with this one!) Church was sooo much fun. It was sooo neat to worship in another language and to walk to church with a bunch of french people. We went to the local church so emmanuelle, the other cooks, all the equipiers, and a bunch of camp families were there as well. It was so neat to see the type of sermon and worship at a real french church! In the afternoon Kaja, Kristin, and I went for a little hike to a village in the alps called Les Adrets. It was sooo cute and as we walked into the town the church bells were tolling. We even got up the courage to go into the church and look around! Then we walked around and took tons of pictures as it was one of the cutest little hillside villages...and one of the first we have seen since we've been in France. In the evening Sam and the girls made dinner--once again American style--and ate on the patio under the alps. Turns out Sam loves american meals and cant seem to learn enough or eat enough to satisfy him!
This morning was terrible as Sam had to finally leave. I have never, until today, been at Champfleuri without Sam. He was at camp TED and at camp STEVE and then here all summer with us working. The whole time he has treated Kristin and I like his long lost sisters, welcoming us into his home, lending us anything we may have forgotten, buying us batteries, getting us a webcam so we can see people at home, doing our work for us, burning us music, and leaving us little encouraging notes around during the day! Basically he's the perfect little brother, always watching out for us and doing as much as he can to make sure we adjust to life at champfleuri. Luckily for us he lives about 2 minutes away, so although its goodbye for a while I'm pretty confident that we will see him again all too soon!
But what made today the worst is that we decided to work all day long and try and finish everything so we could have the rest of the week off. Bad plan...bad bad bad plan. Turns out cleaning the whole set of dorms is not a day activity. I wouldnt be surprised if it takes us the rest of the week to finish. An example. I spent all day...9 hrs of work cleaning 13 showers. I'm still not finished! It's insane how dirty these rooms are! So I guess we wont have the rest of the week off, instead we will spend every waking moment cleaning the dorms, listening to wayyyy too much abba, having random dance parties, and cooking some delicious american recipies!
This evening was a little better as we where all sooo tired that everything seemed funny. We introduced the germans to google earth which we then proceeded to all look up our homes and vacation places and such. Then we took a really long trip to the little store down the hill because you have to go through every aisle to see everything. Once we finally finished we returned to make banana bread from one of Kristin's recipies from home. Although we didnt have all the ingredients we hope that it will turn out all right and we can bring some to everyone at champfleuri! Dinner was very entertaining as we ate something contributed from everyone: Kaja gave us a great potatoe side, Martine the meat from the freezer--shes great at defrosting--Kristin the banana bread for dessert, and me the amazing grapes, because who doesnt want grapes with dinner! We also had a wonderful Christmas theme with some great youtube music supplied by yours truly! Told you we were a little bit tired here from all today's work! Right now we're listening to some "christmas" music supplied by Kaja thats actually country...shh dont tell her and cleaning up from dinner. Clearly I am helping soooo much! And on that note I'm going to go find us some ornaments for "our christmas tree", finish my grape fight with Kaja, and perhaps go watch the sunset with the girls.
One last note. Once we came back from the grocery store we came to the most awesome conclusion. Since the four of us girls...Kaja, Kristin, Martine, et moi are sharing the entire grand maison its like our own castle/ mansion! We have two kitchens. Three offices, way too many bedrooms too count, a bunch of dinning rooms, some living rooms, and of course some computers. It's basically an all girls slumber party all day/night long. We get to cook, clean, be a little o.c.d, watch chick flicks and no one gets mad :) (love ya sam), and of course listen to lots of girly music and talk wayyy too late into the evening! Hope ur all enjoying the end of your summers, even if u dont have ur own all girls grand maison to enjoy it in!
This morning was terrible as Sam had to finally leave. I have never, until today, been at Champfleuri without Sam. He was at camp TED and at camp STEVE and then here all summer with us working. The whole time he has treated Kristin and I like his long lost sisters, welcoming us into his home, lending us anything we may have forgotten, buying us batteries, getting us a webcam so we can see people at home, doing our work for us, burning us music, and leaving us little encouraging notes around during the day! Basically he's the perfect little brother, always watching out for us and doing as much as he can to make sure we adjust to life at champfleuri. Luckily for us he lives about 2 minutes away, so although its goodbye for a while I'm pretty confident that we will see him again all too soon!
But what made today the worst is that we decided to work all day long and try and finish everything so we could have the rest of the week off. Bad plan...bad bad bad plan. Turns out cleaning the whole set of dorms is not a day activity. I wouldnt be surprised if it takes us the rest of the week to finish. An example. I spent all day...9 hrs of work cleaning 13 showers. I'm still not finished! It's insane how dirty these rooms are! So I guess we wont have the rest of the week off, instead we will spend every waking moment cleaning the dorms, listening to wayyyy too much abba, having random dance parties, and cooking some delicious american recipies!
This evening was a little better as we where all sooo tired that everything seemed funny. We introduced the germans to google earth which we then proceeded to all look up our homes and vacation places and such. Then we took a really long trip to the little store down the hill because you have to go through every aisle to see everything. Once we finally finished we returned to make banana bread from one of Kristin's recipies from home. Although we didnt have all the ingredients we hope that it will turn out all right and we can bring some to everyone at champfleuri! Dinner was very entertaining as we ate something contributed from everyone: Kaja gave us a great potatoe side, Martine the meat from the freezer--shes great at defrosting--Kristin the banana bread for dessert, and me the amazing grapes, because who doesnt want grapes with dinner! We also had a wonderful Christmas theme with some great youtube music supplied by yours truly! Told you we were a little bit tired here from all today's work! Right now we're listening to some "christmas" music supplied by Kaja thats actually country...shh dont tell her and cleaning up from dinner. Clearly I am helping soooo much! And on that note I'm going to go find us some ornaments for "our christmas tree", finish my grape fight with Kaja, and perhaps go watch the sunset with the girls.
One last note. Once we came back from the grocery store we came to the most awesome conclusion. Since the four of us girls...Kaja, Kristin, Martine, et moi are sharing the entire grand maison its like our own castle/ mansion! We have two kitchens. Three offices, way too many bedrooms too count, a bunch of dinning rooms, some living rooms, and of course some computers. It's basically an all girls slumber party all day/night long. We get to cook, clean, be a little o.c.d, watch chick flicks and no one gets mad :) (love ya sam), and of course listen to lots of girly music and talk wayyy too late into the evening! Hope ur all enjoying the end of your summers, even if u dont have ur own all girls grand maison to enjoy it in!
Friday, August 17, 2007
A Day Off
Well today has been amazing. Kristin and I both have the day off and so we slept in until about 12:30 today! After weeks of no sleep I finally feel awake and ready to go again. When I woke up I actually had time for a long shower and then kristin and I made ourselves an amazing lunch/breakfast! We made eggs, sausages, and onions all scrambled together and had some amazing iced orange juice to go with it! The first thing I have discovered that actually tastes exactly like home...eggs! It's been so nice to be able to make our own food lately, and its even nicer because with each meal that we eat leftovers or make our own food we save money! I love saving money! haha.
This afternoon we took a nice long walk up into the hills and then sat in a little patch of grass with the most beautiful view of the valley below us and just talked. We talked about God, blessings, life, love, the pursuit of happiness, America, France, roomates, college...basically everything! We really broke down some of the ideas we both had about this year and faced the truth of what we would be doing here. We talked a lot about the future and the work we wanted to do. We also got into a pretty deep discussion about college and returning to life after France. Boy is it weird to think of life after France. For a whole year I have been planning and agonizing over this trip and all the little details. Hard to imagine the eight months will ever end! On that note I love it here. I love the mountains, the people, the culture. I love everything about this place and am soooo glad that this year as the Boston group took off I was one of the ones bidding them a fond farewell!
France has always felt like home, and the more time I spend here the more I know that I will be returning once again. My poor friends and family, I just can't seem to stay close to home. Between college in cali and a love for the missions field of France I hardly have any time for New England anymore!
Either way France is feeling more and more like home to me. With each meal we cook, each person we meet, each day of staring at the mtns I feel more and more like this where I belong. I finally feel like God has me exactly where He wants me exactly at the time I am here. It's going to be an incredible eight months and I can't believe that we've already been here a month! It has gone by soo fast and I just hope the rest of the time goes a little slower. I never want to leave!
During our discussion we also where able to talk a little about the future for us and as many of you know missions has been put on both our hearts. It's been so neat to meet the missionaries coming through Champfleuri--especially lately to talk to Lauren and Andy as they prepare to head off to Africa in three weeks, towing along their two young children. It's a really amazing sight to see this young couple completly depending on the Lord and moving their family and everything to Africa for His work. It gives me hope that in the coming days, weeks, and years that I will be equally as flexible for His plans. It's hard to sometimes understand the full meaning of giving your life up until He is asking you to do something as huge as move your entire family to Africa until who knows when. It really puts things into perspective. It also takes apart some of the saftey net I have always put up around myself. I have always told anyone that would listen I will never move. I want a family and that family to live in the same place forever. It's been hard coming to grips with the idea that this might not happen. As I feel called more and more into the field of missions I recognize that home is going to have to be the people I love, not necessarily the place. A hard lesson, but one that is being taught to me as we speak by the people I am meeting and the examples they provide. On that note I am going to go and cook myself up something yummy for supper and then head outside to continue my book. I am finally going to read the bible one cover to the other. I have for years been attempting this goal and for years have lacked the time, resources and energy to accomplish it. This year I am actually going to do it. I am halfway through Genesis and going strong! God Bless u all! -em
This afternoon we took a nice long walk up into the hills and then sat in a little patch of grass with the most beautiful view of the valley below us and just talked. We talked about God, blessings, life, love, the pursuit of happiness, America, France, roomates, college...basically everything! We really broke down some of the ideas we both had about this year and faced the truth of what we would be doing here. We talked a lot about the future and the work we wanted to do. We also got into a pretty deep discussion about college and returning to life after France. Boy is it weird to think of life after France. For a whole year I have been planning and agonizing over this trip and all the little details. Hard to imagine the eight months will ever end! On that note I love it here. I love the mountains, the people, the culture. I love everything about this place and am soooo glad that this year as the Boston group took off I was one of the ones bidding them a fond farewell!
France has always felt like home, and the more time I spend here the more I know that I will be returning once again. My poor friends and family, I just can't seem to stay close to home. Between college in cali and a love for the missions field of France I hardly have any time for New England anymore!
Either way France is feeling more and more like home to me. With each meal we cook, each person we meet, each day of staring at the mtns I feel more and more like this where I belong. I finally feel like God has me exactly where He wants me exactly at the time I am here. It's going to be an incredible eight months and I can't believe that we've already been here a month! It has gone by soo fast and I just hope the rest of the time goes a little slower. I never want to leave!
During our discussion we also where able to talk a little about the future for us and as many of you know missions has been put on both our hearts. It's been so neat to meet the missionaries coming through Champfleuri--especially lately to talk to Lauren and Andy as they prepare to head off to Africa in three weeks, towing along their two young children. It's a really amazing sight to see this young couple completly depending on the Lord and moving their family and everything to Africa for His work. It gives me hope that in the coming days, weeks, and years that I will be equally as flexible for His plans. It's hard to sometimes understand the full meaning of giving your life up until He is asking you to do something as huge as move your entire family to Africa until who knows when. It really puts things into perspective. It also takes apart some of the saftey net I have always put up around myself. I have always told anyone that would listen I will never move. I want a family and that family to live in the same place forever. It's been hard coming to grips with the idea that this might not happen. As I feel called more and more into the field of missions I recognize that home is going to have to be the people I love, not necessarily the place. A hard lesson, but one that is being taught to me as we speak by the people I am meeting and the examples they provide. On that note I am going to go and cook myself up something yummy for supper and then head outside to continue my book. I am finally going to read the bible one cover to the other. I have for years been attempting this goal and for years have lacked the time, resources and energy to accomplish it. This year I am actually going to do it. I am halfway through Genesis and going strong! God Bless u all! -em
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Another normal day at Champfleuri
Well today was perfectly normal over here. This morning we found out the the camp KEVIN was actually going hiking and so we rush made 30 picnics. This meant that all the campers at champfleuri where on hikes allowing us the whole day off. Johnathon, Sam, Lorraine, Kristin and I headed into Froges to go shopping for some groceries. We spent sooo long in the store and came out with all the ingredients for some american dishes--pancakes, omelettes,american chopsuey, and chocolate chip cookies. We then visited sam's family at their amazing house in the hills of Grenoble. His parents have been reconstructing for 10 years and have made a house connected to their own for tourists to rent. It is sooo beautiful and has all the french charm imaginable and yet is modern and new. It was neat to the lifestyle of a real french family. This was the first french household I have ever been inside. Sam's family was sooo nice and have invited us over for dinner in the coming months and if we want even Christmas! haha.
In the afternoon we returned to Champfleuri and made a feast. We had a huge picnic of american chopsuey and cookies and of course bread outside with the most beautiful view of the french alps. Kristin couldnt help but point out the ironic side that here we are eating the most american food and yet sitting with this amazingly french view speaking french! It was such a nice day because we got to relax and take a little walk into the hills. I was also able to finish the new harry potter book and take a nap. I still have a whole lot of sleep to catch up on, but its getting better! We are now basically settled back into life here and the only thing that still manages to throw me off is sharing the attic with all the equipiers. Yes that means guys and girls and yes we share the showers and sinks and bathroom. It can be very funny. Take this morning for example as Eric and Johnathon proceeded to shave in their boxers right in front of us girls and also carried on a conversation about what we should eat for dinner! It has to be one of the funniest culture differences in the world. What christian camp in america would ever allow this one to happen? teheh i love Champfleuri!
I can't help but thinking that today is Beth's departure day for California. I hope that her travels where safe and that shes enjoying and excited about her coming adventures. It's got to be quite a change! How strange to think that this week everyone back home will be packing up and heading off to seperate sides of the country, each to their own unique and different set of adventures that await! I wish u all the best and good luck in your coming year of college! I'll be keeping u all in my thoughts and prayers. I miss u all soooo much and love each and every one of u!
-emily
In the afternoon we returned to Champfleuri and made a feast. We had a huge picnic of american chopsuey and cookies and of course bread outside with the most beautiful view of the french alps. Kristin couldnt help but point out the ironic side that here we are eating the most american food and yet sitting with this amazingly french view speaking french! It was such a nice day because we got to relax and take a little walk into the hills. I was also able to finish the new harry potter book and take a nap. I still have a whole lot of sleep to catch up on, but its getting better! We are now basically settled back into life here and the only thing that still manages to throw me off is sharing the attic with all the equipiers. Yes that means guys and girls and yes we share the showers and sinks and bathroom. It can be very funny. Take this morning for example as Eric and Johnathon proceeded to shave in their boxers right in front of us girls and also carried on a conversation about what we should eat for dinner! It has to be one of the funniest culture differences in the world. What christian camp in america would ever allow this one to happen? teheh i love Champfleuri!
I can't help but thinking that today is Beth's departure day for California. I hope that her travels where safe and that shes enjoying and excited about her coming adventures. It's got to be quite a change! How strange to think that this week everyone back home will be packing up and heading off to seperate sides of the country, each to their own unique and different set of adventures that await! I wish u all the best and good luck in your coming year of college! I'll be keeping u all in my thoughts and prayers. I miss u all soooo much and love each and every one of u!
-emily
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Recap of Camp STEVE
Well so much has happened in the past two weeks since I have written. This is a quick recap of everything that has been going on for Kristin and I.
July 29-Aug 2
Camp Mega-Top ended and I said goodbye to my many equipiers. They all left gradually over a period of about three days. Siljia went back to Switzerland first and the next day Rachel was off to Northern Ireland. Pierre Andrais, Alexia, John Mattieu, et Cecil didnt depart until two days later allowing us all a bit of time to recover after the departure of the others. It was very sad to see the first two girls go, but it was easier because we still had a pretty big group that was hanging out continually. Before John Mattieu left he took me into town and bought me a bunch of french food and NUTELLA. It fits since he began the addiction that he would have to help me find some more since we ran out. We also spent the afternoon at the bus station waiting for Melissa and Becky. The cali group arrived as well as Dana, Mippi, Chad, Laura, and Kelly. It was a super hectic transition, and i miss pierre andrais and alexia a ton! Jeremy sent a message through Andy and his wife telling me to put my pictures online or email them, so soonly i will be putting up the equipier pictures from the past two weeks or so. Cecil and John Mattieu are sooo missed here. It was very hard to watch the parents of the equipiers leave, but they have invited me to visit Paris with them during the coming year, so I know I will see them again soon. Also for Christmas Alexia and Pierre Andrais are coming back to stay at their grandmothers and will visit me! I am soooo excited that I will get to see them again! It is very hard to transition between having this big group and having such a good close friend like rachel to having my friends who i havent seen in so long and becoming a camper in just a few short hours. Luckily i will be helping some throughout this week as i have been taught by john mattieu everything about camp in case anyone has questions!
CAMP STEVE!!!!! Aug 2-11
Camp began really fast. I wasn't even here when the group from America arrived because I was grocery shopping and picking up other campers. Because of this it has been a most hectic day to begin camp. The cali group is amazing. They are very big and bring a lot of energy. I am super excited about working with them in the coming days! I feel bad though that they dont even get a moment of rest before the campers begin to arrive and we go go go again.
This afternoon the guys (Flo, Jonny, Chibo, and Ben) arrived and it was soooo good to see them again. Blain wouldnt let them eat and Mippi wasnt going to tell us they where here despite the bargain we all made that the first person to see them had to tell everyone. I guess they arrived when we were praying in la grange with the cali group. Either way we skipped half of lunch so that we could go and see them! I can't believe a whole year has passed. It is soooo great to finally get to see them! This evening the campers arrived and we had a meeting. It was pretty lo key and I don't really remember that much as I was sooo tired.
It has been really nice to reconnect with eveyone again! I love seeing people that I have been talking to and finally actually get to see! Camp was amazing. We got to hike for two days into the french alps and sent the night in this valley filled with sheep. We had a bonfire and sang around it till super late. Then Alison, Ashley and I headed to try and sleep in this little tent. The two of them where sooo funny, they spoke some random language in their sleep and responded to each other all night long! it was sooo funny to hear! We also had the most horrible bathroom experience ever! Alison didnt want to go alone to the bathroom so we all walked over in a group behind this big rock. Stupid us we should have announced we were there because we walked in on this random dude. Alisons face was worth millions and we all turned and ran. By the time we where all done laughing and talking about how bad it was the whole camp was waiting for us around the campfire! Another awesome thing about the hike was that Dana baptized Chad in this little mountain lake right by our camp. It was one of the neatest things I have ever seen. He gave an amazing testimony and we all got to sit on this hill and watch. It seemed like it was taken right from a passage in the bible because the setting was sooo surreal! The hiking itself was pretty easy, as I was in the simpler hiking group, and so we all got to talk and sing a whole lot. PJ and Shaw hated hiking and so they were our constant DJ's and entertainment!
Other than the hike we played thunder ball (dont worry no tables died this time...I restrained myself), a cool photo game, a less cool murder mystery game, and of course did a day hike to les adrais (spelled wrong im sure). That's where we spent the night under the stars for those of you that have heard that story 400 times. It was such a good hike and we got to play a quick game of capture the flag before we turned around and came back down.
One of my favorite parts of camp this year was the seriouse tone. Last year was great because we all joked around a lot. I missed some of the sillyness this year, yet I also loved the more mature side. This led to a lot of deeper conversations and some great table talk. I also appreciated the chapels much more. Worship was unlike any place I have ever worshiped before, different music than last year, but still just as amazing! There are no words to capture the worship services here so this is all I can say....IT WAS INCREDIBLE! The talks where also amazing. I loved one that craig (from cali) gave on patience and love. We also watched a ton of numa videos and the fire one is amazing! I love when God gives a message that touches my heart perfectly at the moment! It was also remarkable to see God's message being shown to some of the campers through the french and cali kids testimonies. It was sooo neat that they addressed some of the very questions being asked at dinner the night before.
I liked that at camp steve we have a lot of free time to just talk and catch up again. We also dont have a curfew so we can all stay up till whenever. One of the first nights we stayed up and watched the stars and chibo played guitar. It was pretty sweet! Despite all of these amazing times I feel like I missed a lot at camp this year. As many of your know I am really bad without sleep. Lets just say I havent been sleeping that much since I got here and that took its toll during camp. It wasnt even the funny emily has wayyy to much energy phase, nope it was the total and complete crashing point. So basically i was listless and out of it until the final day of camp. At least I got one day of energy and I faked it for certain portions. The last day was amazing because I stayed up late the night before with Becky jo's room of french girls talking till wayyyy wayyy early in the morning. It was neat to actually have a conversation with the girls as I feel like its always harder to get to know them than the guys in france. Plus they are freakin awesome! They are sooo funny and made me laugh sooo hard! Anna and Hannah would have loved to talk with these girls. Mabey someday they will come visit me in America and u all will get to meet them too!
Besides that I don't rememeber much. Just a lot of chilling and talking. We played a sweet game Terri made of guessing the bands and than coreographing our own dance. They were sooo good and soooo funny! Anyways theres tons I'm forgetting and sooo many things that I just can't put into words for those of you that didnt get to expeirence it! I guess camp here is one of those things that you dont get unless you see it yourself! It was basically fantastic once again!
oooo and we saw a few amazing thunder and lightening storms. I saw some french cows, a ski mtn in france, went on a couple pretty bad bus rides along the ledges of the french foothills, listened to wayyyy too much abba, become obsessed with coldplay once again and all in all just fell more in love with God and his creation. The theme of steve was nature and noticing life. I think that it was a great theme especially as camp is set in the french foothills and its basically the prettiest place in the world here. My small group with Chad was great and we really got into some deep talks about missing nature and how God is expressing everything through his creation if we only know how to look.
The days after came are never fun. It's hard to say goodbye and its worse when you are staying here. It's hard to switch back to working, yet it does take my mind off the pain of everyone leaving. We've been listening to a ton of fix you and wish you where here and of course catching up with everyone back home after a few weeks of no talking. Basically thats it and theres tons more, but once I've reflected a bit I will add more! God Bless u all and I hope ur having as much fun wherever you are as I am over here.
July 29-Aug 2
Camp Mega-Top ended and I said goodbye to my many equipiers. They all left gradually over a period of about three days. Siljia went back to Switzerland first and the next day Rachel was off to Northern Ireland. Pierre Andrais, Alexia, John Mattieu, et Cecil didnt depart until two days later allowing us all a bit of time to recover after the departure of the others. It was very sad to see the first two girls go, but it was easier because we still had a pretty big group that was hanging out continually. Before John Mattieu left he took me into town and bought me a bunch of french food and NUTELLA. It fits since he began the addiction that he would have to help me find some more since we ran out. We also spent the afternoon at the bus station waiting for Melissa and Becky. The cali group arrived as well as Dana, Mippi, Chad, Laura, and Kelly. It was a super hectic transition, and i miss pierre andrais and alexia a ton! Jeremy sent a message through Andy and his wife telling me to put my pictures online or email them, so soonly i will be putting up the equipier pictures from the past two weeks or so. Cecil and John Mattieu are sooo missed here. It was very hard to watch the parents of the equipiers leave, but they have invited me to visit Paris with them during the coming year, so I know I will see them again soon. Also for Christmas Alexia and Pierre Andrais are coming back to stay at their grandmothers and will visit me! I am soooo excited that I will get to see them again! It is very hard to transition between having this big group and having such a good close friend like rachel to having my friends who i havent seen in so long and becoming a camper in just a few short hours. Luckily i will be helping some throughout this week as i have been taught by john mattieu everything about camp in case anyone has questions!
CAMP STEVE!!!!! Aug 2-11
Camp began really fast. I wasn't even here when the group from America arrived because I was grocery shopping and picking up other campers. Because of this it has been a most hectic day to begin camp. The cali group is amazing. They are very big and bring a lot of energy. I am super excited about working with them in the coming days! I feel bad though that they dont even get a moment of rest before the campers begin to arrive and we go go go again.
This afternoon the guys (Flo, Jonny, Chibo, and Ben) arrived and it was soooo good to see them again. Blain wouldnt let them eat and Mippi wasnt going to tell us they where here despite the bargain we all made that the first person to see them had to tell everyone. I guess they arrived when we were praying in la grange with the cali group. Either way we skipped half of lunch so that we could go and see them! I can't believe a whole year has passed. It is soooo great to finally get to see them! This evening the campers arrived and we had a meeting. It was pretty lo key and I don't really remember that much as I was sooo tired.
It has been really nice to reconnect with eveyone again! I love seeing people that I have been talking to and finally actually get to see! Camp was amazing. We got to hike for two days into the french alps and sent the night in this valley filled with sheep. We had a bonfire and sang around it till super late. Then Alison, Ashley and I headed to try and sleep in this little tent. The two of them where sooo funny, they spoke some random language in their sleep and responded to each other all night long! it was sooo funny to hear! We also had the most horrible bathroom experience ever! Alison didnt want to go alone to the bathroom so we all walked over in a group behind this big rock. Stupid us we should have announced we were there because we walked in on this random dude. Alisons face was worth millions and we all turned and ran. By the time we where all done laughing and talking about how bad it was the whole camp was waiting for us around the campfire! Another awesome thing about the hike was that Dana baptized Chad in this little mountain lake right by our camp. It was one of the neatest things I have ever seen. He gave an amazing testimony and we all got to sit on this hill and watch. It seemed like it was taken right from a passage in the bible because the setting was sooo surreal! The hiking itself was pretty easy, as I was in the simpler hiking group, and so we all got to talk and sing a whole lot. PJ and Shaw hated hiking and so they were our constant DJ's and entertainment!
Other than the hike we played thunder ball (dont worry no tables died this time...I restrained myself), a cool photo game, a less cool murder mystery game, and of course did a day hike to les adrais (spelled wrong im sure). That's where we spent the night under the stars for those of you that have heard that story 400 times. It was such a good hike and we got to play a quick game of capture the flag before we turned around and came back down.
One of my favorite parts of camp this year was the seriouse tone. Last year was great because we all joked around a lot. I missed some of the sillyness this year, yet I also loved the more mature side. This led to a lot of deeper conversations and some great table talk. I also appreciated the chapels much more. Worship was unlike any place I have ever worshiped before, different music than last year, but still just as amazing! There are no words to capture the worship services here so this is all I can say....IT WAS INCREDIBLE! The talks where also amazing. I loved one that craig (from cali) gave on patience and love. We also watched a ton of numa videos and the fire one is amazing! I love when God gives a message that touches my heart perfectly at the moment! It was also remarkable to see God's message being shown to some of the campers through the french and cali kids testimonies. It was sooo neat that they addressed some of the very questions being asked at dinner the night before.
I liked that at camp steve we have a lot of free time to just talk and catch up again. We also dont have a curfew so we can all stay up till whenever. One of the first nights we stayed up and watched the stars and chibo played guitar. It was pretty sweet! Despite all of these amazing times I feel like I missed a lot at camp this year. As many of your know I am really bad without sleep. Lets just say I havent been sleeping that much since I got here and that took its toll during camp. It wasnt even the funny emily has wayyy to much energy phase, nope it was the total and complete crashing point. So basically i was listless and out of it until the final day of camp. At least I got one day of energy and I faked it for certain portions. The last day was amazing because I stayed up late the night before with Becky jo's room of french girls talking till wayyyy wayyy early in the morning. It was neat to actually have a conversation with the girls as I feel like its always harder to get to know them than the guys in france. Plus they are freakin awesome! They are sooo funny and made me laugh sooo hard! Anna and Hannah would have loved to talk with these girls. Mabey someday they will come visit me in America and u all will get to meet them too!
Besides that I don't rememeber much. Just a lot of chilling and talking. We played a sweet game Terri made of guessing the bands and than coreographing our own dance. They were sooo good and soooo funny! Anyways theres tons I'm forgetting and sooo many things that I just can't put into words for those of you that didnt get to expeirence it! I guess camp here is one of those things that you dont get unless you see it yourself! It was basically fantastic once again!
oooo and we saw a few amazing thunder and lightening storms. I saw some french cows, a ski mtn in france, went on a couple pretty bad bus rides along the ledges of the french foothills, listened to wayyyy too much abba, become obsessed with coldplay once again and all in all just fell more in love with God and his creation. The theme of steve was nature and noticing life. I think that it was a great theme especially as camp is set in the french foothills and its basically the prettiest place in the world here. My small group with Chad was great and we really got into some deep talks about missing nature and how God is expressing everything through his creation if we only know how to look.
The days after came are never fun. It's hard to say goodbye and its worse when you are staying here. It's hard to switch back to working, yet it does take my mind off the pain of everyone leaving. We've been listening to a ton of fix you and wish you where here and of course catching up with everyone back home after a few weeks of no talking. Basically thats it and theres tons more, but once I've reflected a bit I will add more! God Bless u all and I hope ur having as much fun wherever you are as I am over here.
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