France

Well, our France trip is finally here. Not exactly but pretty much. We have every day planned between now and take off and so I know it will fly by. Praise the Lord, the giver of all good things! We have officially been gifted the entire amount of our trip... that is $6000. I had a really hard time believing that we would be able to raise that much support. If that is the amount given in dollars.. I hope the amount of prayer given is ten fold! We feel extremely blessed by all of our family and friends who gave so generously and sacrificially. People we never expected to give gave over and above. We are truly thankful. We will be flying from Louisville Airport to Philadelphia where we will get to see two dear friends during our layover. I am just as excited to see their faces as I am about going to France. Then we fly over night to Paris, France and from Paris to Marseille. We will spend three days in Marseille and then travel to either Nimes or Montpellier, where we will spend a couple of days and then head to which ever we haven't been to yet and then back to Marseille. We will be ministering to and working with several missionaries on the ground in that area as well as trying to meet with businesses and get a feel for the cities in order to report back to the long-term team that is hoping to move there to do business and help start churches. I am so excited and yet with so many things to do between now and then it almost seems unreal. I still need to pack and do laundry and cook and clean and and and.... Most of all I am soaking up every single moment with Stella. We are going to parks and reading tons of books and eating all her favorite foods so that we can savor happy moments together before we depart. For her part, she could not be more excited for Susie, and Gigi and Gigi's Papa to come and stay with her while mommy and daddy are gone. We are planning to leave her some fun surprises too so she will know mommy and daddy are thinking of her and love her. Ten days is a long time. It hurts my heart to even think about it. One major thing that caused a little hiccup for me and some of the other ladies is dress code. We were told knee length skirts with t-shirts would be fine and then it became long skirts with long shirts and what at first seemed like a million other details. This threw a big wrench in my getting ready mode. So, I've been sewing skirts and dresses and trying to find deals on long skirts (thank goodness they are in fashion right now) and I still have no clue about the shirt situation. I'm thinking t-shirts with cardigans just in case. I'm also trying to figure out what shoes to wear. I know it sounds trivial to care about clothing when you are going to preach the gospel but when all you are taking is a backpack for ten days... everything you pack has to be appropriate and durable and useful. We will more than likely be on our feet from morning til night so I also don't want something as silly as shoes to be distracting. If you are praying for us please pray for our health as we travel. We have both had minor health issues lately but mine seem to be compiling. Currently I have a double sinus infection and a back problem. Please also pray for Stella and our parents as they take care of her. Pray for opportunities to share the gospel and boldness to do so with love and care. Just pray for us! I am so excited to get there and see what it is really like and see how the Lord moves through this trip! And for your viewing pleasure... more pictures of the two and a half year old!