Testimony "The Meaning of Christmas" by a French Pastor
Desserts, coffee, tea, chocolates
Christmas carol sing-along
Gift exchange
Christmas Party
Three course dinner accompanied by live piano music
Testimony "The Meaning of Christmas" by a French Pastor
Desserts, coffee, tea, chocolates
Christmas carol sing-along
Gift exchange
Testimony "The Meaning of Christmas" by a French Pastor
Desserts, coffee, tea, chocolates
Christmas carol sing-along
Gift exchange
Ginger Nativity
Every guest got to make Ginger bread figurines, we had tons of gingerbread dough left over so some friends and I made a "live" nativity, here's a video.
I apologize in advance for any historical inaccuracies that may have occurred during our impromptu skit.
I apologize in advance for any historical inaccuracies that may have occurred during our impromptu skit.
Christmas Dessert Night
Wassail, snacks, and delicious desserts helped us celebrate St. Nicholas on December 6th!
Heavenly Dirt Dessert took the prize for the fastest disappearing dessert!
This Christmas Truffle was also a favorite with Angle Food Cake, Raspberry Jello, Yogurt, and Raspberries.
We also made Gingerbread Men! I never cared for the store bought kind, but they're great hot out of the oven.
Heavenly Dirt Dessert took the prize for the fastest disappearing dessert!
This Christmas Truffle was also a favorite with Angle Food Cake, Raspberry Jello, Yogurt, and Raspberries.
We also made Gingerbread Men! I never cared for the store bought kind, but they're great hot out of the oven.
Patrick Roger
Our neighborhood chocolate shop has won the award for the best chocolatier in France. Today I went to pick up some goodies for Christmas and the line was out the door. I've never seen so many people in this tiny little shop. The shop is named after the chocolatier who is only 39 but has been making chocolates for 23 years.
So while I was waiting in line, one gentleman in front of me started asking about their largest gift box. A variety of all of their chocolates in a box as big as a briefcase for only 290 euros. I was still choking on the 290 euros, trying to imagine how big a family would have to be to eat all of that chocolate in one Christmas season, while the gentleman quipped, "I'll take 20." The cashier didn't flinch, she rang his order and told him he could pick up the boxes tomorrow! The things people spend money on.
Spreading Christmas Cheer!
Wearing Christmas hats in December has always been a tradition in my family. But probably not for the reasons you might think.
Suddenly since I've gotten my Christmas hat out of storage I've become the most popular person on the block. The other day I was walking to choir and three strangers stopped and talked to me. One asked if I could give them any food. One asked where they could buy a hat like mine. And one asked if they could take my photo. The older people are most intrigued by my hat. They stop and stare and wish me merry Christmas. They have absolutely no idea that they are playing into my game. With this conversation starter I often get the comment, "It's not Christmas yet, aren't you early?" To which I can promptly reply, "Actually Saint Nicholas is the 6th of December and Christmas is coming soon. Do you know who Saint Nicholas is?" Of course not, so I continue, "He was a great man who was so touched by the life and teachings of Jesus that he decided to give all he had to the poor." Which is actually a horrendous simplification of reality, but hey, when you only have one sentence with which to spread the virtues of Jesus, I don't mind taking the liberty.
Hearing the name of Jesus in a spontaneous conversation with strangers is not a very regular occurrence for the average Parisian. May this little light shine brightly.
We are already known by our immediate neighbors as the couple that almost lost their cat. Now when I wear my hat the deli-man next door is my best friend. He always greets me with a big smile and wishes me a good day. It's kinda fun.
A New Choir Director
The choir interviewed 5 candidates and when the vote was cast an overwhelming majority voted for Basey! Here are some clips of our new choir director in action. We sing GOOD with this guy!!!
Kitty Goes Potty
You have to see it to believe it. Our cat had such an infatuation with the toilet that we decided to toilet train her. Yes it's real. Here's one whole minute of potty-time entertainment, Enjoy!
Thanksgiving
Usually every American we know hosts a Thanksgiving dinner so we get to celebrate several times with several different American families around Paris. This year we were the only ones hosting Thanksgiving and we found ourselves in an interesting predicament.We didn't want to exclude French friends who are accustomed to always coming to Thanksgiving dinner.
And as the holiday approached we realized that we've done "too good of a job" in the past leaving high expectations, and causing the invitations to spread like wildfire as everybody we knew wanted to share this memorable experience with all of their closest friends as well. So you see how the invitations got out of control, and two weeks before Thanksgiving 25 people had confirmed their presence at our holiday celebration.
But how? Fortunately there is a group of junior high girls in Colorado that adopted our Thanksgiving day as their sister church project. They collected tons of great holiday stuff we just can't find here like Stovetop stuffing, creamed corn, yams, fried onions, cranberries and pumpkin pie mix. I kept everything that was as simple as "just add water" And passed to my guests the other ingredients with traditional American
Thanksgiving recipes. We had very strict rules, bringing a French dish to Thanksgiving was off limits this year, everyone would participate in the recreation of a traditional meal and savor many unique flavors that they have never tasted before.It was a culinary experience for everybody. In more ways than one. Everyone arrived at the door with their carry-in dish, and the
same worried look on their face saying, "I had no idea what this was supposed to look like. I don't know if I did it right. It might not taste right." But all in all everything was exactly what it was supposed to taste like, right down to Gramies Thanksgiving salad.The only thing that wasn't perfect were the dinner rolls, something I made myself. I've made them every year and every year they've been perfect, but this year I'm still getting used to the oven and it was WAY too hot, so when the bread was supposed to be rising, it was already cooking!
10 o'clock we had breakfast together with the early risers. We watched a recorded version of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, 2007 of course.
Yum! Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Wassle: hot tea, cranberry juice, apple juice, orange slices, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. 
Here two friends are showing of their beautifully decorated orange that will go in the wassle, a favorite holiday treat.
NOON - When we sat down at the table Nichole told the Thanksgiving story and read Abraham Lincoln's declaration that this tradition become a national holiday. Everybody at the table shared something they were thankful for. And one of our guests got the honor to read the blessing for our table 
and our guests. Then we sang "I will enter his gates" accompanied by David on guitar. It was magical. Here's a little clip of us singing. It was filmed with a little pocket camera so the quality is not great and you loose some of the magic since the microphone only picks up three of the closest voices.1 o'clock - Let the Feast Begin!
Here are some of the delicious dishes that graced our table this year.
Turkey!!! And the house smelled soooo good!
Waffle cornucopias
Cranberry Salad
Cranberry JellyGreen Bean Casserole
Yams with Marshmallows
Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon and Nuts
Creamed Corn
Squash Gratin
Homemade Stuffing
Stovetop Stuffing
4 o'clock - Desserts were in abundance with 8 pies. Of course everybody had eaten too much and the left over pies would be shared with the choir the following Monday.
Pumpkin Pie from Scratch I don't even know many Americans that go to that much trouble, but it's sooo good. We also had one made from a can, but the homemade one won the taste-test despite being square.
Apple Crumble 
American Apple Pie with the crust on top! 
Cupcakes
6 o'clock - A good old fashioned game of "pin the hat on the Turkey." This is Rob being spun in a circle by his friends. 
Diono won the game, it was his birthday after all, so that was kinda nice.
We played games late into the night. The last guests left around midnight. What a memorable Thanksgiving!
France's Future Billy Graham
This is our new friend and teammate, Mickaël. You might remember his face in our Spring letter about Free Bible Tables. He has been a great encouragement to us, He challenges us to have wise words and quick responses ready and look for opportunities to point out God's truth to those around us.
His wife is named Valerie, she is 8 months pregnant and expecting a little baby girl, Abigail, any time now. Valerie and Mickaël would like your prayer for a healthy delivery.
They are BIG believers in prayer and will probably be passing on a number of prayer requests so that you can know how to better pray for them. Since this is their first baby, they are really anxious and perhaps a bit nervous. They are dedicated to raising Abigail with the understanding of a relationship with God.
They have started singing her hymns (even in the womb). They would like Abigail to grow up knowing English, even if this means first learning English themselves. One way they have begun is to learn Bible Verses put to song in English. This way they are learning English and singing to their daughter at the same time. Isn't that just so cute!
Mickaël is the type of guy that is always optimistic. He always has something to share that hea read from the Bible that day. And this makes him a natural "evangelist". He said that for a while he didn't want to share his faith because it scared him. But we met him at the Martin's good news club where he was the guest teacher. He gave his testimony of how he found faith and the kids were really attentive. Together we are exploring culturally appropriate and attractive ways of sharing his faith. (Like passing out free Bibles, everybody likes a free gift!) And we are encouraging each other's growth in talking about our faith with our friends in ways that are pertinent.
Mickaël would also like you to pray for his development of a new association. He has big dreams, stadiums full of French people praising God, churches that reach out to their communities, and a new definition of telling people about God that is attractive and appropriate. Pray for wisdom as the vast idea of this association comes together first in Mickaël's mind. Pray for motivational communication that would draw others alongside this work. Pray for the support of French churches, and willing hearts to commit themselves to make talking about faith a part of their lifestyle. Pray that secret protestants would come out into the open with their faith. Perhaps they will experience persecution, but pray that many would find the path to a loving God through their lives lived in authenticity.
His wife is named Valerie, she is 8 months pregnant and expecting a little baby girl, Abigail, any time now. Valerie and Mickaël would like your prayer for a healthy delivery.
They are BIG believers in prayer and will probably be passing on a number of prayer requests so that you can know how to better pray for them. Since this is their first baby, they are really anxious and perhaps a bit nervous. They are dedicated to raising Abigail with the understanding of a relationship with God.
They have started singing her hymns (even in the womb). They would like Abigail to grow up knowing English, even if this means first learning English themselves. One way they have begun is to learn Bible Verses put to song in English. This way they are learning English and singing to their daughter at the same time. Isn't that just so cute!Mickaël is the type of guy that is always optimistic. He always has something to share that hea read from the Bible that day. And this makes him a natural "evangelist". He said that for a while he didn't want to share his faith because it scared him. But we met him at the Martin's good news club where he was the guest teacher. He gave his testimony of how he found faith and the kids were really attentive. Together we are exploring culturally appropriate and attractive ways of sharing his faith. (Like passing out free Bibles, everybody likes a free gift!) And we are encouraging each other's growth in talking about our faith with our friends in ways that are pertinent.
Mickaël would also like you to pray for his development of a new association. He has big dreams, stadiums full of French people praising God, churches that reach out to their communities, and a new definition of telling people about God that is attractive and appropriate. Pray for wisdom as the vast idea of this association comes together first in Mickaël's mind. Pray for motivational communication that would draw others alongside this work. Pray for the support of French churches, and willing hearts to commit themselves to make talking about faith a part of their lifestyle. Pray that secret protestants would come out into the open with their faith. Perhaps they will experience persecution, but pray that many would find the path to a loving God through their lives lived in authenticity.
Our Father Knows How to Give Good Gifts
A THANK YOU TO YOU!
Moving took us by surprise this fall. Ironicly, putting faith in God is sometimes easier when the circumstances are so beyond your control, that you know from the start that no amount of stressing and controling can help you. That might sound too simplistic, and life is always full of surprises. Even after the crazy finding an apartment part was over we found ourselves repetedly in a needy state. But God's grace is so big He even sent our way gifts from YOU to help furnish our house. Our friends here say it was the fastest move they've ever seen. We get a chance to reply giving glory to God and thanking you for your goodness on a regular basis. Everytime we open the oven we sing your praises. So here's a little dedication to all of our generous friends who have been the hand of God to us this fall. "Our Father Knows How to Give Good Gifts!" Thank You.
Thanks to our gospel choir friends for this welcome mat that greets our guests outside the door.
Thank you to New Beginnings Church for this wonderful couch.
What? You couldn't see the couch in that photo? hee hee hee. Here's a better one.
Thank you to the Mahan's for the new fridge it helps us prepare dinner every saturday night for our church group. This night it was Thomas' turn to cook.
Thank you to the Sotos and also to Denise Hays for this great freezer. All the freezers here have drawers. Pretty nice eh? And we use it constantly it's already full !!!
A big thank you to Martinsburg for this new bed (frame and mattress) great for piling coats when we have lots of guests. And super storage space underneath!
The closet was assembled by yours truely and Jay and Debbie Hocking. It was made possible by gifts from Pete Fussle, Peggy Walker, and Karen Myers.
The washing machine was also made possible by several gifts from Rob's brother, Arthur Holmes, and Matt & Alkest Allen. It is a great help when we have guests.
The Martins gave us this dinning table, chairs, stove and an oven that made this delicious eggplant gratin for saturday night church group. Thanks guys for your generosity!
God even saw it fit to send a dish washer our way! Our friends Jeremy and Christelle just happened to have two at the time we were moving, so they gave us their old one. Praise God!
Moving took us by surprise this fall. Ironicly, putting faith in God is sometimes easier when the circumstances are so beyond your control, that you know from the start that no amount of stressing and controling can help you. That might sound too simplistic, and life is always full of surprises. Even after the crazy finding an apartment part was over we found ourselves repetedly in a needy state. But God's grace is so big He even sent our way gifts from YOU to help furnish our house. Our friends here say it was the fastest move they've ever seen. We get a chance to reply giving glory to God and thanking you for your goodness on a regular basis. Everytime we open the oven we sing your praises. So here's a little dedication to all of our generous friends who have been the hand of God to us this fall. "Our Father Knows How to Give Good Gifts!" Thank You.
Thanks to our gospel choir friends for this welcome mat that greets our guests outside the door.
Thank you to New Beginnings Church for this wonderful couch.
What? You couldn't see the couch in that photo? hee hee hee. Here's a better one.
Thank you to the Mahan's for the new fridge it helps us prepare dinner every saturday night for our church group. This night it was Thomas' turn to cook.
Thank you to the Sotos and also to Denise Hays for this great freezer. All the freezers here have drawers. Pretty nice eh? And we use it constantly it's already full !!!
A big thank you to Martinsburg for this new bed (frame and mattress) great for piling coats when we have lots of guests. And super storage space underneath!
The closet was assembled by yours truely and Jay and Debbie Hocking. It was made possible by gifts from Pete Fussle, Peggy Walker, and Karen Myers.
The washing machine was also made possible by several gifts from Rob's brother, Arthur Holmes, and Matt & Alkest Allen. It is a great help when we have guests.
The Martins gave us this dinning table, chairs, stove and an oven that made this delicious eggplant gratin for saturday night church group. Thanks guys for your generosity!
God even saw it fit to send a dish washer our way! Our friends Jeremy and Christelle just happened to have two at the time we were moving, so they gave us their old one. Praise God!
France Loves Obama
The other day a friend was over at the house and wanted to share Obama's book with us. So we read a little excerpt together. It turned into a fascinating Bible study. We talked about what it means to be born again in John 3 and then went on to study the book of Philippians.
In his book Obama was supposedly telling the story about how he found faith. But to those of us reading it didn't look like he found a relationship with a living God at all. It looked like he found a social club called a church. Hope I'm wrong about that. My first clue, though, was when my athiest friend turned to me after reading a chapter and said, "I could have written that."
Any way here are some quotes from a country that is very excited about America's new president. Every magazine and newspaper has been talking about Obama for an entire week. They're saying good things about you. America has a great reputation over here right now, and everywhere we go people are congratulating me with, "Felicitations!"
"One thing is for sure this guarantees that America is irreproachable. No one can say anything bad about America because no matter what else she might do, she has taken a stand for human rights in a way no one else has dared."
"America has always had a capacity to take you by surprise. You can't stay mad at her for long because she's always changing and doing what you least expect."
"yeah, America!"
In his book Obama was supposedly telling the story about how he found faith. But to those of us reading it didn't look like he found a relationship with a living God at all. It looked like he found a social club called a church. Hope I'm wrong about that. My first clue, though, was when my athiest friend turned to me after reading a chapter and said, "I could have written that."
Any way here are some quotes from a country that is very excited about America's new president. Every magazine and newspaper has been talking about Obama for an entire week. They're saying good things about you. America has a great reputation over here right now, and everywhere we go people are congratulating me with, "Felicitations!"
"One thing is for sure this guarantees that America is irreproachable. No one can say anything bad about America because no matter what else she might do, she has taken a stand for human rights in a way no one else has dared."
"America has always had a capacity to take you by surprise. You can't stay mad at her for long because she's always changing and doing what you least expect."
"yeah, America!"
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