Parlez-vous franglais?
Do you speak franglish? We still do... but we are praying for the day (by God's grace) when we might speak some legitimate French!
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Château de Miolans — portions of this castle are over 2,000 years old. One of the dungeons still has carved graffiti markings from Protestants imprisoned there during the Reformation.
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In this newsletter...
- The Beauty of the French Alps
- Observations on French Language and Culture
- A Note from Ashley
- A Note from David
- VIDEO: Prayer Requests (2 min)
- Prayer Requests
- Praise Report
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The Beauty of the French Alps
"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." — Revelation 4:11
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Hiking in the French Alps... truly incredible!
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A beautiful swimming lake 20 minutes from our home
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Observations on French Language and Culture
- The important thing with the French language is that it must "sound beautiful". The words must flow together and sound nice (and many times even rhyme). French is filled with "liaisons" and contractions and silent letters.
- Things are smaller here—my washer, dyer, oven, car, even the coffee cups!
- The pizzas have interesting toppings, and almost always have olives! You can get potatoes, squid, egg, or salmon (just to name a few).
- Store hours are much more limited since most close for a daily 2-hour lunch break and most stores are closed on Sundays. If a store closes at 7:00 p.m. that means that the employees are walking out at 7:00 p.m.
- The school children (including ours) have a 2-hour lunch break. We pick them up and take them home for lunch.
- The French make a clear distinction between leisure and work—and the two are not to be confused.
- French adults will tell any child what to do or not do and expect that child to listen. They also feel free to tell parents that their child needs a jacket or a hat for example. This is not considered rude here.
- The concept of a "doggy bag" has not really caught on here—so make sure you don't order too much food in a restaurant.
- French children do not play outside in cold or rainy weather. Our girls are all alone splashing puddles in their rain boots!
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First day of french elementary school!
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The girls hug Clara goodbye on her first day ever at school
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A Note from Ashley
"O satisfy us in the morning with your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." — Psalm 90:14
It's been almost 2 months since we landed in France and we praise God for His lovingkindness! The Lord is using this time to strip me of my comforts and place me in the uncomfortable unknown. Living in a new country and learning a new language has been a daily, even hourly, challenge that is so humbling. I am reminded of my need to depend on God at a deeper level then ever before and also to trust Him!
Our daily life has drastically changed and my brain and tongue are trying to learn new words, sounds, and grammar every day. Sometimes my head feels like mush. I sit in a classroom like a child trying to learn ABC's, numbers, and basic grammar rules. I have to sit and think just to say a basic sentence. The Lord is certainly using this time to reveal my areas of sin and weakness, but also, His great strength and provision.
I am so proud of the girls for how well they have handled the transition to France and attending a French public school. I see them trying to make friends (with only French speaking children) and having good attitudes about sitting in class when they cannot understand what their teachers are saying! I know that they are being covered with lots of prayers by you—thank you!
It is a privilege and blessing to be here and we are so thankful! It hasn't always been easy—we've had our hard days and plenty of tears, but we know that God is with us, and He is our strength and because of Him we can sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Merci beaucoup!
Ashley
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A Note from David
Learning a new language can be a humbling experience. You start with the very basics and many of the things you're learning in your language class are the same that elementary students are learning in their school. As you know, learning a language consists not only in verbally speaking the language, but also reading it, hearing it, and writing it. Even as you slowly progress in some areas, you will struggle more in others. You begin to wonder how you will ever reach a sufficient level of proficiency in the language.
Despite its difficulty, I am really enjoying the experience. And through Scripture, I am encouraged by how God will take those who are inadequate to do what He has called them to and empower them for whatever purposes He desires. Though I labor and strive to learn French well, my goal is not simply to be highly proficient in French, but to be faithful in this task and leave the results up to Him. May God receive all glory!
"Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh?" — Exodus 4:11
Gloire à Dieu,
David
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Prayer Requests (2 minutes)
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Prayer Requests:
- Pray for Clara as she has struggled being in a French elementary school apart from her parents and sisters for so long each day.
- Pray for God to enable us to learn French well during our time here.
- Pray for continued health. We have had a series of sicknesses running through the family which has been a bit challenging since Ashley and I are both in classes all day. We've had 3 different girls sitting with us in our French classes.
- Pray for our teammates in Madagascar, Faly and Lily Ravoahangy, as they prepare for the second annual International Summit for Expository Preaching, planned for October 10th – 12th. Pray that the men coming to this conference would be strengthened in their ability to rightly handle the Word of Truth.
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Praise Report:
- Praise the Lord for the outpouring of love from various individuals and churches since we've arrived in France. We've received mail from the USA, we've had special donations come in, and we've received emails with encouraging notes and verses.
- Praise God for granting us contentment when we miss family, friends, and churches from the States.
- Praise God for the beauty of His creation in the French Alps (we can't get over it!)
- Praise God for the incredible opportunity to learn another language so that we can more effectively make disciples of Christ in other countries!
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All Glory Be to Christ,
David & Ashley, Isabella (age 9), Lydia (age 8), Anna (age 6), and Clara (age 4)
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"Hold the Rope" Financially
All gifts are tax-deductible
100% of your gift goes towards the ministry
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View our previous newsletters here.
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