"Geneva on Fire"

Ok not really on fire but there is a story behind the title. As many of you know one of the cool things about living in Albertville is that we are only about an hour and half away from 3 major cities and Geneva, Switzerland is one of them. About two weeks ago, we decided to take a trip to Geneva with some friends from the language school who arrived here in January. The day turned out to be a fabulous one and we really enjoyed ourselves. I don't want to sound too shallow, but a couple of the highlights of the trip for me were drinking a nice warm caramel mocchiato from the only Starbucks that we know of in our region, and number two was eating a nice fattening Whopper from Burger King. We don't have Burger King in France, so it was a treat for me to eat something that reminds me of home.

Anyways at the end of the day, we were walking back to our parking garage which is a really nice one by the way, and we saw a bunch of fire trucks and flashing lights and Sapeur Pompiers(Firemen) blocking the entrance to our parking garage. My heart suddenly dropped, because we realized that we left all our identity cards and passports in the car. The fire men weren't talking. All they would say is that it was really bad and that they didn't know what the extent of the damage was. So for about an hour and a half all I could think of was how we were going to get our passports and identity cards replaced. I wasn't too concerned about the car, becuase we have insurance but if you know how much of a hassle it is to get your passports and id's in France you might be able to understand our concern. Anyways, at the end of the day the firemen reopened the doors and we found our car just the way we left it, not even damaged by smoke. And we got free parking out of the deal.

Anyways here are a few pics of our day in Geneva, Switzerland.



Geneva has a really nice lake called Lac Lemans. During the Summer they have a fountain that shoots out of the lake. We haven't had the opportunity to do a lot of exploration, but it makes a nice picture.



Geneva is famous for a lot of things, i.e, Swiss bank accounts, Lac Lemans, Swiss Army Knives and bien sûr (of course) watches. They have everything from Cuckoos to Rolex. You name it they have got it as far as watches are concerned. So we took the photo op in front of the infamous Geneva Clock in the front the Lake. It is a lot nicer during the summer but still a cool thing in the winter.



Ok, I will be honest, we've never really been on the Starbuck's bandwagon, but do I have to say we thoroughly enjoyed our caramel mocchiato while just relaxing in the nice warm american atmosphere. One could really feel like they've never left the States after walking into this place. Anyways, Merci beaucoup Starbucks for the atmosphere.



Ok, I know it's just Burger King but once you go without American fast food for a while a place like Burger King hits the spot. The only catch is when you find fast food in Europe, expect to pay a little more for the Not So Value Meal!



Did somebody call 118? (that's our 911) you bet they did. Some pour guy's car decided to burst into flames in the multiple story parking lot. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Something seems vaguely familiar about this fire truck. Oh yeah, that's right "our wedding". We just can't seem to get away from these fires.

For those of you who don't know, we had a fire at our wedding when a candle caught a table on fire. Maybe these are signs??? What do you think?

Joel's Culte Francais "French Devotion"

Hello Everyone,

When we first arrived here in France, it took a little getting used to using the word culte for a devotion or a religious service. I mean in the States if you were to hear the word culte, you think of cult which is not a good word in christian or even often times secular vocabulary. However, now after five and a half months here in France, we have come to know the word culte as our word for devotion or church service. It's kind of wierd to see how our thought process is changing and we often times think in french before thinking in english. Anyways, I guess that is the goal of our being here. We need to be able to clearly communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those whom God has called us to. I will be honest, it has not for one second been as easy as I thought it would have been to learn french. In fact it has been very humbling! Sure I consider myself to be a fairly decent communicater on most subjects and I can get by quite easily when it comes to basic conversation in French. However, when it comes to really expressing myself and telling stories and expressing the spiritual aspects of my life in french, I often find myself at a roadblock with my vocabulary and some of the basic tools neccessary for clearly communicating what is on my heart. Kristen and I are learning that we cannot be too hard on ourselves and will just have to continue working everyday towards improving our french. One of the most important things that we can do besides working on our language study is working on it with the right attitude. It's not an easy task for most people, but in the end, every frustration and every bit of hard work put into it will be worth it! I guess you could really apply the same attitude to almost any aspect of life. When we go through those difficult days, weeks, months or even years, we have to remember what God has done for us and we have to continue working towards accomplishing those goals, visions and dreams that he has put in our hearts... Will it be easy?.. Probably not.. Will it be worth it?... I guarantee it will be...

Below are a couple of pics from the culte that I did in french for the school. I basically talked about the sacrifices involved in the lives of missionary's and tried to encourage to continue to follow after what God has put in their hearts.


Here I am translating a few words to help to the debutants (beginners) better understand the culte.

Yes, I do look pretty pale. But I promise it's not because I was nervous, but because I had been sick for a whole week and I was still sick when I had to deliver my message.


Believe it or not, I was not nervous here either. I don't consider myself self to be a great singer or guitarist by any stretch of the imagination, however I don't think it was too bad considering the condition of my throat at the time. Plus it was freezing in the room. I actually translated and sang "Love Song for a Savior" by Third Day.