We're Home

The last part of our week at Taize continued to be an amazing experience. Everyone made some wonderful friends, learned a lot, and were glad to have had the opportunity to be there. However, as the week wound down, we were all looking forward to our own beds, food that was more familar, and a little bit of rest.

We left Taize on Sunday and headed back to Paris and Versailles where we spent our last day and night. We had the opportunity to visit the castle, eat at a sidewalk cafe, and enjoy our hotel a little bit before bed. Then on Monday we started the long journey home- several trains, two planes, and a bus. I think in all it was about 24 hours of travel to get home.

taize

We made it to taize on sunday. It was a little hectic getting here because our bus to the train station was delayed because they were shooting a movie on the street that we were going down. Sundays are very hectic here as it is the day of both departures and arrivals. There were 4000 people here last week and 3000 here this week. After a bit of chaos, we were all settled into places to stay and into the programs we are participating in. The young people had a choice of all bible study and mediatation or half a day of that and half a day of work. Miranda, melissa, and Kacey choose the first and HEather, John, Alex, and Katherine chose the second. So far, their work has been mostly in the kitchen with dishes, but today john got to mop as well. There was some culture shock when we first arrived here and it seemed that no one spoke English, but they all happilly reported that they had made some friends in their small groups and work groups. Accomodations and food are all very basic. Each meal is served on a plate and everything is eaten with a spoon. We recieve bowls to drink from. thankfully, there is french bread at every meal and a place to buy snacks.

Well, I am off, there are 2 computers for 3000 people... long lines.... lots of waiting. I will try to give one more update.

Paris

So, we have taken in a great deal of Paris in the last two days. On Friday, we started back at Norte Dame again. We took a better look at it and then we boarded our main form of transportation for the day- a boat! We took the boat from there to the Champes Elyces which is the main shopping street in town. By shopping, I mean gawking as we walked by Gucci and other such stores we were afraid were going to charge us just to go in. The bathroom did charge us to use, but it was the cleanest bathrooom ever! We walked along there to the Arc de Triumph and then along to the Eifel tower. After a long wait in line we boarded two elevators to get all the way to the top where we saw some amazing views of the city. Back on the boat again we headed to the Louvre where we saw art from ancient Mesopotamia, Napolians apartments, and of course the Mona Lisa! After all of that it was time for dinner and a little comfort food- the good old Golden Arches are right next to the Louvre. From there back on the boat to see the city by night and back to the Eifel tower where we were able to see it sparkle. It is normally lit up all blue, but on the hour, it sparkles with white lights. Beautiful! From there back to bed...

Yesterday, was a bit slower, but still good. We slept in and then headed to the north side of town to see the church of the Sacred heart which is up on a HUGE hill. We could see all of Paris from up there. Lillianna got to go on her first carosuel ride while there. We did a bit of shopping while in the area and also got to see the Famous Moulin Rouge. After a bit of rest and laundry in the afternoon, we closed our evening off by strolling around our neighborhood checking out the shops and resteraunts.

And now we are off to Taize!

We're Here!

We had a long journey, but we arrived safely. We had a two hour delay leaving Philadalephia, but otherwise it was smooth trip. Our hotel is very nice, although the internet is slow and it has taken some effort to get connected to post this. We had some time to check out a few of the sights yesterday. We were able to see Notre Dame catherdral as well as St Chapel a beautiful church built in the 1200s.

Blessed to be a blessing

We are off! Today is the long awaited day that the crew departs for France. Please keep us in our prayers as we travel.

Camp Indian Sands

This summer we took some of our campers from neighborhood camp to Camp Indian Sands for a three night away camp experience. While it was new for most of them, they all had a lot of fun and created some wonderful memories. We had campfires, swimming, crafts, games, worship, and Bible study while we were there.

Neighborhood Camp

Every Summer Our Savior's Lutheran Church hosts a free neighborhood camp to serve the children in our community. We had a lot of fun this summer getting to know the kids, going on field trips, making projects, and playing games.