Christmas in Rennes

It is just starting to sink in that we are indeed celebrating Christmas in France, with Melissa, and with Andrew, Lindsay and Erika.  What a gift from God!  Lindsay and Erika arrived a few days earlier than the rest of us; Tom and I and Andrew(from Minneapolis) arrived at the airport on Saturday morning, the 24th, and then took the fast train to Rennes.  The girls were waiting for us at the train station.  What a reunion!  To be all together for a week...a dream come true.
 
After catching up on the first round of news and making a few Christmas goodies, we went to downtown Rennes to see the Christmas market.  Crepes with nutella were the top choice.  

Donna, thanks for the yummy peppernuts.  I love sitting down with a cup of hot tea and dunking my peppernuts.

Thanks for your prayers as we traveled.  We have celebrated together God's tender mercies.

Old Home Week

We have just arrived home from a week in Togo, a small country in West Africa, for a conference grouping the staff in Francophone Africa.  We have been in this area of Africa since 1987 (24 years); long enough to have made many dear friends. Some we've seen more often than others.

As we walked around the room on Tuesday morning shaking hands and kissing the cheeks of precious friends, I had tears running down my face.  Many of these dear, dear friends have suffered through civil war in their countries or are currently dealing with serious health issues and don't have the means to get proper help.  They know what it is to live without.   There was the noticeable absence of  those who had gone to be with the Lord or, in a few heart-rending cases, are no longer walking with the Lord.  I know the pictures will mean very little to most of you readers, but I wanted our children to see some of those dear friends who played an important part in their growing up, friends who spent many hours in our home and in so doing, built in them a love for Africa and it's people that is deeply embedded in their hearts.

Djas and Cosette are from Chad.   We were at their wedding 13 years ago.  Djas also visited our parents' farms in Kansas a number of years ago. Tom has frequently been with them in Chad.  We count them as some of our very dearest friends.  Their love and commitment to the Lord is astounding as they work in a very difficult country and Djas suffers from some very serious health issues.


Hey, kids.  Do you remember this lady?  We arrived on Monday afternoon in Togo at the little hotel we were assigned to and who should walk out of the door but Marceline!  She was such a part of our family all of our years in Bangui.  That's been a long time ago and I hadn't seen her since.  She remembers so many funny things about the kids, especially Andrew's reaction at Erika's birth!  "Another girl?  I don't want her.  I don't like her!  We were supposed to have a boy for me."  Remember when she showed up the night we were to leave for our first furlough and spent the night on the living room floor...because that's what good friends do in their culture!

We were unprepared to see Abel, as he was not going to be able to come, but at the last moment, someone helped him buy a plane ticket. His diabetes has taken it's toll on his body and the 48 hour bus ride would have been too much.  What a dear, dear friend since Bangui days.   With deep emotion, he said, "thanks for coming back to Francophone and suffering along with us."

Of course, we loved re-connecting with our staff in Burkina Faso.  Tom gets to talkin' with those guys and the guffaws can be heard from a long way off!

 The last day was picture taking day and hats were all the rage.  Aren't they just charming?

Now for the fashion statement of the conference:  we, the women from Niger, decided to wear the national costume from the city of Agadez, Niger.   I have never been dressed in sequins before and felt quite angelic! The photo doesn't begin to show how we glittered.