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Just an FYI that the team arrived home safely in Minneapolis tonight. Thanks for your prayers.

Mark

Arrived in Detroit

We ended up leaving Paris at 4:00 PM today and just arrived at Detroit. All of us were able to get boarding passes for the same connecting flight to Minneapolis. Here is our flight info:

NW Flight 767 - Depart Detroit @ 10:27 PM (EST), Arrive Minneapolis @ 11:15 PM (CST)

Flight Delayed

As most of you have already heard, our flight was delayed, and we're stranded in Paris until tomorrow morning.

The airline put us up in a hotel, and gave us vouchers for dinner and breakfast. We are supposed to be back at the airport tomorrow (Monday) morning at 8:00 AM (1:00 AM CST) so that we can attempt to board a flight to Detroit.

While we were waiting at our gate, there was an announcement that said that the airplane engineers were having problems with the hydrolics in the plane and tracked it down to a part that needed to be replaced in the engine. I guess it's good that they're being safe. :)

After we get to Detroit, it's unclear which flight each of us will be on and we will likely not all be together. If I know more and am able to get internet access, I'll post updates as I receive them. Otherwise, we're all going to get some sleep so that we can be ready for a long ride home tomorrow (hopefully).

Mark

Geneva

Today, we went to Geneva to see the Reformation Museum, the Reformation Wall, and Calvin's Church. On the way back to Annecy, we stopped by Chomonix, Mont Blanc for the afternoon.

Because it was snowing in Geneva today, we had a scenic drive through the mountains.



Here's a photo of our team, outside Calvin's Church in Geneva, Switzerland.



Tomorrow, we leave to return home. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

France Team '07

Thanksgiving Dinner

Today is the day our team prepared and served an American Thanksgiving meal for French people at the ABBA church in Annecy. Here is the story of today, in photos.

After arriving at ABBA, we could hardly contain our excitement.



Jim, Sandy, and a few helpers prepared the food.



Meantime, others arranged tables, put together place settings, folded napkins, set out decorations, and put the final touches in place.



There were about 100 people that attended.



Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, the team scrambled between each course.



Before we sign off, here is one last picture that captured Jay's surprise as he was trying to describe the fact that he had just learned that in France, "there is no French Silk Pie."

"Guys, listen to me, this is serious!"



Overally, the meal went extremely well. Thank you to Jim and Sandy for putting in such a long day and for doing such an marvelous job preparing the meal. Also, both Mandy and Jim did a fabulous job sharing their testimony clearly and genuinely in how God has worked wonders in their lives.

Bon Soir (good night),
Mark, for the team

Half Time

Today was a day of transit. Matt C. challenged us to use this day to rejuvenate spiritually and physically. In football terms, he called this our "Half Time".

Before leaving Senlis this morning, one small group went to the Kuehl's house to do some final cleaning. The rest of the group prayer-walked with Dan Kuehl through Senlis and spent some time praying right outside the chapel that we've been talking so much about in previous posts. Dan is a great guide, and his knowledge of Senlis, and it's history informed our prayers.



One of the last things we did before departing Senlis was to stop at a pastry shop to get something sweet. Believe us when we say that these were as good as they looked. Evidently, the French know how to do pastries.



After saying goodbye to the Kuehls and Patrice Nevo (assitant pastor to Dan), we boarded a bus to the train station.



The train station was located on the premises of Charles de Gaulle (CDG) International Airport. After boarding the train, we took a 2 hour ride to Lyon, where we boarded a bus that took us the rest of the way to Annecy (2 more hours), where we are now.





After arriving in Annecy, we met Dale and Sherry Anderson at their church (called ABBA) and had a wonderful meal of cheese and pototoes that we enjoyed while fellowshipping with ABBA church members.



Tonight, at our PM team meeting, we agreed that Nehemiah 8:10, "[...] for the joy of the Lord is your strength." was beginning to become the theme of the week for our trip.

Prayer requests:

• Please pray about tomorrow's meal. There will be many people at the meal (possibly a majority) that are not Christians. Please pray that God's message is communicated clearly and effectively.
  
• Please pray for physical fatigue among our team. There are a considerable number of people on the team that are feeling very physically tired.
• Please pray for the Andersons and their church (ABBA) and the ministry that they have here in Annecy, specifically that they would be encouraged by our visit.
  
• Please pray for the logistics of the event preparation, that the details would come together smoothly.
  
• Please pray for those who received the Bibles in their mailboxes in Senlis yesterday. Pray that their hearts would be softened to hear the gospel message.
  

Last Full Day of Projects with the Kuehl's

Today was a day of finishing projects at the Kuehl's. Since we're leaving for Annecy tomorrow (Thursday), we were focused primarily on (A) finishing projects at the Kuehl's home, and (B) distributing as much literature as we could before the end of the day. Here are some photo highlights from today:

Projects. We continued to paint the interior and exterior of the Kuehl's home. The painting crew did an exceptional job.





Peanut Butter Jelly Time. Throughout the day, Jim Hoar kept us entertained by bursting into song: Peanut Butter Jelly Time! Peanut Butter Jelly Time! Definitely a highlight.



Food. Our meals were wonderful, thanks to the kitchen crew. As you can see, the kitchen was extremely packed, and full of fellowship.



"Mmm... what's this?" "In France, we call that a pen."



Literature Distribution. Since the Gospel's of John arrived yesterday, a team of people spent a good portion of the day preparing 6,000 packets of information, that were then partially distributed during the afternoon. The arrival of these gospels was definitely an answer to prayer.



Team Unity. Thanks for praying about this. Our team feels that people have been working together and have been working to make contributions with joyful spirits.







Prayer with/for Kuehl's. Before leaving for the day, our team spent some quality time praying with/for the the Kuehls as well as the Patrice Nevo family (assistant pastor to Dan Kuehl).



Plan for Tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll finish up a few last items at the Kuehl's (cleaning). Additionally, we'll do a bit more prayer walking through the city. We leave mid-day on a train to Annecy.

Prayer Requests:

• Safety during our travel tomorrow.
• For individuals to rest up during this middle part of our trip so that they can prepare spiritually and physically for the second portion of our ministry here in France--this time in Annecy.