Happy Easter! I hope that you had a good Easter with family and friends and ate a lot of chocolate eggs (I sure did - eat a lot of chocolate eggs!). These past few weeks have been filled with Sprintime parties and one spontaneous tea party. Easter was a great day. My brother was here in Paris visiting the week up until Easter which was SO great! Thanks for coming Matt. Easter Sunday we joined the masses in the train station outside of Notre Dame Cathedral, he took the train to the airport and I took the train just outside of Paris to Dordan where my friend Ursula hosted an Easter lunch at her parent's house.
They live out of the city and it was refreshing to be surrounded by trees and to hear birds chirpping, a rare sound in Paris. We had the traditional Easter meal in France of lamb and potatoes and vegetables and so many desserts I won't even try to name them all. We hid Easter eggs in the garden for the kids and had fun watching them fill their baskets and finding our own eggs too! I brought my guitar and led some worship songs and then Frank gave a short message about Easter. Then we went on a walk in the forest which in French is a "balader dans le foret."
Heading back to Paris on the train that night I got to talk with two women who are a part of our community who I haven't gotten to connect with much before, one who is a chef in Paris and another who was a Muslim and has converted to Christianity (along with her two kids). That evening I was invited to a "Fete de printemps" or "Springtime party" hosted by my friend Estelle. We brought springtime flowers to decorate and house and danced and ate snacks. Estelle and her two best friends (who's house the party was at) know how to through fun parties!
The following day was a National holiday in France and I had the opportunity to get together with some international students from my French class. We saw a French film together in the theater by my house and then I invited the girls for tea at my place afterwards. The picture above is of us at my apartment after our tea. Two of the girls are from Japan, one from Columbia and the other girl is from Kazikstan. The language we all have in common is French! It's so fun to be in the midst of so much learning about other cultures and other languages. It was fun to get to know each other better outside of class and going back to class on Monday felt different after having bonded a little over tea.
The verse that I've been thinking about this Easter is from Ezekiel 37: The Valley of Dry Bones. I think it reminds of of the hope we have in Christ. The new life that we have because He rose from the dead and lives a new life. "I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord...." later in verse 12 "O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord."
This Easter I hope you were reminded that He, the Lord, has done it, that there is nothing that we need to do because it's Him who has spoken. Thank you for reading these blogs, for your e-mails, your prayers, your packages, your financial support. I am thankful for your friendship and for your support. I love and miss you all!
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