Wow, so I am apparently not so good at this blog thing. I know it has been a long while, but I will catch you up to speed with our lives here with some quick updates.
We have been in school now for a full two months. Ryan and I are able to have small conversations with people, if they speak slowly! We often have to ask people to repeat their phrases. Class is great. Our teacher is awesome and so patient. We have two other classmates, so we get a lot of individual attention. We have been watching movies in French, listening to french radio, doing Rosetta Stone, going to a french speaking church, having Bible studies on campus in French, and going to french speaking social activities. We have been able to immerse ourselves in this language, and it is the only way to learn another language as quickly as possible. We are doing well with our assignments and comprehension. The best feeling that we have experienced so far is that French is sounding more and more like our own language and not one that is scary and foreign. Praise the Lord!
Last week was our first break from school. As a belated birthday present, Ryan and I went to Boston for 4 days. We loved the city! I was personally amazed at how easy it was to get around the city with the public transportation (especially since I did not grow up in a big city). We toured the Freedom Trail, the U.S.S. Constitution, saw a movie, visited with some stateside missionaries, ate some really good seafood, and visited Salem. It was a wonderful vacation, but it is nice to be back home.
Between yesterday afternoon and this morning it has snowed around 2 feet. We officially have a snow day today with no class and we can no longer see our car! So, Ryan and I will be doing some studying and drinking plenty of hot chocolate!
I will try my hardest to give quick updates more often. Thank you to everyone who prays for Ryan and me during this time of language learning. We have felt the presence of the Lord with us and know that we could not learn this beautiful language without His power. We love you and miss you!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Our Adventure to Canada
I know I have not written in a while, but the whole month of December has been very busy! Ryan and I said our good-bye's slowly to friends from work and church and then the big good-bye happened on December 23, 2010. We spent the morning packing all of our things into our tiny little car..what a sight! HA! Then we said good-bye to my grandparents and my best friend, Emily...and hit the road to Nashville to spend Christmas Eve and Day with Ryan's family. We all shed a few tears, but the whole process still seemed surreal.
We arrived in Nashville later that evening and were greeted by Ryan's family. We were able to see about 50 of Ryan's family members and close family friends during the annual Christmas Eve Brunch. Then, we spent a quiet Christmas morning at the House of Head..opening presents that Santa had brought! (Yeah...with 4 grand-kids and Ryan..there wasn't much quiet going on! Hehe)
Ryan and I went to bed late and got up early on Dec. 26 to head out towards our first stop on our way to Canada..Washington, D.C. The hardest part of the whole drive, believe it or not, was getting out of Ryan's parents steep driveway, because of the snow/ice mixture that happened the day before! Anyways, we got out of the drive and headed toward D.C. We were on our way to stay with an old college friend for a couple of nights. We made it safe and sound and then the next day were given the grand tour of D.C. by our friend and Sri Lankan tour guide, Sumalka. He was so great! We saw the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Chinatown, Natural History Museum and road the metro....it was my first time, and I love it!
The next day, Dec. 28, Ryan and I drove towards our next destination, Montpelier, Vermont. We drove through several northeastern states and saw New York City from a distance while we drove through Manhattan. We stopped at a Subway in Connecticut for lunch and after we ordered, the man behind the counter asked if we had gotten any snow in Tennessee. I quickly looked at my shirt to see if I was wearing anything with Tennessee emblem that gave him a clue....but no...it was our accent that gave us away! HA! I could not believe it! We finally got to our hotel in Montpelier and it was nice to have a good night's sleep before crossing the Canadian border. Montpelier seemed like a neat city. It is small and quaint, actually the smallest capital in the United States. We had a good night out together, made many phone calls, e-mails, and got some much needed rest.
The next morning, Dec. 29, we started out again towards the Canadian border, which was only about 2 1/2 hours away. We drove the rest of our route along a country, old, snow covered highway through the mountains. It was a gorgeous ride. We took it slow and did not get stuck, even though we were missing snow tires. The Lord definitely blessed our journey through the snow. He must of know that we have very little experience driving in snow/ice being from Tennessee.
Our road adventure started coming to a close when we got to the Canadian border. There was no traffic and no one inside. The whole process took about an hour and everything went smoothly. Then we followed some more country roads and French road signs to our Language School, Parole de Vie Bethel in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Our language school is on a pretty steep hill, so we had a little trouble getting up the hill with some slick ice spots on the road, but we had finally arrived around 12:30pm on Wednesday afternoon! We were greeted by our volunteer apartment caregivers and to an empty campus, because we had arrived early. The rest of the story I will have to tell at another time, because this is enough for now! Thank you for everyone who has lifted up prayers for our safe travel. We were blessed by God to not have any accidents or car trouble. We are so thankful to be here and excited to start learning French!
We arrived in Nashville later that evening and were greeted by Ryan's family. We were able to see about 50 of Ryan's family members and close family friends during the annual Christmas Eve Brunch. Then, we spent a quiet Christmas morning at the House of Head..opening presents that Santa had brought! (Yeah...with 4 grand-kids and Ryan..there wasn't much quiet going on! Hehe)
Ryan and I went to bed late and got up early on Dec. 26 to head out towards our first stop on our way to Canada..Washington, D.C. The hardest part of the whole drive, believe it or not, was getting out of Ryan's parents steep driveway, because of the snow/ice mixture that happened the day before! Anyways, we got out of the drive and headed toward D.C. We were on our way to stay with an old college friend for a couple of nights. We made it safe and sound and then the next day were given the grand tour of D.C. by our friend and Sri Lankan tour guide, Sumalka. He was so great! We saw the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Chinatown, Natural History Museum and road the metro....it was my first time, and I love it!
The next day, Dec. 28, Ryan and I drove towards our next destination, Montpelier, Vermont. We drove through several northeastern states and saw New York City from a distance while we drove through Manhattan. We stopped at a Subway in Connecticut for lunch and after we ordered, the man behind the counter asked if we had gotten any snow in Tennessee. I quickly looked at my shirt to see if I was wearing anything with Tennessee emblem that gave him a clue....but no...it was our accent that gave us away! HA! I could not believe it! We finally got to our hotel in Montpelier and it was nice to have a good night's sleep before crossing the Canadian border. Montpelier seemed like a neat city. It is small and quaint, actually the smallest capital in the United States. We had a good night out together, made many phone calls, e-mails, and got some much needed rest.
The next morning, Dec. 29, we started out again towards the Canadian border, which was only about 2 1/2 hours away. We drove the rest of our route along a country, old, snow covered highway through the mountains. It was a gorgeous ride. We took it slow and did not get stuck, even though we were missing snow tires. The Lord definitely blessed our journey through the snow. He must of know that we have very little experience driving in snow/ice being from Tennessee.
Our road adventure started coming to a close when we got to the Canadian border. There was no traffic and no one inside. The whole process took about an hour and everything went smoothly. Then we followed some more country roads and French road signs to our Language School, Parole de Vie Bethel in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Our language school is on a pretty steep hill, so we had a little trouble getting up the hill with some slick ice spots on the road, but we had finally arrived around 12:30pm on Wednesday afternoon! We were greeted by our volunteer apartment caregivers and to an empty campus, because we had arrived early. The rest of the story I will have to tell at another time, because this is enough for now! Thank you for everyone who has lifted up prayers for our safe travel. We were blessed by God to not have any accidents or car trouble. We are so thankful to be here and excited to start learning French!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
What a Blessing...
What a blessing it is to be a part of a family of believers and to call church your home. Ryan and I have only been to Millington Church of Christ for three years, but we are so very close to the people there. We could not imagine not having these people in our lives. Our church family has an immense amount of love for other people and always seek to do kingdom work wherever they are. They think that Ryan and I have blessed them so much by being at Millington, but we are the ones that have been truly blessed.
I can remember first going to Millington. I thought the church was o.k., but I did not want to spend anytime getting to know the people or being involved. In my mind, that was not a part of the plan that I had. I wanted to be in control of when and how fast we could get to Togo. Little did I know, that the Lord had other plans for us. As soon as I let my guard down and surrendered to the Lord's timing for our future plans, I felt right at home. It was like I had grown up at Millington. The people at this church are so warm and welcoming. They can't help but to draw people into the studies, fellowship, and service that goes on weekly.
I am so thankful that I allowed my heart to be broken down so I could let people inside. We will cherish these people forever. They will always be our family. The good-bye fellowship tonight was so meaningful to us. We know that wherever we go, our church family's love will help encourage us through the difficult times. I am so glad that God allowed us to have 3 years of waiting before going to Language School. I could not imagine going anywhere without the love, encouragement, and prayers from our family at Millington. God is good...all the time!
I can remember first going to Millington. I thought the church was o.k., but I did not want to spend anytime getting to know the people or being involved. In my mind, that was not a part of the plan that I had. I wanted to be in control of when and how fast we could get to Togo. Little did I know, that the Lord had other plans for us. As soon as I let my guard down and surrendered to the Lord's timing for our future plans, I felt right at home. It was like I had grown up at Millington. The people at this church are so warm and welcoming. They can't help but to draw people into the studies, fellowship, and service that goes on weekly.
I am so thankful that I allowed my heart to be broken down so I could let people inside. We will cherish these people forever. They will always be our family. The good-bye fellowship tonight was so meaningful to us. We know that wherever we go, our church family's love will help encourage us through the difficult times. I am so glad that God allowed us to have 3 years of waiting before going to Language School. I could not imagine going anywhere without the love, encouragement, and prayers from our family at Millington. God is good...all the time!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
First Time Blogger
Without much further ado...I introduce our first Blog!!! Ryan and I will will be writing on here to keep family and friends updated on our adventures to Sherbrooke, Canada as we set out to learn the language of love...French! We are very excited about our future travel plans and new changes that will be occurring very soon. Please pray that God will bless us with safe travel and peace about these new transitions. Thank you for reading!!!
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