It's a chameleon life that we lead. Our clothes might change, the language we are speaking with other people might change, but underneath we're still the same people serving the same God.
Anyway, this Home Assignment thing we're on at the moment is made for me! We get to travel around seeing beautiful parts of France (and soon England), catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and speaking about a country and a people who we love (Benin and the Monkolés, in case you're wondering!).
We spent two weeks in Nancy. It is the city where Marc and I met and Simon was born. And in some ways it still feels like home. Obviously some things have changed, but it was good to catch up with friends from church and Marc's colleagues at the university, and meet new people. Being there for a fortnight meant that we could relax when spending time with people, instead of it being a marathon, and also meant that we could take part in regular church activities and not just the meetings that we ourselves were leading. Another bit of good timing was the inter-church service on the second of our Sundays, giving us the opportunity to chat to friends from other churches in Nancy. And staying in the flat over our church gave us some family time on our own too.
It was funny to go to an inter-church prayer meeting for the GBU (university Bible groups) and not to recognise anyone in the GBU! I helped to lead it for 4 years while living in Nancy, but of course things move on quickly in student circles. I was encouraged to hear the students' testimonies of living out their faith on the same campuses I knew a few years back.
Meeting up with Marc's colleagues was great. It reinforced the feeling that there is a real friendship there, which is going to last. We had hoped also to visit a friend of mine from the university, who is now in Châlon-en-Champagne, but unfortunately her little boy wasn't well, and we had to make do with a telephone call this week.
Nancy is a beautiful city, especially when the sun is shining, as it was almost every day of our time there! I love the fact that it is surrounded by hills, and also that there are so many lovely parks in it. Parks are one thing I miss in Benin … that and being able to walk around anywhere anonymously!
Here are a few photos from our time in Nancy:
Anyway, this Home Assignment thing we're on at the moment is made for me! We get to travel around seeing beautiful parts of France (and soon England), catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and speaking about a country and a people who we love (Benin and the Monkolés, in case you're wondering!).
We spent two weeks in Nancy. It is the city where Marc and I met and Simon was born. And in some ways it still feels like home. Obviously some things have changed, but it was good to catch up with friends from church and Marc's colleagues at the university, and meet new people. Being there for a fortnight meant that we could relax when spending time with people, instead of it being a marathon, and also meant that we could take part in regular church activities and not just the meetings that we ourselves were leading. Another bit of good timing was the inter-church service on the second of our Sundays, giving us the opportunity to chat to friends from other churches in Nancy. And staying in the flat over our church gave us some family time on our own too.
It was funny to go to an inter-church prayer meeting for the GBU (university Bible groups) and not to recognise anyone in the GBU! I helped to lead it for 4 years while living in Nancy, but of course things move on quickly in student circles. I was encouraged to hear the students' testimonies of living out their faith on the same campuses I knew a few years back.
Meeting up with Marc's colleagues was great. It reinforced the feeling that there is a real friendship there, which is going to last. We had hoped also to visit a friend of mine from the university, who is now in Châlon-en-Champagne, but unfortunately her little boy wasn't well, and we had to make do with a telephone call this week.
Nancy is a beautiful city, especially when the sun is shining, as it was almost every day of our time there! I love the fact that it is surrounded by hills, and also that there are so many lovely parks in it. Parks are one thing I miss in Benin … that and being able to walk around anywhere anonymously!
Here are a few photos from our time in Nancy:
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