so what did we do about it?
please remember, none of this is recommendation! And I am not saying I would do it the same way again, either.. In fact, I hope never to have to do it again at all!!
Firstly I spoke with a friend who knows me, knows the church and knows UFM. I "confessed" to them my thoughts about working in France, and also my misgivings and concerns (was I mad or bad...) They were supportive and encouraged me to think further, to pray, and to talk to them again when things had moved on further.
Only after that did I talk to Pat about it. Pat had the power of veto, but she was very supportive. We went together to some conferences to find out more.
Some months later I spoke to the elders of the church here. Neither of them was surprised - one had thought we would end up working in Spain, a thought shared by others in the church we later found out.
I visited Bordeaux to "spy out the land". This raised some matters that needed talking through in the family and with friends