les Davey de France

Just rite for an English class . http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS& grid =& xml =/global/2008/09/29/ noindex /do2706. xml &source= EMC-exp _29092008 I have just been for a haircut - I am getting used to seeing the grey hairs glinting in the mirror . The young lady asked me if I am forrin , being as I have got an accent, and I explained that I am Welsh . She said 'Oh between England and Ireland ". I thought " That'll do". We talked about how hard it is to learn English . Oh yes , it is . The pronunciation is , if you'll pardon the expression, all to pot. And she said "And they do not understand our expressions. I said ' the fingers in the nose ' and they didn't understand ". I'm not surprised . I taught her easy-peasy , which is a rough equivalent .

the French are holding out against the credit crunch better than most. It is true that borrowing limits are lower in France than in Britain - you cannot take on a debt if it will mean you end up with more than 1/3 of your net income going in repayments.

20 Minutes is calling for the retouching of press photographs to be forbidden. They give this example of a photo published in Paris Match where a security guard has been edited out of the photo - or almost. It leaves the observant reader wondering why the president appears to have three legs. http://www.20minutes.fr/article/256920/Media-Le-choc-des-photos-le-poids-des-retouches.php

There was someone sitting on the grass playing the accordeon and everyone was in a very good mood.

The computers at the student centre need a bit of tender loving care, so I went down with my trusty hammer and - lo and behold - they started downloading Service Pack 3. EEEEK ! Knowing that this Could Take Some Time I thought I'd nip out for a quick cup of something - to this lovely café cum bookshop in Rue du Ruat. It's NICE isn't it ! I have LONG wanted to pop in for a coffee or something. Today was the day.

The building you can see best is the back of a bank.

I didn't have the key for the main room so I took this photo through the security grill and window. It gives you a bit of an idea.

You can see how close the tram passes. It was slowing down to enter the tram stop. These CRS policemen had stopped this car with two chaps in it. They looked very guilty indeed to my untrained eye.

The Sunday school room. The nursery room. The office.

The little room at the end has a radiator and looks like it was used as a drying room. To the left you find the upper room and to the right you find the bathroom, the nursery room, the sunday school room and then the office.

asks John Benton .

Some of these blogs have not been updated for a very long time. They shall be removed. And I'll check that all the other links work and get rid of them as doesn't.

They are wrong !  I have to write just a few simple things, almost everything in English, and you'd swear I was trying to climb Everest in rollerskates. Basically in English I have to write our prayer letter (that one's OK once you decide what you need to say) and an article for an august Christian magazine. One thing is sure: once they read what I produce they'll never ask me again !  That should be my motto. "Never knowingly asked again."

We spent our last Sunday but two at the little chapelle in Pessac, where the cyclamens are still blooming. I'll miss these cyclamens, especially since the place is due to be razed to the ground some time soon to build an estate of little houses .

On Saturday the Commission Exécutive Elargie met at Montauban. The church has recently been extremely well renovated and I have put photos on the blog before. This time I thought I'd photograph the pulpit.

It's been quiet, hasn't it. Partly because I had one of those snap, sharp colds that comes quickly, knocks you down and then leaves as quickly as it came. Nurse Davey has impressed on me the need to care for a cold, so I take to my bed for a day then I am better the next. Then it's been a very happy busy couple of days, with lots of coming and going. Then, less happily, late nights and early mornings. Early mornings I have no big problem with, but late nights tend to use me up a little. Then yesterday I was at a very happy Commission Exécutive Elargie for the South-West Region of the association of churches, at Montauban. Although "élargie", we were only 7 people in attendance which gave us a nice opportunity to talk more freely and get to know each other better. So tired but happy. And a bit too preoccupied to blog. But I will soon.

Last night we sat around the Griffins' nice old wooden table and reviewed the work amongst the students last year - the highlights and lowlights, the things that worked and that didn't work, the successes and the failures. Then we previewed the year to come and dicussed and adopted various changes and new approaches. It'll be an interesting year. We have a great feeling of beginning afresh : in the English services because many of our folks from last year are no longer in Bordeaux, in the French church because we have our new premises to make a fresh start, in the student work because some have left and new students will be contacted. I was talking to somone the other day and said that I was looking forward to having a normal year in France one day. They said that that's a vain hope.

is to be published soon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2983652/Baroness-Warnock-Dementia-sufferers-may-have-a-duty-to-die.html?source=EMC-new_19092008

A video with Florent Varak and Raphaël Anzenberger. It's filmed in a dimly-lit hall and now and again it goes bananas, but persevere. Oh- and it's in French .

Mark Driscoll is one of the most popular cyberpastors now. I confess that I haven't really gotten into watching or listening and one of my reservations is his style, including his choice of language. Now I know that "he that winneth souls is wise", which suggests that results justify the means, and that "God blesses faithfulness, not results" so we can dismiss all discussion based on the size of his church or the influence he has. That don't prove nothing not one way nor the other. And I know that all pastors get beaten up for the language they choose to use. I was taken to task for using the word "dead" (as in "dead cert") and "grab" (like a drowning man clutches at a straw when you see your real situation you'll grab at Jesus Christ). Among others. Those are just two that come to mind. In those situations one has to reflect. And I know that preachers can have a slip of the tongue, especially when preaching in a language th

it is too quiet, says Randy of Boeing .

http://www.expatica.com/fr/life_in/feature/How-to-Be-a-Polyglot.html So now we know !

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/trinity/files/trinity.html

Parents evening over by 18h30 (just 1 1/2 hours). Visitor (in 70s) on train from Caen crossed Paris to catch tgv to Bordeaux with no problems whatsoever. Trusty Ben fetched her from the station. Pat meanwhile bouncing G & C into and out of various music classes. All worked out far better than I could have predicted. Like clockwork !

Some friends came to visit for the weekend, folks who have some French and who spend quite some time in France. It was good to have them here and to let them get to see the church a little again. However, the poor things arrived on Friday night, when I was in the throes of my three-hour parents' evening and Pat was ferrying Gwilym back and fore from football, so at just after 8 guided by his satnav and his nous for when he hit all the closed roads, Peter came to pick me up from the school. Tonight another friend comes to visit, this time by train. I'm in another three-hour parents' evening and Pat is ferrying the children back and fore to music. Ho hum. We put our friends on an airbed that we borrowed from the Griffins. I do not believe in airbeds. Pat does, but even her faith was shaken, so we put the airbed on top of the spare matresses from the kids' bunks. At 1am our friends gave up on the airbed and just slept on the matresses. Poor things !

I sent off feuilles de soin for dentistry, physiotherapy and other things.  I found that the Income Tax people had indeed contributed 250 euros to the cost of our poele à bois.  I ascertained that our tax foncière (property tax) has reached ever more heady heights. Roll on October.  I sent off a cheque for 10 euros to be credited to our account. Every little helps towards our tax foncière! Loads of stuff.  Good. Phew.

A picnic tax .  More accurately, a tax on paper plates and plastic knives and forks. We use LOADS of 'em. We use 'em every Sunday.

Who are the British creationists ?

for the service today. I had forgotten that there is a carpet of cyclamens there at this time of the year. Last photo not too bad for a mobile phone, eh? Afterwards we were about 16 people for lunch. A bit impromptu. We had some chicken in the slow-cooker. Six pieces. I cut each in half and Pat dug sausages and chicken nuggets out of the freezer and nobody seemed to go hungry. This afternoon was warm and pleasant so there was a big waterfight in the garden. We're very lucky to have this house. Really very thankful indeed.

Didn't stop Vincent and Jenna climbing this silver birch, mind.

Wow ! (sorry about the language...)

That's how long the parents' evening was today.  From 5pm to 8pm. I can tell you, as you sit there watching teacher after teacher you feel yourself aging . One chap went in with a mop of curls and came out bald. But the kids are fine and the teachers are nice and the school is ok and the head is great and there we are, and there's another parents' evening on Tuesday. I pity the teachers - they have to do this every night for a week ! .

It was a good day yesterday for talking over things and planning. We spent the afternoon thinking, talking and praying about the Sunday services in the coming months, the meetings for evangelism, the prayer meetings, the home-groups, the English work, etc. etc.  In the morning I saw the doctor and took someone to the airport. In reverse order. All was OK, but I have to have le bilan sanguin - blood tests again. Just routine. Checking for everything !

well, he's in Paris. 70% of French people say that they are Roman Catholic. 7% go to church, apparently. ( I don't know where that 7% are, they are not in Bordeaux... ) Meanwhile the Pope is in Paris. To us that seems a long way away.  In North Wales we felt a long way from the seats of power, temporal (Westminster) and ecclesiastical (Bridgend). It's just the same here with Paris and Nîmes.

OK - the church is officially locataire of the premises in Cenon. We get the keys on 22 September and then there's is work to do - a few modifications here and there and lots of painting. We hope to move in for the second Sunday of October.

I think the Riddleblogger may well be the silliest link I have - excepting perhaps the Truman when he's on his anti-Welsh thing...  Anyway, thank-you Riddleblogger for bringing this AWFUL, AWFUL, DREADFUL so dreadful you just have to laugh story to our attention. 'I didn't believe in predestination until tonight'  (Click on the link - if you dare...)

I'd love to have that gift, but I don't. And you'll see why I am so sure in a moment. In the UK, charged with the energy of the ProcTrust and the Biblical Theology Movement, we have got used to thinking of a unifying theme of the Bible being God's presence, with God's People, under God's King, in God's Place. Or some variation on that. We trace it from Eden through the fall through Abraham to Egypt to Canaan through David through the exile through Jesus to the final chapters of the book of Revelation. And a mighty fine scheme it is. Here in France I'm in a Presbyterian church and presbyterians tend to emphasise another unifying scheme, that of covenant theology. The covenant being God's fulfilment of his promise to save all his people. We trace it from it's first announcement in Eden after the fall through Abraham to Moses to Canaan through David through the exile through Jesus to the final chapters of the book of Revelation. Quite, quite wonde

Negotiations have been positive. We ended up with the figure we first thought of, and a decent price if we want to take up the option to buy the place. Now the questions arise about the International services in English. Is it a good venue for them ? Who can tell. I think we need to give it a go and see. I mean - parking's easy, trams are nearby, access by road is easy. Could it be better ? However Bordeaux has a psychological 'right bank' thing going on. We'll give it a go and see, I think. So here is the pattern that we're thinking about : Twice a month, evangelistic services in French meant to be easy access. We'd translate as much as we could into English too. The other Sundays, services in English. Given that we'll be holding services in the evening in French, too, this also allows us to try and establish a bridge from the anglophones into the francophones. In addition we need to consider starting a homegroup in English if possible. Yes, I know. It migh

( I think that's the expression now . ) Preaching yesterday seemed to go OK - though I desperately needed a Potter's Cattargh Pastille. Un petit verre d'eau had to suffice . I asked Ben if he thought one of my illustrations worked . He has certain drawbacks as a critic , though . For one thing he is of an encouraging character . For another he doesn't usually spot my foul-ups in French . Still . Afterwards s small gang came back to eat - kids , students and young and singles. And the Griffins . But this morning I feel tired and I'm coughing . Help , I'm a Welshman , get me out of here . ( don't worry - it won't last ) ( it didn't )

I was thinking about a friend who has just joined a mission team in a city in Britain that is characterised perhaps like no other by churches that have a reputation for vibrant, Bible-preaching life. I then thought about Bordeaux. I thought about our lack of just strong, solid, stable churches. I thought about our lack of all kinds of things that in Britain (and the USA) are just taken for granted. Everything is just so FRAGILE ! Then I read this  post by the étrangère. It helped me to remember that it is about giving time and patient service. The other post she refers to, "Nothing works, so try everything" , is very helpful, too. Nothing works. That's true, isn't it. If something worked then we'd all do that and it would always work ! Instead we know that nothing works, so we are committed to trying everything - we are committed to doing things that do not work, because we know that God is at work.

Some years ago we went to see the tapestry. Today we found the tickets so I scanned them. Today is all about preparation for tomorrow - printing orders of service, preparation to preach.

Well there we are. It's Friday. We made it ! I have the kids' emploi du temp s in my phone, so that I can look and see what time they start and finish. I can NEVER remember things like that, but Pat just knows them and is hardly ever wrong. I've also put in when Gwilym is doing guitar, when Catrin's doing flute, when they're doing music theory and orchestra and Gwilym's football training. Catrin was going to join the children's choir but there's just 9 kids so far and she is the oldest. All the children I saw were aged 7 and tiny. It would look like Maria and the Von Trapps. Or like Snow White and the eight dwarfs. So we'll wait and see what happens on that one. Honestly, this is such a stressful week for all families here, and for teachers ! A friend told me that he has a kip in his car every lunchhour. Still. Oh yes, and Catrin needs another of those 32cm x 24cm books. Mustn't forget. Mustn't forget.

Which are right by a tram stop, with ample easy parking, a fast road in from the rocade and from the centre of Bordeaux, a railway station nearby, a couple of cafés and a fish restaurant, etc. We're very excited. Thank you for your prayers, and keep praying !