The Haps

It's only been a couple of days but it feels like a lot has happened! 

Tuesday we had a fellowship and devotional time with Jill, Amy and two other interns that are here. It was such an encouraging time. Later in the evening we went to the church's weekly beach party where we met a great deal of the missions team and several folks from the church. Everyone brought snacks and chatted and played with the kids. It was so great to meet people and start building relationships. 

On a side note, Jill is terrified of jellyfish and was on patrol while we swam, sure every flicker of motion was one. We swam to a buoy a little ways from shore - incident free. I looked over at Vanessa (less than 3 feet away from me) and there was a bright pink/purple jellyfish right between us. Not kidding. Good thing I'm calm in a crisis. I screamed bloody murder and swam like it was a shark. All the way to shore. Vanessa just laughed and reassured me it was NOT chasing us. Jill and I were undeterred. 

Here are a few shots from the beach if you'd like to see...

Yesterday Vanessa and I got to help make a couple of music videos for kid's camp with several of the other missionaries' precious kiddos - what amazing little people. It really was such fun. We recorded the moves, and they'll be set to both an English and French version of the songs. 

Later on Jill and Amy took us to lunch and gave us an orientation. They helped us understand our role, made us feel so very welcome and a part of the team as well as what our upcoming schedule will look like. We'll be helping with kid's camp, outreach week, a retreat week, a half day of prayer and weekly bible study, meetings, church and mission team fellowships. We're so excited! 

Today we had some time to rest, adventure into Cagnes sur Mer to go to the post office, and visit church for worship in Nice. 

I know many of you are praying for me - thank you so much. If you would, please pray for:

 - My health, I'm battling a very sore throat

 - Humility & reliance on God's power, it's apparent this is beyond me, but that is where I need to be - fully reliant on God, not myself to accomplish this work

- Jet lag! I'm having a very hard time adjusting to the time change. 

Love,

Amanda xoxo

Nous Sommes Arrivés (We Have Arrived)

We made it! 3 flights, 18 hours, 125+ lbs of luggage and 2 very tired girls. Whew!

God has been so gracious to us on our journey already. We had safe travels, no hassles at customs and no delays.

Amy, Jill and Ray (a.k.a. luggage slave) happily greeted us at the airport - how glad we were to see their sweet, smiling faces. Quite jet lagged, the girls let these weary travelers nap, made us tea and dinner and showed us around the house and around town. They even made us a welcome sign, isn't that sweet?

We are so excited to be here and already love Amy, Jill and Rachael. Tomorrow we get to meet the rest of the interns and start preparing for ministry; we can't wait!

Here are a few snaps I took today if you'd like to see:

A view of their house (where we'll call home for the next 2 months).

Jill, me and Vanessa - just love these girls.

And a few more pretty views around town...

I love you all and miss you already, but I'm so excited to see what God will do these next two months.

With love,
Amanda

Mission Trip

That's right kids! I'll be spending a whopping 8 weeks in France ministering with the full time missionaries who live there to the people of Nice.

My journey of how I got here is below if you're interested. I'll be posting updates and pictures along the way, so keep in touch! I will miss you all very much!

Most importantly, thank you all who helped support me with prayer, love, care, and financial support. You are God's hands and feet; may He abundantly bless you for all you've done.

Click on the image for a larger view...