Why it says "March 13, 2013"

The date says "March 13, 2013" . . . No I'm not still overseas. I was looking back through my blog and reminiscing. I found a bunch of blog posts that I never published (I don't remember why I never did) so I decided to! Some day I want to print this blog out.

Job

2008

job

I was asked the other day . . . "How do you go back to a normal job after one like this?"

I honestly don't know how to answer that. I have no clue, how I will go back to regular activities.

Well, for those that don't know. I am extending. It means I won't be coming home in Aug. for good. I am coming home for a visit though. I am unsure as to how much longer I will be here--I'm still working through that.

We will see!

A Pickle

August 2008

One of my favorite baseball plays is called "a pickle". I love it because you are on the edge of your seat waiting to see who is going to out play who. I'm sure it isn't fun for the one caught in the middle.
Well I kind of feel like I'm in a pickle and it isn't fun. I feel torn. As the past two months have flown by it has made me think more and more about the end of my term. I know there were days when I desperately wanted to go home and now there are days that I dread the end. Why is it that we can't enjoy where we are but long for where we are not (or dread what is coming)? I have been asked to extend a year. Part of me breathes a sigh of relief and says, "Yes, I'd love to. More time in this part of the world working with people I love." While the other part says, "Another year is so long." What's a girl to do? So I'm praying, begging God for direction. I don't want to do something that doesn't honor God. I don't want to make a decision for selfish reasons. I desperately want His will...
I've been reading this book and read this the other day:
'"Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills." Neither does holiness mean, as is so often thought, adhering to a list of 'do's and don'ts', mostly don'ts. When Christ came into the world, He said, "I have come to do Your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7) In all of our thoughts, all of our actions, in every part of our character, the ruling principle that motivates and guides us should be the desire to follow Christ in doing the will of the Father.'

Incredible Day!

May 2008

Incredible Day!!

Today after church, I went to visit the A. family. We had so much fun!! We laughed, talked, and ate. Saliah said, "Rachelle, what are we going to do when you leave?" It warmed my heart. Days like these make me want to stay forever. She proceeded to tell me that I could find a husband here, get married and then I could stay and visit them every day. I smiled and said "I don't think so--not that I don't want to visit them everyday, because I do--it is the marrying part". So then she decided I could go back to the states, get married and return to live in here. She was so sweet and sincere. Today, I totally surprised them. I used the 5 words that I know in @r@bic and they loved it!! Saliah just smiled and smiled. I apologized for not knowing more and she said "Rachelle, it is enough that you try." I am going back on Wed. Did I mention that I had so much fun today???
She found out that my mom and family (7 total) are coming over in May. She told me everyone is invited for coffee and cakes. I am sure that it will be interesting; boisterous Italians mixed with boisterous @rbs---it is bound to be a party for sure. I am thrilled for my family to meet them. I will keep you posted.

Productive Day

Today was the most productive day I have had in a LONG time. I don't know what it was about today that was any different.
I have two jobs. One is to meet with families over here and the other is to prepare for 250 tourists who are coming this summer. In the fall, I spent more time in homes that I did on the summer job, but now that summer is approaching the balance is shifting and I am spending less time in the homes and more time on the summer part. Getting ready for the summer, means a lot of errands, a ton of e-mails back and forth between tourists, summer staff, bosses, technical(web) people, recruiters. Just a lot. So often I have a list and work down the list; starting more than one activity while I wait for others to do their part before I can finish mine. It is also a foreign country so things just take longer. So a lot of starts very few finishes, except for today.
I got two big items checked off and at least 5 small ones. I am completely organized and ready for whatever is next.
WWWHHOOO for today being a productive day!!! It feels so good.

Berbers, North Africa, Augustine, and so much more

Berbers, North Africa, Augustine, and so much more

This is from a colleague's website. . . I thought it was funny. . .
"I was traveling to the US for business, the plane just landed and I was exhausted, it was a long flight and did not manage to sleep. The customs officer greeted me and went to a series of questions, one question particularly caught my attention: you were born in Algeria? Where is Algeria?
I thought it was a joke, and told him it was in South America , he nodded and didn't say anything. I realized just then that the customs officer had not clue where Algeria was.
There are many people that have never heard about North Africa or the least they may have heard could be the terrorism and the bad news and the catastrophes. Or when we say North Africa is a Berber land, they always think it is carpet, or when we talk about the main dish of North Africa namely Couscous people think it is an animal…. "
FYI: Berbers are people! The Romans called them barbarians because when they spoke the Romans said their language sounded like someone was barking at them. They also thought they were uncivilized. However Augustine was a Berber!! The early church would have been made up of Berbers too!! Over 50 % of North Africa at one time was Christian. Couscous are small round pieces of rice/pasta. Hard to explain! But it sure is good!

What is the Deal?

What is the deal?

This morning I woke up and there were 4 stories about pastors, sunday school teachers, and other church leaders that have fallen into some type of moral sin. And this isn't the first time that I've woken up to story after story about this. What is going on? My heart is grieved.

I've thought about it alot and here is what I think. . .

1. Satan wants to kill, steal, and destroy and he is doing just that. I believe for those who are in the forefront of ministry (pastors, pastor wife's, church leaders, missionaries) are a target, especially those who are walking with the Lord. I also believe NO one is above the ability to fall into sin (any type but this especially). Why? Because we are human and we have a sin nature.

2. I also believe that sin is a gradual decline. I don't believe someone who is walking with the Lord wakes up one day and falls into a pit. I believe it starts with a missed day of spending time with the Lord. Then another, a week, month. Other areas start to go . . You get the idea.

3. Praise God, He is the God of second (even more than just 2nd) chances. The power of His forgiveness is amazing. He is able to restore someone to a position of ministry. However, that doesn't mean there aren't consequences. There are often many!

To be honest, it scares me to death to know that none of us is above any sin.

So what do we do? We fall at His feet daily, begging for protection. We have accountability partners (guys with guys and girls with girls) that are able to ask any and ALL questions. We pray for our pastors and church leaders. Pray for their protection and their daily walk with the Lord; that they would take up the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.

One of my collegues makes it a point to pray for the pastors in the states on Sunday morning (our sunday morning , their midnight). I was so impressed with that. Now I understand why.

So for those of you in ministry (or preparing for ministry) I'm praying for you today!!

A Great Visit

I need to tell you what a great day it has been!!! I visited with one of my families today. This is the first time I was able to see them since Christmas and it was such a good time. When I got there, Jamel said, 'Rachelle it has been so long and it is good to see you'. DId I mention that they called me to see when I could come see them?? This is huge!! Malika told me over and over how much she missed me and asked about my family. I told her that my mother loved the gifts that her family sent them. It was a good time. I also got a picture of them so I will be getting that up soon. I am so excited. It always makes it easier to go back knowing you are kind of "in".

I'm a genius!

Sometimes, I just have brilliant days. And today was one of those! I had a friend come for a visit and let me tell you how much fun it was!! I will post pictures later, but back to my genius day! Unfortunately, before she came she came in contact with ringworm. Being the daughter of two who are in the medical field, I knew right away what it was, so I got on the phone with the parental unit and asked about treatment. I was told that in the states you can get the medicine over the counter. I thought, well, that shouldn't be a problem here because their over-the-counter here is far bigger than in the U.S. So I went on hunt for anti-fungal cream. I went to three pharmacies. Three because I didn't know how to say "anti-fungal" in French. I tried using hand signals, and describing it. No luck! Finally, on my way to the third pharmacy ( I was praying the whole way), I had a very ingenious thought! Here is what happened!

I walked into the pharmacy and began the charade game again and finally I said, "It has the same scientific name as a mushroom!" The pharmacist's eyes got real big and said "oh, ___ (whatever the word is in french)" and I said "Oui." Then we went through what form of the medicine I wanted (spray or liquid). She was so sweet. She looked at me and said "see we are communicating!" She was so helpful and didn't make me feel like an idiot. I really love the people here!! So that was my genius moment! Okay so maybe it doesn't make me a genius but I would say a good problem solver. Come to think about it; I have learned a lot about problem solving. Sure have had a lot of practice here!

Family Vacation

7 of my family members came for a visit. We went to London, Paris, Rome, Venice, and Nice. It was a wild ride. The first photo is of my grandfather trying to take a picture of our family in front of Buckingham Palace. As you can see, he struggled a lot.

Many more fun adventures were had . . .

Loosing my grandmother at the Eiffel Tower for 2.5 hours in the freezing cold rain, at 11:00pm. Not fun!

Before we lost my grandmother . . .















After we found my grandmother!




















Wanna know what this handle does?


Just ask my grandfather. That is right, folks, the man stopped the high speed train from France to Italy with one hard yank of this lever. Why? He thought it released the window shade. When pulled, smoke, along with this horrible smell, and screeching brakes can be experienced by all on board.





Needless to say, it was an adventure more than a vacation. But memories were made by all.

Water in an aerosol can?

That is right folks, water in an aerosol can!!! Last summer, I noticed people spraying themselves with this misty liquid. At first I thought, "Don't they know deodorant goes on under your arms not on your neck?". I was waisting time in a store yesterday and discovered this!! For when it is hot, Evian has canned it's refreshing water in a spray. This set cost 7 euros. Someone should introduce them to a spray bottle, works the same and cost way less.

I'm Canadian

My old supervisor used to make jokes about how if he every did anything stupid or culturally offensive, he would tell people he was Canadian. Americans get a bad enough rap, why make it worse? Well I was in a market in North Africa with a group of ladies from the states. One of them had to use the restroom. Well if you've ever been in a market, then you know there aren't any restrooms. So we were going to try and ask at the mosque if there was one there. We were stopped by this man who asked "Are you going to pray?" We didn't really look like we were the praying type if you know what I mean. In my best french accent, I replied, "no, we are looking for the restroom." He said, "Follow me" and motioned for me to follow him. At this point we/she was desperate for a bathroom, so I followed him, with the lady right behind me. He started to take us deep into the market (you can get lost in these things, if you aren't careful). She began to ask me where we were going (like I knew). I told her to be quiet, I didn't know. (I wanted to be as low profile as possible--and English is like a neon sign) And so I continued to follow him, all the while praying. After 2 minutes, I asked again, "Sir, are you taking us to the restroom?" At this he got frustrated/angry and said, "You said you needed a restroom . . . " I couldn't understand his french because he was missing teeth. So we continued. The lady nervously asked, "Is he taking us to his house?" I replied, "I have no idea, just stop talking." He finally looked at me and said, "where are you from? what is your nationality?" I quickly responded to his first question, "France" ( I do live in France). I knew what was coming next. "What part of France?" He asked this question with a look of slight unbelief, no doubt because of my lack of a french accent. So with a big smile, I responded, "Well actually I'm Canadian". And this look of "oh so that's why her french is so bad" look came over his face. We finally arrived at the restroom. I paid him 1 dinar for his services and he kindly returned us to where he picked us up at. When in doubt tell them you are Canadian--Everyone loves the Canadians!!!

A Quarter of a Century old

On May 12, 2007, I celebrated my 25th birthday. I went to the park for a couple of hours, to exercise and just hang out. I had lunch at a cute little cafe at the park. Then a couple of friends and I got together to have domino's pizza and home made chocolate cake. It was a really sweet time. Amazingly, a card from my brother arrived that morning and I got a ton of phone calls. Thanks so much to everyone who made my day so joyful.

And the number one question I've been asked it, "How does it feel to be a quarter of a century old? Well, the same as when I was 24.

From Culture Shock to Culture Rage

I talked with a friend the other day who is also living across the big lake. In the midst of our conversation we chatted about culture shock and the things that just really get under our skin. He informed me that at this stage, it is no longer called Culture Shock but Culture Rage. He was right! You see, I am no longer "Shocked" by this culture. I know how things work here or should I say don't work here, however, it still drives me crazy and yes, some times even produces some anger. By now I would have thought I would be accustomed to the differences. I wonder if a person ever becomes used to another culture?