Week 2

Greetings from Southern France! 

It's been another slow, but great week in Cagnes-sur-Mer! 

This week, like last week, has been a lot of planning, 

most of which I am not needed for, 

so I've had another fairly easy going week. 

It's been nice to relax for a while and take it easy, 

because I know once July comes around that won't be the case! 

Let's see what's been going on...

last week Mackenzie, my roommate and fellow intern, 

were able to go into Nice to spend the day with one of the girls from the Nice church. 

It was a nice afternoon to walk around Vieux Nice and hang out, 

we also go to sample the world famous Fenocchio's gelato, 

I can totally see why it's world famous. 

I was also able to attend the church's Bible studies on Tuesday and Thursday nights. 

It's always fun to be able to sit and discuss the Word with fellow believers, 

no matter what their cultural background. 

Wednesday is typically our day off and this past week we were treated to a surprise!

Jill wouldn't tell us where we were going, 

until we arrived in The Principality of Monaco! 

It was a really fun afternoon! 

We rode the tourist train, a personal favorite of mine,

we got to walk up to the palace and then over to the famous Monte Carlo Casino.

We had an incredibly overpriced beverage...

let's say it was a 3€ drink and a 6€ view. 

I think we might have seen the Prince...

well we technically almost got run over by his police escort, 

but that's neither here nor there. 

On the left is the port with all of its billions of dollars worth of yachts and sailboats. On the right is me with Madison and Mackenzie, the other two interns. 

Friday was a really fun day, 

it was Madison and Mackezie's birthdays! 

It was a really fun day to celebrate with them! 

We started with a delicious breakfast of pancakes,

then a lunch of crêpes,

and then an afternoon on the beach! 

That night we had team fellowship where we all get together to just hang out and share a meal! 

I had the chance to make gumbo for everyone!

It was a little difficult trying to make gumbo without any Tony's but I survived,

and everyone seemed to like it! 

Saturday was a slower day, 

but it ended with a bang! 

Thanks to the incredible people at Apple, 

I was able to be at the wedding of Andrew and Lindsay Mattingly, 

courtesy of FaceTime and Callie Whisenhunt! 

That was really special for me, 

technology really is quite cool! 

Praise God for iPhones! 

Sunday was another busy day of church services and perhaps a nap or two.

Yesterday afternoon Mackenzie and I had a few hours free so we decided to go visit the local castle in Cagnes-sur-Mer. 

We had heard really good things about the castle itself and the art they had on display there. 

We were both excited to get to go and see it, 

especially since the bus to get there was free,

and you get in free if you're under 26! 

However, it was not what we were expecting. 

Apparently there must be a new exhibit on pain or torture or something because this place was WEIRD! 

I felt like I was walking through a horror film. 

It really was incredibly creepy, 

and I am certainly glad we got in for free! 

However we could go to the top of the main tower and were blessed with fresh air, sunshine and stunning panoramic views from the Mediterranean to the "pre-Alps."

After that frightening experience Mackenzie and I had to walk around some to get some cheer back in us. The old area of the city was beautiful and charming! 

Even though it was one of the creepiest experiences of my life,

it was still a good afternoon together! 

Week 1

Well I have been in my internship for exactly one week! 

I really can't believe it...

part of me feels like I got here yesterday, 

but another part feels like I've been here for weeks.

It's been a wonderful week so far!

The transition has been smooth and easy. 

I'm living in a town called Cagnes-sur-Mer which is about 30 minutes outside of Nice. 

It's a charming little town on the sea (which I haven't been to yet),

and it's got its very own castle (I haven't been there yet either). 

I'm working with a team from Serve International, 

the missions arm of Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas. 

We work with an International Baptist Church with services in St. Paul (about 45 minutes outside of Nice) and in downtown Nice.

I'm living with two of the single women on the team here, Jill and Amy,

 and one other female intern, Mackenzie, 

and a rather large cat named Helen. 

We have a charming little house with lots of fruit trees and a ping pong table. 

The past week has been rather uneventful as far as the ministry goes. 

I really haven't been doing a whole lot, 

simply because the bulk of the summer programs go on in July,

 and June is mostly used for planning and preparing. 

So it's been nice to be able to sleep in and take things easy and get adjusted. 

I had been worried that all the down time would get to me and make me restless, 

and then result in homesickness. 

But the Lord has been so faithful and I've not been restless, bored or homesick once! 

God is so good! 

We have gotten to do some fun outings! 

Wednesday we went to Gourdon, an ancient village perched on top of a mountain. 

It boasted INCREDIBLE views and a spectacular breeze!

As far as the ministry goes I've gotten to visit several Bible studies, meet lots of team and church members, visit a nursing home, attend a piano recital, pass out tracts and fliers at a market, and attend church services at both the Nice and St. Paul venues. 

It's been a great week! 

I'm looking forward to what the Lord has in store for me this week! 

Marseille, Avignon and Nice Recap

Well today is the day...

my time with Mom and Polly has come to a close, 

and now my internship officially starts! 

It's been a wonderful trip! 

I was so blessed to be able to go on this adventure with them. 

Thank You to everyone who made this possible!

Since, I haven't had my internship orientation yet, 

and I don't have any answers to the questions I am sure you are asking. 

So, I'm just going to highlight our trip a bit. 

And I'll get to the serious stuff tomorrow. 

Sound good?

The start to the trip was a bit rocky due to a flat airplane tire and no spare to be found anywhere in Louisiana. 

So that cause some major flight reworking and lots of mental cursing...

but the Lord was gracious and we got it all worked out without too much change in our original itinerary. 

Hallelujah! 

So now on to the good stuff! 

We started in Marseille, France, and we stayed there for about four days. 

Marseille was really fun! 

While we were there we got to do a lot of neat things! 

We visited Chateau d'If, 

the famous prison where The Count of Monte Cristo is set.  

We also visited the Island of Frioule and got to go to the beach for a bit! 

One of my favorite things we did was the Calanques National Park!

It was INCREDIBLE! 

I definitely recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Southern France!

This is the view from our apartment! Right off Vieux Port in the center of the city!

After Marseille, we ventured to Avignon! 

We were in Avignon for two nights! 

It was a really fun city...maybe my favorite! 

It is much smaller than Marseille or Nice, so getting around was much easier! 

We got to visit the Papal Palace where six popes lived during the 14th century, 

and the famous Pont d'Avignon. 

We also went to a museum that boasted having pieces by Picasso, Degas, Van Gogh and Cézanne, 

and they did have at least one piece by each of these famous painters. 

But just to give you a frame of reference, 

the "Picasso" was a sketch he had done on a sheet of notebook paper. 

It was a touch disappointing, 

but some gelato more than compensated for it. 

After Avignon we journeyed to Nice and were there for a total of five nights. 

While staying in Nice we got to do some really cool stuff! 

We visited Èze and toured a perfumery and got to wander around the medieval village with stunning views of the Mediterranean!

We were also able to take a trip to Lourmarin and visit an herb farm! 

We learned all about the Herbes de Provence (Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Lavender and Savory), 

and got to have a tasting meal where we sampled fresh farm grown foods cooked with local herbs! 

This is a picture of Paule, our host, teaching us about Rosemary. 

While in Nice we also got to visit museums dedicated to Matisse and Chagall, 

and a modern art museum that was just a touch beyond our understanding. 

We visited Castle Hill, Vieux Nice and of course the beach! 

It's been an absolutely wonderful trip and I'm sad to see it end! 

But I am excited about what the summer will bring!