Le voyage missionnaire

The mission trip to Sept-îles and Matane went quite well. We got to talk to so many people about the Gospel and we did many presentations in churches, schools, and at the Moose lodge. And I got to practice my French, a lot!! One young man accepted Christ and a few others showed genuine interest in a relationship with Christ. Praise God! He truly showed us His glory these last 2 weeks.
Pray for me now as I am jumping right back into French classes, but without a dormitory full of tutors and friends. Pray also for the Bible school students as they are on a 2 week break before they come back for summer camp.

Waiting for la traversée.
La traversée est arrivée.
Attends un instant Katherine. Je vais te sauver.Mes belles filles.

Matane

Hi all!! I just wanted to say a quick hello from the beautiful town of Matane. I stayed in the home of a beautiful young family last night. They have 4 young girls. Pray for them, as they endeavor to raise their children in the knowledge of God. When I awoke, I found that the kitchen windows look out onto the water. Beautiful! God is good.
We`ll stay in Matane today and travel to Sept-îles tomorrow. We would appreciate your prayers as we share with churches and minister to young people. Pray also for the group who will be leaving us by train to journey on to Schefferville at the end of the week.
Pray also for me as everything that we do here is in French.

To Quebec and Beyond

Quebec City that is.
Yesterday was the last day of classes for the Bible school students. They finished up their final exams and are in a period of transition. We had a dinner last night to thank some supporters of the school, and we will have a brunch this morning for the same purpose. Then we will all load onto a yellow school bus and head toward the city of Quebec. We have presentations to do in several churches, so we will travel the next day to Matane and eventually to Sept-îles. I'm excited about the trip, but at the same time nervous to do ministry in French. Thank God, I'll always have Bible school students available to me when I need language help. In all, we will be gone for 16 days.
Pray for safety in travel, that the old yellow bus would fare well, that God would prepare our hearts for ministry, and that God would also open the hearts of those that we hope to minister to.

Owl's Head

For a class outing today, we went to Owl's Head. We were told that we would do some hiking, but I didn't expect to scale a mountain! In the winter, this is a ski resort. The view was great!
A few of us were not quite high enough, so we climbed to the top of a ski lift.The descent was a lot easier, but wrought with havoc, as the snow was slick under our tennis shoes. But fear not, we all made it down safely.
I don't think I make a very good mountaineer:)

Oh, and did I mention that I am experiencing my third spring this year. I got to experience a little bit of California spring, the beginning of the North Carolina spring, and now I am watching leaves turn green and flowers bloom in Quebec. The Daffodils are just coming out here. Trees are budding...


...and dandelions are bursting forth.

Say 'Shibboleth'

The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he said, "No,"then they would say to him, "Say now, 'Shibboleth.'" But he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim.

Judges 12:5-6

That is what I read this morning during my quiet time. What did I learn? Well, I learned how important it is to have good pronunciation. Any English speaker who has had to learn French will agree that French is often difficult to pronounce and the difference between two words or two phrases often hinges on just one little sound.

Incidentally, I told my classmates and my teacher this morning what I had learned. Yeah, try pronouncing 'Schibboleth' in French with the correct accent! Just for kicks, I have included the Louis Segond (most widely used French Bible) version at the end of this post.

So, will bad pronunciation cost me my life on the mission field? Not likely. However, it could hinder my ministry. So, I'll strive to do my best with not only pronunciation, but also with vocabulary, grammar, and spelling.

Voila! Juges 12:5-6

Galaad s'empara des gués du Jourdain du côté d'Éphraïm. Et quand l'un des fuyards d'Éphraïm disait: Laissez-moi passer! les hommes de Galaad lui demandaient: Es-tu Éphraïmite? Il répondait: Non. Ils lui disaient alors: Hé bien, dis Schibboleth. Et il disait Sibboleth, car il ne pouvait pas bien prononcer. Sur quoi les hommes de Galaad le saisissaient, et l'égorgeaient près des gués du Jourdain. Il périt en ce temps-là quarante-deux mille hommes d'Éphraïm.