tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16730143658857636532011-07-31T01:19:04.212-05:00"We should be ‘jealous’…for the honour of His name – troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed. And all the time anxious and determined that it shall be given the honour and glory which are due to it.” - John StottWaynenoreply@blogger.comBlogger1641100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-39328415463343130202010-09-20T12:00:00.002-05:002010-09-20T12:02:37.618-05:00

We have a new website! For all our blog updates and other fun stuff, please visit www.dennysinafrica.com

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-48569757906100916022010-08-16T15:15:00.004-05:002010-08-16T16:06:14.059-05:00

Before I tell you whether little baby Denny is a boy or girl, I want to let you know what we went through to find out. A couple of weeks ago I saw the midwife at the hospital where I will probably deliver and all was well, and she told me to come back on a Monday to see the OB who would be doing ultrasounds. There are no doctors that actually work at the hospital, only midwives, and so Monday

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-63291646823132013442010-08-07T14:53:00.002-05:002010-08-07T15:30:54.943-05:00

You are so excited that the power has been on for the last 20 hours that you don't even care that it's off now.Your 3 year old routinely shouts out "Power's off!" or "Power's on!" as it goes off and on.The same 3 year old puts her baby doll to bed and is sure to put a "mosquito net" over her so she doesn't get bit.You learn to go to sleep to the sound of fans, your neighbors generators, and the

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-71540897896743371642010-07-27T08:57:00.002-05:002010-07-27T09:02:30.478-05:00

Last week we started our wolof classes. One of the things we’ve been working on are the numerous greetings, how are you doing, how was the morning, how’s the family, etc. In the US, we normally just ask, how’s it going and that’s it. Here, even people you barely know will ask you, how did you sleep last night, how’s your wife doing, how are your kids doing. One thing this means is that we have to

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-61050025248965153032010-07-26T12:59:00.002-05:002010-07-27T05:51:49.481-05:00

(Avertissement: Personne n'a corrigé ce que j'ai écrit. Alors, si quelqu'un veut le lire et le corriger pour moi, je serais très content. J'espère que c'est comprehensible)Quand j’étais à école biblique, j’avais un professeur qui disait “Si tu fixes tes objectifs assez modestes, tu peux réussir. Tu réussiras plus souvent et tu seras plus content.” Bien sur, ce conseil n’est pas le meilleur

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-15248322188545838652010-07-23T11:40:00.002-05:002010-07-23T11:49:23.524-05:00

With a 3 almost 4 year old in the house, we are deep into the question phase. I love seeing how her mind works but frankly, it is exhausting sometimes! Today, we are watching "The Sound of Music" (yes, I love having a little girl to watch it with me!) and the first 10 minutes of the movie went a little like this.Addie: "Mom, why is she singing?"Me: "It's a musical, that's what they do."Addie: "

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-68994019975393801772010-07-20T10:59:00.003-05:002010-07-20T11:34:40.254-05:00

(WARNING: THE DETAILS OF THIS POST WILL PROBABLY BORE YOU BUT IN ENTERING INTO THIS BOREDOM, I TRULY BELIEVE YOU'LL BETTER UNDERSTAND OUR TRANSITION AND A MAJOR PRAYER REQUEST)On of my favorite profs in seminary, Dr. Hannah, used to say, "If you set your goals low enough, you can achieve them. You'll hit em more often and be much happier." That advice has proven to be possibly the most helpful

Waynenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-75806298426418259972010-07-19T15:26:00.002-05:002010-07-19T15:32:03.335-05:00

Because it means that the power is out...again! One of the most difficult things for me since moving into our house has been the power outages. Every night around 8 pm, the power goes out until around midnight, and then it is usually off and on through the night. Wayne wants to know why I'm whining when he is giving me whole candle lit evenings, not just a candle lit dinner :) Thankfully,

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-26746157816860620262010-07-08T11:58:00.005-05:002010-07-08T12:16:27.038-05:00

On a des collegues qui nous ont raconté de leur première nuit au Sénégal et qu'ils ont entendu un concert à un mosque près d'eux. J'ai commencé à me demander ce que nous empechera de s'endormir.22h Je devine que ce sera le brebis qui habitent sur le toit de nos voisins22h30 L'electricité est coupé et j'entends les générateurs de nos voisins. Ce bruit est mon deuxième hypothèse.3h

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-67765182352717289782010-07-08T11:46:00.002-05:002010-07-08T11:57:31.094-05:00

Some of our colleagues told us that their first night in their house in Senegal, they heard a concert at the nearby mosque that lasted all night long. It got me to wondering, what will keep us from sleeping our first night?10:00 my first guess is the sheep that live on our neighbor's roof10:30 power goes out and all our neighbor's generators crank up. my second guess is the noise from the

Waynenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-88904654558760814122010-07-03T10:38:00.002-05:002010-07-03T10:41:28.366-05:00

We've only been here a couple weeks, but I've already noticed several things that are quite surprising. First, there's an awful lot of pork and alcohol in the grocery stores. Second, the definition of modesty. You would think that the women in any muslim country would always dress far more conservative than women in western countries. That's partially true here. Women don't show any of their legs

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-10258025527096586062010-06-28T08:55:00.003-05:002010-06-28T09:10:15.222-05:00

I used to think that America was the most convinient place on earth...one stop at a Super Target and you could get all your shopping done for the day. But I'll have to admit that there are some perks to living here in Senegal, and one of them is the window shopping, as in you're sitting in your car in traffic, you see something on the side of the road that someone is selling that interests you,

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-43971529037162225152010-06-11T09:34:00.002-05:002010-06-11T09:34:59.413-05:00

We're in Senegal!! We haven't taken many pictures yet, just trying to soak it all in ourselves, but here are a few 'snapshots' of our last few days.Picture this... as our plane takes off in Dallas, Addie looks at me with a look of sheer joy on her face and says "We're flying to Senegal!".Picture this... Addie just woke up from a nap on our first flight. We were late leaving Dallas and therefore

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-69830982051277311922010-05-25T17:54:00.003-05:002010-05-25T18:11:20.966-05:00

We have been back in the US now for one crazy busy month and leave for Senegal 2 weeks from today! And while this month has been full of joy at seeing friends and family and also sadness at saying goodbye once again, God has blessed us particularly through Addie these past few weeks. Her joy and flexibility continue to amaze us in this phase of life we are in and we are so thankful to have her.

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-72104175461581230132010-04-23T14:15:00.004-05:002010-04-23T14:38:06.110-05:00

This week... Packed our bags - yup (and they are packed to the gills!) Walked around Paris one more time - sort of (we were too tired to walk too far!) Sold the car - done Ate our last real French meal - mmmmmm, it was good Got rid of all the stuff we'd acquired this past year that didn't fit in the bags - yup Said "goodbye" to lots of friends :( Said "au revoir" to lots of others :( Got Addie's

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-61058930130273944142010-04-07T09:07:00.002-05:002010-04-07T09:26:00.832-05:00

Wayne and I celebrated our anniversary a month early this year by a little trip to Rome! It's great being so close to so many places here in France. We had a wonderful weekend enjoying the sights, being real tourists, eating lots of pizza and just relaxing. But we sure did miss this little girl!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-74399089504272699972010-03-11T07:50:00.007-06:002010-03-11T08:37:31.878-06:00

I was flipping through my planner the other day and noticing how full it is...until the end of May, and then it is empty! Why? Because on May 25th, we move to Senegal! (and I have no idea what our life will look like after that day...)A few of the things that have been keeping us busy and will keep us busy up until that day...1. School...yes, we're still in school. I sometimes feel like my

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-54069963317559583662010-02-08T13:05:00.002-06:002010-02-08T13:35:19.680-06:00

Addie's French has really started to take off. In fact, some days she seems to speak more French than English (which is really exhausting when she wakes up at 6 am and for the next hour asks me for things in French). And she is not slowed down by not knowing a word either (she's her daddy's daughter). I think sometimes she thinks "hmmm...I don't know if this word is French or English...let's

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-87404879377468686602010-02-03T07:52:00.003-06:002010-02-03T08:29:27.247-06:00

This past Sunday, I was able to preach on the subject of the importance of God being worshipped by people from all nations and how this theme is found from the beginning of the Bible until the end. In this sermon (which contained quite a few ideas from John Piper's book, Let the Nations Be Glad), I tried to present the idea of how evangelism is an extension of worship. If we truly value God and

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-56303149190386919082010-02-01T14:23:00.008-06:002010-02-01T15:40:10.160-06:00

Wayne gave me a free afternoon today, so I decided to head to the mall to see a movie. The mall near us is nice because it has a big theatre and lots of matinees, but the only problem is that the movies are always dubbed in French (sometimes we can go to a movie that is just subtitled in French). Well, feeling pretty daring today and not too tired (and being a sucker for sports movies), I

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-63980306926902725432010-01-28T12:16:00.006-06:002010-01-28T12:47:56.364-06:00

Something amazing happened last week. Addie wanted to go to school. Now she hasn't been doing awful, it's just always made her a little nervous, and so she never went very easily, was usually very clingy to the teacher when she got there, and there were often a few tears on the way (and a few tears after on mommy's part). We had been mercilessly bribing her with chocolate (and not just any

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-5775504937021537832010-01-21T12:06:00.001-06:002010-01-21T12:17:40.808-06:00

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-79023011017285211902010-01-15T05:42:00.002-06:002010-01-15T06:02:58.614-06:00

Happy Birthday Grandma! Since we can't be there to celebrate with you, we celebrated here for you. We love you and can't wait to see you soon! By the way, Addie was a little offended that Wayne ate your cupcake after we sang. I told her we'd make you some more when we visit.

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-70059856924482053522010-01-14T05:30:00.004-06:002010-01-14T05:48:54.540-06:00

Apparently they learn more than just the alphabet in French preschool.

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-86648981929421490642010-01-13T09:25:00.005-06:002010-01-13T10:26:20.439-06:00

Today was a big day for me. I made my first ever batch of cupcakes and frosting without a Betty Crocker cake mix or frosting in a can!Ce sont mes premiers 'cupcakes' que j'ai faits sans le 'mix' de Betty Crocker!And Wayne just told me it is the best cupcake he has ever had in his life! Sorry Betty!The only problem is that now that I know what is in the frosting, I might be less inclined to eat

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-58182457936986205592009-12-28T04:58:00.004-06:002009-12-28T05:24:08.476-06:00

Although we miss our families A LOT this Christmas, it has been fun to have a Christmas in our own small apartment and start some new 'traditions' with our own little family (I guess we'll see if they stick!). This is actually the first Christmas since we've been married that we haven't been traveling or moving, so we enjoyed having our own little tree, decorating our apartment, and having

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-13048061673367112232009-12-27T03:51:00.003-06:002009-12-27T06:15:31.516-06:00

I love to plan things out. Wayne will tell you, it drives him nuts sometimes. If we're talking about doing something in the future, near or far, I want to figure it out now. I want to know when we are leaving and how it is all working out. But as we are coming up on one year in France (on January 2nd!) I have been thinking about the last few years and how everything has worked out so well for

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-23347939534557423182009-12-09T04:17:00.004-06:002009-12-09T04:40:55.293-06:00

In general, Hilary's been doing awesome with french. She had studied some before we came to France and thus didn't start in one of the beginner classes. I can't tell you how much it's helped me to have a wife smarter than me. She has been the recepient of numerous questions from me this year.She's also beginning to have opportunities to minister to others. A couple months back, she had an

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-21105429868666615852009-12-04T10:38:00.005-06:002009-12-09T05:21:33.613-06:00

Pour nos amis à Antony, J'ai beaucoup apprecié l'opportunité de precher. Si vous n'étiez pas là et voulez l'écouter, voici un lien.Here's a sermon I recently preached at our church here in Paris. It was the first time I attempted preaching on a subject that was more abstract "The glory of God." In addition, the first time I preached, I read my manuscript for most of the sermon. This time I

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-72419768442879459602009-12-02T14:27:00.003-06:002009-12-02T14:45:28.603-06:00

Tonight we got our Christmas present from Grandma and Papa Van Dine, tickets to Disney on Ice, A Princess' Dream! Addie loved seeing all of the princesses and mom and dad loved seeing Addie enjoy the evening so much. Wayne did tell me that it was the best figure skating show that he'd ever been to (guess how many that is!), although he did watch a little figure skating on TV for the olympics

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-7331292899121348752009-11-22T12:53:00.006-06:002009-11-25T04:45:16.852-06:00

Things we miss from America...-our families-knowing all the rules of the road for certain-being able to turn right on red-real Dr. Pepper-fast food (other than McDonalds!)-singing hymns in English-our church-Snuffers (if you're not from Dallas, you won't understand, if you are, just think "cheddar fries")-streets that actually have enough room for 2 cars to pass each other-TargetThing we love

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-46171068476251961122009-10-16T07:21:00.003-05:002009-10-16T07:39:05.639-05:00

When I was young, I used to go to Home and Garden expos with my dad, and they were pretty cool. We would look at all the booths as dad was looking for stuff to redo the house, and we'd get free samples sometimes or see some neat demonstrations. I always had fun going to those.When I was in college (c'est université aux Etats-Unis) I went to a food expo once with the Director of Food Services at

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-51631979506489022252009-09-24T11:47:00.003-05:002009-09-24T14:10:09.129-05:00

My grandma died this past weekend at the age of 93. As she advanced in age, she lost many physical abilities and her memory worsened. However, while physical and mental abilities diminished with age, her character remained untouched. Her humility, desire to serve others, and contentment with what God had given her seemed to have become effortless.I would often ask grandma how things were going

Waynenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-9382488480637163342009-09-24T11:12:00.004-05:002009-09-24T11:20:37.261-05:00

Our little girl turned 3 last weekend, and we are starting to realize that she is not so much our little girl now! We were noticing yesterday how much older she is looking now, and then today we noticed another transformation in her, she is becoming our little bilingual girl! Usually at school, her teachers try to use English with her to make her feel more comfortable as she has been having a

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-6984061726620895732009-09-02T06:56:00.002-05:002009-09-02T07:08:41.254-05:00

Summer is over, and tomorrow morning Addie will begin the adventure that will last for the next 15 years (not quite the rest of her life :).  She is starting school!!!  Tomorrow morning we take her for her first day of "école maternelle", French preschool.  She will be in this school 4 days a week for the rest of the year as Wayne and I continue our studies in French.  We (or I) am a little

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-36917834820353952692009-08-18T14:28:00.001-05:002009-08-18T14:30:28.116-05:00

Here is a little slideshow of our summer which included visits from both sets of grandparents, a little time away as a family, some very intense French practice with friends in Switzerland, and a whole lot of fun!  Enjoy!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-72451107019698451632009-08-10T02:47:00.004-05:002009-08-18T14:27:09.754-05:00

When Wayne's mom told this to a man who knew Wayne as a child, his response was "I never thought I'd see the day when Wayne would preach, much less in French!"  I am so very proud of my husband for making the big step into preaching in his second language here.  He's my favorite preacher to listen to, I'm glad the people over here get to listen to him now too!  We are very thankful that our

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-76020282598576032912009-07-07T02:29:00.006-05:002009-07-22T04:53:43.871-05:00

Life in Paris is different than life in Dallas, or probably most cities that I have ever lived in.  The last year that I lived in Dallas, I was not faced much with very poor people, those who would come up to you on the street and beg for money.  It just wasn't done where I went.  But here in Paris, it happens all the time.  On the metro, on the way to the grocery store, and definitely in the

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-84321149038635462842009-06-22T11:42:00.004-05:002009-06-22T11:55:22.641-05:00

Addie parle le francais!!!  (Addie speaks French!)Some things she has said to us...Ça suffit  (that's enough)Ne touche pas  (don't touch - I think she must get told these two phrases in the nursery :)Un bisou (a kiss :)Qu'est-ce que tu fais?  (what are you doing?)Je ne sais pas (I don't know)Allez, viens (come on, lets go)A tout à l'heure (see you later!)And every once in a while "Oui" will pop

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-72078058430388259742009-06-07T12:11:00.003-05:002009-06-07T12:32:57.394-05:00

Fortunately, Mother's day is a few weeks later in France and so I had a little extra time to prepare another video for the greatest mom in the whole world!We love you!!!!

Waynenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-3422809776929325372009-06-04T12:05:00.005-05:002009-06-04T12:41:03.545-05:00

So here's an update on what is going on in all of our lives ...Addie (first because she's the most interesting right now!)  - she is now potty trained! (I'm sure some of you really don't care, so sorry, but it's exciting not to have to pay for diapers anymore!)  - we enrolled her for school next fall. Yes, our daughter will be starting French preschool in September (aahhhhh!!!!).  I'll blog more

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-20715600210833692992009-05-24T13:52:00.004-05:002009-05-24T14:10:27.543-05:00

While we haven't done a ton of touristy stuff in Paris as Wayne mentioned, we have been able to do some, and this week we had the great opportunity to visit Versailles while getting to know some new friends from church.  Thursday was a holiday here (Ascension Day) and so we had lunch with a family from church and then they took us to walk around the Versailles gardens for the afternoon.  Now for

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-82925662910479244772009-05-20T08:43:00.003-05:002009-05-20T13:26:52.188-05:00

We've received many a joke about "suffering for Jesus" in Paris. Undoubtedly, the reason for the joke is that most people think (and rightfully so) that Paris is an amazing city. There's the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysées, Notre Dame, the Louvre etc. There is no end of amazing things to see in Paris.However, in our first 5 months here, we've been able to do very little tourist stuff (any

Waynenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-31085319721660063842009-05-19T13:03:00.003-05:002009-05-19T13:15:43.684-05:00

For dinner tonight...Main course - Poulet Yassa (a chicken dish from Senegal that I made for the first time)Next course - Traditional French baguette with some good Camembert cheese.Dessert (for Wayne)- Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie with peanut butter smeared on top.  Pour nos amis français qui lisent le blog, c'est un biscuit americain que Wayne aime beaucoup!  Et il peut manger le beurre de

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-45687415885372191922009-05-14T09:14:00.002-05:002009-05-14T09:26:36.253-05:00

4 years ago today...And us now, even happier!Guess where we're going to celebrate...the Champs Elysées in Paris!  How cool is that.And Addie's comments about the wedding while looking at our wedding pictures..."You and daddy got married.  I was not there.  I stayed home."  I guess we'll explain all that later!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-21380577884925765142009-05-02T06:28:00.004-05:002009-05-02T08:11:58.860-05:00

One of the reasons that we chose to go to Senegal was because it is a French speaking country and the primary language that we would need to learn for our ministry is French.  This appealed to us for 2 reasons.  First of all, by knowing French, much more of North Africa is open to us if we ever leave Senegal.  The other reason is that I studied French before and so we knew that we both wouldn't

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-43985685518876877582009-04-23T12:07:00.003-05:002009-04-23T12:25:01.778-05:00

When she's trying to stall going to sleep - "Mommy wait, I have to tell you something...I love you!  I need to tell daddy too, go get him!"Getting ready to watch Enchanted together - "Mommy, I'm ready for True Love's Kiss, are you?"  (she actually doesn't know it's called Enchanted - maybe we should teach her though because I'm not sure I like the sound of this sentence, she's only 2!)While

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-25675368169137167302009-04-20T04:05:00.006-05:002009-04-21T04:07:39.081-05:00

"Andy explains long division"I've often heard "you don't understand your first language until you learn a second." This has been true for me as a remember someone explaining Biblical Greek to me and comparing certain greek tenses to the gerund in English or the participle. My immediate response when someone referred to English grammar as an example was typically something like this, "What's a

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-23102418407191099412009-04-16T03:48:00.001-05:002009-04-16T03:50:34.751-05:00

Many people ask, how many days are you in class? The answer is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We're in class for about 5 1/2 hours and spend a few hours each night on homework. You're probably thinking, how do I get a 4 day work week?Well, while we work 4 days on school work, in reality, the only way to not be working on French is to not leave the apartment and only watch American movies.

Waynenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-52510236478625337902009-04-12T12:53:00.002-05:002009-04-12T13:13:47.022-05:00

Just a few pictures to show you a little more of our life here.Addie is getting to be so big!  She built this tower all by herself and we are so proud of her!We had an Easter party this weekend with the other families from school.  Addie loved doing the egg and spoon race (although there was no one there to race against).  I was quite impressed that she could actually do it.We've gotten a couple

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-11304431483002177052009-04-02T16:09:00.002-05:002009-04-02T16:16:20.681-05:00

The cheese aisle at the grocery store.  I actually bought my first French cheese this week and it's really good!Praying in French.  At least in class, if I ever have to actually pray in front of French people, that might be a different story.  The Bises.  That's the way French people greet each other at church.  Obviously you can see why I said Bises and not French kiss.  Having people stop me on

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-91919134660893007622009-03-27T10:06:00.004-05:002009-03-27T10:13:29.995-05:00

I remember in seminary my Greek professor say, "It's not a level playing field. Some of you guys who have families are not going to be able to spend the same amount of time on your work and you simply may not be able to get the grades you would like."I remember hearing that and just thinking, why can't these guys keep up? What's the big problem?Now I'm in the situation of realizing that I have

Waynenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-40049904342071760732009-03-26T11:16:00.003-05:002009-03-26T12:11:46.749-05:00

You go out to dinner at 6:00pm and you're the only ones in the restaurant until after 7:00.You have a sandwich for lunch and people wonder if you're going to be ok.There is a case of wine in the fellowship hall of the church...ready for the potluck Sunday. Free refills...what are those?Every meal that you have at someone's house has at least 4 courses and takes a minimum of 2 hours to eat.Your

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-35901331306474130392009-03-15T10:59:00.002-05:002009-03-15T11:12:37.351-05:00

I think that I have discovered that there are 2 parts to my brain, the part that figures out what is being said, and then the part that remembers what was said.  I have also found recently that if the first part has to work too hard, the second part has trouble working at all!  For instance, sometimes I have to work so hard at understanding people when they introduce themselves to me that the

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-74048492855992236792009-02-28T03:55:00.003-06:002009-02-28T04:14:01.117-06:00

#2 - Europeans don't wear blue jeans - jeans with the typical american billboard t-shirt, no; but jeans, yes.#3 - The food is great (never mind, that one is true. The food is great!)#4 - French people are rude -  We've heard this statement from numerous people but up till now we have not experienced one bit of it. We've had times of pulling our metro map out and looking lost and had someone

Waynenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-48498496806496688002009-02-28T03:21:00.003-06:002009-02-28T03:48:38.182-06:00

This week we went on a quick trip to Normandy and were able to spend a day seeing WWII sites.  One of the places that we visited was the American Cemetery near Omaha beach where the soldiers who died during the invasion are buried.  It was an incredibly sobering experience to see so many graves together for so many men who died in an extremely small span of time.  This picture is just a small

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-65434922903346903952009-02-23T13:55:00.003-06:002009-02-23T14:19:44.638-06:00

This may not really be exciting for many people, but we were very excited to be able to go to the grocery store and shop with a cart, not just a basket!!  This week, some of our new friends from church are on vacation and they asked if we would like to borrow their other car for the week.  We are thrilled to have a little more freedom for the week as we have been taking the bus and walking

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-35050478633737874762009-02-20T14:05:00.007-06:002009-02-21T09:13:23.929-06:00

You might be wondering, how do you know when you're competent enough in French (oh yeah, and what level are you at now)? Well, actually, there are international standards. Here's a link to more official definitions. I'll give you my interpretation of those definitions. The levels are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2.A1 - You know common phrases, can tell people basic facts about yourself and even

Waynenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-36019652407320343382009-02-20T05:02:00.003-06:002009-02-20T05:11:46.626-06:00

Remember when you were a kid and you'd bring home a good report card?  Well, Wayne got back his test this week and it deserved to go right on the fridge!  The writing on it says "Bravo, you have made a lot of progress, keep it up!" (in a Hilary translation).  Wayne has really been improving in his speaking skills.  One of our new friends from church even told him on Sunday that he thought Wayne

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-74766525796190977742009-02-19T13:24:00.003-06:002009-02-19T14:09:35.539-06:00

Total immersion works! Once you're immersed in a language, you'll learn it.I've heard this statement numerous times from people who have gone through the process of learning a language. Although, the past 2 months have created many occasions where I question this advice. Will it really come? Simple everyday tasks create numerous opportunities where I can't find the word I want, can't express the

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-28971529355610427412009-02-16T06:01:00.002-06:002009-02-16T06:04:31.621-06:00

Here's a video tribute to the best mommy in the whole world. 

Waynenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-47555603138879679282009-02-12T05:12:00.005-06:002009-02-12T05:33:24.474-06:00

So I was checking on Addie the other night and this is how I found her.  She loves to read at night, but apparently it was just too much for her that night.  I showed Wayne the picture and he said "That's how I feel when I read French too!"  It's true, learning a new language is exhausting.  No matter how many hours of sleep I get, I still haven't really felt rested.  When I finish class every

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-33938674346696294592009-02-11T11:17:00.002-06:002009-02-11T11:36:25.685-06:00

We don't have a car here in France, and in some ways it's great...no repairs!  But in other ways, it's tough.  Life is a little less convenient without a car.  For example, let me tell you about my day.  I decided yesterday that I would go to IKEA today with a friend because our mattress is really hard.  We decided to get a mattress pad so that I wouldn't have to sleep in the living room on our

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-9653470766420402332009-02-07T12:11:00.003-06:002009-02-07T12:24:59.661-06:00

This quote (I think by Mark Twain) was advice given to us last summer during our 2 week training on language acquisition techniques. The main point of the quote for language learning was, don't forget that your goal is to communicate with other people, not to ace a verb conjugation test (although conjugating verbs correctly does help get your point across to people better). Thus, don't spend all

Waynenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-7065927084437766462009-02-04T14:53:00.001-06:002009-02-04T15:05:35.760-06:00

I love the French system.  No school on Wednesdays!  We have been using Wednesdays to spend some time together as a family as we often get busy on the weekends with language learning activities, especially church on Sundays. Today we took the metro to a park in the next suburb.  Parc de Sceaux is kind of like a mini Versailles (I think anyways).  The gardens were created by the same person and we

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-1067238523849271902009-02-03T06:26:00.004-06:002009-02-03T09:22:16.884-06:00

One of the main struggles right now, is feeling no account. I can no longer do many of the things I could do with a decent degree of competency back home. Back home, if asked to preach a sermon, no problem. I'm not saying it would be anything great, but I could do it. But in French, it's not possible. To express even the simplest of ideas in French right now requires a great deal of effort.Before

Waynenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-16696041514466975302009-02-02T14:19:00.005-06:002009-02-02T14:26:41.403-06:00

What you do when the washer and dryer cost 2 euros each and they're not that big!  The unused top bunk, a drying rack and a dehumidifier worked great! At least when we get to Senegal we won't have any problems.  I believe the forecast is hot and dry at least 360 days of the year.

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-91518739279621874392009-01-27T05:42:00.003-06:002009-01-27T05:55:11.189-06:00

I love having theological and philosophical discussions, and this morning, we had a great one.  We talked about "l'avenir", the future.  We read some quotes by philosophers and writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Albert Einstein.  We talked about having control over somethings in our lives, but not others.  We talked about the will of God and choice.  We talked about who knows the

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-18101204016790966322009-01-20T00:34:00.003-06:002009-01-20T00:48:49.781-06:00

So, with my limited vocabulary I've had numerous 30 second - 2 minute conversations in the past few weeks and thus creating numerous "big gulp" moments. I guess the fact that I was a nerdy engineer in the U.S. has somewhat helped me prepare.

Waynenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-10330896501824483022009-01-16T12:08:00.005-06:002009-01-16T12:11:58.407-06:00

I decided to start a new category, Picture of the week blogs.  Time will tell if  it actually comes every week or not, but we'll try.After eating all of her dinner, Addie got some bread with "that stuff" on it!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-65589616133563712342009-01-16T11:45:00.004-06:002009-01-16T12:07:33.095-06:00

...and we have pictures to prove it!  Wednesday we hopped on the train and headed into Paris with some new friends of ours from school.  We live in a southern suburb, so it was about a 15 minute walk and a 20 minute train ride to the city.  We went to a bookstore where are I bought a real French dictionary (meaning the definitions are in French too!) I was a little disappointed when I asked the

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-79424172320634042422009-01-16T06:19:00.001-06:002009-01-16T06:20:12.859-06:00

Waynenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-78909485011812995562009-01-12T14:59:00.005-06:002009-01-12T15:06:18.093-06:00

A very nice aspect of the school here is that they teach us biblical vocabulary (slightly important for me as a future Bible college professor). One way in which they do this is by having students lead in chapel. I am in the second level of the beginners and my class meets with the first level of beginners for chapel on Monday. Well, someone in the second level had to give the first "sermon" and

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-66747206743567332402009-01-10T15:05:00.002-06:002009-01-10T15:12:43.091-06:00

We have been told that sometimes, when young kids enter a new culture where a new language is spoken, that they will stop talking altogether for awhile.  It seems like they just need to figure out what is going on, and then they will get back to normal.  So we came to France prepared...but didn't have to worry :)  The only time there is silence around here is when Addie is sleeping.  Just tonight

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-70206583233994920172009-01-10T04:50:00.001-06:002009-01-10T04:53:11.141-06:00

Waynenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-67680940619035738292009-01-06T13:26:00.002-06:002009-01-06T13:27:51.322-06:00

Addie and I just wanted to wish Daddy a Happy Birthday!  We love you!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-83405548276900916612009-01-06T13:10:00.002-06:002009-01-06T13:25:33.184-06:00

After today, I sure don't feel like it.Part of our required reading before we came here mentioned that what often causes culture shock is not necessarily any one overwhelming aspect about the new culture, but that so many little things are now different. It seems like that right now as nothing has been incredibly difficult, but nothing is easy. I especially feel this in class right now and today

Waynenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-90355253531335250032009-01-05T13:16:00.003-06:002009-01-05T13:31:08.811-06:00

I thought since I had taken French before and can sort of get by in simple conversations that the grocery store would be no problem here!  Well, it has been a little overwhelming to say the least, but we haven't starved yet (thanks to hot dogs and "Tennessee" hot dog buns).A few things that have made us smile though... Apple juice that actually tastes like apples!  I never noticed that apple

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-21262812997326498372009-01-03T12:25:00.002-06:002009-01-03T12:28:41.487-06:00

We're here, we're tired, we still haven't finished unpacking, but yes, we will get pictures up soon, just give us a few days :)A funny story...we thought we were doing pretty good last night, got Addie to bed about 8, we went to bed then too, thought we might sleep through the night and get over jet lag soon.  Well, Addie decided it was just a nap and was up in our room at 11:30 which led to some

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-45060918678529232992009-01-01T00:59:00.002-06:002009-01-01T01:04:02.001-06:00

In 12 hours we will be on a plane headed to France! (via Chicago).  We are so excited to finally be on our way to prepare ourselves for ministry in Senegal.  Please pray for the next few days as we travel and settle in to our new apartment in France and then begin school on Monday.  Hopefully our next post will be from Paris!!!!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-53068649920027023082008-12-23T07:59:00.003-06:002008-12-23T08:15:35.859-06:00

As of last night, we are now at 100% of both our monthly and one-time budget including verbal commitments! Please pray that our verbal commitments will come in this week. Also, pray a prayer of thanksgiving to the God from whom all blessings flow.This past year, God has shown us through numerous individuals that the Christian's hope does not fluctuate with the economy. Praise God for the

Waynenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-29381406648386741122008-12-20T10:33:00.002-06:002008-12-20T10:35:16.819-06:00

Addie: Mommy, what are you drinking?Mom: It's a yoo-hoo.Addie: Is it my-hoo?Mom: No, it's yoo-hoo.Addie: It's not my-hoo?Mom: No, it's yoo-hoo.Addie: Oh, it's your-hoo.

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-8745398463518615472008-12-19T21:10:00.003-06:002008-12-19T21:23:59.120-06:00

The goodbyes continued this week. First of all, we had to say goodbye to Dan and Cyndi. They have been gracious enough to let us live with them for the year and words cannot describe how grateful we are to them for this. You guys are the best! And I'm not sure what Addie will do when she just has to live with her mom and dad, I think she might get a little bored! Thanks for being such

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-83645628578116188762008-12-18T21:12:00.003-06:002008-12-18T21:17:53.043-06:00

We're on our way to NC, our last trip there for 4 years. Hard to believe. This Saturday night, we're having a farewell party at Reidsville Bible Chapel at 7 pm. If you can make it, we'd love to see you. Call or email with any questions.Also, with our support, we're still at 95%. Keep praying for the remainder to come in. We only have 2 more weeks left.

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-69819610745371500442008-12-10T19:00:00.003-06:002008-12-10T19:05:57.091-06:00

We're now at 100% of our one-time support and 95% of our monthly support. Last week we reached 100% of our one-time support and have begun taking the additional one-time gifts and spreading them out over our first term and treating them as monthly support.We only need $400/month to be at 100% and we still need this to come in before we can go.Please pray that this remaining support will come in

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-2577953325243029352008-12-03T17:03:00.002-06:002008-12-03T17:16:14.840-06:00

It has begun. The bittersweet task of saying goodbye. We are excited to be going to France in less than a month, but we are sad to leave so many friends and family stateside. For thanksgiving, we spent the week with my family in Iowa and got to spend some good time with family and friends.The Chavez's are great friends of ours. Israel was Wayne's boss at Emmaus and they are also our loyal

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-22047699969011701222008-11-20T08:51:00.003-06:002008-11-20T08:57:42.139-06:00

If you're following the financial status on the right side of our blog, you've noticed we're now at 91% of our monthly budget and 90% of our one-time expenses! We're almost ready to go. We need to be at 100% before we can go and we're praying that we'll be there by Dec 1st. The month of December is going to be very busy with all the details involved with moving overseas and also taking time to

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-9553612156784807892008-11-18T20:05:00.003-06:002008-11-18T20:30:49.792-06:00

This weekend we had the pleasure of traveling back to Edmonton, the city I grew up in. This was our last trip (besides family holidays) and last ministry presentation before we leave for France. We had a great time sharing with people about our plans for Senegal, Wayne preached a great sermon (and I'm not biased at all!) and had a great time with friends. It sure was fun to take Addie with

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-21624669045123301682008-11-05T10:47:00.006-06:002008-11-05T12:10:32.862-06:00

I've already heard many Christians bemoaning the election results and the fact that God has now left us. I certainly disagree strongly with Obama on some points but am nowhere near the Chicken Little syndrome that appears to be sweeping through much of the evangelical church. I definitely agree that the U.S. has gone away from God on some important issues, but this election has proved that on one

Waynenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-4483849149044540042008-11-04T22:14:00.002-06:002008-11-04T22:19:27.599-06:00

Watching the news tonight I am excited. America has finally elected it's first African American president. Regardless of your political views, it is exciting to watch this amazing step in our history as a country. I am glad that I am able to witness a bit of history in the making tonight.

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-14333578633568468092008-11-01T13:37:00.003-05:002008-11-01T14:47:37.952-05:00

I always thought of this as the 14 letter phrase that no one should ever say when speaking about missionaries, and it was definitely something that I would never say. I even told a veteran missionary that I would never send my daughter to boarding school (when I told her this I was 8 weeks pregnant and definitely couldn't imagine my little one ever leaving me!). This very wise missionary told

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-73846672481867830922008-10-27T14:02:00.003-05:002008-10-27T14:52:57.667-05:00

Yesterday, Hilary's sister, Kara, was talking about the opening sermon illustration she heard that morning about the two presidential candidates talking a lot about change to which Addie responded, "I like to change my diaper."Cleaning up your own mess. Sounds novel. Addie for President in 2052!

Waynenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-88872473602709962252008-10-27T12:59:00.003-05:002008-10-27T13:11:20.585-05:00

I've recently been very exhausted with the constant travels, presentations, phone calls, etc. and spent some time this morning trying to recharge by reflecting on Hebrews 11 and a sermon from my boy Johnny Edwards.Here's a great quote from a sermon based on Hebrews 11:13, 14, "And confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things, declare plainly that

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-90899936624844470762008-10-22T09:28:00.006-05:002008-11-10T09:23:41.569-06:00

I posted a FAQ a while back, but thought it was time to update it.Q - What is a good amount to give?The short answer is anything. Many have asked, does a $10 or $20 commitment make a difference. The answer is definitely yes! We currently have about 1/3 of our support coming from commitments in the $10 to $50 range.Our most common amounts that people give are $25, $50, or $100/month, but those

Waynenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-32954936863160854422008-10-15T22:04:00.001-05:002008-10-15T22:05:42.082-05:00

We're at 84% of our support committed!We've applied for our visas to France!We have plane tickets reserved for January 1st!Wow, I think we're going to be moving in a couple of months!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-32124777177480387342008-09-19T13:46:00.003-05:002008-09-19T13:48:49.129-05:00

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-5036452398548401602008-09-17T22:03:00.001-05:002008-09-17T22:04:42.449-05:00

After 8 weeks in a row on the road, we're finally home! Just wanted to let everyone share in our excitement!

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-42953247721395832412008-09-06T10:06:00.003-05:002008-09-06T10:16:24.545-05:00

This past week, we were in Conway, SC at Bethany Bible Chapel for Tuesday and Wednesday nights (We were able to take a few hours for Addie's first trip to the beach). This upcoming week, I'm preaching Sunday morning at Randleman Bible Chapel, Sunday evening at Reidsville Bible Chapel, and then we're giving Senegal presentation updates at my parents house in Reidsville, NC next Monday, Tuesday,

Waynenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-21586987929069875332008-08-24T20:07:00.004-05:002008-08-24T20:37:37.422-05:00

We are so thankful for the staff at MTI who made our stay there great! We are especially thankful for the children's staff who made Addie's time there wonderful. She had a rough start, but by the end of the 5 weeks, I wasn't sure we would be able to get her to leave!Gay and her grandson Mekhi were there all 5 weeks. Addie absolutely loved Gay who was with the babies the whole time. Many times

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1673014365885763653.post-42747355946299836312008-08-17T22:31:00.004-05:002008-08-17T22:37:51.204-05:00

I told Addie tonight that we were going to go on a date and she almost pushed me out of my chair to go! She was ready to spend some time with her friends Tim and Andrea. They have been at MTI with us now for 4 weeks and we have enjoyed getting to know them! Addie has made friends with lots of people in our time here and brings joy to so many!Thanks Tim and Andrea for letting us go on a date

Hilarynoreply@blogger.com1