Paris for a Penny!

Bonjour. Boujour. Oui sait vrai! Paris en printemps s'etait formidable!!!(Translation for NonFrenchies: Hello. Hello. Yes it's true! Paris in springtime was fantastic!!!)Literally! Who knew flights could even come that cheap! Well they can and they did. So thanks to an early birthday present ($) for Ronnie and these incredibly cheap flights we were able to fly to Paris for a couple of days. Just got back today. I have a feeling some of you may be sitting there thinking "surely this is a joke, she doesn't actually mean to say that the flight was a penny". It was truly 0.01£ on the way there and 3£ return (plus some small taxes/fees). Anyways on to Paris... Springtime in Paris is truly amazing! We had such a lovely time there. The scenery is just breathtaking- from so many angles of the city. We spent quite a bit of time under the Eiffle Tower! Our picnic under the tower was particular special; baguettes, brie cheese, caviar, pate, orange juice (okay so the orange juice wasn't exactly a perfect fit, but it did the trick!). Well the picnic was particularly special untill it started to rain! But we made the most of it and still had a great time and great weather the rest of the time! We visited St. Micheal, (of course you have to pronounce that in French- it's much prettier: St. Michele), saw Notre Dame cathedral, La Tour Eiffel, and Versailles. We had heard so many great things about the Queen's Hamlet at Versailles from our dear friend Ang and knew we just had to check it out- it was worth every single step it took to get out to it through the NEVERENDING gardens!!!! (Yes Ang we walked!!) We also pigged out on Crepes! (And please take it easy on us with our matching green jackets-we're working with a limited wardrobe until our boxes arrive) We were also able to get tickets to the opera- la Platee (neither of us had heard of it before either). But it was wonderful and was performed in the most gorgeous opera house. The real ones with the big balconies (were we sat) and the huge chandelier and curtain. We had to wait two hours in line for "last minute tickets" but it was well worth it! You know it's amazing you can get opera tickets for the same price as a movie! Mind you, you can also get tickets that cost more than our flights and hotels combined! Well we had such a nice time in Paris and would recommend to all. It was unbelievable, everyone was sooo nice and friendly and we had such great service everywhere we went- what a complete opposite experience from our honeymoon! We just feel soooo blessed to have had such a great relaxing and fun trip right before we head into this anticipated season of ministry. God gives such amazing gifts to His children!!!!

Let Loose on the Roads!

So let me begin with- We bought a car! Yes after searching through add after add and after dozens of phone calls- we found our sweet Vauxhall Vectra Vehicle (I think I'll name her Electra Vectra!) Anyways we feel so blessed! We got this honey of a car for such a great deal. We managed to buy her for about half of what we were able to sell our car for back home. For those of you interested in cars...its a 1998 (two years younger than ours at home), has 83,000 miles (compared to our 256,000km), the interior and exterior are in great shape and it's small enough for British roads, but large enough for comfortable travel, or the north american luggage of our visitors to come (we're very hopeful). So now that we have a car, it's all about driving it! I must firstly brag about my husband, today was his first day driving and not only did he conquer the high speed, continuously moving, big city turn abouts (they're my biggest fear of driving over here), he also conquered the jam packed, 3 lane "motorways" (highways) packed with lorries (semi trucks), but he also conquered a major rainstorm with slightly sketchy windshield wipers (they probably have some fun name too!)! So needless to say, I am so proud of my man for his victories on his first day driving backwards. However I could also go on to tell you all the things he did wrong... actually there's not many, but he did enter an "exit only" entrance and a "bus only lane" today. To which the British drivers were ever so curteous! Honestly these UK drivers are so curteous on the road. We've heard that their road tests are pretty tough, but man does it pay off- it's a great place to drive (atleast so it seams, I guess I can't really speak from experience). But anyways, back to Ronnie's little errors of the day, I'm honestly not keeping track. Especially 'cause it's my turn tomorrow!!!!Eeek! Pray for me please ;)

Easter in London

We were very fortunate to get a free ride to London on Easter, so naturally we accepted. It was by far the most unique way I've ever spent Easter, but it was quite lovely. We first took a detour through Bath because "our ride" was picking someone up there. It was a gorgeous drive though through the rolling green green hills, passing a castle nearly every couple miles it seemed! Bath is a very gorgeous town, one that we'd been too last Christmas, and one that we definately intend to get back to some day(its only about an hour and half to two hour drive!). Anyways once we arrived in London we simply enjoyed walking around the city, going to the British Museum (which is free by the way and very interesting-if you like museums!). Anyways, no pictures of Big Ben this time sorry, the ones of the museum will have to do. Things are going well here still. I'd like to tell you more about "how we're doing" and " what we're feeling/experiencing" but I don't feel like we have much to share yet, it'll come soon enough I'm sure. Just lots of "things" to get into place like a car, insurance, getting a doctor (or Surgery as it's called here) etc etc...Oh yah, and like learning how to drive on the other side of the road...

Sour Cream

So, the one night that we cooked for ourselves we needed to pick up a few groceries, one of which being sour cream. So we walked to town to the supermarket to pick them up. No big deal, we thought. We waltzed up to the dairy products aisle in search of the sour cream. Through the milk, the yogurt, the cheese, the cottage cheese, but we couldn't find the sour cream. We went up the aisle, down the next, again and again and again! No sour cream. "Maybe it's got some strange name here" we thought, so we brainstormed and looked again with a more open mind. Nothing. So finally we asked someone- a little worried that they might think we were crazy- SOUR cream- like who would want cream that was sour! I got to thinking that it probably didn't even exist here. But sure enough it did. No wonder we missed it, it was the smallest section in the whole dairy department. One brand, one size. One small size, small personal yogurt cup size, 1/2 cup size, 1/2 Ronnie's hand size! Most North American recipes call for more than 1/2 cup. Well this Britain thing might turn out to be a good weight-loss plan! Plus it turned out to be the perfect size- exactly what we needed.

Single Beds

Things are quite nice here. We've been so well taken of. We've been taken out for dinner pretty well every night since we've been here. We still haven't met the family we'll be living with for the next while, they're away on holidays. But we're looking forward to meeting them and we've enjoyed the personal space these past few days. Our suite is nice and private, only one downfall: single beds- on the opposite sides of the room! But that's a bit typical for Europe I suppose. Plus we rectified the situation quite easily and quite quickly I might add.

Jet-lagged

Here we are jet-lagged! Look who slept on the plane and who didn't. I bet you can't guess?! Well after 16 hours of sleep last night/today we've both caught up and are feeling fine... 

Bye-Bye Beloved Buddy

To those of you who have had the priviledge of meeting our most personable pet, you'll understand why it is such a hardship to say good-bye to this lovable, cuddly, forever tail-wagging dog. For several reasons, but mainly cost, we're not able to bring our beloved Buddy to the U.K. with us. Therefore we're sending him back home to Kelowna to be reunited with his original owners- Ma and Pa Reimer (and of course my siblings are all thrilled to have him back in their territory again). Anyway, I just felt it appropriate to bid a formal farewell to Buddy, kinda like a tribute (I hope I'm not taking this too far). So Buddy, thanks for being our 'shoulder to cry on' when no one else was home, for never leaving my side till the last tear had fallen. Thanks for having such wonderful bladder control and letting us sleep in late on Saturday mornings. Thanks for understanding when we were gone long hours, or neglectful in taking you for walks. Thanks for entertaining us with the way your whole back end wiggles from East to West when you wag your tail. We love your thoughtfulness, in how you greet us at the door with gifts upon every arrival. We're pround of your oscar for "Best Puppy Dog Eyes" and your classic head on the knee trick at meals. Buddy what can we say; you're the best dog anyone could ask for....Bye Buddy! We'll miss you.

About Moldable Clay...

To some this may seem like an odd title, but to us it totally fits. I'll tell you why... a while back, while we were in Europe exploring the possibilities of joining NLI (Next Level International), we happened to be visiting with a Canadian couple who had made the move around 5 years earlier. They were excited for us and the possibilities of us joining them, but like us, wanted to make sure it was the right thing for us to do and not just some whimsical decision made in the moment. So we started to pray with them about it (you know, like consulting the Chief about major life decisions). Anyways this lady began to share a picture with us, it was about a clump of clay, moldable clay.
I just related to her picture soo personally. WE were the clay, Ronnie and I. It was like we had been through seasons of our lives where we had been in the process of becoming purified clay, malleable clay (don't get me wrong-not like we've "arrived" or anything), like we'd been trying to get to a point of readiness for something. The picture went on to describe the clay being at a point of readiness to be molded into something- into the shape, the dish, the piece of usable pottery that the Potter desired it to be. My heart throbbed, I was soo in that place- clay, moldable clay, so desperately wanting to be shaped, molded into what I was created for- to be the vessel that would fulfill my purpose. I was so excited about finding out my shape- OUR shape- what Ronnie and I would be shaped into together, what skills, situations, and experiences would shape us to fit the destiny of our lives. Anyway, so it became clear to me in that moment ( and the many months that followed as we continued to pray about it) that this was the place, the people, the experiences that God was going to use to shape us into the piece of pottery that we needed to be to fulfill our purpose. (I hope I'm not losing any of you here.... kinda my deep personal thoughts!) Not to say that this sole experience will be what determines our future, simply that this is the next step of our journey in becoming what we were created for...after all, we all have a purpose in life, right?!

So there you have it. Why we felt it was so fitting to name our Blog site this way, seeing that it's our "British Blog" to keep you all updated about this whole process of being molded clay.
Any bets on what we might become?! A bowl, a cup, a serving platter...Kidding. Just trying to lighten things up after such a "heavy" first blog! They won't all be this deep- don't worry.
Janelle & Ronnie