Language Studies
The mid-term exams are done, and we lived to tell about it. With the move up-to the intermediate courses, we had to work very diligently to catch up to the level the professors would be expecting for these tests. Most of the other students have taken several years of high school level French, and/or at least one year in College. We prayed beforehand that God would allow us to remember what we had studied, and give us the scores we deserved. After each exam we said, “Well, we did much better than we would have 2 months ago; we wouldn’t have even understood the directions at that point!” So, at least we feel like we are improving some. However, as we got our graded exams returned to us, we were pleasantly surprised that we both had almost exactly the average scores for each respective class. Without a doubt, this is due to the prayers of God’s people and His limitless grace.
Test scores don’t mean anything if you can’t use what you’ve learned, so we have been very encouraged when the people here tell us that we are improving each week. It is such a blessing to know they are noticing and that our hard work is producing some fruit.
The kids are doing quite well. Martha and Titus are learning fast. During Sunday evening service and Wednesday prayer meeting, we have them write words they hear and recognize and they are getting more each week! Ruth is catching a lot of simple vocabulary and phrases, also.
L’Autobus
We are now officially city-folk. (Well at least in practice.) We are now the “proud” owners of public transportation bus passes! While this is saving us money for fuel, it is costing us much in time. Driving the Suburban every day, and fuel at over $4.00 per gallon, we were seeing a lot of recourses being gulped down by our thirsty vehicle. The down side is the time element. Catherine has graciously agreed to spend the extra time here with the kids, but it is hard being gone that much more...for us and the children.
Vieux-Québec
“The best of Québec on the worst day…”
We finally went down to Vieux-Québec (Old-Quebec)! We had been here almost exactly 2 months, and it was getting a bit embarrassing to answer ‘no’ when people asked if we had gone yet; especially since it’s a whole 10 minute drive from our house. Looking at the calendar we all had the 25th off from school, so we decided that was the day.
We should have known it was going to be an interesting day when the Suburban refused to start that morning. (Melanie Webster rescued us by driving over to our place and giving us a jump-start.) We were told to park outside of the old city because the streets are so narrow, and we have what people here call our “grand camion” (big truck, in French). So, we stopped at the bottom of the hill going toward the old part of Québec and found a parking lot. The map we had of Vieux-Québec made this part of town look fairly small, so we decided it surly couldn’t be too far to walk. We couldn’t find where we were exactly on the map, but we knew Vieux-Québec was up the hill, so we went up…and up…and…
…and up…into a part of Québec we were quite sure was NOT a part of the “tourist trap.” A kind elderly woman stopped us and asked in English, “Are you tourists?” (Another clue that we were not in the right area!) I’m not exactly sure what gave us away: our unfolded map, our confused look as we were trying to read it, the kids speaking loudly in English, or ?... At any rate, she gave us very good directions to the “right part of town” and we discovered that the reason we couldn’t find where we were on the map was because we had parked a long ways away and were not yet even in Vieux-Québec! We finally got to the Citadelle at about 12:00. We had planned on being much earlier, but remember the Suburban didn’t start…and we had an extra-long trek. The morning had been pretty nice, weather wise, but it was just starting to drizzle a bit and we could feel the wind starting to pick up. A tour of the Citadelle was starting about 10 minutes after we arrived, so we decided we would eat lunch after the tour. About half way thorough, it started pouring rain and the wind was down-right frigid. So, now we are all wet, cold, and hungry. We decided to stop at the first place that looked even remotely kid-friendly. At this point, I’m sure it’s needless to say: we made it all the way back to the Suburban without lunch. By this time it was after 3:00, we are now very hungry, soaked clear through, freezing, and exhausted!
However, it is necessary to say that we had a very good time despite (the kids really are smiling under their coats), learned a lot of Québec history, and there was so much more to see; so we look forward to going back. Though, next time I think we’ll take the bus…it stops right next to the old city walls!
Addition to our Website
We have added a new page to our website. We now have a tab at the top for “Pictures.” We hope this will give you a glimpse of what we have been up to, and our life here in Québec. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”…
In Idaho
Lord willing, we will be in Idaho December 14th to January 10th. (Please continue to pray for God’s provision for the finances.) We have much to do while there, however we would love to see as many of you as possible. If you (or your church) are having any special holiday events during that time, we would love to be able to attend. Please feel free to contact us with an invitation and details.
We will need to keep up with our French. One month of “nothing” would surly set us back. We will be bringing books, but that’s not the same as conversation. If you know French (even a little) and are willing to meet with us, we would love the practice! Please let us know if and when you will be available. Thank you!
His Clay (Jeremiah 18:1-6)
Time in Kinshasa