{noteworthy pictures}

note old couple sitting on bench and hoodlum youth in background. 

this lady and her coat.

every Sunday afternoon hundreds of people meet up and rollar blade through the streets of Paris. I will be doing this when it gets warmer outside. 

I found this old letter block at an antique market. Kabyles are Berbers from North Africa = my peoplee!

this dog. he's huge. he doesn't deserve to live in a small apartment he deserves to live on a farm with a big porch he can lay on all day.

where I eat my nutella sometimes. balcony overlooking La Defense (tall buildings in distance)

yes these are beads for your Christmas tree translated as "heading towards the future"

No, I have no idea what that has to do with Christmas or Santa riding a rocket ship. 

{Novemburr}

How quickly time is passing! I can hardly believe that in a few short days I will have been in Paris two months. I've been stuck in this strange tension of wanting to feel established and know how everything operates yet I also excuse myself for not knowing things that I should and I at times chose timidity over boldness- using the excuse that I'm new here and don't need to know everything yet. I think it's this tension that has worn on me the most.

I  complained to Jon after I had been here two weeks that I was ready for establishment, ready for community and local friends and women to pour into. I expressed a deep envy for his life and ministry and the connection he has in the city where he lives. I had been here two weeks! 14 days. I scarcely allowed myself time to recover from jet lag let alone build deep and lasting friendships and a solid connection to my new home. How silly I must have sounded (yet how patient and encouraging he was). I'm thankful that God gives us enough tasks to handle at the right time because what my short-sightedness saw then is little comparison to what life has become now.

 These two months have been filled with the establishment of new routines, speaking lots and lots of French, multiple bank appointments and the budding of new friendships. I'm now working with two NA ladies teaching them English and praying for more and more opportunities to be present in their lives. I meet each week with a local French women who blesses me through her kindness, gentleness and servant heart to practice conversation and pronunciation. Three times a week I am at our ladies literacy classes and I have been transitioning into teaching. And each week I meet with the other women on my team for prayer, scripture and much needed english-speaking girl time. In all of this I'm starting to read several books to help me understand and better approach ministry among Muslims, attempting to buy a cell phone plan and spending quality belly laughs with Ruth Ann and Brittany. This is my life now. It will be my life for a while! And I am thankful that God has promised to sustain and lead me through it all (and the many many more tasks that will fall into it).

This is me with John Calvin. You could make an argument that he is apart of my daily life now, but we won't go there. This was taken in Orleans, France several weeks ago while I was visiting a friend. I still have not figured out why it was there or if John Calvin had any ties to Orleans, France. This picture makes me chuckle every time I see it. Why is his mouth open? What was he holding in his right hand? Was he really that tall?

{sunbeams}

{studio audience}

Last week Allison's daughter got us tickets to watch the live taping of a really popular French radio program. What made this better? There was a live concert featuring a hugely popular French rap group called Sexion d'Assaut. (I'm assured this isn't a sexual reference..) And what made THIS better? Well they decided to seat all 7 of us on the front row in the recording studio. It was crazy. Honestly, I'm not sure what happened for about 80% of the 3 hours that we were there. It was 3 hours of very very fast, very slang French punctuated by me leaning over to Allison's daughter and her French friend, making a confused and panicked face, and them laughing at me. It was an exhausting, ridiculous and memorable evening for sure.

Here is a video of the group performing a medley of their songs.
[You can see me and the rest of my group on the front. I have no explanation for my general awkwardness and any goofy dance moves that I may have executed.]

RA, B and myself with Cauet, the radio host.

[He picked on us hardcore for being American and he made me dance in front of the studio audience]

{La Campagne}

"campagne" is the French term for the countryside. Last week Brittany, Ruth Ann, Allison, Bizzie and I drove 45 minutes outside of Paris to a farm where picked fruits, flowers and vegetables.

les fleurs de soleil with a small village church in the background.

les fraises- strawberries- hanging down from their boxes. unfortunately, there were only a few ripe for the pickin' but we managed to find some that tasted delicious dipped in some nutella.

there was a fairly large patch of punkin's where we all selected our pumpkins for October

a giant squash next to my foot for scale

an unidentified little fruit (or vegetable) any ideas??

wheelbarrows for guests to use when traipsing about.

how I feel here sometimes. so. much. bread. and. cheese. can't. stop. eating.

Best,
mw

{Things of a leafy nature}

Once, on a morning walk to class in Meknes, Morocco, I recall I told a friend that I would rather like to be a leaf on a tree in some beautiful and exotic place.

Well, I've felt a bit like a leaf recently. For 22 years I've been fed with water and sunlight. I've grown out on limbs, and sat pleasantly absorbing the love and life poured into me by my Heavenly Father and by loved ones. I've truly loved every season that I've experienced, every address that has been home, and every warm hug that has been given me. At such a crossroads of heading into another season, I feel it's appropriate to reflect on where I've been in the past 12 months.

The past year: I surrendered to a calling on my life to serve overseas and started the application for Journeyman, I was challenged to lead and pour into leaders, I took 15 hours of French classes and edited a film, I graduated college and I have seen 4 of my best friends get married.

In the past six months: I have worked in a cubicle, rediscovered the beauty of Alabama, I taught hundreds of hours of swim lessons, threw 2 bachelorette weekends, finally traveled to Europe with my best friend, successfully corresponded by letter internationally, doubted and questioned what the next step in life would be, was blessed with community in the midst of a season of dryness.

In the past two months: I have been refined to be better equipped to serve the Lord in my calling overseas, I have sang on stage in foreign languages 3 times, and I have hugged goodbye to those who will be lifelong friends who have moved to the ends of the earth.

All of this has filled me beyond measure, and for all of it (and the many wonderful things not mentioned!) I give glory to the Lord. He is my sustainer and my sustenance and it is for His name that I have embarked on this stage in life.

So much like a leaf I've been, and this time my little leaf has aged with the cooling season and was detached from it's branch. The wind blew hard and carried me away, 7 time zones to be exact, and has planted me in a neighborhood just north of Paris, France.

So in celebration of one week and a day of life here, I want to mention things that I'm learning and things that I have experienced here in l'île de France.

the Father is good, he IS community
it rains everyday, all the time
everybody has this wonderful disinterested, mildly annoyed look when they ride the metro (I'm hoping to perfect one of these)
7 years of French and a major does not mean one is conversationally fluent
hearing simple bible stories will never get old or boring
my cheeks are going to be even brighter red from all the cheek-kissin' that happens here when greeting ladies. I won't lie I love it.

So, off into this season I go.

Best,
mw

{gratitude}

Thank you Father for:
A labor day that was the least laborious of them all: encouraging time in the word, challenges from wise counsel, and spending the afternoon climbing rocks, swimming currents almost too strong for my arms and legs and laughter with new friends that feel like old ones.

Community driven by obedience

$2 movies at the Byrd Theater

Lebanese food so good you'll smack your momma and move to the Middle East

Provision in the form of a visa appointment 4 weeks earlier than planned! Thank you Dad for having a timing more secure and a plan more perfect than my own.

Tonight I am full. (and not just from platefuls of kafta and falafel!)

{lately}

Interesting things from my time here:

The train station in downtown Richmond is beautiful! It makes me want buy some Vineyard Vines clothes then jump on the Amtrak and ride up and down the East Coast.

My friend's hand with henna on it. We use henna as a way to share the gospel with women in various parts of the world. This is the story of the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears. A lot of my girl friends here are learning how to draw this and many other designs and we are willing to offer up our hands and feet to be illustrated on!

The sky here looked so interesting one night a few weeks ago so I had to grab a picture! I still am not quite sure what that line in the sky was...

This is a shot of our mini library in our quad! We have some required reading but most of these are just for reading on your own time. I finished a book recently called Honor and Shame. It talks about 3 different types of cultures: Shame based, Guilt based and Fear based. I really enjoyed this book because it was a more anthropological look at doing ministry in the shame-based culture of the Arab world.

"The Farm" right next to where I live. I walk past here most evenings on strolls.

{Days}

Many friends have been wondering what our days are like here so I thought I'd sum it up for y'all.

Wake up, early breakfast, group reflection time (we are going through the book of Acts together), 1 or 2 morning talks, lunch, 1 or 2 afternoon talks, free time before dinner and after 6 we are usually done with things.

It doesn't sound like a lot but our talks range from biblical doctrine, to evangelism training, to in-depth bible study, to managing finances, to dealing with transition, grief, culture shock, conflict and the myriad of diseases that are prevalent where many of my co-workers will be going. On top of that we spend time with our teams focusing on language learning, cultural practices, and applying for visas. We also spend a lot of time in prayer. I have been more challenged in my prayer life in the past 4 weeks than I can ever remember. We spend time daily praying for our team-members in the places we are moving, our fellow individuals and families at training, the people whom we are going to live amongst, the government officials of those countries, our friends and families back home, and the churches that have commissioned us. This emphasis and application of prayer is changing the way that I look at the world. By recognizing the people I'm sent out from, I am humbled by the offerings given that enable me to move out and be obedient to this calling. In praying for the city and people I'm moving to be amongst, I realize that all of my best efforts are for nothing if it is without the Holy Spirit. God has promised that he will call all the nations to his name, but we are all privileged that he allows us and wants us to be his hands and feet on the earth. wow.

In addition to all of that, I spend time playing volleyball, running, playing phase 10 and apples to apples and occasionally doing pilates workout videos that leave me sore for days. The conversations with my new friends and family are sweet and I've come to have a loving community around me here helping me sidestep into life abroad. I sit up late with my quad-mates telling stories, occasionally we go into town to see a movie or eat mexican food or make a Wal-Mart run, but it is always so so fun. These people are the BEST type of ridiculous!

Best,

mgw

{RVA}

Friends-

I'm into week 4 of training in Virginia. I'm here along with many other families and singles for 8 weeks of training and fellowship before heading out overseas. There are about 200 of us here, including everywhere from bitty babies to 60 somethings. We are from different hometowns, decades, socio-economic statuses and personality types. Some are here with big families of 5 children, some with their spouse, some with 1 child and some of us are here single.

In all of these differences though, we have the overarching unifying passion of love for our Lord. This is a love that has been stretched much deeper than a walk down the church aisle, a decision through prayer with a sunday school teacher or even a street side profession of faith in the midst of a turbulent college lifestyle. God has captured each of our hearts and grown in us a love for a people group or nation and in obedience to that call, we go.

So I intend to post here updates from training and thoughts and concerns about the great unknown of Paris, with the intent that God's faithfulness would be written over it all. I'm self aware enough to admit that my life is not glamorous enough or adventurous enough to merit my own space on the internet but I see this as an opportunity to report back on the Lord's work in and through me here. So it's only appropriate that I thank you all who've invested and loved on me these past 22 (and some change) years. I have seen the love of Christ radiated through your affections, your challenge and your encouragement and I'm privileged to be sent out from such a community.

Blessings

mgw

1 Kings 8:54-61

Salut,

I've conveniently forgotten about my blog over the past 9 months. It could be from a general lack of enthusiasm to remember my password, from my dissatisfaction from the appearance of my site or from my inability to journal consistently in my own time with the Lord let alone craft something up to post. I have resolved, however, to use this as an outlet to write as an overflow in worship.

Approximately 29 days ago I began a journey to dig into the Bible and read it cover to cover with my best and dearest friend, Rachael. Anticipating big changes in the coming months in our lives (she is getting married (07072012) and I am moving to Paris in the Fall to pursue short term missions) we were both compelled to accept the challenge of a 90 day Bible reading plan. I have always been mesmerized by the Bible in it's entirety, but all too often I push of my interest in a family-line or a Jewish tradition or an OT reference in Paul's letters with the expectancy that it will be mentioned and explored in some sermon or blog post or in conversation with friends. Additionally, I have lacked the obedience to discipline myself in spending quality quantities of time meeting the Lord through Scripture. The discipline I was challenged to learn in the Fall needed to be pushed and I needed to learn to hunger for Truth and to be wrapped up in God's marvelous and mysterious plan, from the beginning, and to push through finding the meaning and relevancy for my life.

Since April 1 I have been overwhelmed by YHWH's wrath and mercy, his providence and his distance, but ultimately by his withstanding and radiating Glory as evidenced through Scripture and I am so excited to press on.

In reading in 1 Kings 8 tonight, I was struck by a particular passage.

(Background note: King Soloman had been given the task of building a permanent dwelling place for the Lord to replace the tabernacle of the wilderness. So he had it built, in 7 years, and is dedicating it before the House of Israel (HoI in my shorthand journalling!))

1 Kings 8:54-61

"Now as Soloman finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying

'Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses to his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers, May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel as each day requires that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Let you hearts therefore by wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statues and keeping his commandments, as at this day."

Now, this isn't the first prayer that has struck me in my chronological reading of the Bible, but I especially love this one. (I bolded some phrases that struck me)

"that he may incline our hearts to him"- acknowledging that it is the Spirit that reigns in our hearts
"I have pleaded before the Lord"- a mighty King humbling himself before YHWH
"may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people as each day requires"- it is God who maintains and sustains our work

We must have servant hearts, but it is God who sustains and validates our work. He inclines our hearts and his love compels us. We plea before the Lord for his will to be done and pray that we walk boldly and worthily with him that all peoples of the earth may know that he is God.

With an inclined heart,
mw