La Rome française

Last weekend was the GBU weekend away in Nimes. The weekend got off to an eventful start with the man on the radio warning us, under no circumstances, to drive in the direction we were going in. Oops. We got off the road to avoid any potential dangerous south-of-France-inexperienced-in-snow drivers and hung out in a McDo for an hour. We eventually made it there safely, and it was great to see some familiar faces from the last weekend, as well as meet some new people.

Part of the programme was a trip to Nimes, where we ran about in the freezing cold for a photo scavenger hunt. From these photos you might think that I went to Rome for the weekend, as the Ancient Roman influences on the city are still pretty obvious. Les Arènes is an amphitheatre and a mini version of the Coliseum, whilst La Maison Carrée is like the Pantheon.

This was the altar of the church we were staying at. I really loved the bright colours of the painting, and the point where the colours break out reminded me of John 3:16 and also the lyrics from the song Spirit Break Out, ‘Can you hear it, the sound of heaven touching Earth.’ We were invited to join the worship of their Sunday morning service and it was very joyful praise. There was a man there who created a painting over a few worship songs; it was great to see a talent like that at work.

It was great to have some quality prayer time with the girls (Grammar tip: prayer in French is great for practising the subjunctive!) The subject of the future (summer and job stuff) once again came up, but I know that it’s in his hands. Just trying to listen and make being silent an active, not a passive activity before Him. He is good.

Devenir ce que nous sommes déjà

Last weekend I went away with the GBU (Groupe Biblique Universitaire). We were supposed to leave on Friday afternoon, but the heavy rain and flooding meant that a new location needed to be found. Thankfully, we were provided with a new location and set off on Saturday morning for Aix-en-Provence. The rain continued but it didn’t stop it being an excellent weekend. I was reminded of how small the world is by the fact that the speaker became a Christian at Jesmond Parish Church!

The theme was about our identity in Christ. It’s interesting because I’ve been thinking and praying so far for what the point of this year was, what my purpose, goals and ambitions are, and the phrase ‘Devenir ce que nous sommes déjà’ (Becoming who we already are) popped up in one of the talks – this idea has been following me around during my time in France and I really think it’s applicable here. It’s amazing grace that we are loved unconditionally and beyond comprehension as who we are right now, but at the same time, as Mumford and Sons put it, ‘You were made to meet your Maker’. At the moment, I have taken a step out of ‘real life’, I’m away from my friends and family, it’s the perfect time to reflect upon who I am and whether I’m moving towards God’s good plans for me, living life as he intended it to be – to the full. Food for thought.

The intense weather situation didn’t stop over the weekend either; Tuesday night saw the Promenade des Anglais closed due to gigantic waves crashing onto the road. Whilst this was slightly inconvenient at the time (a three and a half hour journey home from school is less than ideal), it did make for spectacular viewing. The next morning was calmer but the beaches were still closed. When the sea is choppy the water becomes a great milky green colour, in contrast to the usual azure blue. Instead of extending a few metres out, it was this beautiful colour you can see in the background of the picture all the way to the horizon. Going for a run along the Promenade, watching the waves crash upon the rocks was so refreshing, and when ‘How Great Thou Art’ came on my iPod, I ran that little bit faster, reminded of the awesome power of nature and gratitude to our creator God.

Church and Olivio

I first wrote this post on Saturday night, when I was going to say how I had forgotten what it was like to be cold. Well, Sunday morning brought torrential rain and a thunderstorm, so I had to delete my first paragraph. The sunshine is back now although I can feel that autumn is on its way…

I’ve been here two weeks now and I think I’m finally starting to look the right way when crossing the road, so I’ll be culturally adapted in no time! Starting to notice subtler differences between France and England, apart from the ‘It’s hot and they speak French’ ones. For example, what we would call road rage in England is more road slight annoyance (although maybe we are just more passive aggressive) Living above a fairly busy road, you hear cars tooting at all times of the day. And it isn’t a mild, tentative ‘I think you haven’t realised the light is now green, Mr-car-in-front’, oh no! French drivers like to play a tune on their steering wheels, which I suppose is channelling their anger into a creative outlet. It also brings people together – I have seen one car toot at the car in front for some minor offence, the car in front then toots back to tell the car behind to leave it alone, and then the cars behind them join in quite happily – I think they might feel left out otherwise. On a different note, I will never take seedless grapes for granted again.

La Colle sur Loup

But aside from making such in depth cultural insights, what have I done this week? I took the bus up to La Colle-sur-Loup, which is the tiny village where my school is. I must admit, I didn’t think little villages like that existed except for in Olivio adverts – lots of narrow, sunny streets. It also has a spectacular view, you can see the beginnings of the Alpine mountain range. From there I went 5 minutes on the bus to St Paul de Vence, which is a super famous village perché with even narrower streets that circle round and join each other. It reminded me a lot of Mont St Michel and the school trip there when I was 14. Very pretty but a lot of tourists, everybody seemed to be English there and/or an artist. It was great to wander around and to see the sea and the mountains at the same time.

You can just see the sea behind the hills on the left...

I’ve also managed to fit in the standard beach/ice cream/sightseeing routine, but part of what has been great about this week is beginning to see the communities I will be a part of. On Sunday I was invited to go along to the Eglise Protestante Baptiste de Nice, and I didn’t really know what to expect beforehand. I had been warned that French church services were usually a lot longer than in the UK, so that was the only thing I had a vague inkling about. Well, I arrived and was immediately welcomed in, people were introducing themselves and making conversation with me. The style was very informal and the worship was lively. I particularly liked the prayer part where anybody could (and did) pray out. There was a bring and share lunch after the service which was a great opportunity to meet some people close to my age, and I think I am going to stay there! Finding a good church was something I know a lot of people were praying about for me, and it’s great that God got me there for my first Sunday in Nice!

This week has also included some planning meetings for the GBU (Groupe Biblique Universitaire) and one deciding what the events are going to be for la rentrée (similar to Freshers’ Week events). I’m looking forward to helping out with that and meeting some French students. I’m really grateful to the couple who head up the IFES team in Nice, who have invited me to church, fed me, let me hang out with their 9 year old daughter (SO much fun; we made pizza and drew dogs!) but more importantly have just made me feel so welcomed here.

Now for boring things like setting up bank accounts…