Text only post here today. We crossed a pretty large milestone today in the life of the Church of Descartes. We met with the mayor.
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Sometimes I go to sleep without brushing my teeth. Not tonight. But sometimes. It's not that I don't enjoy minty breathe. But instead I get ready to go brush and... Meh. This is usually about an hour after I lecture my daughter on healthy gum habits. We've started brushing her tongue. I think I heard someone say that's a good thing to do. Meh. I think for some of you this might be an inaccessible thought or idea. Maybe it's 'The Simpsons' coming out of me after all these years. Or maybe we just all hide it well. We all have meh moments. Gulp. I used to love drinking Dr. Pepper. I'd stop on the way to the office and get 44 ounces of it to fuel my afternoon (dependency). Then I realized 44 ounces is a lot. Then I moved to France. Good luck finding it. That's one kind of gulp. There's a totally different kind too. You know when you get ready to do something and say 'here goes' or when in France, 'bonne chance' (This phrase is common here. I don't think they mean it quite as sarcastically as I think we do in America but it still enters my ears like that.) We stand on the CUSP of a gulp moment. There are visas. Documents. Drivers Licenses. There's that ole pesky church plant. It's exciting but it's terrifying. I think the word for that is exilirating. I have so much more to learn. We have so much more to apply. You have so much more to pray for. I've been up reading and listening to hymns and music. It's 1 am. One of the songs had this line: 'You're what I'm counting on.' It's true. It's not far fetched. I'm counting on God. In all my messy, non toothbrushed, dr pepperless spirit. I'm counting on God. You should too. It's exhilarating. About 2 months ago we were in a small car accident. Quickly we moved to have the car 'totaled' and moved on to find a new car. Quickly we moved. It feels like it's been about 769 days since we made that trip and had the accident in Lyon. Since then we've played a waiting game (the blame goes all around, government agencies, circumstances, my own (Greg's) errors). Yesterday we received the last bit of paperwork to be able to move ahead with getting the reimbursement check from the insurance and purchase our car. A while ago we asked you to help. We had some money to go toward the new car (from insurance) but were short quite a bit (about 2000 Euros). So we did it. We asked you, "Help us fund this personal project." So to recap without you, this is what our new car looked like... Slightly faded and half there. Surprisingly, half a car can be good for many endeavors: 1) It cuts down on arguments 2) Tolls are cheaper 3) It helps to settle a crying baby 4) It starts conversations 'Hey, half a car huh...you must have a lot of faith to drive like that..' 'ACTUALLY sir or madame, have you ever heard of Jesus?' But realistically, half a car is...well, not useable. With you though, we turned that half a car into this... A WHOLE CAR! Yes, we asked and you came through. You showed faith and aided us and the Kingdom here. It's shiny and nice. Now, realistically there are a few more issues... 1) This car is paper. It's not the actual car. The real car, a Citroen Picasso, has been purchased for us here in France and 2) is awaiting (you guessed it) some paperwork and insurance to be put in our name. In actuality the car is all but ours. We can't wait to have a real picture of the car with us in it to show you. We are humbled not just by you but also by the many people here in France who aided us when, frankly, we had no idea what to do. So THANK YOU ALL for making this demi-car problem a whole car solution. We are blessed. A Quick Update on what we are up to: Nikki taught her first session on Hermeneutics at the church this past Sunday and will finish the class this Sunday. Greg and Nikki will attend and help with a preaching intensive next week, a part of the CFRi in Loches. Greg will attend an orientation for France Mission on the 22nd of this month in Paris and our family will attend another event like this for Kontaktmission (in Germany) in November. We've been continuing our tutoring 4 days a week and Ophelia is continuing her 4 day a week schooling at a local preschool. Greg is scheduled to preach for the first time in December and will help with Kids Club (3-7 year olds) at church starting in November. Our team continues to meet to get to know each other as we continue our move toward launching a new campus in Descartes, France. Thanks again for all of your prayers, letters, notes, cheddar cheese (yes, that happened), salsa (that happened also) and love. We miss you, but love working for the same big God together. Until next time. Read the Bible and actually do what it says..
Recently, I was looking for another Bible verse and restumbled (yes, it’s a word now) onto these verses in 1 Corinthians 1. To me it was powerful stuff. Certainly the kind of passage in scripture that reminds me of many of us. 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. I was many things when I heard God in my life. I was arrogant, proud, but also very weak and insecure. Hardly wise, hardly influential and well, the usual citizen. But read that again. Not many means some of…. Some of these Christians were considered ‘wise’, ‘influential’ and of ‘noble blood.’ Yet was there a king or duke or whatever noble title they used in the church? No. Was there specifically a seating section for the wise and another for the dense? No. Were the influential Christians given sparkly communion cups? No. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. The foolish things shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong. Quite the opposite of how we normally approach things. Were some less important than others in the Church? No. Did all receive some news that sounded weird and odd? Yes. God died for YOU? Even the lowest of the gods didn’t act that way. They knew better. They knew their place (in mythology). God knew his place but better than that, he KNEW OUR PLACE. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. I’m not pretending that this is some deep great theological entry. Nor am I going to pretend that I spent the last week scouring an ancient library to find some hidden secret. God chose things to use that which was not (Christ the man, apostles to preach, minorities, crazy stories) to overcome that which was. I’m not entirely sure what all this means but I know this. It isn’t the things that make us say ‘I better not…’ or ‘You have to be crazy to do that…’ that usually make us feel safe and secure. It’s the trophies that make us feel proud. The awards and the pats on the back (or kisses on the cheek) make us smile. It’s THOSE things we want for our children. Not to hear them come home and say ‘MOM AND DAD GOD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR ME SO I’M GOING TO DO THIS FOR HIM. I KNOW, IT’S FOOLISH. IT MAKES NO SENSE AND ALL I CAN SAY IS DON’T TRUST ME, TRUST HIM. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” SEE HERE IS THE THING, IT’S NOT MY RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT MAKES ME GOOD. IT’S NOT MY HOLINESS THAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR. IT’S NOT HOW MANY TIMES I CAN SAVE MYSELF THAT HE IS JUDGING. HE IS JUDGING WHAT I DID WHEN HE REDEEMED ME. WHEN HE SHOWED ME WHAT HOLINESS WAS. WHEN HE SHOWED ME WHO IS TRULY RIGHTEOUS. I CAN’T BOAST IN ME BECAUSE WELL, I’M NOTHING AND THAT IS OKAY. REALLY. IT’S OK TO BE NOTHING. NO SERIOUSLY. IT’S GOOD. BUT GOD, GOD, HE IS SOMETHING. I highlight all this because I want you to understand that we get tired. I once heard someone say a missionary isn’t a super Christian. I agreed and laughed and said ‘ok, cool.’ Then I ‘went on mission’ (whatever that means) and found out I’M NOT A SUPER HERO and none of my friends who are on the mission field (wherever that is) are either. Sorry guys, if you are reading, you are awesome and do amazing things but straight up, we aren’t super heroes. So it is with that that I just say that life is tiring. It’s truly a God thing. Over the next few days our lives in Loches will ramp up. Tutoring starts again (you know so we can speak in French without making sentences that translate into, ‘Oh yes, yesterday good I saw her. He said she like bacon shoes and wearing elm trees’.) that’s sarcasm I hope. Our growth groups start at church as well. These are super small groups designed for bible study, discipleship and accountability. Ophelia started school (4 days a week) Tuesday. Pray that she will enjoy it as much as she always has. Pray that we will grow more familiar with our community and continue to meet people and understand the needs of everyone around us. It's been a truly eye-opening last 6 months here in France. Some things are different, some things are very different. Some things are confusing. The more we are here the more apparent it is that Freedom through Jesus is a foreign concept in France. Now that we are to a point where holding a conversation is somewhat easier, that means we get to chat more and more with French about life. I got a few really good questions in the last few weeks. 'Why do you have to learn French?' 'Who sent you here?' 'Who is in charge of the 'evangelical' church?' 'Why would you leave your job to come here?' The questions are stirring for me (Greg). Usually they are from French people who have quickly let me close to them and sometimes over a glass of wine or meal. The questions are always with respect but my answers seem like a foreign language to my audience (THAT USED TO BE A RELEVANT SAYING....NOW I'M NOT SO SURE). We claim, as Christians, that Christ brings freedom. To many French, they have never seen that or heard it truly expressed in a way that makes sense to them. Our prayer is that relationships can be built so that we have the opportunity to explain and answer more questions about who Jesus is and why 'the Church' matters. It never was easy even in Greensburg, Cumberland or Roanoke Rapids but the added cultural and language barriers mean more and more care must be taken. So today we are reminded of not just the freedom that our home country (the USA, in case you didn't know) holds, but also the freedom that Christ promises not just for certain people who do certain things or speak a certain language but for all people. Isaiah 49.9 (NLT)- I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ Esaïe 49.9 (LSG) 9 Pour dire aux captifs: Sortez! Et à ceux qui sont dans les ténèbres: Paraissez! ----- Schedule update for the Saldis In 2 weeks we have our final level tests. Pray that we will study hard like last time and do well! In about 3-4 weeks we will be moving to Loches, France for our time in training. Pray that we will have a smooth time moving and that our new work will be fruitful. Due to our movements, we ask if you would like to send something to wait until closer to the end of the month and mail it to our new address. If you would like that, please contact us via email, iMessage or Facebook. Greg had the great pleasure to play a few games with the Albertville Vikings Baseball Club. It was great to get to know some guys who share the same interests! Our family visited Lyon with a few friends over our last break. We had a really good time and got to see some great sites. The photo is from La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière looking down on the city. Thanks again to all of you who do so much for us. We are so thankful for you! You always hear from Nikki or Greg. For a lot of you you have a little more interest in teammate #3 (that's Ophelia if you haven't caught on)! So we took some time yesterday to interview her to get her feelings on France and to tell you more about her life.
Q: What's something you like about France? A: Sticker books! (those would be disney sticker books she gets when she is particularly good) Playing in the backyard too! And all of the buddies at school! She named off a list of 10 real people followed by a mixture of princesses and cartoon characters. Q: What do you do at church? A: Play! (Sensing a theme here) And we sing lots of songs like Zacchaeus and the B-I-B-L-E. Q: And what about at school? What do you do there? A: I play with all my FRIENDS! (Emphasis was hers. Sometime later in life I'll see a hearing specialist because of that) Q: Can you speak some French for me? A: Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six. Oiseau. Ca va? Ca va bien! Q: Do you miss anyone? A: Grandma and Grandpa (That's all of them of course. She took a break here to run around in a circle and eat a handful of cereal) Q: What's one thing you want to tell everyone reading? A: Jesus! No really. She said all of those things. I've spent so much time trying to find profound answers for questions over the years. Just goes to show you if you really want answers, ask the kids! We're doing great here. Heading into the stretch run of school and moving into phase two of our time here in France shortly. Thank you all for your grace, generosity (financial/spiritual/time), prayers, updates and text messages or letters from home. Each is a treasure to us. Greg, Nikki (AND OPHELIA!) Easter in France is different than Easter in America. Granted we missed Palm Sunday because Ophelia decided to be awake most of the night before but.... it didn't feel much like Easter. At least not the sort of Easter we're used to. There were no Easter parades, Easter bunny photo ops, window clings, marshmallow peeps (which was really ok, lol), church productions, cards, advertising.... no commercial Easter. And no spectacle. I'm an American and honestly I have grown to expect spectacles on holidays. There were no specials sung during church, no church musicals being advertised, and no church-sponsored egg hunts (at least not in Albertville). It felt like it came and went. The sermon, of course, was Eastery, and so was Ophelia's class lesson, but all familiarity was gone, aside from chocolate bunnies and oversized Kinder eggs in the grocery stores (one bonus of living in Europe). And this, I think, is what it looks like to live in a post-christian country. It's still a family holiday and there is food, but the outward signs of Easter just weren't there. Not in the stores, not on buildings. I feel like a French person would be shocked not only at the commercialism of holidays in America, but also that shops decorate too, even if it's just secular Easter decor. To be honest, I missed the festivity. Often I find myself missing Hallmark: greeting cards for every occassion, decorations for every occassion, and knick-knacks galore. They don't really do any of that here. We did sing a familiar hymn that Sunday (in French), but... other students as well felt a general absence of Easter-ness that day, aside from meals some got invited to. There is generally a lot of grumbling within the American church about taking back Easter or whether or not it's right to have egg hunts because Jesus didn't die for us to eat candy on Easter. To this I personally say: enjoy those egg hunts. Do what you can to reach out. Many people I know go to egg hunts at churches that don't go to church otherwise. Don't fear commercialism - no one says that you have to embrace it. But be glad you can buy a cross to hang on your front door or a wreath that says "Jesus is Alive" or even something with colorful eggs on it. I think anything allows for a conversation about the meaning of Easter can be a good thing. As someone who is very bad at looking at calendars and relies heavily on the outside world to remind me of months, occassions and holidays, I realized that I will, in fact, have no choice but to check my calendar here. - Nikki The Saldi family has been in France for almost one week. It was about a week ago at this time that we loaded up in a United airplane and found our way to Europe and soon after to France. This week has been incredibly long. My (Greg) head is still swimming somewhat and we are all adjusting to our new home.
We’ve been to the grocery store next to our house (Carrefour) a few times, had a few glasses of wine and cake with our neighbors and ventured into downtown Albertville a few times but the work and learning has still really yet to begin. This week we had our placement exams, which we placed about where we thought we would and begin school in earnest beginning tomorrow morning. Ophelia has spent two days in the nursery and has done very well. School for her starts at 8:30 every day while we start at 8.45. The days will be long and fairly intense (5 hours of only language classes is something I’ve never done). There is also something very disarming about not really knowing how to say anything to anyone. Really, Nikki and I have to keep ourselves accountable by going out to places where we will need to use our language to really get things done. It will be a task but the ultimate priority is language learning (even in small bits and chunks) to clearly communicate what God would like us to in France. Rather than giving a long devotional thought or any deep theological writing (which I’m not sure I ever do) I thought it would be better just to answer some basic questions here and perhaps if you have any more questions just comment and we’ll do our best to answer! --We live about a 15 minute walk from the school. It is quite chilly in the mornings but so far we have managed just fine. While the mountains around us are mostly snow covered, all the snow on the ground here fell before we arrived. --We have a 3rd floor apartment that is shared with a few other people from the school. Maria, the schools bookkeeper lives on the second floor with her family and a Norwegian couple live on the first. --We have yet to go out to eat in town yet. Instead we buy food at the grocery and cook in the house. So far this has worked quite well but we are looking forward to eating in and around the town. --Albertville is quite a busy town. There are cars, busses and trains almost always moving around. By no means is it a metropolis but there is quite a bit of life in the streets. --Language learning will be taught by French faculty here at the school. For the most part none of the faculty speaks English so the learning curve is steep but necessary. --There are many different types of missionaries at the school. Their purpose ranges from medical missions to engineering missions to church planting or language teaching missions. The background of the group is far and wide. It is a blessing to be around people who come from different backgrounds. --We were able to attend church at the Evangelical church in Albertville this past Sunday. Nikki sat in the service while I took Ophelia to her class. The class was all in French (except for a language student who thoughtfully translated for the new children). We have great faith in the people and teaching at the church here. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and we’ll try to answer them all! -- Last year about this time we were blessed with some generous gifts that really set the tone for our year of fundraising. Perhaps some of you gave those special gifts that truly helped launch this ministry that is totally supported through donors like you. If you feel that this ministry is again worth those gifts or would like to give for the first time toward our ministry, any gift is tax deductible and an extreme blessing to us! You all mean so much to us! Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. To give click ‘financial partners’ at the top of the page and ‘donate’ at the bottom of that page. Also, thank you for your prayers for France. The attack in Paris today is just another indication of our lost and broken world. The visa process is complicated. You knew that. If you didn’t, let me repeat- it’s complicated. Really, it’s not you- it’s just how it is. Perhaps it is how it has to be. This is moving to a new country. It isn’t a simple process because it is a big deal. In a little while Nikki and I will be one of thousands who move to a new country every year for whatever reason they have. When we arrived in the visa section of the French Embassy we noticed that the room was void of any personality and only had a few rows of clear IKEA chairs to greet folks who were searching for a way into France. There was no personal touch. They simply assigned you a number and when the board flashed your number it was your turn. Tears will not sway one of the workers. They ask for paperwork and check off a list as they get the papers. Sometimes they feel the papers are strange (like the fact that our employer is in Tennessee while we live in Pennsylvania). This is one side of the missionary process that we were quite unsure about. We knew we would have to raise funds to support our work, make sure our daughter had a passport but beyond that how would it really work? The visa process has been long and involved. We have received help from numerous people in France who we are a huge part in even getting us to the point to have the chance to receive a visa. ((UPDATE: MORE PAPERS WERE DELIVERED TO THE FRENCH EMBASSY TODAY. WE FLY OUT IN THREE WEEKS SO LET’S ALL PRAY/HOPE THAT WE RECEIVE A PACKAGE WITH PASSPORTS NICELY STAMPED SHORTLY!)) Basically, to get a long term stay visa one must have places to live, money to live on and a reason to be in the country. Rest assured, ‘I love crepes and want to eat them everyday’ is not an adequate reason for a long term stay. Or, ‘I have a million dollars’ is not enough funding to magically be let in the country. It’s a tough process that, to me, is designed to be tough. It’s not that the French don’t want people in their country, one just has to prove one really deserves or wants to be there. -- Which brings me to this point. Sadly, we have not gotten to travel the entire country talking about France or our ministry. There hasn’t been enough days or enough appointments to do that. What we have gotten to do is see many different churches from dynamically different backgrounds worship the same God in various ways. All of these churches seem to do a really good job at welcoming and wanting to reach people for Christ. Sometimes it seems that personally we don’t do a good job of sharing Christ with people. We allow ourselves to get in the way. We seem to want to block people who are different in many ways from us to a clear path to Christ’s forgiveness. This isn’t getting a visa or going to some building that is technically in a foreign country. This is sharing who you are, what you love and why it matters to you. This is giving an extra dollar to someone or refusing to insult someone when it feels right. This is forgiving or turning the other cheek. Yet time and time again we choose to put ourselves ahead of Christ. And this all goes for me too. There have been times when I’ve let my normal old destructive self get in the way of any good and reasonable chance to describe why I am (supposed to be?) who I am. The church building is not a consulate. Jesus is not looking for people to prove to Him why they matter. Jesus is not looking for you to give a thumbs up or thumbs down on people for His sake. So let’s do a better job of allowing others to come to Christ rather than come to us and our standards. Let’s help people see Jesus has already ‘stamped their passport’ so to speak and wants them to see Him for who He is. We serve a God who DOES have a personal touch for everyone in the world. We serve a God who does not stand behind glass walls separating Himself from the world but a God who has put all of Himself (and there is a lot of Him) close and next to all regardless of who they are or where they are from. -Greg Ephesians 2.8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. We met many people at ICOM that were curious about why Europe needs missionaries. We were glad to field that question, but it was a reminder of the task in front of us: We need to continue to raise awareness. We need to continue to send equipped missionaries. We need to continue to raise up disciples across Europe. Ministry in Europe can take many forms, just like it does in the US. While in France alone, we met church and non-profit leaders who are looking for missionaries who are: - ministers - computer programmers - web page designers - video producers You don't have to be a preacher in the US to fill a need in another country. Yes, Europe needs more people to equip the church there, but non-profit ministries need help too! And if you are thinking about Eastern Europe, you'll find a host of humanitarian and educational needs (like English teachers) as well. If you feel that God is leading you to Europe, Kontaktmission will be glad to help you figure out the rest. Kontaktmission leads short-term trips, helps find internships, and sends out people for long-term ministry in Europe and beyond. The following video, which we found on France Mission's UK website, answers the question "Why Europe? Why now?" Please watch and continue to pray for Europe. |
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