Jeanne

When I asked for prayer requests before the beginning of last night’s Geneva Bible study, Mark raised his hand and whispered that his and Brigitte’s 6-month-old daughter, Jeanne, had gone to be with the Lord earlier that morning.

This tiny little girl came into our world with Downs and a heart defect, welcomed by a loving family. Although she had trouble getting enough nourishment, we nearly always saw her awake and attentive. She even attended our summer youth camp, “working” in the laundry room with Brigitte.

She entered the hospital 10 weeks ago for corrective heart surgery and never came out. She put up with a lot more medical stuff as the family and doctors did their best for her, trying to guarantee a more healthy future.

What do you do when parents pray for weeks on end, when a church prays and prays, then suddenly receive tragic news? We gathered around the couple, held their hands, and prayed some more. And we encouraged each other to hold firm to our hope.

Jeanne is survived by mom and dad, two older brothers and an older sister.

Pastoral retreat

Just got back yesterday evening from our weekend Pastoral retreat with many of the servants, workers and teachers (no prophets) from the French-speaking churches in Europe. I organized this year’s program and it went o.k.

The goal of this retreat was to get the churches to think about reaching out to their neighborhoods through good works. We asked everyone the question: If the church changed neighborhoods, would anyone know that you were no longer there? Would it make a difference? Then we taught and discussed the themes:

• The Catholic Church and the culture of good works;
• Becoming a neighborhood church;
• The church and the poor;
• Obstacles to good works.

I find it interesting that the Catholic heroes are St. Francis of Assisi, Theresa of Calcutta, Abbé Pierre, JP II (people known, most often, for good works)… While most Protestant heroes (Zwingli, Luther, Calvin, Graham) are theologians or teachers. I’m sure there’s a reason. But maybe we could do with some balance.

Lausanne Thanksgiving

There is no official Thanksgiving in Lausanne, unless you come by our house. The 20 pound Turkey was just enough (we’re thinking maybe it wasn’t 20 pounds) and there were all the veggies and the sweet potatoes, which Wife found I-don’t-know-where because they really DON’T exist here. But they were on yesterday’s table.

29 people enjoyed each other’s company and the food. I truly believe it was in that order. Those present? Some Americans, some travelers, Son 1’s group from Marseille, Let’s Start Talking contacts, here a person… there a person…

Pecan pies and pumpkin pies, plus a Lausanne Thanksgiving Tradition: Agatha’s Chocolate Mousse. If the Pilgrims didn’t have it on that first Thanksgiving, they definitely should have.

A few people were missing who should have been there. But some were sick. Others have moved away. Others have gone on to be with the Father. And we missed them all.

How can it really be Wife’s favorite holiday? She plans for weeks and cooks for days. She makes sure that everyone who needs to be there is there, and if they can’t make it, why she just schedules another one (next week, Friday night at 7:00 pm). Do come on by.

Just call ahead of time, please.

Telephone talk

‘mericans remark when they come to our home the absence of telephone calls. This is not necessarily because people don’t like us, though I imagine that could play a role. Plus we answer the phone yelling “WHAT DO YOU WANT AGAIN?”. But I think the real reason is because you get to pay for every telephone call you make. Call neighbor: pay for it to the tune of about 5 cents a minute prime time (mpt). Call across the country and you pay 5 cents mpt. Call America and it’s about 10 cents mpt. Call America to someone’s cellular… same price. (Call the USA on weekends and pay $2.40 (total) for anything from 30 minutes to an hour… the same price. I called Mom recently and talked 30 minutes and 40 seconds. I got the 40 seconds for free.)

Call from your Swiss land-line to a Swiss mobile and pay 4 to 5 times what it costs to call the USA. Needless to say, when people give us their mobile numbers we just laugh. They really think we’re going to call them for that price? I mean, we’re not THAT close.

There’s like a 12 hour period where you can call people (on weekdays). It’s between 9 and 9. Call later, and you have to excuse yourself ten times. Really. Call before, and it’s about the same thing, even though there’s a law that all Swiss have to be out of bed by 6:45. Unless they were up late the night before on the phone… to America.

Qualified

Switzerland did lose 4-2 against Turkey but still qualified for the final phase of the 2006 World Cup in Germany because of goals scored away. Well done, Nati. My other predictions missed the mark too. After the game the teams DID express their affection for each other. One of the Swiss players was hospitalized with a ruptured urinary tract (guess how that happened…) while 3 others were slightly injured.

There were a thousand cars in the middle of Lausanne at 10:30 pm. Fans waving flags and honking horns. And honking horns. And honking horns… I was on my bike, slowly ascending the hills (Lausanne is on a BIG hill), passing cars, receiving greetings from those fans sticking out the windows of their vehicles. Even the drivers were hanging out of their cars or driving with their heads through the moon-roof. It was exciting. Specially for a guy on a bike.

Today Stephanie and the notary signed the papers for the sale of the house. A young couple with 3 kids under three, moving from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 6 bedroom house. They were in shock, but very happy. I think Father-in-law would have like them. And we find ourselves with the first weekend to only clean up one yard. Already feels strange. But no complaining.

Anyone out there use Skype? What do you think?

World Cup Final Qualifications

Swiss Football (soccer, for all you New World folks) is in the news. Tonight the Swiss National Team (the Nati) plays the return match against Turkey in Turkey. The Nati won the first match in Bern last Saturday night, 2-0. The combined score/winner goes to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

This is a big deal. All of Switzerland will be pulling for the Nati, except for those of us who have choir practise (practice, for all you NWF) because I’m going to sing a Christmas Mass in SPANISH with Son 2 and Christmas is coming real soon. Wife will miss the match because she’s going to the theatre (play, NWF). The kids will be velcro-ed to the tube.

Turkey is very much behind their team. ALL Nati luggage was lost when the Swiss team flight arrived. Players waited 3 hours to find it… R-17-rated banners are strung up all over the city insulting the Swiss team… Fans are outside the hotel 24/24 making noise to keep the players awake. Of the 3000 Swiss fans with tickets, only 600 are going because of threats.

Even if you aren’t watching TV here in Lausanne, you know who’s winning the match. The neighborhood erupts when a Swiss goal is scored. The walls of the city shake. And yes, groans escape when the enemy makes its mark.

My prediction? The Angels lose in four. Oops. Wrong prediction. Sorry… Turkey wins tonight, 3-1, but Switzerland qualifies having scored more goals away. Turkish fans whistle during the Swiss National Anthem (excuse: they don’t know the words… But hey, neither do the Swiss players). Players refuse to shake hands at the end of the match because of the avalanche of yellow cards, and the pitch (field, NWF) is pelted with junk from the crowd.

But I'm just making a guess.

Michael's choice

Michael decided he was going to come to church before he went to bed on Saturday night. He was tired of having church AT HOME. This 12 year old was ready for some fellowship.

When he got up in the morning, his just-a-few-years-younger brother announced to mom that he was going to church too. That’s where he wanted to be. So mom got the three-year-old sister ready and the four of them came. Dad stayed home.

They walked in smiling. They helped get chairs in place and set the song books out. They took care of their sister (she has Down Syndrome) and greeted everyone who came in. Mom needed time with the church too, you could tell, and the message on the Lord’s Supper and Communion was right on target, thanks be to God.

You’ve never met Michael, but you’ve prayed for his mother. She’s the neighbor who tried to take her life just a month ago. She’s been praying with the Sisters, hanging out with Claudine and Stephanie, trying to find some balance in a difficult time. Trying to find wholeness. Trying to find communion.

Aren’t we all?

Thanks for stopping by.

Armistice day revisited

They say that it was on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11:00 am in 1918 that the Versailles Treaty was signed. Armistice day was born. It ended four years of fighting were over 9,000,000 people were killed because of the conflict.

Today in France there are only 6 veterans of that war who are still alive. The youngest is a sprite 107 years old. They interviewed one of the “poilu” (hairy ones—no opportunity to shave in the trenches) about his experiences during “14-18”. He said the most frightening moment was in 1917 during one of the battles where over 150,000 were killed. He still has night-mares of that day and the charges from the trenches. A battle where he lost many of his closest friends.

When Son 2, Daughter and I were in London a couple of weeks ago, we got to go “to the trenches” in the Imperial War Museum. We were informed that during that century 100,000,000 people were killed because of armed conflict. What was disconcerting to me, (according to info given on the same sign), was that we continue the killing at the same rate in this present century. Does that seem possible?

Back from Stuttgart

We’re back in Lausanne this afternoon after the trip to Lyons, Marseilles, Lyons (bis), and Stuttgart where I wish (not really) I’d picked up a new car. (Do you know who makes cars there?) Haven’t had time to get to your blogs but will catch up and write appropriate comments later.

The so-called riots in France didn’t mess up our time. Someone told me 90 cars a night are burned on average anyway (not verified by this writer), so what’s the problem with another couple thousand? We heard on the news that our lights had gone out in Lyons because of the mess, but we never saw anything (!), and didn’t lose any sleep over it.

We had one of those weird-first-time experiences when Son 1 in Marseilles invited us over for dinner at his apartment. He nervously set the table (a couple of times) and worried about the meal with his roommate. The chicken curry was excellent as was the salad. Hot fudge sundaes finished it off (we are a bit worried about his sugar intake, but hey, we paid for those straight teeth). He’s doing so well, and we are hooking up again with him in just two weeks.

Enjoy Armistice day!

In Lyons

This is the second time I'm writing this blog, and IT WON'T BE AS GOOD. The first one that disappeared had already been nominated for the POST IS THE MOST AWARD. Rats! That is why it posted with a title and no text. I REALLY WASN'T DENIAL. HONEST...

We are in Lyons, France and now the POWER JUST WENT OFF. So I'm taking this as a sign to stop blogging for today, and I'll write about our dinner at Son 1's house tomorrow, or the next day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dr. Olbricht

Yesterday morning Wife and I picked up Dr. Olbricht, one of our professors from ACU days, at the Geneva airport. He was in good shape after 3 flights and a night spent in London’s Heathrow Airport waiting room. He’s come to give a 10 hour seminar on Colossians in Marseille and then teach in Stuttgart, Germany.

The Lausanne church was blessed by listening to him teach this morning. His text was from Luke 24 since we have been dealing with the Lord’s Supper these last few weeks. He just made two points as we sat around the table: That any correct hermeneutic of the Bible must make our hearts burn and that our communion together recognizes the body of Christ in his death and resurrection, but also in his Church.

Let me add two things: 1. Several of the people had tears in their eyes during the sermon; 2. Dr. Olbricht’s voice would often break when talking of Jesus and when speaking of the Body of Christ (us!).

I certainly hope that my heart will become more tender as the years go by, and that the word of Christ will burn in my heart even more as I grow older, much like Dr. Olbricht.

Around the table

We placed the carpenter table in the middle of the sanctuary-church-worship hall-auditorium, two rows of chairs on either side of it… Several rows of chairs at the end of it. People (can) look at each other as they sing. They can see what’s going on in the other when there’s the prayer request. The singing’s better. The prayers are about the same, I guess. But the table… There’s been a marked improvement, even if it’s just for now, just because of the change. Visually now, Jesus is inviting us to his table to celebrate a meal that he’s prepared. And we all are sitting, perhaps too quietly, around his table amazed that we were invited to dine with him.

There is no greater invitation than that which leads to life. There is no greater food than communion with Christ. There is no greater celebration of life than that which takes place around the table of Christ. Errr, except for the party we’ll have in the future when we will be like him…

Thanks for stopping by.

The table

Wife’s father enjoyed a good symbol. He helped me appreciate them more, even though I grew up in an assembly that has a huge rock mosaic called “the fountain of life” towering in the front of the sanctuary-church-worship hall-auditorium. Big symbol.

And I think, within certain limits, being attentive and respectful to what is communicated through symbols is healthy for the church. Reformed Church pulpits were BIG and placed in the center of the churches. They visibly demonstrated their attachment to the Word of God. The altar is the center of Catholic cathedrals, making visible the need of an intercessor (or intercessors) between people and God. (But just give me Jesus). Then some churches have a stage as the focal point of the sanctuary, and some of us just might miss the “symbols”.

Back to Wife’s father. Years before we came to Lausanne, he purchased the table below for the church.He said it was Jesus’ first table: a carpenter’s bench. He’d seen a picture of a church in Nazareth with one, so he bought it for the Lausanne church. Now he’s gone, but the table’s still there.

And Jesus is still at work.