How can an orchid be brought back to life?

Lately, I feel like my creative juices have died, just like the orchid by the front door. As I've mentioned in my last post, I am cat AND plant sitting for my boss and his wife, Wendy. There is an orchid by the front door in a glass tube that I am supposed to take out everyday or every other day, soak the roots in this bowl of water for 10 minutes, and then place it back into its glass tube.

The day that I moved into this apartment to cat/plant sit, I remembered to soak the orchid. I began to pat myself on the back, too soon, about remembering to take care of the orchid, and the next thing you know. . I had forgotten about the orchid soaking in the water for an hour or so. I frantically tried to dry the roots and put it back in the glass as an orchid bud that had drowned (i assume) fell off of the stem. Three more have fallen off since. .

If I had a video camera attached to my hand at all times, I would have a video to send in to "America's funniest home videos" after what happened this evening. Around 6 PM it began to rain, so I closed the back door to the patio. Then the cat would not stop meowing and scratched me, so I opened up the door and let her out onto the wet patio. She was all flustered this evening to begin with (just running around everywhere) and before I knew it, she sprinted back into the house. As she was bolting across from the patio to the inside of the apartment, her wet paws caused her to slip, slide, and collapse/flop hard straight onto her side and into the chair legs under the table in the dining room. It was brutal, and it was hilarious. If only I had recorded that, I would upload it onto this blog post. For those of you out there worrying about the cat: she is fine. She has apparently fallen off of the balcony before, lol, so this is nothing new for this crazy cat. . . I am still laughing out loud thinking about this.

Grace

Jesus est vraiment ressuscite!

Heavenly Father,

I thank you and praise you for loving a wicked and sinful person like me. Thank you for putting on skin, walking on this earth, living a perfect life despite the same temptations that we go through today, and being crucified, dying on the cross to pay for my sins and the sins of everyone else in this world even those who don't know the good news of Jesus Christ yet. You were then raised from the grave three days later, victorious over sin and death, and I can now live with the Living hope in spending eternity with you as my eternal life began in the moment that you saved me from a real place called hell. I can now call you "Abba", father, and joyfully live to please you as your child. As you've called us to share this good news to the ends of the earth, making disciples of all nations, I am enthusiastic and motivated to live with purpose by your grace. Your grace is sufficient for me. Thank you God for abundantly pouring your grace and your love onto us. God give us eyes to see that we may see you through your eyes as we live day by day throughout the world. God give us ears to hear you. God give us your heart that we may understand and respond in repentant faith in what you call us each to do for your glory. Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you Lord for the little things that we take for granted, for the bread that I ate for lunch today, Jehovah Jirah. You say that the eyes are the lamp of the body, and I pray that eyes would turn away from living for ourselves and to living for you, not having a divided focus, but one-- to bring you glory. Forgive us for selfishness, forgive us when our eyes are focused on ourselves and for any other sin that our hearts may be deceiving ourselves about. Thank you for your mercy and for your grace, and I pray for grace to forgive others and each other in order to live united as one body, the body of Jesus Christ. Blessed are the merciful for they will shown mercy. God protect us in the name of Jesus Christ, as you are always with us, every second of every day, omnipresent all over the world. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever, and to You, Lord, be all the glory forever and ever. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

My God is alive!

Grace

Plants and a cat named Tigger

There are three weeks left here in Marseille, and I've moved from my apartment by the sea to another apartment in the center of town. I am living here for 10 days starting today to take care of a cat and so many potted plants that I can't even count them all. It is a blessing to have an opportunity to serve my boss and his wife while they're out of town, explore this part of town for the next 10 days, and live in such a spacious apartment!

I finally feel like Marseille is becoming more of a second home to me and can't believe that I only have three weeks left here after this weekend. Well, really 2.5 if you subtract the half week that I will be in Paris. Below I recap what's been going on here lately, what's new, etc. which includes updates on the resurrection day dance in Toulouse (city that's 5 hours away by car) and whatever else comes to mind!

A group of 20 or so from my church here went to Toulouse this past weekend in order to participate in a resurrection day dance demonstration. We left at 6 AM on Saturday and it was so much fun just being around everyone-- road trips truly make bonding inevitable, even when everyone is tired. We arrived at the church there and jumped right into practice behind the church. The ground was pretty rocky and not paved, and in my opinion, this ground was not suitable and borderline dangerous to practice a dance on it especially when there is a jump in the routine.

Let's be honest, I was thinking to myself ==wouldn't it be a good idea to impress my new friends by doing a jazz leap for the one part that we all jump off of the ground and throw our hands up. . . so when it came time to run a few steps and jump, i definitely did my leap. I went up and came straight back down onto my bottom. I did the whole "shifty eyes"/hope-nobody-saw-me-fall glance around and got right back into the routine. When it was time to take a break, I went over to stand by everyone trying to play it cool as if nothing had just happened. Little did I know that I'd been walking around playing it cool with this white crumbly rock substance that had smeared all onto the back of my black nike shorts and black leggings. For the rest of Saturday, everyone and especially this youth boy, Maxim, didn't forget to remind me not to fall.

Saturday night, families (members) of the church there volunteered to house us in groups of two and three. My french family was so great! They reminded me so much of a mixture of families from the Living Hopes in B/CS. They also had chickens like the Millers! (my comm group fam at LHBCB) AND they had a rooster. I am convinced that God knew how much I missed going to comm group at the millers and brought me to this family.

Sunday we went to church together and drove back that afternoon. I got home around 7:30 PM and skyped into our first Haiti team meeting at LHBC an hour later.

I am so excited for everything that God will do in Haiti this summer and am in the process of preparing a prayer guide to send out. Please leave me your email address if you'd like to receive a prayer guide and pray for us! I've been emailing back and forth with different people, and I am truly encouraged by all of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I praise God for y'all! Your faith encourages me, and I hope this encouragement is mutual.

In the midst of working, living, and trying to figure out what I will be doing with my life, I am learning to wait on the Lord, to seek Him first on everything, and take everything day by day knowing that God's got everything under control even when different unexpected events leave me momentarily flustered. Flustered yet joyful, broken yet peaceful, weak yet strong.

I am praying for all of you, and I can't wait to see most of y'all very very soon ;)

Love,

Grace

"These are a few of my favorite things!". . .

Yes, fifth grade was a year full of the macarana in P.E., peeing in my pants at recess (or was that 6th grade?), failing to spell rasciocination in the spelling bee and losing (still can't spell it--not that i'm bitter or anything), and watching the sound of music 4 times in music class. So naturally, I start to hum the songs from the movie when I can't think of blog titles.

Sunday I posted that my bus didn't take me to church like usual because of a serious accident on that street. Today I found out that a pedestrian woman, 32 years, and her child, 3 years, in a stroller were hit like bowling pins (direct quote). According to the article, a grey vehicle ran a red light and hit a land rover from a perpendicular angle. The land rover then spun out of control and hit two parked cars, the woman on the pedestrian sidewalk and her child. The women was killed, and the child survived. This accident happened on the street that I usually walk up in order to get to church. This accident happened around 10:30 AM Sunday morning. If I wasn't running late to church that morning, I would've been on that street when the car hit and may have died as well. Crazy.

When I take the metro to work, I have to either climb 101 stair steps to get out of the metro station or take an escalator. I love taking the metro because I love climbing the stairs every morning. It's a great work out!

I do the dishes here once a day, and twice a day on the weekends. A clean kitchen truly is a happy kitchen.

I've been cooking every night, and it has been so much fun. I am experimenting a lot, learning from the ladies at work, and finding joy in cooking from scratch. Tonight I baked a cheesy potato casserole with reblochon cheese. MMM. . it is very tasty.

A co-worker who had been asking about the Bible and more came into my office today and asked me if I pray for people that I don't know personally. I said "yes". And she asked me to pray for her friend who has cancer. Let me say that again. Someone who doesn't believe in Jesus who is afraid for what may happen to her closest friend in the states, came to me knowing what I believe, and asked for prayer for her friend to be healed. She was seriously broken over her friends situation. I wrote down the prayer request, and then asked her if she would be ok if we prayed right there on the spot. We stopped working for a few minutes and prayed this morning. Later on in the day, we talked more about life after death, heaven and hell, I was able to share my faith, and answered more questions; I am praising God for this.

There have been many opportunities for the gospel to be shared, and I want to share all of them with y'all. I will have to share them in person when I return to the states.

Out of all of the people who work at the consulate, a guard named Tom and I are the only believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I found out that Tom is a believer a few days ago, and it was very encouraging. His wife called me tonight and asked me if I would like to spend time with their family, go to their church with them, and have dinner with them soon. Praise God.

I miss everyone and am praying for each of you.

Love,

Grace

Praise God for this Sunday morning!

This morning was crazy. I got ready for church, and took the bus from my house to the old port, where I change buses. I then got on the other bus (2) that drops me off right in front of my church. About halfway to the church, the bus turned in a direction different from its usual route. At this point, I was thinking that maybe the bus is taking a different way, or I have a really bad memory. I decided to wait patiently for my stop while keenly looking out and around at the neighborhoods and surroundings-- trying to recognize anything and everything that I could. I rode this bus around for one hour as it took me into the most "dangerous" neighborhoods (more run down and described by my co-workers as the places that the police don't even like to go). This bus then took me to one of the main roads in Marseille (la Canabiere) and stopped itself there.

It was 11:15 AM, and I was frustrated. I asked the bus driver why he didn't go to my stop. He told me that there was a serious accident on that street, and he could not drive there. So he decided to take a detour that wasn't even close to where I would need to get off, and not tell anyone who got on the bus about this new plan. I would not have gotten on the bus if i knew he wasn't going to go to my stop at all.

He told me to take the metro down to the old port, where I'd gotten on this bus one hour ago, and try another bus. I just sat there and cried. He said that there would probably be no other bus that can go there today. I don't know the town well enough to know how else I could get there without having to walk through some shady areas alone. Also considering that by the time I would be able to get to church, it would be over, I was just frustrated. The service would be over (maybe), but there was actually still a practice afterwards for the resurrection day dance.

I had to make a decision in this moment. I could either go home because it was too late or I could take the metro to the train station and walk through a more dangerous neighborhood alone praying that I wouldn't be attacked. I cried A LOT because I honestly didn't know what to do. I cried because my cowardly flesh just wanted to give up and go home. I cried because I could not bring myself to just go home; I felt like this was a time that called for trusting in the Lord and perseverance. I just cried and prayed for awhile asking God for help and direction.

I began walking towards the metro not knowing which direction I'd end up taking the metro: home or towards church (plan B). I went towards church. I got off at the train station, grabbed a chicken sandwich, and stopped to pray some more. There was a war going on in me.

On the one hand, I was being consumed with fears about getting attacked, getting mugged and having no way to get home since my bus pass would've been stolen, more fears about the fact my phone stopped working this past Friday which means I'd have no way to call 911 in case of an emergency, etc. I had thoughts that it would be wiser to go home since it was late anyways.

On the other hand, I thought it wouldn't be right to go home because of these fears that were fears of things other than God. Going home because of these fears would show God that I am putting Him in a box. If I get attacked, I get attacked, if i die, i die, but I will get to go to heaven. Plus, if someone wants to attack or harass me, I can open up my Bible in hand and share truth with them.

Before I knew it, I was up and walking to the church. I didn't get lost and I was crying like baby the whole way there clenching my Bible in my hand because I was so scared and knew that this was right, which means I also knew that there was no way I was going to just go home.

I got to church and was embarrassed about how late I was; I didn't want to go in because of my pride, and I could've turned back around and gone home from there. However, after pacing around outside of the entrance to the sanctuary for awhile, I took a step inside and was welcomed by my brothers and sisters in Christ there. It was a very difficult step to make, and I was still crying.

This morning was a battle. Lots of crying and praying. I could've literally just stayed at the train station all day long going back and forth on what I should do.

I was undoubtedly spiritually attacked with fear and thoughts of how people may judge my extreme tardiness once I finally arrived to the church enough to make me almost go back home from there. But God did His thing and there I spent the afternoon laughing and being restored in fellowship with my French church family.

Praise God!

Springtime in Marseille and new realizations are blossoming. .

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since my last post, but time has been flying by like a thief in the night. How have y'all been doing? (the other day I said "y'all", naturally, and was asked to repeat the word 3 times as if I was speaking in another language) Please feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment and fill me in on what's going on in YOUR life! I would really love to listen (more like read) and learn about what's going on with you.

I am doing well in Marseille-- really nothing to grumble about as I am taking things day by day. Things like. . . work, pests in my home, new friends, the weather, new adventures, and scraping out my last bit of courage to keep trying at speaking french, etc.

The weather has become absolutely glorious with the sun shining down and a light breeze to keep cool. During the evenings, it is just breathtaking to look out of my window and see the mediterranean look almost like a really large scrunched blue silk dress laid down on the ground with a strip of gold glitter shimmering down on the dress. Then, as the sun continues to set, there are rays of vibrant colors in the sky that are engulfed by a mist that makes the coral/salmon mixture appear soft. Springtime is definitely here! Trees and fields are highlighted with blossoming colorful flowers. Praise God for His creation!

Let's also take a moment to praise God for vacuums! For four weeks, I haven't had a chance to find a solution for the dead bugs that were piling up in my apt, but last week I was able to do a little spring cleaning thanks to this vacuum cleaner that I found. Having a vacuumed apartment made everything 100 times better (for lack of a better word) and more productive, and I realized how much I've taken my parents, grandparents, janitors, etc. who clean for others, for granted. When places have been cleaned for me whether it was at home, hallways at school, public restrooms, the list goes on, I didn't know how much of a difference this job made on the lives of everyone who lives, works, studies, etc. in these places. So THANK YOU to all of the janitors, parents, grandparents, homemakers, etc. out there who clean for all of your hard work. Your work is vital and impacts all of our lives more than you know.

I broke down in tears at the beginning of this week (big surprise, I know) because I was so frustrated with the fact that I am not where i'd like to be with this French language. I've realized that getting the highest grades in my French classes really don't do anything in terms of communicating verbally in French. Through this frustration and the more-often-than-not discouraging responses from the French people, who I've interacted with, God has also been giving my heart the eyes to see, feel, and wear the shoes of an international student in America, and He has brought to my mind, specifically, those international students in the B/CS area that I've gotten to know while working at Loupot's textbook store and eating free meals at the BSM. God is developing in me a passion for international students in the states. My heart can now empathize with the same struggles that any international student in America, who is not so great at speaking english, live with, and I am being equipped with this experience in Marseilles to relate to these students and people. There was one international student who came into the bookstore (where i worked) and could not explain what she needed because she could not speak english very well. I am in tears remembering her discouraged expression as she left because of the frustration of this language barrier between her and all of us at the bookstore (I think that it's one thing to be nice, but another thing to be able to empathize and respond knowing what may be going on inside of the person). I now know exactly how she must've felt. I pray that wherever she is, God will bring encouragement to her.

As I am going through the pains of learning the French language and living in a foreign land for just 10-weeks, I feel like I can better understand my own mother and what makes her the way she is. My mom permanently came to America from Korea when she was in high school to a place that was better than Korea's situation at the time, but to a place that was foreign to her as she had to learn a new language and new ways of living.

Spiritually, I honestly feel like my faith is being tested by being in Marseilles for these 10-weeks. My faith in Christ, apart from B/CS, TX at living hope, is being put to the test here where it is highly rare to find believers. It has been spiritually challenging and there has been a lot of praising God but also a lot of repentance and asking for overwhelming amounts of grace in order to radiate light in this dark town. Praise God for opportunities to share the gospel with people! I'm not kidding you, people would come up to me and flat out ask me about the Bible after seeing scripture on my desk, or start up a conversation about what happens to us after we die. These opportunities were so obviously God's prompting that it is not even funny. While praising God for all of the things written above and more, I often find myself on my knees and in tears being broken over my sin, rejoicing for the praises of each day, and as I intercede for others. It has been humbling and refining.

My experience in going to and getting plugged in at a church here have also opened my eyes to what it is like to be new at a church again. Going to church as a "newcomer", who doesn't know anyone, is not easy regardless of where anyone is in their walk with God, and I am realizing that it is easy to forget (once getting plugged into a body of believers) what it is like to be new. I sure did but was reminded by experiencing this newness all over again. This is a topic to be elaborated on later, but I am also looking forward to returning to the US and using what God has showed me to minister with my heart to newcomers who visit and/or join our church.

I don't know how many words I've already typed, but if a picture is worth 1,000 words, below are 345,456,456 more words ;). Enjoy! (captions are below each photo)

(at the old port where I take the metro to work)

(mediterranean from the street that my apt. is on)

(walkway around the Mediterranean-- love going on runs here)

(view from my apt-- a little blurry because I took this through my window)

(I spy God-- this was early March when the weather wasn't as warm)

(Boat ride around the Calanques)

(Day trip to the city of Cassis)

(with American friends in Cassis)

(Sylvie, Shourouk, and Marie Christine in my office where everyone eats lunch)

(From the top of the Grand Palais in Avignon)

(From the top of the Grand Palais)

(Pont d'Avignon: Bridge of Avignon)

(from the deck below the bridge. . . so glad that this couple decided to re-enact this)

Love y'all,

Grace

If my third week here was a baked potato. . .

It is now the beginning of my fourth week in Marseille, and I can honestly say that I am content here where God has me. As you can read from my previous posts, my first two weeks here were . . normal for anyone who doesn't care for pest control and is immune to loneliness and homesickness. My third week (this past week) here was a major turn around. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this was a major turning point in history like the industrial revolution or the invention of coasters but this past week was a close second.

If my third week here was a baked potato. . from potato shack, it wouldn't be the simple kind with only cheese and bacon bits or the half order, but it would be the intensely loaded full-sized potato blessed with chicken chunks and bbq sauce (feel free to FedEx me a potato). So much has happened this week that I feel it would be a bit much for one post on its own, but I'm going to hit the highs of it all and invite you to ask questions about any or all of it if you would like to know more!

Work has been going well; not because of the work that i am doing but because of the people that i work with! Paulette is my co-worker and is someone who has blessed me so much with her dry sense of humor and encouragement. She kind of craazy-- but in a wonderful way that leads to me find myself frequently in her office just talking about life and work and herman, her stuffed pet hamster (or something) that sits on her desk. I actually began my third week crying in her office Monday morning. Not the dainty tears that softly trickle down your face, but the heaving kind with the staccato inhales that usually happen in triplets. It was truly a good cry. That night I came home, ate dinner, prayed, and went to bed early. Since then, I've been given this indescribable peace and contentment that I am praising God for!

The rest of the week went by like those scooters that zip by me every day, and the days were full of love, great conversations, and grace.

On Tuesday, Marie-Christine who works in the consular section, unexpectedly came to my office in the morning and gave me a huge bottle of water as a gift. She said that this water has Mg in it and is good for women; she said she got it for me because she knows how much I have to go through to get groceries here. We planned to go get lunch together soon.

On Thursday, lots of things happened, but what I want to share is that I met Allen Palermo's French twin. I really hope someone from Living Hope reads this. This man could've been born on the same day and year as Allen and got sent to France upon birth. He seriously was about the same height, had a similar hair color and cut, had similar mannerisms even down to his sense of humor!. . but in French. He is the president of this distinguished association who had their meeting at our consulate and he led the meeting, which is how I picked up on his sense of humor, etc.

On Friday, while i was running some errands on the second floor, Josette said that she had brought enough lunch for two, and that she wanted to share it with me. She has already been so hospitable inviting me over to her home for Sunday brunch, and it was so sweet for her to even think to share her meal with me (which, btw, she is an amazing cook so anything she makes is very delightful). Considering that this is an unpaid internship, I was very thankful to be able to save my coins for lunch this week.

Saturday was the day that I had an opportunity to go to a potluck and fellowship with other "young adults" and youth at my church here. It was so much fun even though there were times when I zoned out because everyone was talking so fast, in French. We ate Mexican food, mmm, which is very rare to find here, prayed, and did a bible study/life application discussion after the fellowship part. It was like comm group! Sara, one of the girls there, drove me home after because we were there past midnight.

Sunday, I went to church and stayed there until 3 PM to practice for the resurrection day dance. It was so much fun! It was so nice to be able to greet people by name after having gotten to know some of them the evening before. I am looking forward to building these relationships and doing life with other Christians while I am here. I also met the worship leader, Patrick, and he allowed me to play on one of the guitars after service. After practice, Sara offered to drive me home again. It was nice not having to take two different buses home in the rain.

I miss you all, and I am praying for you. I ask for your prayers as well. Specifically, God has put going to Haiti on my heart, and after receiving permission from my mom, I am in the process of preparing support letters to send out. There are quite a few challenges with this spiritually, logistically, and financially since I am volunteering abroad, but I pray knowing that God has got this worked out already and ask for your prayers as well.

It has been a pure joy getting to skype in to Shepherd 2 class and prayer class this past week. I felt nourished, renewed, and encouraged being able to be in touch with my living hope family. Praise God for this that with this renewed enthusiasm I may go back out day-by-day during my time here and live out my faith, pray for souls, and glorify God as I encounter the people in my sphere of influence here. I pray for salvation for each of these people and opportunities to share the gospel.

To God be all the glory!

It is now the end of week 2 here in Marseille, and I am beginning to feel more settled here. More familiarity with certain areas, and less paranoia about someone ripping my bag off of my shoulder every time I hear a motorcycle or scooter zipping by. I'm sure you, too, are relieved that I am probably perceived to be more at peace when walking around here rather than someone who has had too much coffee and has to go to the restroom. How dumb to fear anything other than God, anyhow? So what if someone takes my bag? It's just stuff; plus, my passport would be at home, so I would still be able to return to the U.S.

Today, was another day full of grace. Buckets and buckets of grace, God's grace. I went to the same church i went to last week, and it was good. I praise God for Ayshka, who helped me out a lot today. She is the intern at the church, and she is from the UK. She speaks english, french, and italian, and she will be here for her internship with the church until the end of June. What a blessing that God placed her and I here at the same time. She translated some things that I didn't understand, and we exchanged contact information.

After service the "young adultes" had a short meeting to discuss things that are coming up. Next weekend the girls are having a "girls day" and the guys on their own, and for dinner we are all getting together for a potluck at the pastor's house. Some (including myself) are participating in Resurrection Day celebration in Toulouse (another city in the south of France) one weekend in April. I am super pumped about this because what we do is learn a choreographed "dance" routine, more like a workout routine, meet with other French people in front of the capital building in Toulouse, and basically do a demonstration for the rest of the world as all Christians in the south of France come together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Over 200 people have already registered, and I am looking forward to this-- i've never experienced anything like it before! We will probably take the church bus to get there and back, and stay overnight at a church there. This demonstration (for all ages) began in Hungary, and here is a link to see what it will be like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5dSIL358NM&feature=player_embedded

Work is going. I am beginning to identify what things I enjoy doing and what I don't. Through it all, I am learning discipline and humility, so praise God for that! Those two words have loaded explanations in terms of how I am learning each one here, but feel free to ask!

I also took a day trip to the town Cassis yesterday with some new American friends that I made here. They are all students in a study abroad program in Marseille until the end of May. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of walking! We walked 7 or more km just in the walk from the train station to the center of the city and back at the end of the day. Yes, I am a bit sore today, but it's a good kind of sore!

The sun is shining and the rain has gone away for now in Marseille! A few days ago I was able to take a run along the mediterranean in such beautiful weather. I look forward to more of this weather!

I miss you all.

Love,

Grace

Ants almost in my pants!

Sunday morning, I'd missed my alarm, but have no fear! An ant crawling on my arm woke me up instead so that I wouldn't miss church. There were many many ants in my sheets with me, but it was bizarre how there were zero ants on top of my covers, just inside. Other than the one that touched my arm, no other ant was on me; they were all just crawling around me-- crazy. Nonetheless, I did panic. I bolted out of the bed, changed clothes, shook my limbs all about (kind of like in the hokey pokey but exponentially more intense-- it only takes a hundred ants in bed for one to discover that level of intensity i suppose), and then called around to find a solution.

I could've stayed home to deal with the problem more in depth, but missing church was not an option. Not trying to be legalistic; I just wanted to go and worship my Father in Heaven with other believers to honor Him and because I love my God and know He would be pleased. So I left to go to church, but since I'd never been there before and it was windy and rainy. . it took stopping 3 different people for directions, one metro ride, two bus rides, and a little jogging before I found myself at the church. The church is actually called "protestant church peace today" (translated). It was very different, and I just so happened to come on the Sunday where all of the youth, children, etc. groups each led a few songs for worshipping through song. People were allowed to wave around flags during the music part, but of course in the back where it wouldn't be a distraction. I hadn't seen waving flags since I was in my high school marching band, and the colorguard people would prance around with flags and guns. Nonetheless, the service was great. Everything was in French, but I understood most of it! Praise God!

Afterwards, I met with Elizabeth (new friend) who led us to Josette's house for lunch. Josette had a friend in town, and the neighbor's child, Eva, was also there. The five of us had lunch, and oh my goodness, Josette is a wonderful cook! I was overwhelmed by the fact that this lunch was five courses. First, we had pita crackers, tomato basil spread, guacamole with no seasoning (so blended avocado spread), cheese spread. Next, we had salmon with a cheesy cauliflower casserole as a side (it had this special sauce that was amazing), then, we had a salad, and finally, we had such an amazing dessert!! Just imagine the molten chocolate cake at chilis (w/o the icecream on top) this with a half of a pear with this sauce (that i could taste some alcohol in), but so good!

I went home Sunday, moved some of my stuff, and relaxed for the evening.

Today was Monday, and I went to work as usual. Didn't have as much work to do today. It was rainy and cloudy, and according to weather.com it will be this way until Thursday morning. I hope it goes away soon!

Oh and just earlier i found ants in the kitchen of the house i'm staying in for the time being until my apt. is fixed (aka ants are all gone). I am convinced that the ants are just following me-- not to be dramatic or anything ;)

I was frustrated about the ants. The day before I found the ants in my bed, I had seen two ants on the floor and prayed about them that night. The next morning there were hundreds in my bed. So I was frustrated. I didn't understand what was going on. I thought to myself "Have I not repented of something?" "Is the Lord angry with me like he sent the plagues to the Egyptians and even allowed Israelites to die for idolatry/disobedience/etc. in Exodus?" "I know the Lord didn't bring ants, but why did He allow them to come into my bed like that?"

BUT then I began to think:

-I am not an Egyptian in Exodus (non-believer)

-I am not the same as the Israelites in Exodus because though they were the Lord's people, they had the veil/curtain in the tabernacle God had them build and in their relationship with God. Whereas, I am a Lord's person, but I am now also God's daughter who he loves. Because Jesus came and shed blood on the cross for my sins, there is no veil/curtain. It has been torn, I have been reconciled to God and been made righteous in His eyes because of my faith in Jesus, and I can now call God "Abba".

- I cannot repent more or less, do any work, etc. in order for God to love me more or less. God's love is extravagant. And love doesn't mean "good things only", it also means suffering, trials, and discipline.

- He says that he will not leave us nor forsake us.

After one day, I realized that I was asking the wrong questions. Instead of asking "why is this happening", I should be asking "How can I glorify God in this situation?". And I say this all the time, but when I was put into a situation to live out what I say (which is that I should ask how and not why), I forgot that which I used to say to myself and even tell other people. Bottom line is that it doesn't matter why or how the ant situation happened. It really is true that we really don't know what can happen tomorrow or the next day. Bottom line is being joyful, praying, and giving thanks in whatever circumstance. Living a life that is worthy of the gospel no matter what happens. So if the ants come again, so be it; i'll just wash them off. Creepy and disgusting ants will not keep me from praising my God. I say all of these things sincerely from my heart. Y'all stand by me though, watch me, and keep me accountable as I report to y'all how I act in whatever may come my way in the next nine weeks here.

My internet may be limited after tomorrow, so I don't know how much more often I will post. I will keep y'all posted. Everyone have a wonderful day! God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. (like they would say in Malawi) :)

Love,

Grace

So we meet again. . wireless internet

Bonjour tout le monde!

How is everyone doing?!? Moi, I am better than I've been doing during the first couple of days here. I have wireless internet connection this weekend, but it is still up in the air whether I will have it after Sunday, just fyi.

My first week here has been very routine. I am now taking the bus to and fro work, and i've found that if i don't catch the super early bus to get me to work super early-- it will take me 30 minutes instead of 12 minutes or i will be late or both.

The first couple of nights I woke up around 2 AM and wasn't able to go back to sleep (due to jet lag), so i'd stay up all night and then go to work at 8 AM. Tues and Wed. I really almost passed out at my desk after lunch because of this lack of sleep, so on those days I would have to take my heels off, assume a plank position, and do 20 push ups under my desk to wake myself up-- in sets of 10 of course :) I am now sleeping during the night. Praise God!

The work has been great! Yesterday, was Friday, and I'd been dressing up business professional just without the suit jacket, but for some reason on Friday i decided to be a little more casual and wear a sweater dress and my snow boots because my calves were sore from wearing heels all week. I got to work around 9 AM, began finishing up some articles, and at 10:15 AM, one of my co-workers at the consulate came in and said "Grace, let's go, get in the van!". . I was thinking. . . [why is she telling me to get in a van?]. . . , but i threw my jacket on, grabbed my stuff and briskly walked out to this van where four other ladies that work at the consulate were waiting. We jumped into the van and Plamen (our driver) drove us to a little town outside of Marseille, Cassis. IT WAS BEAUTFUL! Like what you would see "little french towns" to be in the movies! So vibrant, quaint, and relaxing!

Turns out that our acting consul Richards, was receiving a medal from the mayor of Cassis that morning, so we took the morning off to go and surprise him by being there for this honor. We went into one of the houses there where they'd set up hors-d'oeuvres, wine and other drinks, and some chairs. There was the cutest and most exciting market right outside that I am determined to go back and visit during my spare time one weekend in April (i'll take more Pics of the town of Cassis then). Anyways, because i didn't know about this "surprise" trip to Cassis, I was not dressed appropriately! Everyone was in their best suit, and even women were dressed in suit jackets and heels even with dresses on. They awarded Philip with the medal and then everyone began to mingle. Most everyone seemed to know each other. Most were French and some Americans. If y'all know me, and know how awkward I can be even around my closest friends, just imagine what this social gathering/cocktail situation would've been like for me. Yes, I mostly stood by the table with the food-- the shrimp was delish. and since i don't drink, i had two glasses of orange juice. I did get to meet Doug, who works in the NCIS dept. of our consulate, and the directors of the camargo foundation founded by an American and based out of this town, Cassis; one of them def. flashed the longhorn symbol with his hand when i said i was from TX. Unfortunately, I didn't hiss like I normally don't, and he knew I was an Aggie by the end of our conversation. I also met the lawyer of the foundation, Ron, and he was just delightful.

We got back around 1 PM, and i worked in my office for the rest of the day. After work, I went with Josette, public affairs, to her house and met the study abroad student, who is staying at Josette's house. Elizabeth and her friend from CSU, who was visiting (Alexandre), were awesome. I spent Friday night going around the town with them and 5 other people from their program. After dinner, I caught my bus, missed my stop, found a taxi, and came home.

I've been lonely and almost depressed being alone here. I am the only intern, which means everyone else that i work with are definitely a lot older than me and most have their own families. And other than my boss, the consul, there are no other Americans. However, after much prayer and "me time", God has been providing opportunities to meet friends like last night! Praise God! I also found a baptist church! I will be going to service on Sunday and am SO excited to find fellowship and a time to worship with other believers.

My prayer request would be to find fellowship. To be protected from spiritual attacks in terms of fear of anything other than God. I am finding that it takes a lot more courage to explore and venture out into the city all alone. Praying for this courage to get out and explore. Pray for humility and courage (again) to try to speak french more confidently-- how can we get better at a language if we don't try and make mistakes, right? Pride has definitely got in the way this week.

Praise God for boldness. At dinner with all those new friends last night, it was obvious that most seemed to either not believe or they are not living out their faith considering talk about going out to do certain activities. Knowing this, when they asked me what I was doing this weekend, I, Grace Hojin Hwang, in my flesh, confess to you right now that I did not want to talk about how excited I was to go to this church service on Sunday because I was afraid of rejection (considering how lonely i'd been all week); nonetheless, by God's grace, I talked about church! and I talked about LHBCB and the ministries that God is at work in! and I shared my faith as God also allowed me to bring up Malawi!

I don't know if i'll see them again, but Praise God for boldness and for an unwavering faith in this situation. Our faith isn't a one time "done deal" type of thing. Living it out requires us to put on the armor of God DAILY. Choose to follow God in every situation, in every second of every decision of every day. It is a battle that we must fight 24/7. And fighting means that we are not idle, sitting back just going with the flow of this world, finding pleasure for ourselves in whatever, making choices to feel good and do what we want. Fighting means seeking and pursuing the Lord every day, it means us stopping and not thinking about ourselves for once, for just one minute (and for the next minute and so on) and setting our eyes on Him, that we may be equipped every second of every day to choose Him, follow Him, and be used for His Kingdom and glory here on Earth. And yes, we are all going to mess up, but there is grace. By actively and sincerely pursuing God every day, He allows us to see through His eyes more and more in different and even the same type of situations that come into our lives and gives us the power to say no to ungodliness, to kick away sin that we maybe used to have more than less trouble kicking away as we are refined into being more like Christ in this process called sanctification. God is so good, and the Holy Spirit definitely didn't let me in my flesh and desire for acceptance not be true to who God his molding me to be in Christ! To God be all the glory!

Jess- I miss you too, and i, too, wish that that was me in the car that you saw! Feel free to fill me in on what's going on with you! I want to know how you're doing!

Sarah- It is truly weird having a room, an apt., to myself! I wish you were here or i was there still. It's ok though because God has a plan, and I will definitely see you at your wedding/house in 9 weeks!!! I love you and want to know how you're doing as well!!

I am praying for you all. Friends, family (including my church family), and all brothers and sisters in Christ. It brings me joy and encouragement to know that we share in this inheritance, and God is bringing y'all up as I pray and keep myself updated on the City and email. Thanks be to God for you all, and I cannot wait to see you all again soon!

Love,

Grace

Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever."

First Update from France

Howdy all!

I am in Marseille, France, and honestly, i am just trying to get settled. There is no wireless internet signal that will reach my apartment, so as of right now we are working on a solution to try to get me a signal. I am hoping we can get the connectivity going soon in order to be able to research some of the things that we are working on at the consulate during my spare time, but also to skype and keep in touch with all of you that are at home :)

I will be taking a bus to and fro the consulate general, and tomorrow is the first day that i will get a chance to figure that out. Still no phone or bus pass, but everything is just taking some time to get going. Today, Plamen picked me up from my apartment and took me to work, and I met everyone, who works at the consulate general. I was disappointed because i didn't really get to do any work today, but I am excited about helping Sandrine with a project tomorrow! I know, I am weird, but it seriously stresses me out sometimes when there is nothing to work on or be busy with. God has been working on me on this, so this past semester and year, i've been able to be more flexible for Him to really move in and through me. I am praying that He be glorified here in Marseille, and reach the hearts of those that I have and will encounter. Hopefully, this will include some exciting projects to work on!

The flights over here were, to be optimistic, quite interesting-- I've never had such an experience on any flight. Well, this is only my third time on an international flight, but oooooo girl (or guy) let me tell you! On my first flight, which was 9 hours long, I did not sleep. There was a man sitting in the row behind me and one chair over, who became severely intoxicated and began to (a) smell like alcohol that my nose could detect from my seat without any effort of my own and (b) be aggressive in the way he acted and talked to the flight attendants. He actually got into more than one yelling argument right above my head, and this went on for the "lights out, sleeping" part of the flight. At one point I just began to pray that God would save souls on this plane because I thought this man may attack people, and maybe the captain who said he could purchase no more alcohol. He fell asleep for a little while later on the flight, and that's when the two boys, 10 and 7 years maybe, who were sitting next to me began to play a game without the sounds muted. They were going to the grandparents in the UK, and unaccompanied by their parents. They were moved to other seats near the front, so that they could exit first, which gave me an entire row all to myself. I laid down to get some sleep, and then they turned all of the lights on and began to serve breakfast. Mmmmm breakfast, but at that point i just wanted to lay on my muffin and sleep.

I am having to catch a wireless signal outside to post this and am getting very cold. The weather here is about 50-60 degrees F and maybe colder than that at night. Not too shabby, but still a little colder than I would prefer. The view, however, is amazing! Praise God for His creation! Pictures to come soon. Thank you for your comments, and feel free to keep them coming! I praise God for all of you and the encouragement you are to me. I hope that I will be able to encourage you and serve you in some way through these posts. I love and miss you all!

Grace

I'm leaving on a jet plane. . in T-4 DAYS!

Ready or not, Marseille here I come! I cannot even begin to explain the emotions that are running around in my heart and mind right now about spending the next 10-weeks of life in Marseille, France. If i had to choose three words to describe my heart at the moment, they would be excited, anxious, super-pumped (i'm just gonna make this one word). I cannot predict what is to come in the next 10-weeks much like the weather in CS, and this is exciting in an adventurous kind of way but also nerve-wrecking! I've memorized Philippians 4:4-9 this week, and plan on repeating this to myself as I fly to France and when I arrive there.

(Paul writes)

"Rejoice in the Lord always, i will say it again, rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is righteous, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. What you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

I look forward to updating y'all as I live in Marseille for the next 10-weeks. Feel free to comment and update me on what is going in your life because I'd love to hear about what you may be going through! I will miss everyone dearly and am praying for each of you.

Love,

Grace