C'est La Vie...

Bonjour Mona Lisa!

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Versailles

I feel so blessed to be able to travel the world while living in London for a year. God is so good for providing! I've always dreamed of visiting 'the city of love' after taking French for 3 years...it finally came in handy! So amazing to see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame in person. Ashley (volunteer from Scotland) and I took the Eurostar from London to Paris...only 2 hours! We met up with our French friend Mathilde and stayed with her close to the city. You'll never run out of things to do in the city...I hope to return someday :) C'est très bien...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Psalm 142

I was reading "Our Daily Bread" devotional and found this passage so encouraging...
"When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path." -Psalm 142:3

"Sometimes the path of life seems impossibly steep and lengthy. I have no strength and no will for the journey. Then I remember God knew this path long before I was called to walk in it. He has always known the difficulties I would experience, the pain that I could never explain to another. He knows and offers His presence.

Perhaps you're overwhelmed with sadness today. "Surely" you say,  "God would not have me walk this way. There must be another, easier path for me to travel." However, are any of us wise enough to know that some other way would make us into better and wiser children? No, our Father in heaven knows the best path, out of all possible paths, to bring us to completion.

His ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts higher than our thoughts (As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.-Isaiah 55:9) We can humbly take the path He has marked out for us today, and do so in absolute trust in His infinite wisdom and love. He is wiser and more loving than we can ever know. He who sees has foreseen and will not lead us astray."

God will never lead you down a wrong path. 

Recipe of the Week: Vegetable Quiche

While I was staying in France with mon amie, Mathilde, we had a 4 course meal inspired by Southern French cuisine. The meal included: gaspacho, paté with foie gras (very interesting), tarte aux légumes, et mousse au chocolat!

Thought I'd share the recipe for Tarte aux légumes (vegetable quiche)...very simple! C'est trés bien!

- 1 pastry (you can also make it yourself)
- some vegetables (2 eggplants and 1 zucchini, but you can do it with more zucchini or with carrots)
-250mL of evaporated milk" or "crème fraiche"
 - 2 beaten eggs
-some cream cheese or goat's cheese (optional)
- grated cheese

Cook the vegetables separately. Put the pastry on a pan, then the vegetables on the pastry. Mix the milk or cream with the beaten eggs and cream cheese, (+ salt and pepper) and cover the vegetables with this preparation. Then, put some grated cheese on the top, and bake it on the oven (thermostat 7), until it's a litte toasted.

Bon appétit !

Happy Father's Day

Here's my Dad at the Notre Dame 27 years ago...while I was in Paris, I decided to re-live the memory. :) What would I do without my dad? Thank you for your love, support, and encouraging me to travel the world.

Psalm 37

My mentor shared this Psalm with me as I've been praying for direction with my future career...I hope this encourages you too:

Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Recipe of the Week: Rhubarb Crumble

I made my homestay and a few friends a delicious meal the other day...chili, cornbread, and rhubarb crumble! I love chili and cornbread on a rainy day...it was their first time trying cornbread! Guess it's an American thing. Here's the recipe for the crumble:

Ingredients

• 8 sticks of rhubarb
• 4 tbsp water
• 8 tbsp caster sugar
• 110g/4oz butter, softened
• 110g/4oz demerara sugar
• 180-200g/6-7oz flour

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
2. Cut the rhubarb into 3in long sticks and place on an oven tray, sprinkle with the water and caster sugar and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
3. Rub the butter into the flour and sugar to make the crumble topping. Sprinkle over the rhubarb and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the crumble topping is crisp and golden-brown and the rhubarb filling has softened and is bubbling.
4. Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving with vanilla ice cream.

Queen's Jubilee Party

What a lovely day celebrating 60 years of the Queen's reign! Even though the weather was dreadful, we had a great time inside the church with face-painting, bunting, boat making, crown making, taking pictures with the Queen (cardboard version), watching the pageant on the big screen, and drinking tea/eating loads of cake. The British know how to party! We also had a Gideons table giving out free Bibles...I pray the community was blessed and will continue to come to our outreach events for the rest of the year!

 God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble Queen
God save the Queen
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God save the Queen

Summer

Here comes the summer! I can't believe it's already June. Nine months have rolled by. So thankful for a good week in Harrogate at the New Wine Leader's conference...listened to good teaching by Alan Hirsch (a well known speaker in America), fellowship at the pubs, good eats out, and bonded with our church staff. It's always nice to get away to the country for a few days...I've missed the green and rolling hills.

On Thursday, I spoke for the first time at youth group and went really well...thank you for your prayers! The topic was overcoming image and how we can learn from the book of Esther. We need to strive for inner beauty, not how the world defines "beauty." "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. -1 Samuel 16:7 
We are all fearfully and wonderfully made...made in His image (Psalm 139:14) He made each of us out of a place of respect, reverence and interest. We are each unique...there will never be another you!
I love the book of Esther...even though she was beautiful, she had an inner beauty of courage and obedience to stand up for her people! "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."-Esther 4:16 May God give us courage in tough situations and the boldness to step out of our comfort zones.

I will miss you YWAM team...representing America and Canada! Keep being a blessing to the nations...

Eating ice cream on a perfect sunny day in Harrogate

My fellow interns...Tom, Tanya, and Jonatan...you guys are the best!

Betty's Tea room...yum.

Exploring with my British friend Lisselle!