A very good Sunday.....(July 20, 2008)


This morning I awoke to fresh mountain showers that varied from sprinkles to thunderstorms throughout the day. Allison (California) and I had plans to meet at 9 a.m. to go to church. We took the tram, and arrived precisely à l'heure (on time). The pastor was happy to see me again, and welcomed us very warmly, promising to try to speak slowly when he delivered his sermon.

This week we sang with the piano and drums. You'd be surprised how much a set of drums can add to even a standard hymn sung from a hymnal! The pastor delivered a very good sermon from Psalm 121, and we had communion. I quickly remembered that when French people serve communion, they form a circle and share a common cup of wine. They also sing "What A Friend We Have in Jesus" a capella.

When I was in France in 1973 as a student missionary on the music team, we sang a song that became one of my favorites. It comes from Isaiah 54:10 (Though the mountains fall away and the hills topple, God's love will never desert you.) It was one of my favorite songs, and 35 years later I can still sing it from memory. You cannot imagine how I felt when we sang that song today at the end of the sermon! It was a real déjà vu experience!

After church it was pouring. Allison and I waited for a slight break in the rain, and then started the 10-minute walk to the tram stop. We had plans to meet Mary (Alaska) in town for lunch. A sweet little old man from the church saw us walking and turned around to pick us up and give us a ride to the tram stop! Mary elected not to come into town because of the storms, so Allison and set out to find a place to eat lunch. I am under strict orders from Whitney to eat raclette and tartiflette before leaving, and I also would like to eat some couscous. So Allison and I found a really cute little restaurant and ordered raclette.

Talk about the ultimate comfort food! Once you've tasted raclette cheese, you'll never be satisfied with Velveeta again! I hope they have it at Market Street, because I want to try making macaroni and cheese with it! The melted raclette is eaten with boiled potatoes, cold meats and pickles. Of course they also served salad and bread.

After lunch Allison returned to campus, and I set out to see the Musée Daulphinois. One of my professors had told us that we must see that museum. It is a museum set in a 12th century convent, pertaining to life in this region. There was a great exhibit about the people of the Alps, showing how they lived, their tools, etc. Several French parents were there with their little children. It reminded me a bit of the TTU Ranching Heritage Center. There was also an exhibit about the history of skiing, which was interesting as well. It was a great time to be inside, because it was pouring rain outside! But when I left the museum, the sun was coming out. I set out next to find the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation. The nice thing about the museums is that they are (1) open on Sundays, and (2) free on Sundays! The Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation was very interesting, educational, and well-done. It reminded me of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. I found it interesting that most of the "resistors" in the beginning were high school students and their teachers!




I am now back in my room for the evening. I certainly don't need to eat dinner after my raclette splurge at lunch! I do have a couple of interesting observations to note, however.

(1) I have faithfully validated my tram ticket every time I have ridden the tram, and until today have never seen a "controleur". (If you get caught riding the tram without a validated ticket, you pay a hefty fine.) This morning about five controleurs got on the tram that Allison and I were on. Allison was holding her ticket, but since no one ever checks, I also put mine back in my wallet. I guess they thought I looked suspicious, because they checked Allison's ticket and then asked to see mine. I was already in the process of producing it. Of course it was perfectly fine....validated and all. But they didn't even ask anyone else to see their tickets! We can't figure out why they singled us out! If they were "profiling", it didn't work!


(2) After church, a man on the tram heard us speaking English. He got off at the same stop as we, and asked if we were Americans. We said yes, and although he was very hard to understand, we think he said something about spending some time in America and liking it, but that our government stinks! Now I ask you, would you ever tell a complete stranger in a foreign country that his government stinks? Americans are more polite than that! We had such a hard time understanding him that we didn't even dignify his remark with a response.


All for now.....I am realizing that I need to make the most of this week, as by this time next Sunday I will be flying home!