La grande roue de Paris

A few pictures of our big family outing.

Greetings from Toulouse

Ruth and I, along with the Coles, attended the Baptist church in Toulouse on Sunday morning. There was a good crowd of more than 100. It was my first time to ever return since we moved away from the city. The only two people I recognized were Muriel and Michelle. Michelle's two children were also there that morning. Her son Benjamin is married with children and an integral part of the church. Mmes Monzon and Prukop were on the prayer list, but I did not see them. Both Muriel and Michelle send their greetings to the whole family. It was good to see God's preserving grace.

Saying goodbye to Papi

Because of "la grève," Papi got off a day late for his trip up north to teach at the Bible institute. Miriam got a field trip to the train station out of it.

Anniversary trip to Scotland

Had a fabulous time on our 10th anniversary trip to Scotland. Here's a link to the pictures of our trip.

EVIAN!

Dad booked a hotel on internet yesterday for us to stay on our way to Nati's wedding. It turns out to be on a walking street in Evian, France--right on Lake Geneva. Here are just a few shots of the hotel, our dinner "by the lake" (and sharing it with friends :-), the Sequoia trees along the shore, and of course, the office of "Evian" water. More later.

Ohio Visits!

While we were in Ohio, we were able to stop by and have supper with Dale, Madeline and Jacob (the other 3 kids are at BJU). It was great to see them again and catch up on news.



The next day, we went to see Aunt Mary. She was as bright and cheery as ever. She had a mini-stroke last June but is doing very well. She is 95 years old. Looks like Grandma Bixby, huh? She reminds me of her too in some of her expressions-- especially "Well, let me see...".






From her house we went to see the Wagners (Betsy's parents) and had a great time with them. We forgot to get a picture. Then it was off to Findlay where we enjoyed staying with the Kalmbachs (part of the family on lower right) during the mission's conference. We weren't too great at getting pictures but I did remember to get one of Christy and her family for Donna (Christy taught in Germany with Donna many years ago and they go to Calvary!) And Pastor and Mrs Carroll. You kids will remember him as the pastor of Tabernacle in Wilson, NC and the man who gave you gum!! He had recently had a stroke so couldn't come to church so we went to the house to see them. In all, we had a great week in Ohio.

St. Louis

Finding we had some unexpected "free" time on our hands, we went on Priceline and got a hotel for 2 nights in St. Louis. We were surprised that we got a "long stay" Marriott Residence (small studio) but we didn't complain. We have had a good time and are now packing up to head to Arkansas. Sure wish some of the rest of you would blog!! We miss you :-)

Visiting the French grandchildren

This is Dad. I've really had a wonderful time with Tim and Ruth and my precious grandchildren. That is the special bonus. I'm here for Marcelle, and have spent a good bit of time with her. There is no doubt that the Lord wanted me her at this time, and I'm grateful, but I'm looking forward to being back with Mom. And, getting on with our responsibilities there in the states so that we can get back here to the ministry. But I hate leaving Micaiah and Miriam. I felt we'd bonded last time, but I've really it this time. It has been merveilleux.

With the Cheloudtchenkos

We thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit with the Cheloudtchenkos last Wednesday. We arrived just before lunch time, having brought the meal with us. JJ and Valerie were still at the hospital at that point, having had to go in that morning because of a high fever the day before. Though at first it was uncertain whether JJ was going to be allowed to leave the hospital, after a round of tests they sent him home, and we were able to spend the rest of the afternoon together.

We had a great time just visiting and chatting. Valerie's aunt, Erica Cropsey, was there as well, as she is with them helping out for about five weeks. The kids especially had a blast together. They played and played and played outside, making "chicken pot pie" in the sand (that was the meal we had brought along), building tents with a tarp, playing ball, and everything else imaginable. Because of JJ's current health situation, the family is somewhat isolated from any sort of regular fellowship with any other believers, so we determined to try to visit again soon.

On the way back home, we took a brief excursion through Biarritz. Being that it's still high vacation time in France, Biarritz was hopping, and so we didn't hang out there for long. But we did stop for just a minute to take these scenic pics.

Creation Museum

Mom and Dad and Tsiry stopped at the Creation Museum on their way back down south. They thoroughly enjoyed their visit, and I think it was a great experience for Tsiry to see such a large place so professional yet promoting creation and the gospel. (Mom asked me to blog and we're watching a dumb Hallmark movie, so blogging, I am!)

Travels have begun!

Mom and Dad's furlough travels have begun and Dad likes the speed he can go in the new car...oh, no, sorry that isn't the point!!
Notice that the car turned over to 200000!! Thankfully the motor is new!

Visit to Rockford

This is a bit late, but we wanted to share some of the joys we had during our all-too-brief visit to Rockford, IL. It lasted only one night and part of two days. Patience was recovering from sickness, but she was sweet and happy as usual, and it gave her one more excuse to stay home from school and visit with us. We also enjoyed a not-baby-any-more Corban--energetic yet very sweet.

Thank you Rockford Bixbys for letting us crash in on you! We are sad that we won't get to see you again (or our family north of you) before we leave for France in June.

Our visits with Nati, Gina and Laetitia

The weekend we were gone was special as we were able to spend some time with some special people. We weren't at the Guetli long, but we did squeeze in a little tête-a-tête or two! We enjoyed seeing several old friends besides Nati. From there we went to Basel to see Gina. She fixed us a delicious Swiss meal and we chatted for a couple of hours. Then off to Geneva. Laetitia actually lives on the French side of the border. We had a great time with her and even did some sightseeing. I didn't edit the pictures, so there are a lot that you can look through! Just click here.

Germany-- Part 2

The first afternoon almost everyone went sightseeing in Fulda-- a beautiful town about 30 minutes from the place where we were staying. It is the center of catholicism even today. It was a perfect day for being outside. If you want to see more pictures go here. I uploaded some more pictures of conference, too, if you are interested.

Germany-- Part 1

Here are just a few shots of our time at the Germany Field Team Conference. The second picture on top you can see the Youth Hostel in the back. Beautiful facilities. The bottom right corner is the group picture. The others are just some shots of the things that we did. It was very well organized, but also very relaxed. More to come...

Our Christmas tree

Monday, after we got home from Raleigh, we braved the cold and drove out to the woods of Home Depot and bought us a real, genuine, Fraser Fir Tree. We then had a good time as a family setting it up in the parsonage. Check here to see news about our time in North Carolina.

Traveling West on I-10

In western Texas

Along the border with Mexico in El Paso (notice the fence)

In southern New Mexico

In Arizona

Excursion to Quebec

Last week we received the unexpected opportunity to visit with some friends in Quebec. Ever since we knew we were coming to the New England area, we had toyed with the idea of going into Canada. At a missions conference in the beginning of April, we met the Rousseau family, home missionaries to St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Since we didn't have a meeting last Wednesday, and since we were going to be visiting with Chris & Lydia Bixby in Vermont (more on that later), we contacted them about the possibility of heading up to Canada for a brief visit with them. The Rousseaus graciously invited us to spend some time with us, and insisted on taking us the two hours further from their place up to Quebec City. It was a strange feeling to drive to a city on this side of the ocean that speaks only French! Quebec City has a very European feel to it. We really enjoyed being there. Tim also had the opportunity to preach in French last Wednesday evening at L'Église Baptiste Maranatha. It was a great experience. Click here to see a web album of pictures from our visit to Quebec.