Autumn in Chambery

Well fall is in almost full swing here in Chambery. It's actually been quite temperate here, but some days have been a little crisp. I thought I'd include a little picture journal of our last few months here. Enjoy!

September: This picture is of me, Margit and Judith in Valence. Valence is a pretty little town about two hours south west of Chambery, by car. After Judith left IFALPES, she went to work at a camp just outside of Valence run by other Dutch people. When Rob was in the states in September, Margit and I went to visit her in Valence. We're pictured here eating at a little cafe. She's back in Holland now, and I really wish she were still here. She is a great friend and really fun to be with.

October: The picture to the right is of Brian and Becky Schrader, and their 4 month old son, Seth. Brian and Becky visited our team for a week for a sort of two-way interview. They have applied to join our team going to Chad! How Pioneers works is that, after applying to the organization, you can apply to join a specific team. They have applied to ours and now it is up to us to discern if they are a good fit with the team. Brian and Becky currently live in Illinois where Brian is a P.A. (Physician's Assistant) and Becky is a Veterinarian. Their newest addition, Seth, is pictured here, and they also have a 2 year old daughter, named Eden. They have a big heart for missions and for Chad. We had a lot of fun with them while they were here, and are really excited about the possibility of them joining our team in the near future. If they are accepted, they are planning on moving to Chambery for language school in about a year.

October: Our camera was a little fuzzy this day, but you can still see some of the beauty surrounding us on this hike. Yes! I said hike! Some of you know that I haven't been able to do a lot of physical activity in the last few months because of my knee injury in London. Weight bearing exercise (like climbing and descending) are difficult. I really wanted to be able to go on this hike, and so we found a way to drive nearly to the top of the mountain and do a fairly flat hike to the peak. With the help of my wonderful husband and two giant walking sticks I managed my way to the top. Don't mind the fact the Jocelyn, the McKenzie's 2-year old daughter beat me there! Anyway, in this picture (right) you see the "Dent du Chad" (Tooth of the Cat), as it is called. You can actually continue on the hike to get to that "dent" behind me, but it requires a lot more work, steep cliffs on either side of you, and at times, pulling yourself up by ropes...I didn't think I was quite up for that yet....Maybe next week! You can see some of the beautiful changing leaves from the picture on the left above; it was really beautiful. Click on the link to the left to see Stephen McKenzie's pictures of the hike, too.

Okay, it's a little out of focus, but the platform that I'm standing on, is at the top of a ramp where the people stand to go paragliding (jumping off the side of the mountain with a parachute on). At the end of that ramp is nothing, just the open air. Rob wanted me to stand closer to the edge for a better picture, but I said no way! Paragliding is really popular around here, on any clear day, you are bound to see little colored dots all throughout the sky next to all the mountains. Being at the top of this ramp confirmed my decision to never do it!

Until Next Time!