Our granddaughter, Gabrielle, chose "Paris" for the theme of her 10th birthday party last November, so I had to think about her a lot as we landed this morning. The airport is huge and classy. There are lots of vending machines that dispense expresso coffees, and pastry shoppes -- of course. It has colorful posters that invite to the city. I took several pictures but I can't manage to get my i-phone on line so I can't send them yet.
We haven't been through the Charles de Gaulle Airport very often because when we lived in Portugal we would drive to France, or from Romania to France, not fly.
The last time I was here was harrowing. My friend, Linda Braaten, missionary in South Africa and I were on a plane from JoBurg to Paris with most of the delegation of Africans going to the Theological Conference in Guatemala. When we got to Paris, our African friends were not warmly welcomed. They had to submit to so many questions that a few missed our flight to Miami. The authorities told Linda and me that we had to proceed without them. A few were on the plane leaving France, only to be detained in Miami for lack of a transit visa. Several of our sweet, pure African theologians overnighted in a hotel in Miami -- under police guard! Our dear Filimao Chambo had TWO police outside his room. We guessed he seemed to be the leader. They finally made it to Guatemala in good spirits but disappointed that they had missed part of it.
We have new friends who live next door to us in Federal Way, Caryn & Mike Boyle. She is doing us the big favor of gathering our mail and keeping an eye on our house. If I read the park bulletin correctly, her birthday is today. Happy birthday, Caryn, if you are reading this.
I'm reading a great little book about Gen Xers. In this capital of post-modernism, I read "The postmodern mind, an outgrowth of the secularization of Western culture, takes God and transcendence out of life." One of the essays goes on to say, "We Xers invest time and energy in causes that impact us personally. If the church does not meet our needs or address our present situation, it is deemed irrelevant, unworthy to be invested in, and outdated"...
The essay ends, "The call to faith in Jesus Christ must continue to be spoken with courage, insight and power...we should not be ashamed of the gospel demanding too much' (D Ackerman).
"Here, here" I would agree. Or "hear, hear" is what I need.
Our granddaughter, Gabrielle, chose "Paris" for the theme of her 10th birthday party last November, so I had to think about her a lot as we landed this morning. The airport is huge and classy. There are lots of vending machines that dispense expresso coffees, and pastry shoppes -- of course. It has colorful posters that invite to the city. I took several pictures but I can't manage to get my i-phone on line so I can't send them yet.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't been through the Charles de Gaulle Airport very often because when we lived in Portugal we would drive to France, or from Romania to France, not fly.
The last time I was here was harrowing. My friend, Linda Braaten, missionary in South Africa and I were on a plane from JoBurg to Paris with most of the delegation of Africans going to the Theological Conference in Guatemala. When we got to Paris, our African friends were not warmly welcomed. They had to submit to so many questions that a few missed our flight to Miami. The authorities told Linda and me that we had to proceed without them. A few were on the plane leaving France, only to be detained in Miami for lack of a transit visa. Several of our sweet, pure African theologians overnighted in a hotel in Miami -- under police guard! Our dear Filimao Chambo had TWO police outside his room. We guessed he seemed to be the leader. They finally made it to Guatemala in good spirits but disappointed that they had missed part of it.
We have new friends who live next door to us in Federal Way, Caryn & Mike Boyle. She is doing us the big favor of gathering our mail and keeping an eye on our house. If I read the park bulletin correctly, her birthday is today. Happy birthday, Caryn, if you are reading this.
I'm reading a great little book about Gen Xers. In this capital of post-modernism, I read "The postmodern mind, an outgrowth of the secularization of Western culture, takes God and transcendence out of life." One of the essays goes on to say, "We Xers invest time and energy in causes that impact us personally. If the church does not meet our needs or address our present situation, it is deemed irrelevant, unworthy to be invested in, and outdated"...
The essay ends, "The call to faith in Jesus Christ must continue to be spoken with courage, insight and power...we should not be ashamed of the gospel demanding too much' (D Ackerman).
"Here, here" I would agree. Or "hear, hear" is what I need.