Bon jour à tous!
Many greetings to you from Frode in Paris. As you know I am here to study French before going to Mali as a missionary among the fulani-people. I am studying at a Christian language school in Massy, a suburb just south of Paris.
I feel blessed to be at this school. We are abot 45 students here from many parts of the world. The majority come from North America and Great Britain, but there are also people from Germany, Norway, Hungary, South Corea, China and Brazil. Just as in BIC we experience that we are one in the Lord, despite our different backgrounds. Most of the students are or will become missionaries. In my class I have people who have been missionaries in the jungle in Ecuadore, and people who have been tentmakers in « closed » arab countries. Some of my classmates are becoming missionaries in France, others in North Africa, and others again in Francophone West Africa, like myself. So it is a very inspiring groupt to be part of, and I have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of many people. So it is a privilege to be a student here.
The biggest challenge is off course French. The language, that is. Spoken French is a little bit like mashed potatoes: you smash the words together so that each individual word dissappear. It's a little bit like magic, how those words disappear. Those of you who remember what it is like to learn a new language knows that it can feel almost like becoming a child again. It is difficult to express yourself, to participate in conversations and to contribute in meaningful ways. Linguistically I think I am at about the same level as my 3 year old « nevô » in Norway: an interesting experience. But at the same time it is encouraging to experience that day by day more and more of the mashed potatoes start to make sense. In my situation I find that patience and faithfullness in the studies is important. In Psalm 4,4 God reminds us that « The lord does miracles for the one who is faithfull to him ». I think this applies for all areas of life, also in studying language. My job is to be faithfull in my studies, and than even mashed potatoes will eventually start to speak. In your life there might be other things you need to be faithful about and than see how God can change situations.
I hope everything is well with you in BIC. I pray for you, and look forward to see you during the autumn-break. I am also grateful that you pray for me. In the future I hope to make a blog that we can link to the BIC-home page. But for now here are some prayer points:
GIVE THANKS FOR:
Les Cédres, students and staff and the fellowship we have.
PRAY FOR:
The ministry of Les Cédres
The fellowship between students and staff
That I and the other students will learn French well
In Christ,
Frode
Many greetings to you from Frode in Paris. As you know I am here to study French before going to Mali as a missionary among the fulani-people. I am studying at a Christian language school in Massy, a suburb just south of Paris.
I feel blessed to be at this school. We are abot 45 students here from many parts of the world. The majority come from North America and Great Britain, but there are also people from Germany, Norway, Hungary, South Corea, China and Brazil. Just as in BIC we experience that we are one in the Lord, despite our different backgrounds. Most of the students are or will become missionaries. In my class I have people who have been missionaries in the jungle in Ecuadore, and people who have been tentmakers in « closed » arab countries. Some of my classmates are becoming missionaries in France, others in North Africa, and others again in Francophone West Africa, like myself. So it is a very inspiring groupt to be part of, and I have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of many people. So it is a privilege to be a student here.
The biggest challenge is off course French. The language, that is. Spoken French is a little bit like mashed potatoes: you smash the words together so that each individual word dissappear. It's a little bit like magic, how those words disappear. Those of you who remember what it is like to learn a new language knows that it can feel almost like becoming a child again. It is difficult to express yourself, to participate in conversations and to contribute in meaningful ways. Linguistically I think I am at about the same level as my 3 year old « nevô » in Norway: an interesting experience. But at the same time it is encouraging to experience that day by day more and more of the mashed potatoes start to make sense. In my situation I find that patience and faithfullness in the studies is important. In Psalm 4,4 God reminds us that « The lord does miracles for the one who is faithfull to him ». I think this applies for all areas of life, also in studying language. My job is to be faithfull in my studies, and than even mashed potatoes will eventually start to speak. In your life there might be other things you need to be faithful about and than see how God can change situations.
I hope everything is well with you in BIC. I pray for you, and look forward to see you during the autumn-break. I am also grateful that you pray for me. In the future I hope to make a blog that we can link to the BIC-home page. But for now here are some prayer points:
GIVE THANKS FOR:
Les Cédres, students and staff and the fellowship we have.
PRAY FOR:
The ministry of Les Cédres
The fellowship between students and staff
That I and the other students will learn French well
In Christ,
Frode
