Lille

So we made our way out of Paris, but weren't able to see Notre Dame - due to some delayed departure as well as the fact that it took us about 2hrs to figure out where to buy a train ticket and to stand in the right line. The machines in the station don't work with credit cards from other places because the ones here have some sort of chip with a code in them, so they are for the European elite to bypass the nasty lines the tourists have to wait in. secretly i think that's genius, but don't tell my fellow travelers i told you so ...

We arrived in Lille around 4 yesterday and were picked up by Ali, a missionary we found connections to through UPC's Fred and Ardi Lupton. He brought us to his house, and introduced us to his familly - wife Francoise, sons Nathan, Theo and Raphael (4,7, and 1 respectively) who are adORable. Ali took us (along with Theo and Nathan, who decide even if we don't speak French they will rapidly speak it to us anyway) to the main office he works out of with his ministry, and for a short drive around Lille. We also met some people he works with, and Martin who is from Seattle will be taking us around today. All in all it is very nice to be with people from here, who we can talk with about their ministry and lives here, and can take a break from the life of a tourist (which would be a terrible life and I would never wish on anybody). Plus it is rainy which is actually nice because it reminds us of home, or at least grounds you in the idea that other people call this home. Weird that rain can have a sort of reality check kind of effect.