Friends of God @ St. Timothy,

Cet été, puissiez-vous aussi chercher et trouver le repos, le rafraîchissement at le rajeunissement du temps sacré. Que Dieu soit avec vous jusqu’à ce que nous soyons encore ensemble. Au revoir.

PK

Not speaking French, I had to find a translator for this. Maybe you can find one too!!

June 19, 2010

Dear Friends of God, brought together by His Holy Spirit, and bonded in Christ,

The message above, I addressed to you as my response to your bon voyage as Patrice and I headed off for 3 weeks of sabbatical in France. Little did I know that the “Au Revoir” (the “Good-Bye”) would be addressed eternally to Patrice’s mother, Mary, who died only 11 hours after our departure (and whom we buried yesterday). Of course not much more than 11 hours after receiving the phone call in Paris, we were camped out at the airport waiting for any open seats to bring us back home.

My Sunday School years taught me that while we don’t know what the future holds; we do know Who holds the future. And while one may not readily be willing to accept that right away, it does come to one later, granting one acceptance with Peace. An immediate return to France to pick up where we left off (i.e. day #2) is not possible emotionally, physically, monetarily, or schedule-wise. But SOMEday, this will be the trip of our lifetime (less that final glorious trip God promises with no returns).

Thank you for your initial wishes of a bon voyage, and now for your empathy, sad thoughts, and hope-filled prayers.

Baptized, thankfully together with you,
PK and Patrice