First of all, I hope that everything is going well for every one of you, and I trust that God is holding you in his hands whether I'm in Texas or right next to you! And I would, again, like to thank every one of you for making it possible for me to spend this summer in France. This experience has been unforgettable.

I am interning for MTW for a month and a half on the Southern Coast of France. I've had some strange reactions to my being a missionary in France, but what I have come to realize in being here is that France is in desperate need. While financially and physically better off than most of the world, this has also created a strong resistance toward any kind of deity. There are many people who call themselves Catholics, but very few are practicing, and there are even fewer protestants. Growing up in a Muslim culture in west Africa was difficult for me, but I have found it even more difficult to understand and reach a culture who refuses to acknowledge the existence of anything greater than man.

The church with which I work (L'eglise protestante de Roy d'Espagne) is a small church made up mostly of French people. It has been such a joy for me to engage in worship with the people of France. Its wonderful to close my eyes in prayer at church and have it dawn on me that Christ doesn't have to "cross language barriers" because they don't exist to Him! God is doing incredible work throughout this church, and one of the most remarkable things is the youth! I assumed before I arrived that Roy d'Espagne would be a small church made up entirely of families and elderly people, but I was mistaken. The church has somewhere from 5 to 10 university students that attend. RUF (Reformed University Fellowship under the PCA) has actually visited Marseille recently to consider it for an international RUF location. Being part of RUF, I am so excited to see the results of that decision.

Two weeks ago, my fellow intern, Emma, and I put on an English camp for French kids from ages 11 to 14. We had spent the previous week planning the entire event from the top to bottom. Neither of us having ever done something like this, it was trying, and we were determined to keep them happy, and actually teach them some English. There were twenty kids, and God blessed us with an incredible group and an incredible staff. The following link is to a short video of our week: http://www.vimeo.com/13037859

Last week and this week, the intern project has been manual labor. Between three interns, we have successfully stripped, primed, and painted all of the doors and tables in the church. We have cleaned all of the windows on the bottom level of the church, and removed all the cobwebs from the rafters. Next, the deep cleaning starts. Initially I wondered why this was our assignment, but later I realized that it is very important to the church. We actually share the building with a catholic church that is made up of elderly people, and the manual labor is something that they cannot do themselves. What our church is having us do is very important to the relationship between the two churches. Not to mention that you don't know what accomplished feels like until you come home exhausted and covered in paint and cobwebs. We really are loving it.

And our days off are spent getting to know our host families, wandering the city, taking advantage of the summer clothing sales, going to the beach, visiting vinyards and lavender fields, and keeping up with the friends we've already made.

I have a little less than two weeks left in Marseille, and then I'll go back to Texas to start my last year of college. This has been a fantastic way to spend my summer. I love looking at the past month and knowing that I have spent it usefully. I know that I am helping the team here in Marseille, but they've also challenged me to grow.

Thanks again to all of you for your love and prayers. Have a blessed day and a wonderful summer. I cannot express how much of blessing every one of you is to this "mission" and to those of you in Texas, I cannot wait to see you!

Oh, also...short hair starts to look like a mullet when it grows out. Needing haircut.