BONJOUR MES AMIS!

Well, we made it!  Safe and sound.  

These last few days have been pretty loco crazy with unpacking and settling in the Eastman’s new home.   Plus we haven’t had any internet access besides this and except maybe an hour or so at McDonalds last Sunday. [And that time I used to text my boy for the first time to let him know I was alive and well.]  

Before I go any further, I want to thank everyone who supported me for this trip.  I hate generic thanks, but until I have a way to connect with everyone, this will have to do.  You don't even know how blown away I was at the response I got.  I am so blessed by every single one of you and hope to be faithful in the calling here.

I have been so overwhelmed by God's faithfulness to me thus far.  I know it will only continue.  No, it has not been all fun and games. [although we have had much laughter and joy by God's grace]  There have been some not-so-amazing things along the way so far, but ultimately, we have been able to look at the bright side and choose to focus on God's blessings.  Praise God!

So our flights on the Wednesday the 24^th were smooth sailing and I totally loved flying even more than I remembered.  Is it odd that I think turbulence is fun? ;)  [Yes Natalie, I know you think I’m a complete freak of nature.  Haha.  You still love me, though.]  I was able to sit next to the family on the first two flights, which was a blessing especially for the long Chicago to Paris flight.  We thought we were going to miss our third and final flight because we were a little behind schedule, AND we found out our carry-on plus back pack combo wasn't allowed… our carry-ons had to be checked.  Not only was that going to take time, it was going to cost a lot of un-budgeted money.  Amazingly they only charged us for one carry-on!!  Praise God!  After that we only had to get through security, which I can tell you with a family of eight plus myself, is no small feat my friends.   Despite having to sit next to two strange French men, our last flight was great and we arrived in Biarritz at around 12:30ish Eastern Europe time.  Then we drove over to our apartment in Hendaye [pronounced Ohn-die] across French countryside with a group of our teammates, who already had a vehicle ready for us.

This past week was just a blur, it absolutely FLEW by.

//hi My Name is Miles and I like cake and sandwiches and stuff I love things making food out of left over dog bisccuits and stuff give me a tuns fish sandwich an I will glady turn it  into a a red bumperstickerjidotoiio75[0piklghhke.khgjruutryilp8wn,4ntdjtuyujmbjhbnjoihvckjhy ikiuytyhuok//

Hahahaha I can’t even leave my computer for two minutes… oh, Miles and Agnes! =)  Gotta love it!

So what have we been up to this last week?? 

Cleaning.  Lots and lots of cleaning.  Since we’re right next to the ocean and because it threatens to rain nearly every day, there’s a huge moisture problem here and we've been uncovering and battling mold.  [Definitely one of the "not-so-amazing" things] Plus we don’t have a dryer, so it’s difficult drying out our clothes. 

We also have had a couple meals with our teammates and their families—the Hembrees and the Currs. 

Grocery shopping has proven to be quite an adventure in a foreign country as well.   Not to mention finding the grocery store.  But that’s another story. :)  *Side note:  THEY DO NOT HAVE PEANUT BUTTER IN FRANCE.  I’m going through a slight withdrawal.  Haha!  But not even kidding.

One of the nights, Molly, Miles, and I went with Josiah [15] and Abby [13] Kerr to their town, Handarribia in Spain.  We’re only five minutes away from Spain, so that’s been exciting.  I was able to visit two foreign countries in two days.  We went "bar-hopping" [yeah, it sounded way sketch to me at first too] to get a type of Spanish food called pintxos (peen-chose).  They were slices of baguette usually with cheese that had various different toppings.  I had one with octopus!  They were amazing.

*Note: It's weird seeing the difference in culture here.  In France, things start to quiet down between 8pm and 10pm, but in Spain, that's when the party gets started.  Families, including small children, go and get pinchos and stay out until 2am or later.

Yesterday we went to Ikea to get some essentials that the Eastmans had to leave behind.  The drive through Spain was stinking GORGEOUS.  Our awkward silence filler was "but those mountains, though."  We not only managed to fit all our purchases into the back of our monster van, but we had a blast in the mean time.  Last night everyone was just in a super loose and goofy mood with lots of sarcasm in between bursts of singing and dancing.  God has been gracious to give us lots of laughter and joy in the midst of this life-changing transition for the Eastman family.  I'm so grateful and blessed to be a part of it.





























Well, I'd love to share every single detail, but that would be impossible, especially with the amount of time I have here at McDonalds. ;)  Please continue to pray for me.  I will try and keep you posted, but we may not have wifi for a while... we shall see.  I have so many pictures to share, but they're taking forever-and-a-day to load :)  So stay tuned!

xo,
Colette