Personal Update!

And the saga continues!!! We thought, yesterday, that things might be moving a wee bit more quickly, as the garage in Audincourt closes on Friday until the end of Aug., but they were willing to send the car to Mulhouse (a further 40 miles/65km away). However, today we were informed that the Audincourt garage had been in touch again to say that the only (!!) man in Mulhouse who could have dealt with the car is off work, unwell - and doesn't expect to be back until Sept.! So, whichever way we looked at it, and whatever we decided, it looked as if nothing was going to happen this month!

As a dear friend put it in a message received earlier today, "The Lord must have a really good reason for keeping you there all that time."!!!

It is tempting (and I confess to having yielded to the temptation!) to speculate as to what that reason might be but, at the end of the day, it is unlikely that I would manage to get it right. This, of course, in the 'non-persecution environment' in which we live, is when one's professed belief in the sovereign power of a loving heavenly Father is shown up for what it is. I trust that our response to the current situation is showing that our belief and faith are strong.

Whether, or not, these are the reasons, there are certainly a couple of 'by-products' of which we are already fairly certain. If I am going to be here for another 5/6 weeks - and, from Sunday, without my dear wife - then there is no doubt that my use of the French language will improve, and do so (I hope) quite considerably. We have also made real friends in the family who operate the camp-site, and in one of their friends - one of the local pharmacists - who speaks good English. And, of course, although Joyce and I are going to be physically separated for that long time, the wonders of modern technology mean that we will be able to speak with each other, every day, using Skype. After almost 40 years of marriage (come Sept.4th) we reckon that our enforced separation will be a case of "absence makes the heart grow [even] fonder", rather than "out of sight, out of mind"!!!!

We also appreciate, greatly, the messages of encouragement that have been coming via e-mail and Facebook. It's always good to know that there are friends upon whom one may count in times of difficulty.

Do keep returning to the blog for further updates, as and when there is anything to report!