A month has passed already?!

So I bet you all think that I've been back in Melun for a week now... Ha! Tricked you! I just got back on Saturday evening! What started out being a 2, maaayyyybbeeee 3 week, stay in Toulouse turned into a 4 week stay, and I must say that I enjoyed it. I already miss my little family there but I know that it was not the last time I will see them or be in Toulouse. As I had mentioned in previous posts, I was suppose to ride back to Melun with the group from Canada 2 Saturdays ago... but alas, there were some complications with that (they were given a smaller rental van than what they had requested and then there were some lodging issues for my return, etc) so I stayed in Toulouse for another week and took the train back Saturday. We still went to Bordeaux that Saturday for the youth service and to spend some time with the group from Canada. It was a great night and I absolutely loved Bordeaux! It is an incredibly beautiful city and the drive there was breathtaking! Vineyards on both sides of the road and rolling hills, with a random old castle/fortress thing on the side of one of the hills... pretty much everything you dream of when you think of Southern France and wine country. I didn't get any pics of the trip there but here's a few of Bordeaux:

Oh yes and then there was me with the reenactment soldiers ;) lol!!! 

I got my first taste of translating that night and let me tell you it was terrifying! The youth leader asked me to translate from French to English for the Canadians. I agreed to do it if I could stay in my seat and just turn around and translate for them. That was fine and dandy and going well until the 2nd row said that they couldn't hear me..... soooo alas I had to use a microphone. 2 people sitting by me agreed to help me if I got stuck. Everything went well for the first 4 or 5 translations and then I got stuck halfway through a sentence, so Dina and Tim helped me out... well after that every time the youth leader would say something Dina and Tim would automatically start translating it for me, so I was trying to listen to Jeremie, translate it myself and then hear what they were both saying and it was too confusing and distracting so we ended up having Toky take over and translate the rest of it. I was proud of myself for even doing it though. It was really intimidating because there were a lot of people in the room that knew English and French so if I messed up they would know! Translating is hard, especially when you weren't expecting to have to do it and aren't 100% fluent! I am completely comfortable translating one on one or like when I was turning around and saying it to the 2 rows behind me because not every one can hear you and so if you mess up or skip something no one will be the wiser lol!

Saturday I started the journey back to Melun. I took the train and in order to get a cheap price I took the train that stopped in like 5 different cities, therefore taking 7 hours to get to Paris....but I was in first class soooo it was a sleeper car with "beds". I was in an upper berth and was able to sleep off and on the whole way there and be nice and comfortable. It was an uneventful ride (thank goodness) and when I got to Paris I took a nice 10 minute walk from one train station to another, and from there caught the direct train to Melun (look at me just knowing how to navigate my way around lol!). I hadn't realized how much I missed Paris until I took that little walk. It was soooo good to be back! Something about Paris just makes me feel alive and completely happy. I never get scared of getting lost because for whatever reason I find the city easy to navigate and am totally comfortable wandering around whether it's by myself or with friends. Anyways, so I left Toulouse at 10:45 am and pulled into Melun at 6:45 pm. The next morning, Sunday, was of course church. It was great to be back and see all those familiar, smiling faces. They were short on praise singers so Justin asked me to fill in, so I did. Praise singing in French is probably one of my new favorite things :) I ended up singing that night as well...which was fine with me. I'm here to work/help, so let's work! After the evening service I went out with some of the young people and watched the final game in the World Cup...sadly Germany won, but I have to hand it to them, they were the better team. So as much as I hate to say it, congrats Germany.

Now the new and latest adventure is Copenhagen! I fly out tomorrow afternoon and will be attending my first ever Because of The Times conference! I love how I have never gone to one in the USA but they hold the very first one ever in Europe and I go lol! I just finished checking in for my flight online and just need to pack my bag today and then I will be all set! I am a little nervous (traveling by myself always makes me a little anxious....there's just so many things that could go wrong lol!) but am also very excited! It's going to be 3 days of amazing sessions and services and can't wait to see what God is going to do! I'm flying completely solo on this trip (literally... the flight, the hotel... everything lol! I'm staying at a diff hotel from everyone else I know) so I'm thanking the Lord above that most people in Copenhagen speak English! Not that anyone I know would speak Danish anyways...but it's better to be lost and confused with someone else than by yourself lol! No, I don't plan on being lost or confused. My hotel is a 10 minute walk from the convention center and I am sure it will be full of other Pentecostal people going back and forth. Know what I am SUPER excited about?! Starbucks. I've only had it twice since I've been here. There weren't any in Toulouse and there isn't one in Melun and other than my short 10 minute walk in Paris I haven't been in Paris since the beginning of my trip with Amber. I have a layover in the Amsterdam airport and I know they have Starbucks from the last time I was there. And they have them in Copenhagen as well... I googled it. :D Be prepared to see pictures of my delicious Starbucks because I will be that excited about it.