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Abby - France Updates

Class of 2018
Student Evangelism and Discipleship Intern in France
Track: University Outreach track
Region: Europe

Looking Like a Kid

By on Track: University Outreach Region: Europe

In some ways, I arrived in France and became a child again. There is so much to learn, and I am acutely aware of my own ineptitude and lack of understanding in just about every relevant area (apparently no one cares about analyzing modern American poetry). What to say, how to get from here to there, even how to use the shower are all new again. I find myself looking around and asking “What is that?” all day long. Every time I go outside my room, I have to prepare myself to run a marathon in my head of what and how to say or do anything and everything. When I meet someone I go through this… Read more >>

Going, Going...Almost Gone!

By on Track: University Outreach Region: Europe

The wait is over. I’m going to be on the other side of the world by Tuesday afternoon. I quit my job at the cafe, my bags are packed, and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks saying goodbye. Yet, the fact that I’m leaving for France doesn’t feel like reality. My emotions are all tangled up in nervousness, excitement, and a good deal of confusion. As it turns out, no amount of research really prepares you for the reality of ridding yourself of stuff and making the move, and suddenly all my French seems so insignificant and elementary. For all of its challenges, this extended period of waiting… Read more >>

The Bit about Betrayal

By on Track: University Outreach Region: Europe

I know a little bit about betrayal. Almost two years ago, I found myself in an airport crying alone because I had been betrayed. The specifics aren't important, but basically, my best friend had lied and hurt me deeply. I looked at my hands and wondered how I could hold so much hurt when I was so weak. The truth is, I couldn't. I couldn’t handle being betrayed, so I held onto the words of a choir song derived from Psalms 139: "If I should descend into the abyss or ride on a blade of light and escape to the heavens you are with me." I was not alone because God was there, and I knew that I was… Read more >>

Les Ténèbres

By on Track: University Outreach Region: Europe

Lately, I’ve been able to do a French Bible study with someone who speaks French, and it has allowed me to study scripture in a new way. We’ve begun working slowly through the book of John, and even though I know the passage very well in English, reading it in French is like reading the text for the first time. Going slowly is especially important not only because of my own gaps in knowledge, but because French words carry different meanings than English. I am forced to really consider what the words are saying rather than skimming what I already know or what I think I know. Recently, I’ve… Read more >>

Begin with “Bonjour”

By on Track: University Outreach Region: Europe

In the interim between graduating college and going to Grenoble, I’ve had the unique opportunity to work in an immersive French environment without leaving my hometown. I work at a cafe run by a wonderful French couple from Versailles. Though all of these croissants have made me visit the gym more often, I can think of no better way of paying my bills, putting away money for France and learning about French language and culture before I make the move across the pond. Half of my job involves tension between American and French mentalities. It’s like one massive, multicultural, multilingual… Read more >>

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