Le Papillon

Hello from Camp des Cimes in the French Alpes ! These past 10 days we have had adult English camp and what a blast ! Campers were anywhere from 18-26 and varying widely in their competence in English. I along with the other service team members set up for meals, served, cleaned up, cleaned bathrooms and halls etc. Every day up until around 2pm we were busy with our responsibilities and then were able to join counselors and campers in activities: team sports, hiking, climbing, swimming, shopping, biking, art etc. Sadly I was put out of commission two days before the end of camp with a broken ligament and a half in my ankle :( It wasn't even done doing something fun... I was running up the stairs. Thanks to God it was toward the end of camp and I don't need a cast. I have a brace of sorts and crutches. Doctors orders are to keep weight off my foot for three weeks and then another three weeks of moderate activity on it. I have one week to recoup before family camp begins so God willing I can be healthy enough to recommence my responsibilities.

Some of my favorite parts of camp were speaking French to the campers. I was afraid I wouldn't have much opportunity for it and was pleasantly surprised ! What is more I have already learned so much... especially medical vocabulary :) haha. My favorite activity was climbing the Via Feratta. We drove to an adjacent valley where Italians had installed a cable system for climbers to hook into and metal bars to aide in the accent. Now I really want to get into climbing ! Not much to do in Paris though haha. For those of you who enjoy biking you may be interested to know that the camp sites along an often used route for the Tour de France. It's up to Les Deux Alpes and not far from the world famous accent of l'Alpe-d'Huez. Needless to say, the roads are full of bikers. Lastly, I was given the opportunity to speak to the campers and did it in French !

Prayer Requests: 1. Quick and full healing of my ankle 2. Family camp 3. Improvement of French 4. Continued good attitude on the service team 5. I Chronicles 16:11-12

Praises: 1. God chooses to use us in His work... and He doesn't even need us ! 2. An injured ankle at the END of camp with a week before the next one 3. God's beautiful creation- it's great to be back in the mountains... and the Alpes at that ! 4. The friendships made here 5. Plenty of opportunities to speak French !