The Big Walk

Well, camp is a little more than half over, and I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I did indeed meet up with Tim Knickerbocker and his brother Pierre (Peter) at the station in Boussens. Two other guys, Stephen and Jeremy, from up near Normandy arrived shortly after and we piled into a van for the 20-some minute ride to the camp. Stephen is actually from South Carolina but spent the summer up in Rouen working with a missionary. Jeremy is a young sports-jock type of guy from Rouen with a clear zeal for the Lord. The ride in to the camp gave me a preview of the countryside in this part of France. I was quite impressed, finding it even more beautiful than Provence. The area clearly gets a bit more rain, and everything is more verdant. In some ways it reminds me of (more…)

Can you spot the tourist?

Welcome back to the decaying first class cabin of the Spanish Talgo train, where a passenger across the aisle from me just had her seat back completely collapse backwards. Behind me is a lady who is trying very hard to delay the slow but inevitable emotional collapse of her young child. The train is jerking and creaking along, shedding pieces with every bounce and corner. I am very glad to be here. In a reprise of my old role of playing the photo finish, I boarded the train and sat down exactly 2 minutes before it started moving. And it left 2 minutes late. It all started with (more…)