The German Hugger

This past weekend, our church went for a weekend away in the French Jura mountains. We all congregated and slept in a lodge-type building, where each morning we greeted one another sleepy-eyed and broke bread over strong coffee and jus d'orange with the windows facing the most breath-taking view of lush green hillsides and quaint French farmhouses. The speaker, a man named Peter Lewis, spoke about Simon Peter the whole weekend, highlighting his journey toward discipleship with Jesus.




Then Sunday, late morning, Nathan and I packed up the car and decided to do some exploration of the Jura via our new hiking gear!

Overall, the weekend was a refreshing time away from the "fast-paced" buzz of the city. A time to further the already-existing friendships and also make new ones. A time to reflect, to love, to smile, to drink (fabulous local wines!), to entertain (some of us were in charge of a series of skits for the little ones--oh my...), to listen, and to play. I came home realizing how blessed I am in this life, and how important a solid community really is.

In our "spaceship" for the children's play. Nathan is piloting.

Kids with yellow faces. No it's not paint, it's daffodil.

Our hike in the woods

Roots

And raindrops

I successfully peed in the woods. This is actually a big deal.

Our drive back home.

Oh, and I almost forgot. The reason for the entry title: