I'm a very bad blogger!

Hello all, So you may be under the impression that we have stopped doing anything here in Switzerland...NOT TRUE! I have just been neglecting to document it here! As usual, we've been pretty busy but the top stories will have to do...

We had another Bateman visit for half term, we had beautiful weather and totally took advantage of that!

And right now I'm recovering from our second Youth Retreat, this year's focus was being 'Exemplary Youth' Taken from 1 Timothy. As usual we had a blast, Worshipping, learning, fellowshipping, playing crazy balloon-popping-flag-stealing-in-the-dark games! We were helped by our dear friends Alice and Dariu who came along for moral/spiritual support and who also catered for us (with the help of her mum Mia!) Jonathan was also there to lend a helping hand and also Martin and his friend John came too. So we had quite a team. We are so blessed by these young people who have so much love for one another, such a hunger for the word and a desire for the Lord. Thank you God for being there with us, speaking to us and using us for your glory!!

                             

(Aforementioned balloon popping in the dark game!)

Small groups discussed after every teaching session

Competitive spirit was high on the Saturday afternoon!

Youth retreat wouldn't be complete without an ALL GIRLS session!

Husband and wife on opposing teams...who's idea was that?

GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!

Team signs!

Silly games!

game time; minute to win-it style!

Worship time

Question time!

Our wonderful youth group!

And finally....WE GOT A NEW APARTMENT! eeeep! So its quite a complex procedure in Switzerland to move so we are praying!!! And value your prayers that we (particularly ME!) dont get overwhelmed with stress about the whole thing. I know God's in control but...!!!

Blessings xxx

Happy Anniversary Switzerland!

One year! Can you believe it..? One year has gone by!
If I go right back to the beginning of this blog there will be photos from Creation Fest...Well, we went back again this year. We drove all the way there with the Slacks in their 9-seater vehicle. We confused the guy at the border control when he asked us what relation the Batemans were to the Slacks; we all kind of said lots of different things (that were all true) and he asked some bizarre questions "where are the Bateman parents?", did he think we were minors? Surely not!! Anyway, it was amusing, eventually he basically threw all 8 passports back at Su and waved us on in frustration!

We spent the first night at Martin's mum's house by the sea in Bogner Reges to break up the journey a bit. It was refreshing to walk along the front and get some sea air after having being cooped up for 11 hours.

The next morning was another early start to try and avoid the Cornwall traffic, which we did pretty well and arrived at Creation Fest in the sunshine (and gale force winds) to put up the tents and make camp. We were joined later in the day by the Camfields, a family of friends with the Slacks (therefor our very good friends now!) There were 7 of them, so altogether we made quite a big team!

We had a good time at the Festival and it was really great for Mark and I to catch up with some familiar faces.

Hannah joining the daredevils at the Skatepark

The campsite was SOOOOOOO windy that it meant any wet stuff (from rainy leaky tents :( or the beach :D could be dried!)

Mark trying to make himself look presentable (!?) in a morning!

Do not let the sunshine deceive you...the wind was chilly!!

How to entertain a gaggle of young girlies: Pretend to be sewing your lips and pull the thread through your upper lip! It's a charmer! (thanks for that one dad!)

How to charm a gaggle of young girlies #2: Show them your rippling tongue skills! (I know, so mature!)

 We took advantage of being in the Uk where things are reasonably priced...

Fish and chips to feed an army....

Cornish pasties at the beach....

Cream tea, what else!!!

But don't worry....we did burn it all off by hitting the beach every afternoon for a good surfing sesh!

Naomi and I modeling the latest Decathlon surf-wear!

So that was a blustery week!

In other news...on Wednesday night (which happened to be our anniversary of meeting them) we had to say goodbye (or au revoir) to the wonderful, delightful Bottimore family. Circumstances meant that they had to make plans to move back to the USA sooner than any of us would have hoped. Mark and I are particularly devastated by this; they were the family that took us in when we first arrived and had nowhere to live! They made our first two weeks transitioning into Switzerland so smooth for us that honestly, I would've been happy to stay with them the whole year!! Not only that but they have been committed to helping us with the Youth group by faithfully serving with us, praying for us and offering counseling when we needed it. Elly and Drew have been fantastic role models as some of the eldest members of the group and have led a very godly example for those younger in the faith and in years. As you may remember from earlier in this blog Kim and John did a sterling effort at catering for the hungry lions at the youth retreat last year. (And as this year's youth retreat fast approaches I can't help but speculate who that will fall on...gulp!) They are fun to be with, united as a family by such strong bonds and yet welcome all with open arms. We have learned so much from them and received vast amounts of inspiration that we can't help but think that wherever they serve next (Washington DC You are very blessed, I hope you know it!) there must be some other nervous, gung-ho youth leaders that need some wisdom, gentle guidance and 8 helping hands for their ministry.

Bottimore family; may God bless you and keep you, may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, May He lift up His countenance on you and give you His peace! We love you very much...

Well, what a year! God has been doing some interesting work in us recently, the kind that makes you feel uncomfortable and means you can't just get cosy and settle into normalcy even though your flesh desires the easy way out! I am looking forward to another year, living with God as your pilot makes for some exciting times, with the future in His hands you just never know what adventure may be around the corner...but for now, I have to live in the present and I'm starting another year at Edukids on Monday. So, whilst Mark is out on his bike I need to take the opportunity to get organised... keep up your prayers. The unseen work in the spiritual realm is what keeps us going more than anything. Bring it on!

Some recent happenings....

Before our holiday in UK/Jamaica I had a rather manic week! It started on the Saturday before when our church put on a 'Discover' day for children. It was a day designed to share the gospel with the kids using 'the4points' and also our theme was the circus! We had a fantastic day, the kids really enjoyed it. I wrote a drama in which Charlie the clown is told the gospel by his fellow circus acts, I was the acrobat...at the risk of embarrassment...here are some pics of the day!

After that was the last week of term at Edukids, which came as a relief I must admit! On the last Thursday we had all the parents come and we put on a bit of a 'song and dance' for them with the children in the preschool. I think they are SOOOOO cute and so here is a little taster of their renditions of some age-old timeless preschool songs. (note the various accents...I work in a very international environment!)

Then, obviously, there was the UK and Jamaica holiday (see previous post)!

We got home early Friday evening and woke up on Saturday to beautiful sunshine and guess what we did...??? Yep! You guessed it, another VIA FERRATA!!

Then it was back to work for the both of us...until...

Le Tour De France!

'Le Tour' fever breaks out in our house around this time of year and we both take an avid interest (ok, maybe Mark takes more interest) in the riders and who's in what jersey. We had our first 'live' tour experience back in the summer of 2009 when we journeyed across France for our summer holidays and followed a couple of stages. We have some wonderful memories from that camping trip (our favourite holiday so far)...

Waiting for the riders to arrive July '09

Watching Lance Armstrong's determination was inspirational!

So this year we thought seen as we're neighbours with France now we'd go and catch another mountain stage (le Col de Golibier). It just so happened that it was also the 100 year anniversary of the Tour riding up the Col. So, in true Tour fashion we put some sleeping bags in the back of our car-come-campervan and pitched up at the side of the road with everyone else the night before the race was due to come through. Then we cycled, yes cycled up the Col to the top so we could watch the riders make the painstaking ride to the finish line. We found a really good spot around 450m away from the finish where the views of the mountains were spectacular and also where we could see the riders coming up the snake-like roads from a good distance. I think this is something we would like to do every year, and is an excellent day out, the great thing about this stage was that when all the riders had come past we got to ride down the way they had come up...fast! What a thrill!

Yes, we slept in there! It was surprisingly cosy!

The view form our 'hotel'!

Mark on the way up the col, we had to keep stopping so he could have a rest, he couldn't hack the ascent.  (yeah...right!)

So true, we do!

The finish line, at 2,600m above sea  level!

The caravan that comes through about 45minutes before the riders (like a carnival procession)

Waiting for the riders...

Waiting and wearing a free hat (they throw stuff out of the caravan floats...hey, we'll take any free stuff!)

Here comes Schleck, he won this stage with some daring tactics!

Le maillot jaune! The Frenchman Thomas Voeckler held the yellow jersey for quite a few stages this year, the French thought maybe they were in for a win. Cadel Evans (the rider in red) did enough in the time trial to finally win le Tour after too many years of coming in 2nd place!

The guy in green is Mark Cavendish (Britain's famous sprinter) Not much doing in the mountain stages but he's fast on the flat! He went on to win the sprint at the Champs Elise final stage for the 3rd time in a row!

So that was a fun day out...one last thing; I like to try on my dress every year (to make sure it still fits and to remember the special day when I wore it) It lives in England at ma and pa's house so I got to have a try-on whilst in Bradford...IT STILL FITS!

Hehehe! Well, we're heading to Creation Fest next week! Until then it's working for both of us. Then, we'll be soon celebrating our one year anniversary of being here in Switzerland! Wow, I can't believe it has been a year already...To God be the glory great things He has done! Looking forward to celebrating a year and praising God for his provision and faithfulness and love and grace and...oh I could go on and on!