Permits, cars and appartments....

Well, we've had another busy week in Switzerland! I can see that my blog posts are always going to be epic because I don't get chance during the week to do short posts as and when things happen! So make sure you have plenty of time and a nice hot cup of tea because you're going to be sat here for a while!!!

So last Saturday we eagerly awaited the arrival of mum and dad Bateman (that's Phil and Caroline to you!) and Isaac, they booked cheap flights at the beginning of summer so that they could fly out and drive the car back to sunny UK. It was so great to be able to see them briefly, our host family were kind enough to make room for them in their house too which was a real blessing. They arrived Saturday evening and were able to visit the church on Sunday morning which they really enjoyed. The weather was beautiful so of course we spent the afternoon by the lake...

Isaac: "come on in dad, the water's lovely!"

Mark and Phil take a rather anxious looking Isaac out onto the lake

<>

<>couldn't work out how to delete these extra pics---computer duffer!

Isaac enjoying splashing around with his big brother.

Mark and his mummy sailing and chatting

A cute picture!

So, with Caroline and Phil coming to take their car we were quite pushed to find one ourselves. We know you have been praying because we have quite a story to tell... Mark has been getting frustrated about finding a car, he spent many an hour looking around used car garages only to be met by people who don't speak any English and some quite expensive cars! We were looking for something a little bit more practical than our beloved Micra. (Something that skis, bikes, luggage and young people can get comfortably into!) and Mark has always fancied an estate car, so we were looking out for them and the cheapest we could come across were 8,500 CHF which is about £5k. Now, we don't have anything like that amount of money so we were thinking about getting a loan etc etc. Mark asked a guy from church called Jeff (originally from the US but lived in Switzerland a long time and speaks fluent French) to come long and help us chat with the salesmen. We took one for a test drive, it was ok. We left without it and felt a little more at a loss as to what to do. We had prayed, and we know you had been praying and it was like God was saying 'not this one'. But as impatient children we were starting to get panicky!

 Chapter 2...(!?) So, we carried on with normal life knowing that the Batemans were going to come and with the very real possibility that we could be left without a car. That was Friday night and we had our first 'Youth Discipleship', towards the end of the night we got a text to say that somebody wanted to give us £2,000 towards a new car. This was a great surprise and blessing and our brains started to work out how we could gather the money to maybe buy a car and avoid a loan. About ten minutes later Jeff came to pick his kids up at the end of the study and said that he had spoken to a friend who was moving back to America and needed to sell their car quickly. Guess what amount he was asking for... 3,000 CHF = £1,900 or there abouts! (that sounded like confirmation to me!). There's a little more to the story...practical and boring information so I'll just show you the pics!! And please join us in praising God for his provision once again!...

Of course, it had to be big enough to fit bikes in...standing up!

You could potentially drive the yellow Micra up inside this car like a ferry! ha!

(for the blokes; it's a Chrysler Voyager minivan)

So, this week was full of practicalities. Getting bank accounts, getting to send off for our 'Permit Bs' (so that we can live and work here), getting cars (!?)...and...getting the keys to our appartment!!! Yes-we are officially residents here in Switzerland and are moving in as we speak so I'm going to have to keep this final bit brief!

For those praying for me at work this week, I am definately gaining confidence and although it was a challenge to 'lead' I really felt equipped to work with the children. I would ask you to pray that I learn French very speedily, something I am keen to do and it will definately help a lot with the younger children who hardly have any English.

Well, it wasn't all solid work this week; we did manage to scrape some time on Wednesday afternoon to get out into the hills...wow, still can't believe we live in this place!...

I had a bit of a 'Sound of Music moment', I'm sure there'll be plenty more of those!

A beautiful little man, oh how we miss him!

Mark in his element

Reflecting on God's goodness to us!

Please keep praying, we are blown away by how God has provided every need, truly we can testify that "The Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want" and he is leading us beside still waters and green pastures and our souls are being restored! Thank you Father for your love and grace!

Please keep in touch, we'd love to hear how you are doing.

~~~~~~   Ephesians 3 v 16-21   ~~~~~~