We went to pick up Jordan, in Paris, on July 21st. Brad had a work issue that kept him from coming until the next day, so Jordan and I spent that first day just walking around her neighborhood in Paris.
Here is Jordan in front of her favorite garden!
Every time we have gone to Paris, it has either been for work or with our kids as tourists. This was our first time to just get to
mosey around the city, sit in the gardens and have absolutely nothing to do or see. It was so fun.
Jordan's apartment was only a few blocks from
Notre Dame.
This is where you exit on the Bastille metro stop. It is where Jordan lived. If you turned the camera around her apartment is right behind us.
Sitting on the Seine!
We were able to visit all of Jordan's favorite gardens!
On Sunday we went to church. It was fun to meet Jordan's district and watch her at work. We were able to attend a baptism of a man that Jordan had been teaching on Saturday and watch him get confirmed on Sunday.
Jordan saying good-bye to her companion! She had trained Sister Smith so it was like watching them cut the umbilical cord.
Then we rented the smallest car ever and drove up to Normandy.
Along the way we stopped and had lunch in this town called
Rouen. Whenever I have watched Beauty and the Beast, I always thought it was weird that Belle was in France because it just did not seem like the France I knew. But after going to
Rouen, I know where Belle lived. I kept expecting a little baker to step out of his shop and say, "
Bon Jour!"
The buildings were all so colorful. The whole time I was there I felt like we were at Disneyland in a little French Village.
After we left
Rouen, we went up to another little town called
Caen. This was where Jordan lived for 4 months.
This is a view of the city from William the
Conqueror's Chateau.
Another picture of this cute City!
The front of William's little chateau
I don't know if you will remember in Jordan's letters when she talked about getting pooped on by pigeons EVERYDAY walking under a bridge on her way to the church. Well funny thing is, she forgot to mention it was a 1,000 year old bridge that was the entrance to William the
Conqueror's Chateau. I think when you live in places like this, you forget that us
Americans think stuff like that is totally cool! I think she should have felt honored to be pooped on by those pigeons.
Here is the entrance to her apartment.
Caen was just as cute as
Rouen, and I could not stop taking pictures. This is the street where Jordan lived. The whole middle of the town was filled with bright buildings and cobble stone streets that were only open for walking.
Still walking around
Caen.
After leaving
Caen we drove up to the World War 2 sights. Here is one of the guns on Omaha Beach.
Here is a map of the beaches and you can see Omaha Beach in the background.
Walking down to Omaha Beach!
On the beach
After we walked down to Omaha Beach we went and visited the American Cemetery.
It was amazing. That's really all I can say. I think you would have to go there to believe it.
After we left the cemetery, we went and visited more of the beaches. Here is Brad in a crater made from a bomb hitting the ground. The entire area for miles was just like
swiss cheese with these craters.
You can see on the left another big gun and Brad and Jordan walking down to the edge of the cliff. This is the cliff where the Americans came and climbed up on ropes to the top of the cliff to overtake the Germans.
The thing that was most amazing to me, is that this entire area is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever visited in my entire life. It was hard to even picture the fighting and loss of life that took place here.
And the highlight of the trip was going to visit with Marie Laure and her kids in Caen. This a lady that Jordan and her companion started talking to on a bus one day. Marie Laure told the girls that she thought they "glowed" when she saw them and wanted to visit with them. Marie Laure was baptized this past spring. Here is Brad looking at a picture book of Jesus with Gabrielle.
Here is Jordan with Rapael, Marie Laure and Gabrielle. It was amazing to watch Jordan and this little family sit on the floor together and chat like they had been best friends forever. Even though Brad and I couldn't understand a word that was said, it was easy to see how much Jordan loved this family and how much they had meant to her and vice versa. Marie Laure asked me how could I have ever let Jordan go out on a mission and leave us for a year and a half. After sitting in this little family room and watching them all together, I had an easy answer. I told her that I could let her go for a year and a half, so that she could come and help families like hers find the gospel so they could be together forever too!
A USA Map!
A World Map!
