No Place Like Home

Well, it is Thursday, Oct. 15th and I am home! I arrived back to the States yesterday with our plane touching down at Dullas Airport at 1:15 in the afternoon. Then it was through customs and on to baggage pickup. All my luggage was there and that is a great blessing--no standing in line to report missed luggage and filing out a claim. Always, when I pass through customs, there is this little fear that rises up within me--what if my country won't take me back?! But, the attendant always looks at my passport and then smiles and says, "Welcome home." I love that!
A van from Orange Baptist with the pastor driving and John Miller, our association director, with him, welcomed us and took us back to Mineral Baptist Church where my sweet husband, Steve met me and we arrived home around 5pm. It is always so good to walk in your own back door and into your own kitchen. All my animals greeted me this time and I felt good.
The last 2 days in Paris were wonderful but, very tiring. I think we must have walked the whole city from the way my feet and legs felt. My toes hollered at me the whole way!! On Monday, we rode 2 elevators to the very top of the Eiffle Tower. One elevator takes you sideways up to the second floor and then another takes you straight up to the top. What a sight from the top! At the top there is a room you enter that has windows all around the outside of it, with the names of all the countries you are facing above each one. It really looks like you can see forever and ever!! Then you go outside and you look out over a very vast city. I believe it is the largest city I have ever been in, except maybe for New York City.
Before that, we had visited the Arc of the Triump, which Nopoleon had built in honor of those who had served with him. It was very elaborate with carvings and names of those who gave their lives and an eternal flame directly underneath.
Only the five of us from our team went into Paris that day, so we walked more than we needed too, stoping to ask directions with our fearless Ceola, who had been a French teacher for more that 30 years. She loved using her french and talking to the locals we would meet on the street.
The Eiffle Tower was very popular and took more than 2 hours of waiting in line before getting inside to buy tickets, but it was worth it all! Tammy and Ceola had to be talked into going to the top, but, all together, we made it!! I am very proud of Tammy, who suffers from anxiety attacks from elevators and heights--we all held hands and to the top we went!!
We then trekked to the French Armory, getting there too late before they closed. We slowly walked back to the Gen. DeGalle train exit, passing lots of important buildings on the way, such as the legislative and administrative buildings, the Grand Palace and the Petite Palace. I loved the arcitecture of these massive buildings. What a beautiful city!
That evening we arrived back at the church, ate supper at a Chinese restaurant which was next door to the church, and fell into bed!
On Tuesday morning, four of us, minus Mary--for an 82 year old to do all she did the day before, she knew her potential and opted to stay at the church and read and pack for home--headed back on the bus and train for Paris--this time led by Valerie, a French American. We went back to the Armory and enjoyed a long tour through that massive building with all the knights in armor and looking at all the weapons used over at least the last thousand years. How the men were able to wear those massive armour was soon discovered, when we saw knight armour for children as young as 5 years. They were required to wear the armour to get used to its weight and confining stiffness at a very young age. Poor young boys!! It is horrible what we humans put our young through inorder to fight wars--I guess from the song of the movie, South Pacific, "You have to be carefully taught to hate all the people your relatives hate" is very true.
Next we walked to the Englise du Dome- where the ashes of Napoleon are entombed. Again , what a massive, highly decorated place.
We finished up in the Revillie area where there were many shops and stores to buy souviniers, etc. It is a good place to "part with your money fast" and we did just that! It was a long train and bus trip back to Riolle where the church is that we stayed at and we ordered pizza, and packed for home. Brian's chior--which we had heard at the Madeleine Church in Paris on Thursday night--practiced on Tuesday night, so we were able to sit in on the practice and listen to over 50 people use their tallents for singing praises to our Wonderful Lord! I enjoyed that so much! Scott, Brian's accompianiest and director of the band, asked me to critique a song he had just written to see if I liked the ending. I was blown out of the water at the magnificence of the piece! I told him I loved it and he made me feel special to have me critique such a wonderful song.
We awoke on Wednesday morning and packed ourselves-and I do mean PACKED--into a car driven by one of the church members to head for the airport. I have never been to such a place, a huge airport--The Charles deGuall. The driver had to use her navigator to get through Paris and into the terminal we needed!
So, I am back home and enjoyed so much the close friendships I made with the team of 5--Tammy, Alyssa, Ceola, Mary and myself. What a blessing to get to know others in such a way that they become a special part of your life--thank you girls!