Our adventure in New Hampshire
Wow, what a weekend. It was a weekend of contrasts: at times tiring and at other times restful, at some moments worrisome and at other moments peaceful. Definitely a learning experience! It's hard for me to describe a whole weekend without getting into too many details and losing your interest because I'm pretty detail-oriented in my descriptions so I'll try to pick out some highlights that are particularly memorable.
Friday night we were exhausted. We came back from our skiing trip in Bromont and picked up Emilia at the friends who had been keeping her. We didn't stay late. We got home, put Emilia to bed, and managed to unpack our bags from that day’s trip and repack them for our next trip before crashing in bed. We were leaving the next morning for New Hampshire. We were both a little worried because Andréanne had not been feeling too strong so we prayed that a good’s night rest would allow her to feel better.
Our trip to New Hampshire was peaceful. There is such nice scenery on the Interstate 89. Andréanne and Emilia slept for a good part of the trip. Apart from that, it was pretty uneventful.
Our afternoon in NH was quiet. We arrived at the home of our charming hosts, Dan and Lauren and their two daughters, at around 2PM. We chatted with them and got to know them a little better. We had a lot of fun with redneck jokes. Some of those are really funny, albeit a little vulgar. Emilia played with me and with Shannon’s kids. She also had fun running after and petting their three cats. Andréanne had a scratchy throat and some fever so she took some Tylenol and rested.
The evening was great for learning new things and enlarging my perspective. We discussed a range of subjects, from the Promise Keepers movement, to the stereotypes Quebecers have regarding Americans, to the state of Christianity in Québec. We also watched some cool short videos from a short film festival and a teaching video from NOOMA. They really opened my eyes to the possibility of presenting truths in a totally new format, adapted for our post-modern generation. They aren’t preachy but open up the door for conversation and ultimately, relationship-building.
We really put our trust in God on Sunday morning. We woke up early, at around 7AM, in order to be on time for the church’s first service. Andréanne was pretty tired because she had fallen asleep at around 4AM. Her throat was not entirely better either. So, we decided that we had come this far and we had better continue to trust in God in spite of the adversity and trust that He would take care of things.
The church service was encouraging. The building is beautiful! It’s a new construction from last summer and they really made it very practical and useful. Andréanne sang at the first service and I think it went really well. The congregation seemed touched by the message in her song, which was her intention. She sang again in the second service but I missed it. Emilia was feeling cranky so I stayed in the lobby with her. Andréanne was very enthusiastic about it afterwards. She told me it went even better than her song in the first service and that she received a lot of good comments. That was encouraging, even exhilarating!
After church, we had a rejuvenating lunch at a restaurant called “Outback.” The food was really good! It was nice to relax after the stress of the morning. We also knew we were heading back home. I took a few pictures of Shannon’s kids playing in their van and then of the group.
I asked Shannon’s kids to give me a nice smile and then I let them fool around.
A shot of the rest of the group, chatting inside the restaurant.
But the scariest and most trying time of the weekend, for me, was the ride home. About 2 hours into the trip (the entire trip takes about 4.5 hours), Andréanne and I were chatting about something when I noticed that the engine temperature gauge was all the way in the red. We pulled over and I filled up the car with anti-freeze. We started to drive again but we hadn’t gone more than one minute when I had to pull over again, because of the problem was there again: engine overheat! After about 10 minutes on the side of the freeway, we were visited by a state trooper. He enquired about how we were doing and then offered to call a tow truck, which we accepted. And so we waited in the car, for about half an hour, trying to stay calm and keep Emilia occupied. When we first pulled over, I thought "This is just a bad situation. The car is going to get better and we’ll be able to go home and get it fixed." But with the trooper calling the tow truck and it getting dark outside, I got a little panicky. Here we were, on the side of the highway in Vermont, in a broken-down car. Andréanne had called her friend Shannon on her cell phone and they were coming back to help us. But would we all fit in their car? And how were we going to get the car fixed and then get it back home? Would it be expensive? Would the garage try to rip us off? Why is this happening to me, I just want to get home! As soon as that last question came to mind, I realized that I was thinking wrong. I’ve heard enough sermons saying that when we start to think "God, why is this happening to me?" it’s time to remember that God is in control and that everything He allows happens for a reason. And so, slowly my perspective shifted to "Hey, whatever happens, I gotta trust God."
The rest of the ride home was great communal time. After the tow truck arrived and brought our car to a nearby garage, our family piled into Shannon and Frederic’s van and we drove home with them. It was fun, the two families crammed in together. Andréanne, Shannon, and the kids squeezed into the back and watched a movie while Frederic and I talked in the front.
So, that was our weekend. We got home tired but happy that God had protected us.
Friday night we were exhausted. We came back from our skiing trip in Bromont and picked up Emilia at the friends who had been keeping her. We didn't stay late. We got home, put Emilia to bed, and managed to unpack our bags from that day’s trip and repack them for our next trip before crashing in bed. We were leaving the next morning for New Hampshire. We were both a little worried because Andréanne had not been feeling too strong so we prayed that a good’s night rest would allow her to feel better.
Our trip to New Hampshire was peaceful. There is such nice scenery on the Interstate 89. Andréanne and Emilia slept for a good part of the trip. Apart from that, it was pretty uneventful.
Our afternoon in NH was quiet. We arrived at the home of our charming hosts, Dan and Lauren and their two daughters, at around 2PM. We chatted with them and got to know them a little better. We had a lot of fun with redneck jokes. Some of those are really funny, albeit a little vulgar. Emilia played with me and with Shannon’s kids. She also had fun running after and petting their three cats. Andréanne had a scratchy throat and some fever so she took some Tylenol and rested.
The evening was great for learning new things and enlarging my perspective. We discussed a range of subjects, from the Promise Keepers movement, to the stereotypes Quebecers have regarding Americans, to the state of Christianity in Québec. We also watched some cool short videos from a short film festival and a teaching video from NOOMA. They really opened my eyes to the possibility of presenting truths in a totally new format, adapted for our post-modern generation. They aren’t preachy but open up the door for conversation and ultimately, relationship-building.
We really put our trust in God on Sunday morning. We woke up early, at around 7AM, in order to be on time for the church’s first service. Andréanne was pretty tired because she had fallen asleep at around 4AM. Her throat was not entirely better either. So, we decided that we had come this far and we had better continue to trust in God in spite of the adversity and trust that He would take care of things.
The church service was encouraging. The building is beautiful! It’s a new construction from last summer and they really made it very practical and useful. Andréanne sang at the first service and I think it went really well. The congregation seemed touched by the message in her song, which was her intention. She sang again in the second service but I missed it. Emilia was feeling cranky so I stayed in the lobby with her. Andréanne was very enthusiastic about it afterwards. She told me it went even better than her song in the first service and that she received a lot of good comments. That was encouraging, even exhilarating!
After church, we had a rejuvenating lunch at a restaurant called “Outback.” The food was really good! It was nice to relax after the stress of the morning. We also knew we were heading back home. I took a few pictures of Shannon’s kids playing in their van and then of the group.
I asked Shannon’s kids to give me a nice smile and then I let them fool around.
A shot of the rest of the group, chatting inside the restaurant.
But the scariest and most trying time of the weekend, for me, was the ride home. About 2 hours into the trip (the entire trip takes about 4.5 hours), Andréanne and I were chatting about something when I noticed that the engine temperature gauge was all the way in the red. We pulled over and I filled up the car with anti-freeze. We started to drive again but we hadn’t gone more than one minute when I had to pull over again, because of the problem was there again: engine overheat! After about 10 minutes on the side of the freeway, we were visited by a state trooper. He enquired about how we were doing and then offered to call a tow truck, which we accepted. And so we waited in the car, for about half an hour, trying to stay calm and keep Emilia occupied. When we first pulled over, I thought "This is just a bad situation. The car is going to get better and we’ll be able to go home and get it fixed." But with the trooper calling the tow truck and it getting dark outside, I got a little panicky. Here we were, on the side of the highway in Vermont, in a broken-down car. Andréanne had called her friend Shannon on her cell phone and they were coming back to help us. But would we all fit in their car? And how were we going to get the car fixed and then get it back home? Would it be expensive? Would the garage try to rip us off? Why is this happening to me, I just want to get home! As soon as that last question came to mind, I realized that I was thinking wrong. I’ve heard enough sermons saying that when we start to think "God, why is this happening to me?" it’s time to remember that God is in control and that everything He allows happens for a reason. And so, slowly my perspective shifted to "Hey, whatever happens, I gotta trust God."
The rest of the ride home was great communal time. After the tow truck arrived and brought our car to a nearby garage, our family piled into Shannon and Frederic’s van and we drove home with them. It was fun, the two families crammed in together. Andréanne, Shannon, and the kids squeezed into the back and watched a movie while Frederic and I talked in the front.
So, that was our weekend. We got home tired but happy that God had protected us.
posted by Olivier at
2:05 p.m.
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