Photos of France :)

So, as I downloaded the pictures from my camera to the computer, I was a little embarrassed as I only took 40... I spent a lot of the week with my mom and good friend from high school, Sara. Therefore, we had 3 cameras... and I was the slacker who knew all 3 of us didn't need to take the same picture 3 times and could just share. So I guess they'll be sharing with me :).

My mom and I - guess where we're at :).

This picture was at the Dorsee (sp?) museum. It's Peter and John hurrying back from Christ's empty tomb. I really liked it.

We ate at a cafe named 'Benjamin', and I took a picture of Sara because it's my vote for the name of baby boy number 2. Sara came 5 1/2 months pregnant and did fantastic!

This is a picture of the Louvre. There were those statues all around it (which in the next picture you'll see how big it was). I'm guessing the statues were 10-12 feet tall? It was a amazing.

Another picture of the Louvre.

There's a few shots from my meager 40 :). I'm sure my mom and Sara have some great ones!

Back in the USA

Well it's so good to be home! After all the travel, I don't know that I want to leave the country for awhile :). But we had a great time and a few adventures. Aaron is currently in New Orleans with about 30 students doing Hurricane Katrina Relief, and we'll see each other Saturday after 2 weeks apart (I came home on the 19th and Aaron left on Saturday the 17th). We've been calling back and forth, but it will be fun to hear the full story of all that's been happening this week. I've come back home to IL for a couple days until he gets home. And now back to France...

We went to Toulouse for 5 days where our region has a partnership with the campuses there. It is a beautiful city! The architecture is just lovely everywhere you look. We spent Monday trying to stay awake and walking around the city and meeting the team there. On Tuesday we met with the team and went on campus in the afternoon to talk to students. Many are pretty willing to talk and just share ideas. In the evening we went to the home of one of the American staff families there and were able to serve them. On Wednesday we had a Bible study in the morning and prayed around the city in the afternoon. That evening we did a craft night outreach for the French women. We Americans brought materials to make cards and bracelettes, and then one of the women shared her testimony. The French women loved it! They don't do crafts like we do here, and I think they enjoyed the opportunity to socialize in a fun way. On Thursday we met with all the staff in Toulouse and went back to campus in the afternoon. That night, a few of us were able to go back to the family and serve them a little more. The "grand finale" came for me that night. I caught the 24 hour stomach bug from the 2 little girls I babysat on Tuesday night. I was out of commission all day Friday. On Saturday morning we flew to Paris and spent the rest of the day and all day Sunday there. Then we flew home on Monday - a LONG day. Paris was AMAZING. I never had a huge desire to go the France or Paris, but it was just so beautiful. There's art and sculpture and gorgeous architecture everywhere you look. In Paris we took a bus tour around the city to see some of the highlights. We got out to walk around the Eiffel Tower (incidentally, it's brown - I didn't expect it to be a color :). On Sunday we went to the museum with Monet, Manet, VanGogh, Renior... (we didn't go to the Louvre because we didn't have much time and it's huge!) It was great to see such beautiful work up close. We went to Saint Chapel and Notre Dame in the afternoon. There is so much more that I would have loved to see. So that's our trip in a nutshell. I really did love it. I don't have a camera cord with me, and so I'll post pictures very soon.

Oh, I almost forgot in all the excitement, Aaron put an offer on a house while I was in France, and it was accepted last Friday! So now we're in the process of buying the house. So we should be moving in the next month. Anyway, so good to be home and much love to you all!

Happy Trails

Happy trails to me actually. :) ... Aaron has the car loaded, and I'm leaving for the Twin Cities so I can depart for France in the morning! I will come back with pictures and tales to tell I am sure. So untill then, have a fantastic week, and I'll have an update when I return!

March already!

Well February went quickly! Sorry it's been 2 weeks since my last post. As the rest of you know, life just gets busy and gets away from you before you know it! We've been busy the past few weeks with work, dodging snow drifts, and catching the germs going around and then recovering, and we've also begun to look for a house. That especially takes pockets of free time. There's a few we're interested in, but we still have landed on anything definite yet. We're hoping to look at a few more this week, but then I leave for France next Sunday; so it'll be put on hold for a little bit. But ultimately, in looking for a house it seems we'll be in Eau Claire for a few more years which we're grateful for. We really like it here. So until the Lord directs otherwise, we'll plant ourselves here for now.

Ministry has been going well this semester as well. Aaron spoke at our weekly meeting Thurs. night, and he did such a good job. I was so proud of him. We've been having 20-ish students each week at AIA, and we're thrilled to see that happening. After the first 4-6 weeks of the semester are over, we meet with students we work with to go over curriculum that covers foundational elements of our relationship with Christ. It's 4 studies that we do one-on-one - usually for an hour a week for the four weeks. This is one of Aaron's and my favorite things. We really enjoy the personal time with the students to dig into the material and answer any questions they may have. So that's a little of what's happening lately. We hope you all are doing well. Thanks for checking in with the Joneses :)

At Last!

So after trying NUMEROUS times to post pictures, today, it just decided to work. So here's a few I've been wanting to post for awhile now. This first one is of TCX - the conference we have every Dec. 28-Jan. 1 with students from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. We had over 1200 students there. It's one of my favorite things of the year.

Here's a picture of the Chicago skyline from our day in Chicago over Christmas.

Here's a picture of what my dad called "mecca" - Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears :). And as every football fan says... Maybe next year.
And here we are on Michigan Avenue. And yes, I have a huge down coat that has been GREAT with how cold it's been lately.

Busy Bees

It has been a full week, but we're getting into more of a routine as the semester goes on. On Wenesday night we took an extra trip with our 3 AIA (Athletes in Action) student leaders to La Crosse to visit the AIA group at their campus. They consistently have 50+ students attending. It was good to meet their student leaders and hear what they've done the past few years and hear some words of wisdom from them. It was also fun to dream about what God could do with our AIA group in a few years. We were also able to take some of the students we lead with us to meet new students in the dorms. Aaron was able to have a great conversation with a guy and see him make a significant decision to make God a part of his life.
On Tuesday it was 4 months since Payton died. In some ways it feels like it's been that long and in other ways it doesn't. We still miss her a lot which I expect will last the rest of our lives.
On a happier note, 1 month from today I'll be flying to Toulouse, France with my mom, dear friend Sara, and 8 other women from our region. We're going on a vision trip to encourage the staff women there as well as participate in the campus ministry they have going there. I'm really looking forward to it - a missions trip with some of my most favorite people in France... I've never been to France and haven't traveled internationally since we came home from our internship during the 01-02 school year. Anyone will tell you that once you have traveled internationally, it puts the bug in you and want to keep going places. :)

So Sad

Aaron and I had our own little super bowl party. First I took a super nap, and then I got up in time for the game. We made wings and guacamole with chips. We may wash it down with ice cream shortly :). I'm frustrated the Bears lost not necessarily because they lost, but because they made stupid plays (really bad passes instead of running the ball more). I do, however, like Tony Dungee and Peyton Manning - so it's fun that even though the Bears lost, I can still be happy the Colts won. So that's our exciting super bowl night. There's a great website that AIA set up for the super bowl about the coaches: www.beyondtheultimate.org . Hope you had a fun game day. Many of you may have been like us and just not wanted to get out in the extreme cold! It's been so nice to be home a lot the last 2 days. It's been a busy start to the year, and we're trying to catch up with life stuff and getting things done around the house. We'll keep you posted on life and ministry. Much love, the Joneses

Week 2

Sorry to be so long in posting again. It's been a full week! And thanks for asking - AIA went great. We had 17 students, which I think is a new high. We'll see what happens tomorrow night. Aaron and I were gone all weekend. Our region has a conference for wives/moms every January, and I always love going to that. Aaron went with a few staff husbands to have a guys weekend. They had a great time. I was able to connect with some dear friends and absorb wisdom from the other women there which I really enjoyed. So now we're in week 2. We had our student leaders meeting tonight. They've done such a good job - we're so proud of them. We hope you all are doing well and keeping warm! It's SO cold! The high this weekend is supposed to be single digits. So any of you in the South feel sorry for us, and we'll feel sorry for you in August when it's 100 and humid :).

Day 1

We survived the first day on campus :). Our staff team was able to talk to some new students, and we passed out around 350 gift bags and took as many surveys in the dining hall. So overall, it a was a good day. I know there were a few of you praying for me, because I'm usually nervous to start the semester and I felt incredible peace. So much so, that I knew people were praying for me because such a strong peace only comes from God. So thank you, I was so grateful for the Lord's tangible presence today. It's exciting to start the semester, because I really like what I get to do in the ministry this year. But it's really hard to go back to full time because that was never supposed to be the case. It's just another reminder that Payton is gone. Tomorrow night we have our first AIA meeting of the semster (Athletes in Action). I'm curious to see how many athletes come. From talking to the student leaders, it seems like there's some excitement for it to start back up again.
And so now, I think I'll put on my pajamas and look at the pile of dirty dishes and wait for Aaron to get home from Bible study on campus.

Bear Down, Chicago Bears!!!

That's how the Bear's fight song starts, and those are the only words to it I know :). But I sing it everytime they win. So even though I did NOT get to watch the game today (meeting with student leaders all afternoon...who I love), I am SO EXCITED that the Bears are in the Superbowl!!! Super excited. Currently routing for Indianapolis...close game. Anywho, on a sad note, it is the beginning of the end for our little 1988 Isuzu pickup truck. It was at the mechanic and has a bad head gasket. We've opted not to fix it and drive it until it goes no more. How long that will be, we don't know. We knew we'd drive our '98 Jetta and the truck until they died...but we just didn't think one would die so soon :). So we'll see what happens. Pray for us tomorrow if you think of it. The semester begins...

Starting up

I've tried a few times to post pictures from Christmas and the conference and have not had any luck. So sorry that there's no new pictures to view. There hasn't been a lot to report on. We've been working the last few weeks gearing up for the semester which starts on Monday whether we're ready or not :). We've been meeting with our student leaders for Athlete's in Action on campus, and I'm really excited to see what God does with that. In talking with the students, it seems like there's a lot of interest among the athletes they know. We'll keep you posted. We'll also meet with the student leaders for the main movement this weekend. It'll be good to see them after a long break.
We're still very much in the midst of the grieving process and continuing to realize it's not necesarily a "quick" thing. I've been thinking a lot in the last few weeks about the impact Payton had in her short life, and it continues to amaze me. She was a remarkable little thing :).
As campus starts up again, we'll probably have more to update you on, but for the past few weeks, life has been relatively mellow which I've appreciated. We hope you're doing well as the 2007 is in full swing. We'll let you know how the new semester starts out. much love, Aaron and Heather

I Tried

So I tried to post pictures from Christmas and could not get them to come up. So, no pictures for now. I'll keep working on it...

Home Again

It feels so good to be home after a long time gone. There's still some mail to sort and clutter to put away, but we've got groceries and are working and reorganizing and getting ready for the semester ahead. We had a great conference with the students. In some ways, I think it's the best one we've had yet. On the last night, the speaker gave a challenge to the students to fully surrender to the Lord and follow His leading for their lives. It was amazing to see 1100 students consider and pray about this. And as I've said before, I have dear friends on staff at other campuses, and it's a joy to see them...and their kids :). We're in that phase of life where everybody is having babies; so there were many little ones to meet as well. I was so tired by New Year's Eve that I sat in the back of the room with some other friends and watched the students excitedly ring in the New Year. I did however, manage to stay up until 2 or so, so that's pretty respectable I guess :)... I won't say how alert I was, but I was awake :). Hope you all had a safe and fun New Year. Much love, the Joneses

Traveling...

We've been on the road for the last week and a half...hence the long time of not posting anything. We had our end of the semester time with our staff team a few hours North of Eau Claire, then we were home for a day and a half before we went to spend Christmas with our families. Now we're at our Christmas conference with roughly 30 students from UWEC and 1100 students from our region. It's one of my favorite things that we do, and it caps off with a rousing New Year's Eve celebration. So we'll get home eventually :). We hope you all had a great Christmas and have a fun New Year. Much Love, the Joneses

Planning and Eval

We're wrapping up the semester and spent a good portion of the week thinking through this past semester and preparing for the next (I love the irony of calling it "spring" semester when it starts in January and there is NOTHING "springy" about it). I'm excited for it. We work with such great students, and we, as staff, really enjoy working together...have I mentioned lately that I just really love my job :). Aaron is currently participating in a men's event which he, of course, enjoys. Tomorrow we need to get some things done before Christmas, like most people I'm sure...primarily, the Christmas cards :). Hopefully many of you will receive yours before it actually is Christmas...