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SMOOTHIES INVADE ALSACE The end of June annual school fete became an opportunity to introduce the concept of “smoothies” to the French in Alsace. Angela bought the 4 ingredients, the local McDonald’s provided the cups and straws, and the neighboring Children’s Home provided the blender. By word of mouth, sales of the new strawberry-banana drink picked up briskly during the hot afternoon, after a slow start. It started to resemble a cooking class, as several stood around to observe the process, ask questions concerning variations, and jot down the recipe. Commercial smoothies have just started appearing on French supermarket shelves in the last year, but have been overlooked, not only because of the high price, but perhaps because the word is unpronounceable for French speakers. McDonald’s offered their own artificial-tasting version this summer and called it a “frappé,” which rolls off the tongue much easier. CHRISTIANS ENERGIZED IN CHAMPAGNE Last week, the Leighs upgraded their car for a week by trading with friends, and drove 5 hours to the nearest YWAM base in the Champagne region. The goal was to lead daily worship for a family camp for friends/alumni of YWAM. Olivia brought a friend and accompanied on the keyboard. Noah operated the English/French song lyric projection. Angela introduced “the 7 Hebrew words for praise” to warm up a receptive audience of mixed ages and cultures early in the morning. Many attendees were spiritually and emotionally drained on arrival, but a large staff enabled the camp to roll smoothly and needs were attended to with private prayer each afternoon. Daniel Schaerer, the founder of YWAM France, was the week’s speaker and clearly a spiritual father for the French. By the end of the week, the attendees were worshiping with gusto and left restored. The Leigh family enjoyed being together for a rare family vacation, sharing meals outdoors with old and new friends, and receiving daily appreciation for their ministry contribution. David will make the same drive again one week later for the national conference.
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TEENAGER MATURES OVERNIGHT A few days later, Olivia Leigh embarked on her memorable trans-atlantic journey. She gained a new self-confidence in asking strangers for help in getting around airports. Family witnesses declared that one would never have known that she had been separated from her sister for 18 months with a 7 year age difference. Olivia brought a breath of fresh air into the house and the girls bonded immediately. Many good seeds were planted during her camp, even though a virus swept through the 2nd week. This was a blessing in disguise for Olivia, as being ill facilitated sleeping several hours during the long solo flight back. Now home, she’s receiving new revelation about how others feel – God is exposing her “normal” egocentric thoughts supernaturally so that she can live out the Golden Rule sooner. “Mom, it must be the worst feeling in the world to know that your teen is embarrassed by you. Seriously.”
RENOVATION GETS GREEN LIGHT In early August, a Christian construction professional came to the Leigh home with drawings, and an estimate to pour new stairs and install a downstairs half bath to replace the primitive toilet room on the 2nd floor. The Leighs believe that God is in agreement with this timing, and can’t wait to see how He provides. TEEN WORKS WITH GOOD ATTITUDE Noah Leigh engaged in a summer of service, not only helping around the house and with worship support, but also helping 2 families move and joining a Canadian construction team for 2 weeks of work at the school, finishing an additional classroom. “Too bad it won’t count for the community service credits that I have to earn for school,” Noah laments. “Now they have to be earned during the school year.” He will be starting his junior year next week, which includes the traditional class trip to Normandy and Paris in the spring. He also looks forward to being on Yearbook staff. Next summer will be his turn to fly to the States for a college visit. |
,” and is the true story of he and his brother spending a year outrunning the SS as anti-Semitic activities encroach on Paris. Though they were not practicing Jews, it was clear that God had His hand of protection on them, and it was nothing short of gripping. In the sequel called ” 
,” he describes a much calmer life after the war as a teenager, but befriending a certain American soldier added adventure to his days that were otherwise filled with dreams of becoming a famous boxer in Las Vegas like Joe Louis. Even though I had to wade through mountains of French slang used in that era, it was quite a history lesson. It also made me proud to be an American. When I speak to a stranger here, often they will assume that I’m English. When I correct them, without fail, their countenance changes completely, and they are eager to talk. I have no doubt that those friendly, generous GIs unloading post-war supply trucks to desperate Europeans paved the way for me.
