Compiegne

Well, here I am in France in one of the cutest towns I have seen yet; Compiegne. Yes, it is just as a French town ought to be. With cobblestone streets, ancient Churches around every corner, an old town hall with more architecture beauty than ever, a castle in a garden in the middle of town, a river with beautiful bridges arching over it and quiet walks alongside it, little old ladies walking their dogs with umbrellas slung over their arms, young people riding their bikes one handed while holding a couple of fresh loaves of bread in the other, and last but definitely not least, the bells of all of the many Catholic Churches ringing their old yet strong and clear tolls across the city. This is Compiegne. This is where I live.

Here is a picture of the town hall.

For those of you who know her, Albertine lives not a third of a block from where this picture was taken. For those of you who do not know her, Albertine is the French girl who came to live with us last summer. She is the one who told me about L’Arche and her mom was able to help me get involved. I go to visit their family quite often on my off time since they are not even a five minute walk from my home. It is such a blessing to have a family here where I can go whenever I want or need! They treat me just like one of their family. J

They live right next door to a Catholic Church. The Church of Saint Antoine. Here is a picture of the side door to the church.

Yes. It is breathtaking.

Already, I know my way around town pretty well. People walk almost everywhere. There are tiny little cars zipping around beeping their oh-so-European-sounding-horns. This sounds terrible, but it is so much more fun hearing the European sirens then American sirens. I always catch myself smiling when I hear its two-noted song.

 

My home: Le Froment

So here’s how L’Arche works, there is one general community in which there are several (usually about 3-5) households in separate locations. These households all participate in the same daily work to earn money for L’Arche. My community, Le Levain (meaning the “leaven bread”) has five households. During the week, all of the people with disabilities (except for those who are too old or are too physically handicapped) come to the place of work. In our community, the work is making candles and mosaic heating pads for hot dishes. The name of the work place is Le Moulin (“the mill”). The name of my household is Le Froment, which means “wheat”.  Now, here is the great part; very quickly, I knew that God had a hand in putting me in Le Foment for several reasons. 1) The other assistants. They are all very good and fun people. I feel lucky to be with the team I am on because two of the five of them share the same love of our Faith. Also, there is always laughter and joy with these people. Reason #2) The people with disabilities, I am already very attached to them. In a future post, I will tell you more about their different personalities JAnd last, but most definitely not least, #3) My household lives in the upstairs apartments of the building where Le Moulin (the mill) is. While that is a great reason, it is not the third reason. In every community, there is a place of worship in the main building of work. Since my community has a very strong Catholic influence…yup! You got it! I have an adoration chapel one flight of stairs from my home! J I could not ask for more. It is wonderful to have the ability to slip down there and pray whenever. I was excited when I found out that I am not half a block from a Catholic Chapel. Little did I know!

My room overlooks the street on which we live, Rue de Paris. I have my own room on the top floor and all the way at the back. I picked this room so that I could have my own space away from the action.

Picture of the view from my bedroom window.

Until next time!