One tree, three neighbors . . .
We woke up to a loud crash, followed by a second one a few moments later. “What was that?” we wondered! A huge tree from our land had uprooted and fallen across the public path behind our house (left photo)! Thankfully no one was walking there at that time. Now we had to figure out how to clear the path!
A while back I had seen a man going down the path on a very old makeshift vehicle. He seemed to know what to do in these situations, but I didn't know his name nor his address. If anyone did know, it would be a neighbor down the road who grew up here. I had tried to greet him several times, but only got a strained half grin in return. He was not excited about new people in his neighborhood!
I saw him outside, so I decided to try again. “Bonjour Monsieur.” No reaction. A big smile, two more “bonjours" and a request for help finally got his attention. I told him about the fallen tree and asked if he knew the person with the vehicle. “You mean Laurent,” he replied. He said that Laurent lived nearby, but that I should go through his mother, another neighbor just down the road. So, I walked to Laurent’s mother’s house and rang the doorbell. I told her about the fallen tree, the other neighbor’s referral, and asked if her son could help. She picked up the phone and called him. He could come later that day.
Meanwhile, the first neighbor was already at the tree with his chainsaw and was cutting the bulk of what was blocking the path. He then told me about living here when there were few houses and lots of vineyards. Later, Laurent arrived with his vehicle. Our son Ben (who was here visiting with his family), and Laurent made an excellent team as they used cables and pulleys to totally clear the pathway (middle photo). We then had good talks with Laurent and his mother who had come to watch. Thanks to one fallen tree, we got to know three neighbors!
Paul and Karan Davis
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Make Plans Now to Join us for Our
September 2021 Adventures in Missions
Zoom Gathering this Sunday, September 12th from 5 PM – 6PM
with Faith Promise Missionary, Dale Hoskins,
serving as a Translation Consultant and Team Leader with Seed Company, a Wycliffe Bible Translators affiliate that is at the cutting edge of bringing the Bible to people who have never had God’s Word in a language they understand.
Here are the Zoom log-in details;
Time: Sunday, September 12, 2021 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88150000149?pwd=R3lZTmZ3TWdDZDk4WjRvcDBCVFc5Zz09
Meeting ID: 881 5000 0149
Passcode: 009736
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kbXGmSnIrQ
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Hear from our Faith Promise Missionaries from around the world and learn first-hand about the cultures where they live and serve!
Leah Rigsby, Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 Edner Jeanty, Haiti 🇭🇹
John North, Australia 🇦🇺 Gary & Penny Seithel 🇬🇧
And more!
We look forward to seeing you there!
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