Raymond and I were without a tool. We had been sent out with a portable dvd player, with the intent of approaching students, offering to show them an 8 minute film, and discussing it afterward. But our dvd player was out of battery. What do we do now, we asked?

I proposed that we come up with a simple survey and ask a few questions, the questions that are most on my mind when I talk with French students anyway: Do you believe in God? What is your religious/spiritual background? And what do you think it means to be a Christian?

We approached a group of four students and explained that we were part of a Christian student group and would like to hear their thoughts on God and faith. They were open, so we sat down on the grass with them. One promptly offered us a cigarette (: I was able to ask them all three questions, and we had a really good conversation for over an hour! When asked if they believe in God their response was typical, "I don't believe in God, I'm Cartesian." This is referring to the French mathematician and philosopher, Descartes, inventor of the classic Cartesian system.

I spent my spring break playing in the sand, but not at the beach. We had two enormous bags of sand delivered (70 cubic feet) to put under a new patio. Unfortunately, the truck couldn't get very close to our yard, so the sand was transported one wheelbarrow at a time the remaining 75 yards. I think my arms are an inch and a half longer! The project included removing the old tiles, removing the bamboo from our hedge (which spreads obnoxiously!), hand tilling the soil for bamboo roots, leveling and tamping, laying sand, then tiles. We plan to plant some kind of greenery between the tiles, which should look really nice! Click "read more" to see the before and after pictures!