Central to life lived on mission is HOME. So much more than where we keep our stuff or where we eat and sleep, home is where meaningful life happens. It is where we invite people in, where we eat together and grow together. Home is where neighbours become friends and where we take care of those around us. Home is where creating community begins.
Shortly after arriving in Aix-les-Bains, we felt the desire to find our home. While our apartment was a blessing, it was both tiny and expensive, so we knew it would be temporary. In search of a place to settle, we began to explore different neighbourhoods in and around the city.
One Sunday afternoon in May we visited the community of Lafin. As we wandered the streets, something about this neighbourhood was different than the rest. The homes were old and full of character, many built right up against another. Unlike most other communities that had tall fences with large gates, here the homes and yards were visible from the street. We noticed small gatherings of people in backyards talking together, waving hello at others passing by. Despite being in the city, it had the warm and welcoming feeling of a small village. And as Noëlle would later put it, it felt like “us” somehow.
Stopping at the tiny, unassuming square in the centre of Lafin, we sat on a park bench, praying and soaking in our surroundings. Is this it, God? Is this the neighbourhood where we would settle and make home? As we sat in Place Lafin, in the heart of the community, we all had this growing feeling that this was where we needed to be. In fact I (Becky) had this feeling that we needed to ask God to provide a house for us right there, near Place Lafin.
As we left the square, Joel noticed a guy walking in our direction wearing a t-shirt with a Canadian flag, so he said hello. The man introduced himself as Pierre, and we chatted with him for a few minutes, briefly sharing how we arrived in Aix-les-Bains, how much we liked this particular neighbourhood, and that we had been searching for a place to live. As if divinely inspired, Pierre turned and pointed to a house just behind him and asked “why don’t you buy this house?”, which he believed was for sale. Before we could grasp what was happening, he called the owner who greeted us and welcomed us inside for a tour of the house. It seemed to be just what we needed, was under budget, and was just across from Place Lafin. All four of us found ourselves imagining living there.
Stunned by our experience, we returned to our apartment and talked as a family about what just happened. Should we pray about it? Ask God to make it clear? Very appropriately, Noëlle’s response was “What do we need to pray about? It seems like God just made it really obvious!”
Seven months later, on December 20, we moved into our new community. into our HOME.
