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Dr. Claudia R. Wintoch is
part of the apostolic network Harvest International Ministries (HIM - founder Ché Ahn).

Pray for the writing
of Claudia's first book, and a few thousand dollars so she can sign the contract with the publisher.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Fellowship With Old Friends

I set my alarm for 9 am, having gone to bed late, taking advantage of having internet access, especially as I'd had to pay quite a lot for it. As yesterday I did not go have the expensive breakfast, but used up the bread and stuff I had.

I knew the time the train would leave that I had to catch. But I wanted to leave early just to be sure I'd make it on time. So I left my room at 10:30 am. I checked out at the reception. I was glad when I saw that I did get the deal of paying only 2 nights for 3 nights here. He asked whether everything had been okay, and I told him more or less, not wanting to tell him the things that hadn't. I had a train to catch!

I went outside into the cold - thankfully the sun was shining at least. I had one big bag on one side, the carry-on on the other side, and the handbag over the shoulder, and off I went, walking to the bus stop. It wasn't as bad as I had thought. I was lucky - the bus came just after I had arrived there. I got on - quite an undertaking with all the luggage - and only a few stops later I got off.

Now to getting everything to the train platform - walking, then walking uphill, then through the barrier at the train station, and then the stairs. I carried up one at the time. I was glad when I had made it.

Then the train was delayed by 13 minutes, and I had to wait in the cold for 25 minutes; it was bearable thanks to the sunshine. Ensuite I had 38 minutes in the train before I arrived at St.Ouen l'Aumône. Once I got off the train, I had to master another staircase, this time going down.

And then I saw my friend Pascale; I hadn't seen her in 2 years. In 2006 she was in Mali with another lady. We went to her car, and then went to "our" restaurant where we always go to eat. We had a wonderful time catching up, talking about all kinds of things. Time went by fast.

Since we still had some time and were just around the corner from her church, we went over there. It was great to be back at CLN! The pastors weren't there, but my good friend Corinne was, plus some other people that I know. We stayed for about 40 minutes, and then we left to go to the airport. Pascale was so kind to take me there. I enjoyed the car ride, talking some more. After 3 pm I was at the airport, and had to say good-bye.

Flight To Austria

I checked in, and still I had a good hour in the frequent flyer lounge, taking advantage of free internet for the last time.

Then I went through security, and a few minutes later boarding started. I was the first one on the plane. A few moments later I fell asleep; I was pretty tired. I slept for about an hour, until we were served drinks - no food. The whole flight lasted an hour and a half.

At 7:15 pm my plane landed in Vienna, Austria, my hometown. It was pretty cold - minus 3 C (26.6 F) plus wind. My Mom picked me up and drove me to my grandmother's house. It was good catching up with her.

At my grandmother's house, I got some food and sat down with her in front of the TV for some time, before going upstairs to do some unpacking and going online. I hope I get to go to bed earlier tonight.

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