Home Again

Hi friends: We are back home again. Not much of exciting news for you happened during our time in Florida so we didn't post another blog. But now we are home so we want to tell you some of our interesting (to us and, I hope, to you) happenings since January.

For five weeks Rosie was in California, spending time with our daughter and some siblings and other relatives and friends. She enjoyed much of the time but it was a long separation for us. I worked for Wycliffe Associates (a sister organization to Wyciffe Bible Translators) about 6 or 7 hours a day. While Rosie was gone I spent some free time walking, roller blading, visiting with friends at the RV park, reading, writing and relaxing. When she returned Rosie worked in the kitchen helpiung to prepare coffee breaks for the workers in the morning and afternoon.
Most of my work was helping two professional plumbers, each for a two-week period while they were volunteering. After the last one went home I was left with the final testing, making some required changes, and connecting roof drains to storm sewers. I learned much from the guys and enjoyed the challenging new experience. I made some mistakes but none that couldn't be fixed!!

Except for some permanent staff all the people who work with Wycliffe Associates do so as volunteers. They are not paid or remunerated in any way. Actually, people pay all their own expenses--travel, accommodations, food, and other expenses. There are a few thousand people scattered around the world at any given time helping Bible translators to do their job efficiently. There are teachers, nurses, accountants, administrators, construction people, information technologists, electricians, cooks, office personnel, and others who serve in most countries on five continents. It is exciting to be part of such a group of servants. Maybe some of you could give some short-term time serving the Lord in the U.S. or other countries. Ask us about it!

The night before we left we were able to see the shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Center from forty miles away.

On the way home we drove up the gulf coast of Florida into the panhandle, then through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and into Illinois. We did an easy drive, camped out on Keaton Beach and other campsites along the way. In Tennessee we stayed overnight at a Christian camp and spent the morning doing some work, sharing the time with friends. We wanted to be home by Friday evening so we could attend a memorial service the next morning for a good friend who died three weeks earlier.

So now we are home again doing some spring cleaning of the house and yard. This past week I helped our son in Chicago do some remodeling in their basement. We will be around home for about two months, before going north to Upper Peninsula Bible Camp to help with some construction work for three months. Rosie will probably help in the kitchen or elsewhere with her many friends up there.

We hope all is well with you. We would love to hear from you. You can write us at: abner_bauman@wowway.com (or you can use Rosie's name), leave a comment at the end of this blog (click on 'comments'), or look us up on Facebook! We wish you God's blessing!

2009 Florida Trip

Hi friends:
We left Prospect Heights on Saturday, January 10 after an eight-inch snowfall during the night. Fortunately the snowplow came down our street a short time before we were ready to leave. Wilmore, KY (home of Asbury College and Asbury Seminary) was our first stop where we stayed with friends for two nights. It was a relaxing time after a few very hectic weeks for both Rosie and me. Our next stop was Acworth, GA for two nights at the Hills. Sam is working in Greensboro, NC now so he wasn't home, but we enjoyed the time with Fran and the family. We also had a delightful lunch with the Talleys, good friends from Emmaus Bible School days in the fifties.

We arrived at Wycliffe Associates headquarters on schedule, where we are parked in their spacious RV park, way back at the end of the line! There are about 75 motorhomes and trailers in the park right now. Some people had to be turned away! The big news down here for a few days was the cold weather. Several mornings we had a hard frost, but nothing like Chicago with 0 and 5 below! Today was a near-record warm day--about 82; now that is what I like!
After a few days here Rosie flew to Orange County, CA for several weeks with our daughter, Karen, and also to see her sister and brother. There are over a hundred and fifty people here at Wycliffe Associates (WA) so I am not alone, but I do miss Rosie. There are some couples here with whom we worked in England last January-March and one couple from Valence, France. There are others that we remember from our month here in 2007.
Every day we have devotions together at 8 a.m., then work til noon and again from 1 to 4:30 with a coffee break mid-morning and afternoon. People work in all kinds of areas--kitchen, office, sewing, landscaping, digging ditches and the building construction. There are about 25 to 30 of us who are working on the new addition to their offices, the building we worked on two years ago. Another 10 or so help in cleaning up, fixing tools, shopping for supplies, etc. Not many work really hard but a lot of work gets done and they are all volunteers paying to be here! These people love the Lord and are serious about helping in the goal of Bible translation.

Most of the time I have been working with a plumber installing pipes for the water supply, drains, restrooms, etc. It has been fun working with him and learning some new tricks of the trade!

Rosie and I had dinner with Dave and Linda Marcy on MLK day which was a holiday here. They have been working with Wycliffe Bible Translators for about 30 years since we sent them out from our church. Last Sunday I enjoyed visiting their church which moved into a new building in 2007.

I enjoyed the service and will probably be attending there in future Sundays. It is a church very much like our home church, Arlington Countryside Church; the music was similar, format, etc. The people were very enthusiastic, energetic, engaged and the pastor gave a good, biblical and practical message.
As plans are now we will be staying here until about mid-March and then head back home to take care of many details, such as selling the home of a friend who recently moved into assisted living. Rosie has been very involved in that transition.
Well, until next time, thanks for traveling with us.

France Blog Five

Home again! We arrived safely yesterday (Thursday) afternoon a bit tired from the 9-hour flight directly from Paris. All is well here; just had to mow the grass this morning.
Our TGV train ride from Valence to Paris was delightful; fast (2 hours and 10 minutes for 300 miles) and comfortable with pretty scenery along the way. In Paris we stayed at a Protestant Mission guest house; it is in an old building but very clean, comfortable and convenient. It was only a 5-minute walk to the train station that connects to the massive subway system in the city. We had no trouble getting around.
In the two and a half days there we saw a lot of the usual sights (Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Louvre, Arch of Triumph, Sainte Chapelle, Opera House) as well as walking some local markets. We didn’t go into the Louvre as we had done that years ago, but did the long walk all the way from Notre Dame to the Arch of Triumph which takes you along the Seine River, past the Louvre and up the Champs Elysees.


One day we met Rosie’s sister and her niece and husband and his mother. We had arranged the meeting as they were in Paris after a tour of Germany. The niece did not tell Rosie’s sister about getting together so it was a big surprise for her. She wondered if it was just a chance meeting! We met them at the Eiffel Tower and spent the afternoon and evening with them. That was fun to do.

There is so much to see in Paris but we didn’t want to visit a lot of museums and palaces, so we walked the streets a lot and rode the subway to get around to the highlights. We did take an evening boat ride up and down the Seine River; that was ‘cool’ in more ways than one! Also saw the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. Fun.



Yesterday morning we woke up early and took the subway/train to the airport which is a long way from the city. It was nice to not have to rush but do the check-in, security checks and boarding in a rather leisurely way.
Our month in France was wonderful! We enjoyed Valence, the people we worked with, the work that was accomplished, the many people we met, seeing some interesting sites in that part of France, and the few days in Paris. We would gladly do it again! But as volunteers we had to pay all our own expenses, including the food in Valence; only the housing was provided. But we believe in the worldwide Bible translation ministry so are glad for the small part we can have to make it easier for the dedicated translators to do their thing.

Thanks again for traveling with us. This will be our last blog until we go to Orlando, Florida in early January with our RV to work at the Wycliffe center. Thanks to those of you who have left comments on the blog. It is always good to hear from you.

Abner and Rosie

France Blog Four

Well, the day has come; this morning we leave Valence by the fast TGV train to Paris. The director here will take us to the TGV station after coffee break at 10. We will stay at a mission guest house in Paris for three nights. On Tuesday we will meet Rosie's niece and her husband and Rosie's sister; they are on a trip around Europe and coming from Germany to Paris for a few days. It will be fun to visit around the city for a bit in the afternoon. On Wednesday we are on our own with lots of places we would like to see, although we will probably only see a small part of what there is to see in Paris. On Thursday noon we fly non-stop to Chicago.
The last week in Valence was another good one. We got lots of work done, winding down on the project. One couple will leave on Thursday and the other couple will leave the following week, so there are some last-minute tasks to do yet.
In the evenings we went out to dinner with various families--a French/American couple, a Swedish lady, one of the single staff ladies, and the director's family. It made for a busy day, working until about 5:30 or six and then going out for dinner, getting home about 9:30 or so most nights.

On Saturday we worked until noon and then went for an outiing with two people from the office. We drove about an hour south on the tollroad to Poet-Lavel where there is a 13th century hilltop village and a Protestant museum. The museum tells about the history of the Protestant reformation in the south of France, the persecution of the Hugonotts and wars between the Catholics and Protestants. It was a very picturesque village and interesting small museum. On the way home we also stopped at a pottery store in a grotto motif; very unique.



Yesterday (Sunday) we went to a small Salvation Army church within walking distance; quite a contrast from the vibrant church the week before. Afte lunch the six of us went for our last walk around Valence; it ended up being a two and a half hour walk along the Rhone River and back into town. We were all pretty tired but it was a lovely afternoon--warm, sunny, clear sky.

Afte supper we packed, did some email work, and late into the night I finished Big Russ & Me by Tim Russert; a very interesting book.

Now it is breakfast, final packing, coffee break and off to Paris.

France Blog Three

We’ve had a full week of work, including a few after-supper jobs. Things have gone well; we are still all healthy and accident free, so I would say it has been a good week. Little by little we are checking items off the list. One more week to go!

Yesterday (Sat.) we worked until noon; Rosie and her fellow-cook, Donna, went to the open air vegetable and flower market. That was fun. In the afternoon we walked around town for a few hours. It was a sunny day; lots of people were on the streets and in the shops. We stopped by the train station to pick up our tickets for next Monday’s ride to Paris. We joined a tour of the 150-year-old Valence theater; our french-speaking friend was with us to interpret. Across the street from the theater was the town hall; a popular place for Saturday weddings, fun to watch them exiting. We also walked through the ancient massive cathedral, then stopped at the ice cream shop on our way home.


In the evening we did a 12-minute fast walk down to the train station to meet the Eurasia Director of Wycliffe Associates and his wife who arrived by train from Cologne, Germany. It was a fast walk because we were reading and didn’t watch the clock for the 8:12 bullet train. The train pulled in just as we arrived at the station. We walked them to their hotel and spent about an hour with them catching up on news. They are friends from the England project earlier in the year.

Today we walked to another church nearby. Our friend translated for us again; all but the songs and prayers! It was a 2-hour service with about 250 people, a good cross-section of ages, and a good music team. Right after the service we walked to a downtown Italian restaurant for a delicious dinner with dessert. The Eurasia director treated us; a thank-you dinner, so that was nice!

Tomorrow we begin the last week of work; hopefully we will get most items off the list! We will leave even if we don’t.

Hope you have had a good week. Any comments are always enjoyed; you can click the “comments” button at the end of this blog, stay anonymous if you like, and tell us a bit about your activities.

France Blog Two

Another week has passed here in France so it is time for a new blog posting. The weather has been cool and wet; we had several days of heavy rain but some sun too. It was a good week though; we are all well, nobody has had a cold, flu, accident or anything. Praise the Lord.

Work went well; we got a lot of things done from scraping walls to final painting, dropping a ceiling under a stairway landing, removing an old tile floor in a small bathroom and retiling the walls and floor.
Rosie has been busy preparing meals, baking for coffee breaks, shopping, laundry, etc. Another gal helps her in the mornings and does shopping with her.

Yesterday (Sat.) we went to Avignon with one of the other couples, the Carmans. It is about an hour and a half south from here by slow train. Avignon is a pretty city on the Rhone River, very ancient and originally completely walled. Today it is a bustling city, lots of hotels and restaurants thriving on the tourist industry.


In the 14th century the papal residence was moved from Rome to Avignon. Nine popes ruled from there before it was moved back to Rome in 1376.
We toured the huge papal palace that was built by the first two popes and walked the streets and parks of the city. It is a big tourist attraction and was loaded with people, including a man we met who drives a metra train through Prospect Heights every day and knows a friend of ours! Small world! Also had coffee at McDonalds!

Today we went to a good church of about 300 people; great enthusiasm, good music and preaching, lots of young people, young marrieds couples as well as older people. In the afternoon two gals took us north about 15 miles to visit a thousand-year-old church and a winery.
The area is vineyard country. It was interesting to see how the vines grow fastened to stakes. Most of the bunches of grapes hang on the bottom fifteen to twenty inches of the vine. It was a sunny afternoon so the drive along the Rhone River was very pleasant.

Tomorrow it is back to work; two more full weeks of work before we go north to Paris and fly home.

Thanks to those of you who responded with comments to our last blog. Hope you are well.

Valence, France Blog One

On September 2 we left home for Valence, France. The trip over was quite uneventful; we made our train connection in Paris with about 30 extra minutes and enjoyed the 200-mph, 2 hours and 10 minutes, non-stop ride to Valence. We were met at the Valence station by the director of the Wycliffe Bible Translator office in France. After a restless night without too much sleep we began work on the project set out for us.

After a few days we have adjusted somewhat to the seven-hour time change and have accomplished a number of tasks on the list. We are here as part of a three-couple team to assist the French organization complete the renovation of a 200-year-old building they have occupied for several years. Two previous teams in 2006 and 2007 did most of the heavy-duty dirty work; we are trying to finish up most of the remaining work.
The building has offices on the ground floor and an apartment on the second floor. The third floor is an attic that is only used for storage now, quite uninhabitable! We have had to do some major plumbing work, install door latches, repair a rickety bannister, and scrape off old textured paint from hallway walls.

After three days of rain we finally had a beautiful sunny day today. We walked to a local reformed church. After lunch some friends guided us on a visit to an ancient castle overlooking Valence.

It was a great afternoon for the long climb up and panoramic view of Valence from the castle. On our way home we walked through the city park along the Rhone River. The office and apartment here is only a five minute walk from the center of town; very convenient.

Rosie and one of the other wives have been busy with meals -- shopping, cooking, cleanup. Everybody has been glad for the excellent meals; we will have no problem surviving!!!
We’ll tell you more about Valence later; this is a new and interesting place for us. We will probably also go out of town on a couple of weekends.
Abner and Rosie

Comments on the blog or emails are always welcome. Thanks.