L'Ardeche

The camp was situated in the beautiful Ardeche region of France. I frequently found myself wishing I had my camera with me. I did manage to get a few pictures, though.

Everywhere that there isn't forest, there are horse pastures. This is one of the horses I rode.


We saw many gorgeous sunsets from camp.



There is a cute little touristic train that runs right behind the camp. I never actually saw the train, but I walked along the tracks a few times.



One evening there was an impressive lightening storm.


I never got out to take pictures on a really "perfect" day, which frustrates me. Oh well.

Both of these are views from our VTT course.



One weekend our Brazilian friends took us to this amazing blue lake (named "lac bleu" to prove the fact) tucked away in the hills. The stunning water is surrounded by rocky walls and pine trees. The hills were shrouded in a light fog, giving it an even more ethereal feel.


This place is more than just beautiful. During the Nazi occupation of World War II it was used as a secret church. The leader, and probably a choir, stood on an outcropping on the one end of the lake (here it is me and my friend P on the platform)

And seats were cut into the rock wall on the other side of the lake. The church in this part of France didn't just hide itself from the Nazis, either. It was responsible for hiding thousands of Jewish children and has been officially recognized by the nation of Israel for this obedience to God in spite of the dangers. Despite the hardship they lived in, the people lived out the message that they carved into this rock at Lac Bleu- "Dieu est amour." (God is love).