La Grande Challenge (Part two)

When a British couple decided to move to France and convert a semi-derelict farmhouse into a Christian holiday and retreat centre they knew they were in for a challenge - but they had no idea just how big! In the second instalment of their adventure Evelyn and Graeme struggle to install a massive solid stone fireplace.

As the French Summer gave way to autumn here at La Grande Connais we knew that God had truly blessed us. There so much work to do but we took time out to gather wild blackberries, apples, pears and peaches. The fruit was so abundant that much of it lay on the ground, and as we approached the rotting fruit clouds of blue, brown, and yellow butterflies, which had been feeding, filled the air. We watched the field mice gather winter bedding and the farmers bring in the last of their crops. All around us preparations were being made for the cold months ahead; we knew that we should be doing the same. We had a huge draughty ancient farmhouse with no insulation and a heating system that had given up the ghost years ago. Something had to be done.

We looked at the space where once a massive stone fireplace would have stood and decide that it needed to be reinstated. We sat with pencil and paper and designed a replacement and took our drawing to a local stonemason. He agreed to cut the granite for us and told us it would be ready in two weeks. Five weeks later he finally called to say that it was ready. And then the adventure really began!

As we stood there in the drizzle, sinking deeper and deeper into the mud in the stonemason's yard I wondered exactly what planet we had been on when we placed the order. We stood staring at the six enormous blocks of granite.

"It seemed a good idea on paper," I said to Graeme.
"Mmm," he replied.
"It is big," I said.
"Mmm," he replied.
"I wonder how much it weighs," I ventured.
"I wonder," Graeme said.
"About three quarters of a tonne!" our friend chipped in.
"What - in just six pieces of stone?" I gasped.
"Everything OK?" asked the stonemason.
"How am I going to move this?" asked Graeme in a somewhat shaky voice.

The stonemason roared with laughter and said that it was not a problem at all. He said that he would move it with his forklift truck! I think he was missing the point (or maybe not).

He lifted each piece with the forklift and placed them one by one into our trailer and our friend's pick-up. As we gingerly pulled away with our ancient Land Rover's suspension groaning, I am sure I heard the stonemason call out, "Bon chance!".

The next day I had to return to UK for four days and upon my return I was amazed to find that Graeme and our friend and not only put the huge granite pieces in place but that they had also placed a massive old oak beam across the top. The new fireplace was truly awesome, absolutely beautiful, and the icing on the cake was that it looked like it had been there for 200 years.

Evenings now are spent sat in front of roaring fires reading books... when we have finished work, of course.

As the work progressed the money naturally began to dwindle. It was time to advertise the Christian Centre even though it was a long way from being finished. We hoped and prayed the bookings would roll in for the next year and we would complete the mountain of work that still lay ahead, all before Easter. But what if we didn't finish and what if the bookings didn't come? This was now becoming a constant nag in the back of our minds.

I needed to keep praying that God would keep the picture alive for us, that we would not lose the vision that He had given us. Oh how much easier it is to do that on long summer days when everything feels so much more optimistic. The winter that lay ahead was now looking like it could be a long upwards struggle and we needed to ask God to hold us close and keep us inspired. This became our daily prayer that winter.

Graeme and Evelyn's Holiday and Retreat Centre is now open - to book or for more details visit www.christianbreaks.com or email graeme.stewart@club-internet.fr