...A large beautiful tree sits in front of me...branches stretched out wide, welcoming anyone to come and sit under them...to take a rest.
The Lord has brought me to a point of desperation. I have been so desperate to "do" things, make "plans", basically keep myself busy. But nothing was happening. I couldn't find things to "do", "plans" to make (and some kept falling through), and I have been bored--I have felt useless. But He has said to me, "Come and rest in Me."
So after fighting for a bit, I have given in. And the past few days have been truly glorious...blessings from the Lord.
The weather in Paris has been amazing the past few days. We have had warmer temperatures, sunny skies, a slight breeze...and NO rain (this is not typical for this time of year). Since the weather has been so great, I decided to spend this Sunday afternoon in Luxembourg Gardens. What a magnificent place! I've spent the past few hours going through my Bible study while lounging in front of the fountain, taking pictures of little kids playing, walking on the tree covered paths, watching friends and families relax together, reading a book, and just sitting. There are benches, fountains, toy boats, playgrounds, pony rides, a carousel, and more trees than I've seen in one place since I've been here in Paris. There are yellow and orange leaves, green grass, gray gravel paths, brown trunks, and an occassional peak at blue sky. Mmm...can't you just smell the crisp fall air.
As I sit here, I am reminded of my purpose here. I am reading a book and it has just reminded me of something very basic and important in missions for every Christian. There is sowing, hoeing, watering, weeding, toil, hardship, and suffering before the harvest can be reaped. I look at these tress and flowers and I am reminded of how they did not start this way. There was so much more before this point...and there will be so much more before the next and last point.
The Lord has not called me to Paris to harvest. He has called me here to sow, hoe, water, weed, and more. Every soil is at a different point...and every person is at a different point of readiness for acceptance of the Truth. The Lord has called me to break up the hard ground for some, to plant see for others, to get rid of the weeds for some, and to water the plant that has already sprouted. Oh, the possibilities. And now I look to the Holy Spirit to help me discern the soil...and then put me to work in the fields.
Monday, October 25, 2004
Sunday, October 17, 2004
My Roommate Ali
This is my roommate, Ali. She just arrived about a week ago and we are having a great time sharing a room. She gets the bottom bunk, I get the top. Ali is a fabulous guitar player and a wonderful worship leader and its truly awesome to be able to have real music in the background and someone to lead worship any time...even at 9am.
My Apartment
This is my apartment building. I live in the south side of Paris in this really tall building. Our apartment is on the 28th floor, that three from the top! We have a great view and have had the priviledge of fixing it up for the past month. Its looking pretty good:o)
Me and Ashley
Ashley is one of my roommates. We decided to buy this fleece fabric to make our own blankets. She always wanting to do something creative and crafty. Oh...and she loves to fix things and put things together. She's great.
Me and Heidi and a Huge Crepe
Mmmm..this crepe was so good. It was banana and nutella (my new favorite condiment). We were out for Nuit Blanche and got hungry aroud 1am. So, we stopped for a crepe. My roommate, Heidi, decided to help me out with it. Heidi is our artsy girl and is always cooking up something really good in the kitchen. I admire her boldness with new friends and a new language. We're having a great time studying French together.
House Church
This is some of our group at house church. It always begins with a great dinner and then on to worship in the living room. Its a sweet time of coming home to family every Wednesday night. Its a very different and neat experience.
Retreat Group in Spain
The retreat in Spain was definitely a success. I made a lot of new friends and I have plenty of places in Europe to visit now. I learned so much from the discussion sessions and just getting to talk with the missionaries that are on the field right now. I coulndn't have asked for a better training session. A week in Spain by the beach...with 20 other people. I loved every moment of it and was a little sad to leave. But I'm thankful for email.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Partnerships...
...Being in a city with so few Christians makes you realize the value of the ones that are there. I feel so fortunate to have a body of believers among me. This past Thursday, we had a group gathering at the Campbell's apartment. The group was composed of my team, the Campus Crusade (Agape) team, and the Grace Bretheren team. We met for fellowship and prayer. The time was so sweet. I believe that the presence of the Lord was with us in a mightly way...you could just feel the Holy Spirit. No, it was not a time of charismatic praise and worship...but a time of Christians who have a common burden for the lost in Paris, coming together to meet eachother and then pray together. It was powerful. As we read through a chapter in Ephesians about being of one body and one spirit, it all had new meaning to me. Denominational barriers are broken when you come to a place where it is so easy to feel alone and too small to make a difference. And that's where unity begins. We are one body called to the same purposes for the Lord. I believe that is one reason why the Spirit chose to be with us in that living room. We tore down our walls and became as one body and one spirit....crying out to the Lord. I'm only left with a hunger for more. I hope we get to meet often.
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Sundays in the Park...
...I think I've found what will be one of my favorite things to do here in Paris. One day of the week it seems like the whole city is relaxed. Sunday. On Sundays, most stores are closed and the streets seem empty. There are only two places that seem to be busy: the market and the park.
Paris is full of many parks. I love that about Paris. Although its this huge city, they gave us tons of parks in which to go to escape the city...I have two beautiful ones right beside my apartment. But the best time to go to a park is on a Sunday. You will see so many families enjoying the fall weather and time together in the park. Kids are playing on the swing sets, dads and sons are kicking a soccer ball, moms are carefully watching their children and providing the bagguette for the outing.
So...I think one of my favorite things to do here in Paris will be to go to a park, sit on a bench, and watch families spending the day laughing, playing, and just being together.
Paris is full of many parks. I love that about Paris. Although its this huge city, they gave us tons of parks in which to go to escape the city...I have two beautiful ones right beside my apartment. But the best time to go to a park is on a Sunday. You will see so many families enjoying the fall weather and time together in the park. Kids are playing on the swing sets, dads and sons are kicking a soccer ball, moms are carefully watching their children and providing the bagguette for the outing.
So...I think one of my favorite things to do here in Paris will be to go to a park, sit on a bench, and watch families spending the day laughing, playing, and just being together.
Friday, October 01, 2004
The past week...
...I've been in Paris for about 2 weeks now. It started out slow, but now its picking up some pace. So, here are some updates.
This past week was full of lots of new things, surprises, disappointment, excitement, praise, and even a little shock. I finally got my dresser, but as I opened up the box I realized that it was in 153 parts!! Yes...we finally got it almost put together, with the help of my fabulous roommates. That was an accomplishment. Tuesday came with my first encounter with culture shock. It wasn't a bad episode and with lots of prayer it was gone by the second half of the day. Then came French class. I found a possible French class that I could join for a month for a cheap price and it was supposed to be beginners. But it turns out that its not "beginner" enough for me...so it looks like I'll be teaching myself through a book and then hopefully getting tutoring a bit later. But this disappointment did not come without a pleasant surprise. After the first day of class, I met a girl (Mical) from Israel, who speaks quite a bit of English and who expressed interest in hanging out some time. She just moved to Paris a few months ago. So, I have a new friend. Anothr new and exciting thing came this week...we had our first house church meeting at the Campbells. There are going to be about 16 of us attening...and maybe more. We had a wonderful spaghetti dinner prepared by Mentanna followed by worship (through song, prayer, and the word).
...Some fun things I got to do: I've been to the movies twice now. Yes...they were in English with subtitles. Good movies and not too expensive. I've been walking tons! And one day I really thought that my legs were just going to fall off and my feet were going to abandon me for the torture I was putting them through. It doesn't help that no one wears tennis shoes here either...not the good ones. But I feel very comfortable in the Metro now. One other really fun thing I got to do was go to the gardens in Versailles. I went with Heidi and Ashley (my roommates) and spent the morning walking around the beautiful grounds and looking at the fountains. We then had a picnic, which was memorable, and then saw something like a fantasy peasant village. Interesting. All in all, it was a fabulous trip.
Today has been a very exciting day as well. I just had lunch at the Cite (its a university campus and they have a cafeteria that you can eat in for just about $3). I went to eat and to meet some students. Me and Ashley met 4 girls. 1 is from Morocco and speaks very little English...so Ashley (who is fluent in French) became friends with her. Then I talked with the other 3 girls who were able to speak more English. 2 of them are from Paris (which is actually rare and hard to find). The 3 of them were interested in joining an English Conversational Club/Class that I will be starting, so that they can practice their English. And all 6 of us are going to get together tomorrow night (Saturday night) for an annual event called "Nuit Blanche" (which is the phrase they use for "pulling an all nighter"). Its a city-wide event that begins at 10pm or so and carries on through the entire night. There are art exhibits, dance and musical performances, and so much more that will be going on during the night. The city keeps some buses and metros open the entire time and its basically just an all-night party! Sounds great right??!! So, it should be fun.
And...some of the most exciting news...I will be watching the UGA vs. LSU football game on Sunday!!! So...no one tell me any scores or anything. I can't wait to actually see them play. Its a dream come true.
Until next time...salut.
This past week was full of lots of new things, surprises, disappointment, excitement, praise, and even a little shock. I finally got my dresser, but as I opened up the box I realized that it was in 153 parts!! Yes...we finally got it almost put together, with the help of my fabulous roommates. That was an accomplishment. Tuesday came with my first encounter with culture shock. It wasn't a bad episode and with lots of prayer it was gone by the second half of the day. Then came French class. I found a possible French class that I could join for a month for a cheap price and it was supposed to be beginners. But it turns out that its not "beginner" enough for me...so it looks like I'll be teaching myself through a book and then hopefully getting tutoring a bit later. But this disappointment did not come without a pleasant surprise. After the first day of class, I met a girl (Mical) from Israel, who speaks quite a bit of English and who expressed interest in hanging out some time. She just moved to Paris a few months ago. So, I have a new friend. Anothr new and exciting thing came this week...we had our first house church meeting at the Campbells. There are going to be about 16 of us attening...and maybe more. We had a wonderful spaghetti dinner prepared by Mentanna followed by worship (through song, prayer, and the word).
...Some fun things I got to do: I've been to the movies twice now. Yes...they were in English with subtitles. Good movies and not too expensive. I've been walking tons! And one day I really thought that my legs were just going to fall off and my feet were going to abandon me for the torture I was putting them through. It doesn't help that no one wears tennis shoes here either...not the good ones. But I feel very comfortable in the Metro now. One other really fun thing I got to do was go to the gardens in Versailles. I went with Heidi and Ashley (my roommates) and spent the morning walking around the beautiful grounds and looking at the fountains. We then had a picnic, which was memorable, and then saw something like a fantasy peasant village. Interesting. All in all, it was a fabulous trip.
Today has been a very exciting day as well. I just had lunch at the Cite (its a university campus and they have a cafeteria that you can eat in for just about $3). I went to eat and to meet some students. Me and Ashley met 4 girls. 1 is from Morocco and speaks very little English...so Ashley (who is fluent in French) became friends with her. Then I talked with the other 3 girls who were able to speak more English. 2 of them are from Paris (which is actually rare and hard to find). The 3 of them were interested in joining an English Conversational Club/Class that I will be starting, so that they can practice their English. And all 6 of us are going to get together tomorrow night (Saturday night) for an annual event called "Nuit Blanche" (which is the phrase they use for "pulling an all nighter"). Its a city-wide event that begins at 10pm or so and carries on through the entire night. There are art exhibits, dance and musical performances, and so much more that will be going on during the night. The city keeps some buses and metros open the entire time and its basically just an all-night party! Sounds great right??!! So, it should be fun.
And...some of the most exciting news...I will be watching the UGA vs. LSU football game on Sunday!!! So...no one tell me any scores or anything. I can't wait to actually see them play. Its a dream come true.
Until next time...salut.
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