Yesterday we arrived in France. Here is us at the airport with all our stuff (the rest of our things will be arriving by boat in 4–5 weeks).
It was a surreal 24 hours or so as we tearfully said good-bye to loved ones on the American side and then were warmly welcomed on the French side by many of our teammates. It has been an emotional rollercoaster the last couple of weeks, and my emotions were unpredictable at times, sometimes I was cool and collected, other times tears rolled uncontrollably down my cheeks. Even though Ryan processes his emotions differently, I know he’s been experiencing much of that same rollercoaster. But now we are here and ready to take our first steps. I wanted to say we were ready to "jump in" but now that we're here, I'm thinking one step at a time is probably best. We start school on Tuesday and in the meantime we’re trying to explore a bit each day. Our goal today… find the Carrefour supermarket which should be within walking distance (a good thing since we don’t have a car, a bike, or a skateboard). Tomorrow, the goal is to visit the church in Magny, which is about 30 minutes away. Thanks for reading and thank you so much for all the support and encouragement you provide to us.
For the past month, as part of our intercultural training, we’ve been attending an African French-speaking church. We found out the first week that almost all of the members of the church are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. Yesterday was our last Sunday worshipping with them and it was sad to say good-bye. Here is a picture of the congregation, although several people were away yesterday so it was a smaller group.
We learned a lot from our African brothers and sisters. We learned to be active in our praise and worship. When we sing a song that says, ‘move forward toward the Lord’ we can’t just stand there, we have to literally move forward. The same goes for ‘walking’, ‘turning’, and ‘lifting our praise’. You really do it and do it with conviction. I learned to dance to the beat and clap in rhythm (or at least I tried to). We also learned from their passion and zeal for preaching and teaching the word. We learned from their weekly practices of fasting and prayer and intercessory prayer. We learned from their service towards us. Everything is done in French and we were not supposed to ask for a translation. However, each week when we arrived, one of the ladies who could translate would automatically get up and begin translating the service into English. It was impressive that there was no hesitation, and no chance to argue against it; they just wanted us to feel a part of everything that was taking place so they invited us in. We learned about sacrifice. Many of our friends came here during a turbulent time in the Congo, and many don’t have the resources to travel much or return to visit close family of friends. While we were visiting, the Pastor’s daughter came to visit from England; it was a reunion they had been waiting to have for 14 years. This isn’t to say that we Westerners do not experience trial or suffering, but simply to say that we have been humbled and inspired to see how others can turn challenging circumstances into great joy and contentment.
We are so grateful for our time together. Please pray for our brothers and sisters at Holiness French Church, specifically that they would find a new meeting space as their currant space has been purchased by an outside party and they cannot afford to stay. We are confidant the Lord will provide, but they need wisdom and resources for the coming weeks.
If you have ever had a big life transition you know it can be difficult to figure out what you’re feeling. Excitement mixes with fear. Fear turns to panic. Sadness and joy seem to take place simultaneously. Then all of these emotions pile up one on top of another until, if you’re like me, the only feeling left to experience is sleepy. As of Thursday, we are three weeks away from moving to France. We’re excited, afraid, sad, happy, worried, confident, and most of all tired. It’s been a long journey with many hills and valleys, but it’s really only the end of one chapter and the start of another one. The story thus far has been about getting to France, but the next part is about living, working, and following Jesus in France. We’re turning to the next chapter and we’re not sure what to expect. It’s emotional.
Throughout it all God has seen us through, and we know that He will see us through… because He’s good. But in the midst of it all our insides are spinning, our minds are racing, and our bodies need a break.
