Protestant en Fête

Yesterday was a unique experience. One that we really didn’t even know existed to tell you the truth. This weekend was the 2nd Protestant en Fête ever. It is a gathering that takes place every 4 years in a rotating city in France. This year’s gathering took place in Paris and, in addition to many concerts and other events that took place all weekend long, the Fête (“party”) ended with a church service on Sunday morning at one of the larger stadiums in the city. I think someone said the stadium seats 17,000 and there were around 14,000 people there. The choir (both on stage and in the seats at left and right of the stage) consisted of over 500 people from 100 different church choirs. The event is part of an overall effort to unite Protestant believers and churches in France. It’s exciting to see the different believers in France coming together to worship God together and to encourage one another. 

I think it is starting to sink in though, that we have a lot to learn about the church and the culture here in France. It is hard to even begin to explain without making too many assumptions (that may or may not be true… because we’re still learning). But I will share some of our very preliminary thoughts. In the midst of the event, at first we were wowed by the number of believers under one roof, but the more we thought about it, it didn’t actually seem like that many for the country of France. And it got us thinking about the truth of the numbers. My French teacher today also made a comment that she isn’t sure what percentage of the audience would be French verses other nationalities and also Christian workers like us. One other thing we are learning is that there are lot of different types of Protestant churches in France, much like in the States. Some of the things they agree and disagree about are similar to what we’re used too, but some are as new and foreign as this land. 

But still, we are impressed by the unity despite differences. And we don't want to downplay or talk poorly about the Fête at all, because we think it is a very good thing. We just wanted to share briefly about this unique and very cool experience and also give you a small peek into some of the conversations we are having. At this point I can say two things for sure, God loves this nation and these people, and we have a lot to learn in order to be effective here.

Visiting at the Meru church

This past Sunday we visited a church in a northern town called Meru that was started by some of our teammates a few years ago. It is still growing in maturity but it was really great to see how God is at work in this community of believers. The first thing we noticed was how many young people were present. Something we haven’t seen at many churches so far. The pictures don’t really capture it but there were about 10 teenagers and probably 8 or so younger kids who were at Sunday school when I took the photos. 

The message was about king Josiah in the Old Testament, and Pastor David talked about how amazing it was that Josiah was 8 years old when he became king. At this young age he was already following the Lord, and what’s more, at age 16, Josiah began purifying the kingdom from the many forms of idolatry that were prevalent during that time. The Pastor drew a powerful parallel to the Meru church and it’s youth. Speaking directly to them, he told them how powerful their witness was for the Lord, and that there is no age too young to follow God with your whole heart. 

He spoke so clearly (in French) I was able to follow along and pick up most of what was said. Which I can tell you that so far... that has not been the case. Lately, the ability to understand anything in worship is such a gift. It was a wonderful visit and we got to reconnect with a few faces we haven't seen since our summer internship in 2010.

Weekend getaway in Gisors

Ryan and I were on the receiving end of a great gift in that we stayed with our new teammates and friends, the Shorbs, for the weekend. They are such an inspiration and encouragement to us. They have been in France for almost three years and have done everything in their power to help us transition smoothly into life here. In fact, all of our teammates have been so welcoming that already they are beginning to feel like an extension of our family. This is one of the most beautiful pictures of what the body of Christ is meant to be, and we feel privileged to be beginning to experience this reality so soon after landing. 

The Shorbs are living and working in Gisors, a small village about 1½ hrs north of Paris. They are part of a team of six who are sowing seeds of the love of Christ in this town by hosting Alpha courses, bible studies, and in general through their lives and relationships. They are prayerfully and diligently working to get a new church off the ground in the next few years. 

During our visit with them, we got to hear many stories about how things have been going for them since arriving here. It was a transparent picture of the good times and the hard times. And they also helped us in some very practical ways including setting up our cell phone plans and searching for loufa’s at the store, since I ruined ours already! It is strange how good it feels when we accomplish the smallest objectives. When everything is foreign, the fact that we go to the post office and succeed at mailing something feels like a grand triumph. It sounds funny but it’s so true. So we are thankful for the little triumphs this weekend.

We also ate very well. Cooking has been a little mundane for us lately. Mostly because we are still slowly accumulating cooking supplies and because I’ve been too tired to both think about what to make and then actually make it. But this weekend we had American night (which included hamburgers, fries and Texas sheet cake for dessert), French night (duck breasts with a delicious plum sauce, vegetables, a cheese course, and an apple tart for dessert), and comfort food Sunday (Goat cheese lasagna, salad, and more Texas sheet cake). And we even squeezed in a campfire and had a s’more each. We were too stuffed to have more than one, but it felt so comforting to sit around the campfire and talk late into the night with new friends. 

Here are a few pictures from the weekend in Gisors… 

Downtown Gisors

An 11th century castle (Chateau de Gisors)

Ryan jumping on a tree stump...

Now everyone jumping on a tree stump

The Shorbs!

Visiting an ancient Cathedral

Just one to prove I was there! :)

The R&D phase, or maybe just R

As we spend the next several months learning French, our plan is to visit every area of the city and spend significant time in prayer there so we can start to get a sense of where God is leading us to start a new community of believers. Here are a couple pictures of us at the Jardin du Luxembourg (luxembourg gardens) doing just that. Walking around, sitting on benches, people watching, and spending time in prayer.

We also found a "american style" coffee shop. So comforting.

The pond was surrounded by kids all navigating their
miniature boats around ducks and other boats.

Also, another key aspect of the plan is to work hard to connect with as many churches and leaders in the city as we can, so we can complement and partner with their efforts as much as possible. So we visited our first church in the city on Sunday. It was one of a handful of churches that were recommended to us so far and it is only 1 year old. Right away we connected with a few people from the church and also a few visitors. And afterwards, we had lunch with some great people. It was a very encouraging first experience and eliminated any nervousness we had about visiting churches where we know no one and don't even really speak the language yet.

The church met in this incredible space with stone walls & a vaulted ceiling.

It is so humbling that upon meeting people who are laboring for the Lord here, the first thing they often say to us is how much of an answer to prayer it is that we are here. We don’t know exactly how to respond, because in our minds we just arrived and haven’t done anything yet. And even if we do eventually do something worthy of praise, it will be God that does it all. It is confirmational but like I said, so humbling. For them, it is huge just that we are here. That’s kind of what we were told last time we were here in 2010 too. French believers are SO incredibly encouraged to know that there are other brothers and sisters around the world who know about them and care about them. And it is mind-boggling and so encouraging to them as well to know there are unseen partners in the U.S. who are praying and giving sacrificially to send people (like us) here to serve alongside them. 

But if you think of it, please pray for us as we are in the R (research) part of the R&D phase, as Ryan calls it. And also for the many leaders and laborers in France that we haven’t even met yet but who are no doubt doing awesome things for the glory of God.  

First apartment in France

We wanted to show you a couple pictures of our apartment. 

In the kitchen there are 2 burners, a small dorm-style fridge, a toaster oven, electric kettle, and a toaster. I think there was a coffee pot too (that I stored under the counter)… if you know me, you know I packed my French press in my luggage. My only lament is that we couldn’t fit the ice coffee maker in our luggage too, because an iced coffee right now would be amazing! So cooking has been fairly simple so far, but as we accumulate more spices and supplies we should be back in business. I already baked chicken in the toaster oven and it turned out pretty good, but I want to attempt baking a loaf of bread in there soon. 

The living area has two lounge chairs, a desk & chair, a dinner table with four chairs, and a bookcase. Some of our teammates gave us the sweet tree on our first day to welcome us to France and they gave us great advice to start well by establishing good roots in the language & culture, and building relationships. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but we have great big windows in the living area and our bedroom. The windows do not have screens but are open air. I am kind of surprised how few bugs have flown in, but I think part of the advantage is that when bugs do fly in they quickly find their way back out. 

Our bedroom is very practical. There is a bed with two small nightstands, a hidden IKEA wardrobe for storing our cloths, and a small sink area. The showers and toilets that we use are a shared space just a few steps down the hall. I was most nervous about this but it really has been fine so far, you just need to do a bit more planning than we do in the States. Outside and below our bedroom window is a small courtyard and garden area for our building and there are beautiful pine trees that are the first thing I see every morning when I wake up. 

We have gotten to explore the area right around us quite a bit. There are three different places we can get groceries, a Carre Four express (normally these stores are huge but this is a smaller one), a small discount store, and a gigantic store called Cora. Cora is our favorite so far because there is such great variety that it’s fun to explore, but once we get a little more confident, there a a couple little markets I would like to try for produce. We have also stumbled across 3 different parks within walking distance. Here we are at one of the parks. The other photo reminds me a lot of the type of scene Monet would paint. The giant lily pads were gorgeous and they had big pink and yellow flowers in them. After five days of being here we are feeling more and more comfortable in our neighborhood. Our classes started this week and are going well, we are excited for the learning process and even more to have the ability to communicate better and better with people we meet.