Day 3:
Y’all I am fired up. God is good. He has been at work in people’s lives for a long time. The harvest is ready.
Its day 3 in Paris. When we woke up this morning our team decided to go down to the café to research local churches and contacts that we could reach out to. It was slow, we posted some blogs and afterward we walked around the local market to collect some cheap food for dinner and lunch. Then the day really starts…
After coming home for lunch we just didn’t feel like we were doing what we were supposed to be doing. We decided that it would be best to pray and seek the Lord for what He wanted from us the rest of the day and where we should be going. So we stopped and prayed and spent quiet time with Him. Then we all got together and shared.
Meghan shared that she saw a sunset at a park.
Brittani said she felt like we needed to go to the park.
Sam was super excited and about lost it when Emily said “all I got was yellow!”
“me too! I’ve been getting that all day”
Someone said they saw Hakeem leading us in some manner
Sam also said she saw a word or name Robespierre. (it really came out rosareosuadlk, because she wasn’t exactly sure how it was spelt :D)
So, off we went back onto the streets to seek out the color yellow, ask people about church, and look for parks.
First stop we met with an 88 year old woman named Maria. Maria is our wonderful neighbor who lives just down the street. Her neighbor spoke English and was kind enough to translate. We asked about church, talked about Jesus and she invited us in to her home. She offered us grapes! Come on, real grapes that grow on a vine in her yard. So yummy! She shared about her sister in New Jersey who has just gone through open heart surgery. On our way off Maria blessed us with cookies (or biscuits not really what they were but they looked like giant ritz crackers and tasted like sweet wafers) ??.
We continued on and followed the yellow bus trail (there are these yellow buses in the city and they were the common thread that told us when to turn or what street we thought we should walk down). Eventually we came to Robespierre road. Yeah, the word that Sam saw in her mind ?? and there on the corner was the church. The church was locked, and no one was home. We waited around but no one showed up. No one there. Later, I look back and think this is a significant moment and representation that there is little church presence in this area. Closed doors are often what greet people. But in the moment, we waited a little while before continuing on.
Next we wound our way through the streets to a park. In the park was a group of 10 or so men from Senegal. What do you know, some of them speak English! Brittani jumps in the gang right away and starts making secret handshakes and high fives. Soon we are all mingling and having conversations with all of these guys sitting around in the park. I’m feeling a little bit left out at this point because all of the English speakers are currently taken… so I plop down on the bench next to all of the other Senegal men sitting around.
I made a new best friend today. His name is Amza. He doesn’t speak a word of English and I don’t speak French. We sat and watched everyone else talking together. He showed me pictures of his family and his job on his phone and I showed him pictures from my phone! We got to know each other through smartphone pictures. How cool is that! He lives in a tent in the backyard of a French couple’s home. He loves Michael Jordan, and soccer, and works for a construction company. Towards the end I asked if he knew Jesus and started to tell Him about Jesus through google translate. (thank you technology) I prayed for Amza and we exchanged phone numbers so we can get in touch and maybe they can join us as we serve the refugees! (although I’m not 100% sure how we are supposed to have a phone conversation when we don’t speak English or French but hey, we will figure this out). Before we left the park we had multiple new friends, contacts, and possibly translators for when we go to work with the refugees. One of them even lives in the exact same area we want to go minister to the refugees at! Come on! So Awesome!
Now I’m just going to fast forward a bit. We go home, we eat dinner, and we head back up to the park for team time. This is the park that Meghan and Brittani both felt we needed to be for sunset. We have a great team time and feedback and just as we are about to start worshiping…. Rose walks up. Rose is this amazing joyous Vietnamese woman who lives here in France now and has been seeking Jesus her whole life without knowing it. Brittani gives her a big hug and we start talking right away. In conversation Rose shares that she has seen visions of this Beautiful Man with a wonderful smile dressed in white. That He touched her back and loved her. That more than anything she wanted to know him.
“Rose, that man was Jesus”
I reached over and tapped Hakeem on the shoulder and He led as we started to share the gospel with Rose. One by one, as a team, we shared God’s love and Jesus’ love for her. We prayed for her. Invited her to know him as well. She said yes! 😀 😀
We worshipped. We danced in the rain!
Literally it’s raining, the Eiffel Tower is glimmering in the darkening sky behind us, and we danced and sang worship to Jesus with Rose. She spread her arms wide and soaked up the love of the Father!
We continued to talk with Rose after and she starts quoting scripture left and right. I can see the gleam in her eyes as she realizes for the first time the truth being revealed. The truth she has longed for her whole life. The truth the Holy Spirit has been pointing her to since she was a little girl in her mother’s arms. Sam said she saw a picture of a littler girl being held and told Rose that is how God loved her. Rose asked how Sam knew that because Rose had seen it to! 😀 Yeah. Move Holy Spirit. 😀
She went on and on and on about the truth and love and Jesus being the way and showing us new life. She was amazed by the beauty she saw in all of us and kept saying that we were all the same. We all had the same spirit… YEAH WE DO! Jesus.
What broke my heart was how many times Rose said she has had connections with the church in the past but felt let down and it wasn’t the Jesus she was hoping for. Times she had gone to a cathedral or church and didn’t find the love she hoped was there. God called us here to Paris for a purpose. Day 3 we see the fruit of what He has been working on for many years. My prayer is that God continues to grow His true church in this region and people’s hearts would be turned towards him. That His love will spread through the city and capture the hearts of the people here. SO many are so desperate for this love and for the truth. SO often religious structure leaves us disappointed. May we always be a light for His love and may it continue to grow in strength day by day.
Our team’s name is Authentic Love. We are all just freaking excited we get to spread God’s love in the city of love and are seeing the rewards and fruits of listening and walking in step with the Holy Spirit already.
Pray for:
Maria
Paulo
Ameed
Amza
Mams
Andre
John
Jesus
Rose
Samara
Abi
And everyone else we continue to meet here and as we continue to develop relationship with them. Rose will be joining us at the park again tomorrow to read and study the bible with us! Let’s make disciples! Pray God keeps moving.
Goodness this is exciting.
With Faith, Hope, and Love
Nathan
