World Race Dynamic:
For those of you that don’t already know, I just finished up my first week of an 11 month mission trip with 30 other young adults between the ages of 22 and 32. We started in France and will travel throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia sharing the hope of Jesus by loving and serving those who cross our path. A component of the journey is learning to live in a healthy community. Our squad is 30 people, however we divided up into teams of 6 or 7. Each team functions similar to a family. We live, cook, eat, serve, pray, and laugh together. The day we formed our teams, my team agreed that unity was important and something we all desired to create and fight to protect. For us, working to build unity looks like learning to love each other well, listen with a desire to truly understand, communicate directly with love, be authentic, trust, and support one another. Please pray that our team will be unified and that we will press-in to each other.
Serving Christ in Paris
We spent the first few days in prayer and familiarized ourselves with Paris. Then we began working with a small group that serves hot tea and coffee to the refugees who are currently residing on the streets in the neighborhood of La Porte De Chapelle. They are expanding their program/service to teaching art lessons, English, French, and educating the refugees about their rights. Almost all of the refugees in the neighborhood of La Porte De Chapelle are men. Most of the women and children have been moved to refugee camps. One rainy evening, the women on my team served hot tea and coffee to a long line of smiling refugees from Sudan, Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Yemen. The refugee crisis is complex. I cannot begin to know what it feels like to be in these men’s shoes. However, I am incredibly thankful to have the privilege of greeting them with a smile, and saying “Welcome!”, “I’m glad you are here!”, or “Bless you!” and handing them a warm cup of coffee/tea on a cold rainy evening. During this time, this is a prayer of mine: “God, help these weary travelers. Let them know that they are seen, known, and loved deeply by You. Show me how I can be a conduit of your love and bring hope to these refugees before me.” Will you pray with me?
As a reminder, I am fully funded and not in need of financial support. If you would like to support me I ask that you would partner with me in prayer.
