Well I have not blogged in a while, so I suppose there is a lot I need to tell people about! This is the first week of my World Race and I last updated this more than 6 weeks ago…don’t worry though, from now on I am going to do my best to write a new blog each week to keep people up to date on our travels and ministry!
We split into teams of 6 before we left the states and I have been blessed with an amazing team that I get to travel, live, and minister with throughout this year. It has been so cool to see how each of them has jumped into this journey head first. We had barely landed in Paris before I saw people on my team talking to people on the streets, in stores, and in parks witnessing about the love of Jesus Christ. We spent the first few days resting, exploring, and planning ministry opportunities. We went to the main refugee center, Porta de la Chappelle to see where the majority of the need was and to try to find information about getting into the refugee center. We found a nearby Catholic church and the priest was very kind and got us information on organizations that were helping with refugee camps. We spent the rest of the day walking through Paris in the rain, and trying to contact any organization that we could possibly partner with in ministry. We have a few leads and will hopefully be more aware tomorrow of what our ministry for the next 3 weeks will look like.
The place we are staying is about 7 miles from the center of Paris, and right outside of our door is a staircase (with 169 steps) that leads to a park that overlooks the entire city. There are 16 people staying in this 2BR 2BA Airbnb, but you can’t beat waking up in the morning and exercising in the park with that view. The park is also frequented by numerous people that we have the opportunity to connect with and witness to. Some team members met a Muslim couple that stopped and talked for nearly an hour, he played guitar and they shared songs and exchanged contact information. Others met a woman named Rose who said she was very spiritual and had many thoughts about Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Fairies…etcetera… She has been at the park often and says she wants to learn more about Jesus and what makes us so different. When we saw her last night she was so excited and was telling another woman about our group. She said we are so different from others, and that our smiles and faces shine.
My team members each bring many special attributes to the table, and I cannot wait to learn from and grow with each one of them. You can learn more about each of them on their blogs:
Shea Hendry (the historian) sheahendry.theworldrace.org
Matthew Morgan (the treasurer) matthewmorgan.theworldrace.org
Catherine Read (the organizer) catherineread.theworldrace.org
Preston Bates (the storyteller) prestonbates.theworldrace.org
Adrian Riney (the worship…er) adrianriney.theworldrace.org
