La Premiere Semaine a Paris

The first week of YWAM France’s “Summer of Service” was spectacular. I apologize for not posting, but due to time constraints and the lack of internet, I believe it is excused. Earlier, I tried posting pictures from here at McDonald’s, but the connection wouldn’t suffice, so excuse the lack of exciting illustrations for now. I will make sure to post as many as possible after my return. For now, I will go over the basics of what we are doing, who I am working with, and share some quick stories.
The Summer of Service takes places every year in the heart of Paris. It is put on by YWAM France, but nations from all over the world are represented. This year, the roster capped out at 102 people, ranging from the U.S.A., South Korea, Belgium, Nigeria, Norway, France, and ten other nations. We are staying in a part of Paris called “Anthony”, which is about twenty minutes out by train, a train which stops every five to fifteen minutes during the day, making access to downtown very easy. We are split up into six teams: Homeless, Muslim, Children, Evangelism 1 and 2, and Intercession. Each team does a specific work in a specific place during the early afternoons, and then each night at 7:30, we meet in a specific place to do “Open-Airs”. Open-Airs are basically where we choose a public place, set up a sound system if possible, and do music, dance, dramas, and anything to get positive attention. As crowds gather, we use this time to minister through words and also walk around the crowd and simply talk. Many of our team members are English speaking only, but in Paris this is never a negative thing, as the amount of tourists balances everything out. The first week, we held our open-airs at Saint-Germain dés Pres, a popular place due to an old church and its location just next to a metro station and many restaurants. The second night, the police asked us to take down our sound system, which didn’t stop anything, but limited our dancing abilities. However, this upcoming week we will be working nights in front of the Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited locations in Europe, and we have full permission. This should be a busy but successful time. We usually end our open-airs just after ten, putting us back at base after eleven, making for a full day.
In the mornings, we receive a time of praise and worship followed by teachings. Praise and worship has been awesome, with a mix of French and English music with guitars, a piano, violin, and today there will be a flute. It’s been a powerful time and a good time to spend together with everyone. The teachings have been good. Two days ago we received a teaching that pretty much shoots down and negative thoughts you can have about Muslims, which for many is very important. The truth of the matter is, it is incredible easy to talk to a Muslim than to a Frenchman. The French, for the most part, have very good lives and have grown up outside of the church (Churches, including Catholic, died after the revolution). So, many believe that God is just simply not something they need in their lives because of all of the laws they believe go along with Him. Muslims, on the other hand, actively seek God everyday and want God in their lives, no matter how well they are doing. They are kind, and will listen to what you have to say. Even when they reject it, they are very polite about it. For many of the Americans that have come, I think this has actually surprised many of them, especially with the many stereotypes that they receive back home.
In the early afternoons, we get to work in separate teams. My team, evangelism two, does mostly small open-airs. We have also done some surveys in the streets that are meant to be conversation starters. These surveys are over “Faith in France”, and contain questions such as “Do you believe in God?”, “Jesus said I am the truth, the way, and the life… What do you think of this statement?” As it progresses, the questions get more challenging. The goal is not statistics, but conversation. It has worked very well, and has definitely caught the attention of some of the people I have talked with. Earlier last week, Allen, a Swiss-American and I were walking through a Park in Paris giving out the survey. We asked a lady sitting on a bench if she would be willing to take the survey and she agreed. After taking the survey, we began talking. Turns out that she was the mayor of a city in Northern France (Can’t remember the name) and that she had been struggling with her relationship with God as of late. We were very surprised when she said this and asked if she could explain. She stated that because she was mayor of this city, she could not afford to be too public with her faith as to offend anyone. She goes to a catholic church on Sunday just because so many of her citizens are catholic, but she does not feel a connection there. She then asked us to pray that she could maintain a good personal relationship while at the same time maintaining good relationships with her citizens. We quickly agreed and she really appreciated this time with us. We have also had multiple requests for the gospels and a few email contacts for further information. I am the only fluent Spanish speaker of the group here, and have been contacted multiple times to translate for visiting Spanish and I have also befriended a Mexican diplomat living here in France. He has since come to every open-air, and plans on coming to the Eiffel Tower every evening this week. Overall, we are done some great stuff, and we are expecting even more this week at one of the business blocks in Europe.
On another note, we had Monday off the see parts of Paris. Since I have already toured Paris myself, I went with a group of people to see the Palace of Versailles. The Palace was closed off for the week, but because of this the gardens were free to enter. The gardens were gorgeous and were bigger than any gardens I had ever seen, even those of the Biltmore House for you Americans out there. The pond in the middle of the garden was huge and reached the entire length of the gardens. Myself and three others rented a rowboat for half an hour and I, being the only guy, rowed around the gardens for a while, which was actually a really awesome experience. The gardens were full of history and meticulously cared for. Afterwards, we went into Paris and got some crepes and visited Notre Dame. I actually went inside this time and was amazed by the hugeness and detail of it, but at the same time amazed at how religious it is. By that, I don’t mean in a positive way. There were still people there paying for “Cierges” (I forgot the word in English), the things you pay for to have your sins properly forgiven.
By now I have seen a lot of Paris and have spent hours traveling the Metros, and I still have more time here. I will try to keep you posted as I go, but expect a much more picture oriented story when I arrive back in the states. Until then, keep me in your prayers!
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P.S. The only picture I managed to upload (of the Eiffel Tower) is exactly in the location of our open-airs starting tonight. I will be dancing under a glowing tower, which I am definitely looking forward to. And...The picture wouldn't upload, sorry all.