Paris Je T'aime 2009

On July 11th I arrived in Paris in a van full of sound equipment and material to be used for the upcoming two week evangelism camp. For two days, the staff finished the final stages of preparing for the arrival over one-hundred people from more than fifteen nations. For two weeks, these people would put themselves outside their comfort zones to share their faith and love with the people of Paris. The camp, Paris Je T’aime (Paris, I love you), original started in the seventy’s, and was discontinued at some point. Then, in 2005, the staff of YWAM France restarted the idea and it has since been a great success. The idea is to send people of different abilities in groups all over Paris with specifics roles geared towards making known the word of God. Paris is ideal place for this for many reasons. Paris is one of the largest cities in Europe and the most visited city in the world, with over fifty millions tourists each year, making the sphere of possible influence incredible. Also, the train and metro system in Paris provides cheap, quick travel in and around the city, making the transportation of teams and equipment simple and fast. Last but surely not least, YWAM has many contacts in Paris, and because of this has been able to get permission to hold open-air concerts with police permission. These are the main reasons, but there are many more. YWAM France believes that they have a calling for their capital and they have capitalized on it with the forming of this camp.
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Seventeen nations were represented at my first Paris Je T’aime, including South Korea, U.S.A., Norway, Germany, Madagascar, Switzerland, and France of course, just to name few. Ages ranged from fifteen to retirees, with only maybe half having done a Disciple Training School with YWAM before. This meant that some were completely new to the whole evangelization idea and other more experienced. One group that really stood out to everyone was a young, inexperienced youth group of twenty-one from Kansas City. When I say young, I mean among the youngest there. Some were fifteen, many sixteen and seventeen, with the leader and his wife being only twenty-three. For many of them it was their first time out of the country. No one speaking any French whatsoever, these guys managed to make quite an impact, which you will hear about further on. The one-hundred and two participants were housed in the dormitories of a university just outside of Paris in a town called Anthony. The location was ideal because not only is there an RER in Anthony (A direct train to downtown Paris), but the university provided food for breakfast and lunch and an inexpensive place to house everyone together. To go to Paris in the afternoons, six teams were established, each with specific goals. When each person signs up for the S.O.S (Summer of Service), they can request a team on their application. The six teams were: Two teams of street evangelism; Team for the homeless; Team for Muslim outreach; Team for children’s ministry; Team of intercessors.
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In the mornings everyone would get together for praise and worship and a teaching. This would usually last until around noon, when we would eat and then get together according to teams. The teachings covered a variety of subjects. One subject, for example, was the difference between faith and hope and how it applies to our personal ministry. Overall, the teachings were really informative and provided balance to the camp, even though there were some mornings when more than half the room had a coffee to help maintain consciousness. After lunch, we had a time to get ourselves together and get with our teams. I worked with Evangelism team two. Our goal was to go out to specific places in the city, set up open-air concerts, give out surveys, and hand out literature to anyone willing. The first day we took to establish the different abilities and talents in the group and setup a small “concert”. It was really amazing to see just how much potential there is when you bring so many people from so many backgrounds together. We had guitarists, singers, rappers, dancers, speakers, violinists, and many others willing to do what they needed to do at any time. As far as literature and handouts, we had bibles in French, Arabic, specific books in English, cards with websites in different languages, DVDs, and much more. In the evenings, all the teams would come together for a huge open-air mixing all the teams together. The idea was to get attention using the arts, and then have people walking around the crowds making contacts.
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On my first day out with the team, we went to Saint Germain des-Prés (Saint Jur-mah dey pray). This is right in the heart of Paris and is filled with tourists and Parisians alike. For the first two afternoons, we were given surveys in French and English to ask the people walking the streets. We would pair up according the language abilities, keeping one English speaker and one French speaker together. The survey was simple and quick and was not meant for statistical purposes whatsoever. It was simply designed for two things, to get people thinking and perhaps start a conversation. Some of the questions included “Do you believe in God?”, “What do you consider to be the values that guide your life?”, “What religion do you relate to most?”, and the questions get a little deeper as it gets towards the end. Giving out the survey, we received many responses such as, “I haven’t really thought about it”. Although we got a lot of people just whizzing by us, we established many good contacts and had some great experiences. Here is just one quick personal testimony from that time:
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The second day, I was working with a young guy from Switzerland, Allen. Allen goes to school in Washington D.C. and grew up speaking both English and French, so he and I worked well together, having the three most common languages in the Paris streets covered (Spanish being the third). We decided to split from the group and found a park surround a fountain, which was a much more relaxed area than a busy street. We thought it ideal because people were relaxing rather than trying to get from A to B. Here we met a lady who happily took the survey and answered all the questions in less than three minutes, explaining the she was Christian. Afterwards, she began asking about what we do. After a few minutes of talking, she explained that she was in a bit a dilemma and was glad she had encountered us. She explained to us that she is the mayor of a city in Northern France with a population of 60,000 people (I forgot the name). She told us that she has been wanting to have more a personal relationship with Christ but that she doesn’t want to hurt any relationships with her citizens, of which have various believes. She told us that she goes to some churches just to be amongst her citizens, but doesn’t feel a personal connection there. She then asked if we could pray that she could establish a personal relationship and get beyond the simple traditions but at the same time maintain good relations in the city. We of course happily agreed and she was very happy to have met us there in the park.
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In the evening, the others teams arrived at Saint Germain des-Prés for the open-air. We setup and began around at 7:30. Crowds quickly gathered, and contacts were being made. I spoke about as much Spanish as I did English or French during both weeks, and I was called on many times to translate. Once I even translated from Spanish to French and vice-versa, which, honestly, wasn’t all that great, but the idea got through. The first night, the police came and told us that we could stay, but that the speaker system had to go. We worked around this, and still gather crowds with acoustic guitars and conversations. That first night out was so powerful. On our way back to Anthony, we walked the streets of Paris with acoustic guitars, saxophones, violins, and dozens of voices. We sang praise and worship songs from Saint Germain des-Prés all the way to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and then back up north to Châtelet. If you know anything about the streets of Paris, you know that not only is that nearly three kilometers, but it’s a consistently crowded area. People stopped and listened, some shook their heads, and at some points there were people singing along. On the subways and trains back, we continued singing. Some people filmed us and many listened to us sing, whether in French or English. This was quite an amazing experience, and I know that many woke up the next morning with very scratchy voices.
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During this week, Tom, who was in charge of translation team during the camp, and I made contact with a man from Mexico who works in Paris as a diplomat to France. He came to every open-air at Saint Germain des-Prés and became extremely interested in what we were doing there. Tom was able to have some great conversations with him, and I really got to know him well speaking his native tongue, which he appreciated. He was so interested in fact, that he made the trip to come to our early morning teachings with the group back at the university. He joined us the entire next week at our open-airs and morning teaching. He had just been through a divorce and in this time I believe he was deeply touched and comforted.
There are countless testimonies, and each person has a story to tell from the first week. This is not to mention the five other teams that were working as well, which all had great success, but which I was not there to witness and write about.
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The next week, the first evangelism team left to do the next week of evangelism solo in Lyon. Evangelism two picked up a few extras and we began our work at a place called Trocadéro. Trocadéro is the area that overlooks the Eiffel Tower and sits just alongside the Museum of Man. In many pictures, you will see fountains just in front of the Eiffel Tower along the Seine River. These pictures are of Trocadéro. This is one of the most walked on places in Europe, and perhaps the world. More tourists walk by the Eiffel Tower than any other landmark in France, and I believe Europe as a whole, but I’m not sure about that. The point is, we had full permission to use sound equipment and anything we like for the entire week in one of the most perfect of places. This was the first time that YWAM has had access to this area and we made sure to take advantage of this opportunity. We began at six o’clock every evening with a rock band that had recently arrived from Switzerland, which gathered huge crowds, and then dances, raps, and skits. We stayed incredibly busy during this time and even though it rained Thursday and Friday nights, we still made a huge impact. Crowds would gather around, dances would randomly break out involving Ywamers and non-Ywamers, people watching would be taken in by skits and personal testimonies, and many lives were touched. I have no idea how many bibles were handed out, but I can estimate in the hundreds. Those are only the bibles handed out, not the amount of people who were engaged in conversation.
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I told you I would mention the Kansas City team again, so here it goes. These young girls and guys spoke absolutely no French, many had never left the United States, and none of them had ever experienced evangelism like this. During the last evening of the camp, a girl from England noted something that everyone knew was true. Although this team was not the most prepared as far as languages and experience, they were willing to do what it took to get the job done. They had no fear to walk up to someone who spoke no English whatsoever and begin a conversation using body language and pointing at the music or dance happening. This fearless attitude sparked many great opportunities that many times resulted in amazing things.
I also mentioned that it rained on Friday night. That was understatement. After setting up the equipment and get everything ready to go, not only did it suddenly rain, but it poured. The only way to describe it was that we were caught in the middle of a fist fight between heaven and hell and the heavens were opening up. Lucas, leader of evangelism team, and I quickly grabbed the generators and ran to a nearby crape stand and asked if we could put the generators in their kitchen. We gathered up all our electronics and as fast as we could, we ran everything to the nearby museum entrance. Everything and everyone was drenched, but miraculously, the next morning everything was working just fine.
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Overall, the second week was amazing, and everyone enjoyed every minute of our time at Trocadéro. One Chinese tourist who was visiting Paris alone for just two days told Denis, our coordinator, “I now know why I came to Paris”. Here is just one testimony from the second week in front of the Eiffel Tower.
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There was a young eighteen year old Tunisian Muslim at Trocadéro our first night there. He heard the music and began watching the open-air. Kyle, one the Kansas City team members, walked up to him and began a conversation, or at least tried. The Tunisian spoke no English, but was interested and gladly waited as Kyle went and found a translator, who just happened to be Allen, whom I mentioned earlier. This young man began talking with Allen and before the night ended, Allen gave him a DVD. The next evening, he returned and began talking with Allen about the DVD and said that not only did he watch it, but he watched it again with his brothers. The fourth night, before being rained out, this guy decided to begin his life with Christ. He wanted everything he could get. He took bibles, got contacts with churches in the area, and was there for every minute we were at Trocadéro. Saturday, our last official day of the S.O.S., another young Tunisian appeared at the open-air and began talking with someone. When this young guy found out, he quickly ran over and started talking, Tunisian to Tunisian. By the end of the evening, the newly saved young man was giving this other guy a bible and praying for him. After the evening had ended, Allen walked up to his Tunisian friend and said, “It took me twenty years of my life to do what you did in just one day”.
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There are many more things that can be said, and there are many things that I don’t know about as well. I can say, however, that every single person involved played a huge part and that our time in Paris was well spent. We made some great friendships, and many evenings after coming back exhausted, we danced in the main building together and spent countless hours talking. I know that I have a lot of great memories in just two weeks and that I plan on coming back next year if possible. At the end of the camp, I shared a quick testimony with everyone, and I will try to repeat it here.
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During my Discipleship Training School in El Salvador, I experienced some amazing things and really got to do some incredible evangelism. However, since that time I haven’t had quite the chances that I had during my D.T.S. Maybe I have, but I haven’t capitalized on them. Since going to college, I have changed gears from more of an outward Christian (like on my D.T.S) to an inward one. What I mean by that is that everyone tells you just how hard it is to maintain a good personal relationship with Christ during college, so you concentrate on yourself and the area between you and God. However, you forget just how amazing it is to share what you have openly. I used this metaphor, which everyone seemed to like. Imagine a bag of popcorn, which you have really been looking forward to. Isn’t so much better if you have someone to share that popcorn with? Although you aren’t getting as much popcorn, both people involved get more out of it, and I know that I have had some great conversations or games over a bag of popcorn. It’s kind of the same way with Christ. You can always have popcorn, but when you share what you have been blessed with, it is just that much better.
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So, on that note, the dates have been set for the next Paris Je T’aime. It will be July 12th to July 26th, and the limit upped from 100 to 300 people. Check out www.jem-france.com for more info on this.
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Many pictures will be coming up shortly, but I may just have to wait until I am back at school or home to get all of them up. I will be posting dozens, so I may just post links as not to cover this page in all photos.
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As for my trip to France, it is almost over. Sunday I went with two friends to the Rue de Rivoli to see the end of the Tour de France. After standing for two hours and seeing the longest parade of advertisements I have ever seen, the group zipped by to finish their last few kilometers. That was pretty exciting, and extremely multicultural, with many nationalities all around us cheering on their team. I will make sure to get some pictures up of that. And yes, I saw Lance Armstrong for all you Americans out there. Saturday evening, after our last open air, I also got to go up the Eiffel Tower just before it closed, meaning I got to see Paris lit up at night, which was gorgeous. However, the last train to Anthony was at 12:57am, and we flat out sprinted through the Denfert-Rochereau train station to make it back on time. Also, in these two weeks I have gotten a fairly good knowledge of the Paris metro system and the city layout. I have seen all the major sites, and this week I am planning on seeing some of the less popular but just as beautiful sites. I am staying in downtown Paris for this week, in a small apartment on the Rue de Belleville. For those of you who listen to french music, this is the same small street on which Edith Piaf was born, which I just found out today. Next week I am heading to Normandy to visit the D-Day beaches. I will be staying in Bayeux, just near what the Allies code named “Utah Beach” during the World War II invasions of France. I will make sure to write about that during my time there. I will be back in the states on August 5th, and then back to school on the 9th. I will continue to write until then, but no promises on internet. For now, I write in my room at night and then walk to the nearest McDonald’s to post and send out the emails.
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Alright, I hope you enjoyed reading this!
Au Revoir