Bonjour! 👋🏻 I am sending you this update from our base for Paris Je T’aime, a two week YWAM outreach in Paris! To say it has been amazing to make it here would be the understatement of the century. I am so humbled that Abba would call me to this new place to pour out to His children, but also to be poured into by Him. My heart is ready.
Getting here was quite the adventure. On Friday, my best friend drove me (with a car full of loved ones) to the DFW airport, roughly 4.5 hours away. It seems like God always pours out an extra dose of grace when I travel because I am such a mess! Haha. But His grace is sufficient. (Amen?!) My flight was scheduled to leave at noon and I think we arrived at 11:15ish. On the way to the airport I found out I was on a standby list – so I wasn’t even sure if I was going to have a seat on this plane! However, after saying goodbye, going through security, and speed walking to my terminal, I went up to the desk and found that I did have a seat. Our plane took off on time and I arrived in NYC that afternoon.
New York City was quite the adventure. I rode in a taxi by myself (it was a quiet ~25 minutes!) and got to eat dinner with a few dear friends I served with last summer from Street Life Ministries. We laughed, ate yummy food, denied dessert (nice try 😉), and caught up. Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday during the day I got a chance to rest, reflect, prepare my heart for Paris, and spend time with my lovely hostess Carol! What a treasure of a friend she is. I’m so excited that I will have a few more days to spend with her on my way back to Louisiana.
On Sunday Carol walked me to the nearest bus stop to begin my journey to Paris. I rode a bus from Queens to Manhattan, then got off and walked around a little. My current sandals that I wear everyday are falling to pieces so I tried to hunt for comfortable but affordable walking shoes since I knew in Paris I would be on my feet a lot. I spent way too much time in H&M comparing shoes, finally took a pair to the checkout line, and then when it was my turn to check out I changed my mind and brought the shoes back. I forgot I was on a timeline and remembered that I had a train to catch for the airport!
I walked to Penn Station and got my ticket for the NJ Transit set for Newark. The couple who sat next to me spoke French – very fast French! I smiled to myself thinking about how this was the language I’d be surrounded by for the next two weeks.
My train arrived at the Newark airport, but then I made a mistake: I got out of my train, stepped across the platform, and got on the next train that arrived, thinking it was the AirTrain that would take me to my terminal. Unfortunately, I actually got on an Amtrak that went further into New Jersey and away from the airport. 😅 The Lord blessed me because the attendant was a very kind man and he was very compassionate and merciful towards my situation. He gave me instructions on how to return to the airport, and then he did not charge me for riding the Amtrak (tickets for those things are expensive!).
While sitting on that wrong train, anxiously grasping my luggage and wondering how far away the next stop was, the Lord gave me a revelation: this was a comfortable ride in the wrong direction. Think about that for a moment. A comfortable ride in the wrong direction. I couldn’t help but think of this in a spiritual aspect: the majority of the people on earth are aiming for a comfortable and pleasant life, and once they attain the American Dream they are satisfied. However, all they’ve bought is a comfortable ride in the wrong direction. Eternally, what treasures have they stored up? Your 401k doesn’t transfer into heaven, save any souls, or make you anymore like Jesus. You get what I’m saying? Jesus warns that following Him means there will be persecution, pain, and suffering. But the rewards of following Jesus outweigh the trials. That’s why it’s easy to “count it all joy when we face trials” (James 1). That’s why the heart of the believer is encouraged when they read in 1 Peter 2:20, “…when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.” My heart embraces the thought of suffering for the gospel, for great is the reward!
So my heart pondered all this as I sat on the Amtrak leading away from the airport: once I was a teacher, living by myself and living for myself. I spent my money on food, clothes, and whatever I wanted. In my leisure time I watched movies, slept, or just did whatever. I’m not saying these things are wrong; I simply mean that I have been awakened to the knowledge that every soul I encounter is either going to heaven or hell – so how will I invest my time in response to that?
As a missionary I don’t have a home, I am not in one place long enough to get a job, and God seems to always be calling me to places even though I have no money. 😄 Here in France we are experiencing lots of sweat (literally my clothes are drenched everyday), several language barriers (there’s people from everywhere here!), and I always seem to be missing something essential (so far, a water bottle, an outlet adapter, sensible walking shoes, etc.). Most of the time I feel uncomfortable in some way or another, be it physical or spiritual or emotional. Nevertheless, there’s no place else I’d rather be right now. I’m relishing this opportunity to fall in love with the youth group from Kansas and the dance group from California and the duet from Switzerland and the sweet missionaries from all over France. These people are beautiful and if we didn’t all love Jesus, we wouldn’t have this opportunity to flood the streets of Paris together with the light and love of Jesus.
I say all that to remind you that Jesus did not call us to try to make our lives as comfortable as possible. He called us to go into all nations and make disciples. That involves our time, our effort, our attention, and our love.
Back to my travels – the Amtrak got me back to the airport and I quickly found my terminal. I accidentally bought overpriced airport food (the price wasn’t on the package so my jaw dropped when the cashier told me the price!), then waited joyfully for my flight to Europe.
My layover was in London, but the time between my flights was not very long and I wanted to get my little brother a souvenir from there (he loves London). I was disappointed that I couldn’t have more time in the airport, but it would be okay.
Isn’t it unbelievably sweet that God sees the littlest details in our hearts, even my desire to linger in London for a little longer? My flight from Newark landed late, I got lost trying to find my terminal, and I ended up missing my flight to Paris. I laughed to myself – I’ve never missed a flight before.
The kind lady at the help desk booked a seat for me on the next flight to Paris, leaving in two hours. How perfect! She also gave me a voucher for 5 Euros so I could get a coffee.
If you know me, you know one of my lame hobbies includes talking in a fake British accent. Well, I tested out my fake accent in London! I was over the moon about it. Of course, I felt a little silly when I realized my passport from USA was showing the whole time I was pretending to be British. 😅 Oh, well. It was fun! ☺️
After getting breakfast at the airport (and a souvenir for my little brother), I went to my terminal for Paris. I ended up sitting next to two kind people who gave me advice about how to get to the outreach base. I spent several hours in the airport in Paris after I landed, trying to figure out the transportation and currency and all those technical details. I boarded a train and left the only internet connection I would have in Paris, praying the Lord would guide my way to the base. Of course, He did. I even got to take a power nap on the train. 😌
Since I’ve gotten here, the Lord has overwhelmed me several times by arranging conversations and meetings with quite the variety of people who, without knowing it, have spoken very powerful things straight into my heart. I’m so thankful.
Tonight was our first outreach but it’s currently 5 minutes past midnight, so in the next update I will share testimonies of what God has been doing – both inside me and through me. ☺️ Thank you for your prayers and support!
