Bonjour!
We’re getting close to the end of our first week in Paris and to say that this has been crazy would be an understatement. Going into this trip I thought I was somewhat ready. Ready to go sharing on campus, ready for the cultural change, ready for what God had in store. But that was just the problem; I thought “I” was ready.
Mission trips are interesting things. They put you in a state of total dependence like none other. They humble you and overwhelm you, at least this trip has done that for me. I have spent this week in turmoil with myself. Fighting my pride, fighting my fear, and fighting my anxiety about going on campus.
Today (Thursday) is a French holiday so no one will be on campus which means we have the day to get situated and focus on spending time with the Lord as well as shopping for groceries and life group time. Honestly, this could not have come at a better time. We’ve only been to campus two times so far, but I could already tell that I needed to escape and get with the Lord and get focused because I have been trying to do this all on my own.
This morning our roommates went to a nearby park and sat in an absolutely perfect and picturesque day in Paris with open Bibles, journals, and hearts. It was there that God began to make it very clear that this is not about me. This trip, going to campus, even my testimony is not about me. We are not here for ourselves, we are not here for Cru or even for our families, we are here to proclaim Christ and because He called us here and to bring glory to His holy name. But even more than this trip, this life isn’t about us. It’s not about what I want to do, or where I want to go, or who I want to be. It’s all about, as a child of God, what God wants me to do, where God wants me to go, and who God wants me to be.
I can honestly say that this week, in the two days we’ve been on campus, we have seen God move. We have had the privilege of speaking to students of all types and all nationalities from a sundry of backgrounds and God is moving here already. People are willing to talk to us, even though talking about God or religion, in the words of one young woman named Claire, is taboo. I know I speak for the team when I say that we cannot wait to go back to campus tomorrow and see God continue to work and open the hearts of these students. We know that nothing is impossible for God, and because of that we know that there are no hearts that are too cold or souls too hard or sins too great to keep someone from knowing Christ.
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