Nice, France
This country has unparalleled beauty. The sound of ocean waves, the taste of fresh begets, the smell of the flowers is everywhere and yet there is so much death. People say France is the place where missionaries go to die because of the overwhelming darkness amidst the beauty. It’s not too different from America which has many things that captivate our attention but in the end are fleeting. The culture and country are at some say the pinnacle of luxury with their foods and delicacies but to what end?
During our time in France we were able to partner with an International Baptist Church with missionaries staffing it from all over the world. We worked with people from Ireland, Great Britain, Monaco, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, and local France. The pastor, his wife and 5 children are from Denton, TX surprisingly and never thought they would end up in France in their wildest dreams. France as he told us has a spiritual darkness over it. Whether you believe in the presence of dark forces in this world, they exist and they have a stronghold in France. I would not mention them except for realization that they would like nothing more than us to forget about them all together (The Screwtape Letters -C.S. Lewis). We were told how the average French man or woman takes close to 100 touches to move from atheism to becoming an evangelical believer in Jesus Christ. The culture has become turned off to Christianity by Roman Catholacism and now as a whole want nothing to do with that “fake and worthless” religion of their grandparents generation as they so matter-of-factly put it. It is difficult just like in America to share with others about the magnificent hope we have in Christ except in France there is generations of hatred towards the church and everything it stands for. All this to say, there is hope and a new generation of people are starting to see the irresistible community found in Jesus and want to know more.
Our daily ministry ranged from evangelism to the surrounding community, preparing for the bilingual camp (VBS), prayer walks, a half day of prayer with the church members, construction, and many other odd jobs. Their bilingual camp is the IBCs biggest outreach event with around 50 kids from the community coming to learn English. It is most of these kids first time to ever hear about Jesus and can be a chance for an entire life change.
I loved France and was touched deeply by the love the missionaries have for one another and the people of France. I admire their faith and persistence in sharing the gospel even amidst the spiritually dry culture.
“And the world and it’s desires are passing away, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” – 1 John 2:17
Luke