God at work

I am continually amazed and encouraged to see all the different ways God is at work here in Montpellier! To share a few, let me start with:

1. Saturday - Ikea trip #4 (and final...I hope)

Kate and I were going to go in the morning to get a few remaining things from  a bricolage (Home Depot-esque) store to finish up our apartment. On the list were nuts to attach the legs to a table we inherited, the right size screws to hang a shelf we had bought at the previous trip to Ikea, and a few other sundry items. As we were waiting at the tram stop to take the tram out to Brico Depot (what Amy thought was the name of the store) at an unknown stop on the line 3 headed towards Lattes Centre (Amy assured us we would know it when we saw it), Kate pulled out her phone to double check we were on the right tram in the right direction. God was definitely with us, even in this! When Kate looked it up on her phone, she found out it wasn't even open on Saturdays. As a result, we saved at least an hour and a lot of frustration. Since we couldn't go to Brico Depot, we went to Ikea instead to get a few other remaining things (some umbrellas and a shelf for our kitchen). On our way, I had a brain wave and wondered aloud to Kate if perhaps Geant (a giant Wal-Mart-like grocery store) might have a bricolage section. It did, AND we found what we needed AND we got to have Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes for lunch at Ikea. Thanks Lord!

2. Saturday - Cake and Dessert party

Saturday night Megan invited a bunch of people over for desserts (she made banana bread and two kinds of cookies! Yum...) and games. What we failed to realize was that a conflicting girls event at Jeanette's meant that out of all the people we invited, only the guys could come. As a result, we ended up with us 4 American women, a ton of desserts, and 10 guys. We ate, talked, played some really crazy games (Jungle Speed? I'm still not sure...something about a rabbit figurine.....), and had a great time. It was such a blessing to get to know the Christian Agape guys that came a bit better, and such an encouragement to have another opportunity to build relationships with the non-Christian guys as well. At the end of the night, our dear friend Adam (a Muslim student involved with Agape) stayed for a great conversation about forgiveness and we were able to share the Gospel with him. He asked some great questions and seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say. I am so excited to see the ways God continues to work in his heart!

3. Monday - Sharing on campus

On Monday, Megan, Julien, and I went initiating on the science campus - seeking out students interested in spiritual things and asking them about their beliefs. After being rejected twice and being blown off by a student we were supposed to meet for coffee, we wanted to try to have at least one real conversation with a student before leaving. That was when we stumbled across Laila, Yoursah, and Sara - three girls sitting on the steps behind the Polytech building. We discovered through our conversation that the three girls were all Moroccan and Muslim. They were very willing to speak with us, and shared a lot about Islam as they understood it. I feel like I really learned a lot. In the course of the conversation, we asked them how they knew if they were going to Heaven or not. They responded that they didn't - they just did all they could to be good enough and hoped for the best. It was an amazing opportunity to share with them why we have complete certainty because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. We were able to have an amazing conversation that was respectful, full of grace, and we were also able to share the Gospel with them - that they could have a real assurance of Heaven! I truly believe this meeting, like all of our meetings on campus, were divinely appointed and directed by God - a God that truly loves these students and deeply desires for them to be saved.

4. Monday - English Club

Monday night, comme d'habitude (as per usual) we met at FitzPatrick's Irish Pub downtown to speak English and build relationships with students from all different kind of backgrounds. Two students that Megan and Julien met on campus last week (Fabeha and Thibauld) were both able to come - and they brought a ton of friends! As a result, we had the largest amount of people at English Club that I have seen so far this year - about 30-40 people! It was a wonderful evening with great conversations - and many people had the chance to speak with different students about spiritual things. What a blessing!

5. Wednesday - Lunch with Lucie

Wednesday afternoon after our morning prayer meeting, Amanda and I were able to have lunch with a third year student in the French equivalent of biomedical engineering at the science campus. Lucie is a summer project contact - someone who met up with students who were here with Cru this summer and had an interest in spiritual things. After many unsuccessful invites, we were finally able to find a time we were both available. I am so glad that God is still pursuing her, and that He keeps bringing her to my mind so I can persevere in contacting her. Amanda and I had a great time eating with her and getting to know her, her English was excellent and we talked a lot both in English and French. We got to hear about her time in the States, the different places she has visited, and about her family as well. It was a lot of fun, and she told us she plans to come to English Club on Monday. I am hopeful that God will keep giving us opportunities to continue our relationship.

These are only a few examples - if I shared every way that I was aware of God working here in this city (and that's just what I'm aware of!), this would become ridiculously long. Thank you for your prayers - keep it up! It makes such a difference for us in our personal lives - in our battles against apathy and spiritual warfare; and it makes such a difference in ministry!

Bisous from Montpellier! A bientot!

Your light will shine in the darkness

This week marked our first week of full-time ministry in France – since we finished our language school courses last week. With our new schedule, we spend an hour each workday morning (Monday, and Wednesday-Friday) together as a team praying. We pray for specific students we have met, for different outreach events coming up, and really for anything God has laid on our hearts. After prayer, we eat lunch (as a team, individually, or with students), and head to campus. There are 13 total campuses in Montpellier – but there are three main campuses that are part of the University of Montpellier where we focus much of our attention. These three are the science campus, the business and administration campus, and the liberal arts campus (also known as Paul Valery). Most of our afternoon is spent initiating spiritual conversations with students on campus, often through tools like the soularium picture survey or the perspective card survey.

Going on campus to talk with students can be extremely encouraging, incredibly heartbreaking, and often just frustrating. Every student and every conversation are different, but there are definitely common themes I would like to share to give you a better picture of ministry here. One very encouraging aspect is that many French students are willing – and some even eager – to discuss the deep, fundamental questions of life. Unlike many American students, controversial discussions and disagreements are not taboo; in fact, they are seen as very normal parts of life. Students are unafraid about sharing their own thoughts and convictions, and are often very interested to hear what we have to say. I have even been invited by many students to share my own convictions and beliefs – and often we have been able to share the Gospel in response to their questions.

Most French students we encounter on campus consider themselves “non-croyants” (non-believers), and put themselves either in the atheist or agnostic category. The majority have grown up in families who are non-religious or at least non-practicing. The most common responses I hear from students when we ask how they arrived at their beliefs are: they were raised that way, they don’t feel like they have ever experienced God in their lives, or they don’t think there is any way to have certainty about God because no one can prove He exists. For many students, evolution and scientific explanations for life make the most sense – they are very naturalistic in their view of the world. As a result, even talking about spiritual things can be somewhat of a foreign concept (no pun intended!). For some students I have talked with, imagining God exists is so far outside their realm of possibility; they have literally never considered a spiritual or Christian worldview or explanation as an option.

This week, I had the opportunity to talk with several students on different campuses, but none as interesting and (for me) as tragic as Jimmy. Darrin (one of our International Campus Staff – or ICS – working in Montpellier) and I went together to the science campus to initiate spiritual conversations with students. We were walking across a green space where different groups of students were assembled, when we saw two students sitting together a short distance away from the others. We approached them, explained who we were, and asked if they had 15 minutes to take a quick survey. Jimmy introduced himself to us and said he could take the time to talk; the girl who was with him introduced herself but quickly excused herself because she had a class starting soon after. Jimmy explained that he is a third-year university student in fundamental mathematics (something like theoretical math in the U.S.). Through posing the questions of the perspective cards, (What do you believe about the nature of God? What do you think is the purpose of life? and What do you believe about human nature?), we discovered that Jimmy has very logical, well thought-our convictions about each. He considers himself an atheist, and when Darrin asked him how he arrived at that belief, he agreed right away that atheism, like any belief, is based on faith. Unlike many French students I have talked with, he recognized the scientific logic that any answer to the question of the nature or existence of God (monotheist, polytheist, deist, atheist, agnostic, etc.) is really a belief because none of them can be proven. When we asked him what he was living for, he responded that as a result of his belief that there is no God, and that we are all here by chance, he could not see that any of us (as individuals) have any real purpose. He thinks it is possible that the universe has a goal or purpose, but that ultimately each human being has nothing to live for. Each of us is here by chance during our short lifetime, and after we’re gone there is no real change – we have no lasting impact. As he shared these things with us, I wasn’t sure how to react. I was completely dumbfounded and taken aback by his answer. Finally I asked him if that didn’t make him sad. He thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged and responded that it sometimes did.

Once again, I was speechless. It was difficult me to process, and I wondered internally how Jimmy was able to get up every morning. Why do anything at all if we are really here for no reason, and can have no lasting impact or purpose? I listened, my heart aching within me for the hopelessness of his worldview and the impact it must have on his daily life. During the course of our conversation (which lasted about 3 hours in total!), we were able to ask many questions that pushed him to go deeper and share with us, and also had the opportunity to share the Gospel with him. While he was not very receptive, he listened very intently and seemed very interested in understanding what we had to say. At the end of the three hours, Darrin realized he had to be somewhere. Before we left, we shared with him about the different events that we host (including English Club) and Darrin asked if he could have his phone number to contact him. Jimmy was happy to share it, and then we left.

Even after praying for Jimmy with Darrin, and praying and reflecting on my tram ride home, I just couldn’t get Jimmy out of my head. He is living a hopeless life because he doesn’t know God…and yet, he is completely unaware of his need for a Savoir. God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope,” is as much for Jimmy – and all French students – as it is for me. The only difference is that I have accepted God’s gift of restored relationship, and thus I am able to live in hope that God will take care of me.

Thank you for your faithfulness in praying! Please continue to pray that Jimmy (and students like him) would have their eyes and hearts opened to their need for Jesus. Pray that God would bring us to the students He has been preparing in advance to receive the Gospel. Pray that I would continue to learn more about God’s heart for the lost, and to be willing to ache and grieve for students who do not yet know Him. Finally, pray that God will continually use us to shine His light into the darkness.