I am back!!
I\'m so sorry for the lack of update during the week in France. It was such a packed and amazing time, I hardly had the capacity to sit down and write! And yet, none of the time spent on this trip was wasted; God has used all of it for our good and His glory.
Wow. I\'m not quite sure how to begin. The travel to France and to Le Mée-sur-Seine went smoothly. The first weekend passed in a whirlwind of meeting people at the church where we would have the VBS and having meetings. Our host family was absolutely incredible; they made us feel safe and secure in a new place, and at any given moment when we thanked them they would say, \"Don\'t thank us! Give God the glory.\" It has been such a blessing to know them.
There were about 42 children signed up for the VBS by the time it started. We had the most amazing team of volunteers from the church and from our team. Although I didn\'t have a specific role, I was able to help in more ways than I could have imagined with translation, event planning, organization, and keeping track of and caring for the children. Those kids were one of the best parts of this whole experience. Sharing Jesus with them, getting to know them and love them, I just felt God renewing my love for kids and childlike wonder. Thanks be to God, my French was coming back to me quickly and I was able to communicate well with the kids (which they absolutely loved). I feel as though even that small connection helped them to feel seen and known. By the afternoon of the first day, kids would randomly run up to me to give me hugs. It was precious to share my time with them.
There was a performance for the family and friends of the children on the fourth and last evening of the camp for the musical and dancing portion, the theme of which was creation. It was so beautiful to see these kids proclaiming Jesus and the glory of God\'s creation. One of the kids, who had said during the week that they were atheist, even ended up coming to church the next Sunday. God truly worked mightily in and through the team the entire time. The relationships I\'ve built on this trip are rich and profound, and I most definitely plan on seeing these dear friends again.
One of my biggest prayers for this trip was to build relationships with the people of this church, which the Lord answered in such a way that I now feel like they\'re family. My heart has been transformed for these people, for this place. I truly never knew that I could feel such love for a country that I thought I knew. I had grown used to what I\'d learned in school, having studied and majored in French. But this experience, it was entirely different. God is present with His people everywhere. France needs Jesus just as much as we do, and God is on the move even now.
By the third or fourth day of the trip I was already asking when we would be going back to France. If the Lord wills, I\'m happy to serve again and again in France. What a gift it was to be there and to experience His love and the global church in a profound, life-altering way. May He be magnified throughout the earth!
