Bonjour, or more properly, Bonsoir, since it is after 4pm here (11:00pm). We have had another day of visiting and praying.

Bob and I left for breakfast but were greeted with crowds at our breakfast hideaway. The groups were moving in and they could not cook food fast enough. I was going to have more coffee but it never arrived.

We left for our visit with Jerry and Carolyn at Magny-Les-Hameaux, which is south west of Paris. Even though I have traveled to these places, I am not sure I could find them on a map. Since I had stayed there, I was not seeing them or their home for the first time.

Jerry introduced another French pastor, Jean Korianos, who serves a Brethren church in Paris called National. Like Jean Claude Chong who we heard yesterday, his testimony is powerful. I cannot tell his whole story. I will give brief details. He rejected God deliberately as a child when his father died. He was witnessed to by what he called a crazy street Christian. He was saved and put on a journey that led him to serve as a pastor. He has served for 30 years and now travels part time as an evangelist.

In the 1970's, the church he now serves saw a convert a week. The church had grown to about 120 people with 9 elders. The church continues to be aggressive in its outreach but sees only 3-6 conversions per year. He says it takes longer now.

This was intriguing to me so I asked him to explain. He said that until 1968-9 that Catholic culture kept some sensitivity to gospel truth. These were watershed years for France. After that time the process of secularism has accelerated. People are much slower to grasp the truth.

He is encouraged about the future. He believes a younger generation is seeking again because secularism has brought them to the bottom. He says adults are still complex. He is encouraged by American Christians he has met because many of them are rich and still true to the Lord. That is a comment to be pondered.

Jean added some more wisdom. He said he believes it is important to know what time you are in. There is sowing time and reaping time. During the sowing, you cannot expect to reap. If you do, you will be frustrated and discouraged. He believes they have been sowing and is not discouraged that the harvest has been slow.

Carolyn shared their work and vision for the church. I will not go into it here. For the Mission Committee back home, I made a video and will let you watch it.

We had a delicious lunch of cous cous prepared by Carolyn and enjoyed eating in their sunny back yard. We had time to sit and talk and catch our breath.

Then it was off to the new office of France VIE. The purchase of the office was one part smart investment and one part administrative necessity. France VIE is expanding its work and needs to develop an administrative infrastructure. Administrative details are increasing. Detlaf reported that keeping up with administration was becoming more complex. They are adding people and with them comes the need for more financial accounting (for the French, taking proper account of taxes). Jerry has been serving as the financial administrator. Some part time help has been hired. A woman from the Magny congregation will give a couple of days per week. Detlaf would welcome any gifts that would help to pay for the new office. They believe it is an answer to prayer. It will also serve as a place for counseling and for Bible studies.

We were off from the office to San Quentin-En- Yvelines where Chad and Kimberly Deakyne are seeking to plant a church with the help of Batiste and Emilie Magaillian.

SQY (their abbreviation) shows how the city of Paris is building new cities. It is like a real live Sim City only it isn’t a game. Paris is being expanded by creating new cities in the middle of green zones of preserved land. We walked around the town. It is interesting to see the architecture of Paris and understand how it represents hundreds and thousands of years of building. But SQY is new. No building is just a building. It is a work of art. And works of art are everywhere. It is amazing how pleasing to the eye it all is. 35,000 people live in SQY who have an average age of 29. As you walk the streets, you are surrounded by young people. At one intersection, there are 10 temporary worker agencies. And SQY is the largest of 7 other towns that are growing in the same way. Already, the Metro provides transportation to Paris where work can be found.

We went to Chad and Kimberly’s apartment and heard of their attempts to begin a church there. It is daunting to think of starting a church from scratch. They described some of their activity. Primarily, their work is to build relationships. Obviously that takes a while. The French system of associations is a way to network with other people and form those necessary relationships. Kimberly has formed a ceramics association that others may join. Other activities include movie nights in which English movies are discussed in English. They have held Bible studies at the local university (developed as part of the new city) with the French version of InterVarsity. They are able to get a room in the Catholic church nearby. The room belongs to the church but is to be open to the community with the permission of the priest. The priest has not only given permission but has sat in on a number of the studies and even brought an intern priest to one. Interesting.

We heard from Batiste and had some time in prayer.

Then we were off to Paris again. Our visits were done. We were treated to a boat ride on the Seine River. It rained a bit as we started but cleared off. We saw close ups of some of the magnificent buildings that line the river.

We hoped to return for some time in the Louvre but we arrived too late and had to settle for getting some food at the food court. We made our way back to the hotel and are all looking for some solid rest.