Thursday night has arrived in this whirlwind of a week. This was our last day for visiting churches.

I realized I have not introduced you to my fellow travelers. Let me do so briefly:

Bob, my roommate is an ex-mechanical engineer who enjoys traveling for mission trips and causes. He visited a similar prayer conference in Spain and wanted to do this one.

Mary, who is from Detroit, teaches French in a Christian school. She spent a year in Paris with her parents when she was 12 and has simply never recovered. She loves to bring groups and is our guide for sightseeing and excursions on the Metro. She is highly valued by all of us.

Sally and Emilie, mother and daughter from the Coopersburg BFC, have come to share in the prayer. Sally is a aerobics instructor. Emilie has just graduated from Liberty University and thinking about life ahead.

Patty and Lisa, our other mother and daughter team, are from Houston. They have traveled often and are looking at this as a time together. Lisa, only 13, has been with us all the way both in interest and in stamina. They are full of stories and a dynamic duo.

Nancy, also from Detroit, is the mother of grown children. She loves travel and wants to be a supporter of missions. She thinks she may see a future in helping others who want to travel to visit missionaries.

Tina, a claims specialist who also hails from Detroit, has rounded out the group. She too has come because of an interest in the work of missions and has greatly appreciated what she has seen and heard.

And last but not least is yours truly who needs no introduction but who would add that he is ready to come home though not at all sorry he has come.

Our day began as it always does in the breakfast room where Bob and I once again were able to fill a plate with all sorts of good things and enjoy time to eat them.

We were off a bit earlier than usual today, 8:15am, which may not seem early to some of you but it was early to us. We were going farther away today and would travel 2 hours to get to where we were going. That also meant 2 hours back so we were traveling for 4 hours.

We visited a town called Montargis in the region of Montargion, southwest of Paris. This region is really just outside of the Paris complex. We were met at the train station by Olivie Beck and the faithful Detlaf Gwinner, field leader for France. We stopped at the Beck home and moved on to the town.

Olivie introduced us to the region which, unlike what we have seen so far, is not a new city. What is a bit unusual is the fact that the region around has been a place for immigration over the years. As a matter of fact, Olivie thinks of France as a nation of immigrants. Russians came in the early 1900's. Spaniards flooded in after the revolution in Spain in 1939. After WW 2, the Portugese arrived. After that, many Turkish people arrived. The Turks came became of the arrival of a German industrial company who relocated to the area and asked the Turks who worked for them to move with the company.

The area has some of the marks of Urban living. You can take an hour train ride to Paris. But it has retained the elements of rural living. You can buy fresh locally grown vegetables and find fresh eggs in the markets. Development has been slower in this area than in the other areas we have visited which were designed for new development.

After our visit to the town, we dined in a restaurant in town. The father of the owner is an elder in one of the local churches and took good care of us. We had delicious salads that filled large plates. Mine included lettuce, asparagus, some other stuff, and foie gras. Foie gras is the goose liver concoction that has been banned in some places of America. I won’t enter into that debate but add that predictably, the French have a different take on it.

After our lunch we returned to the Beck home where Olivie introduced his wife, Sophie, who shared her testimony. Testimonies can get long, as I have already told you, and I can’t do them all. Sophie was raised in a Christian home, rebelled, returned, went to Bible School where she met Olivie, and got married. They have they children (the best in the world according to Olivie).

Olivie gave us a tour through French history. Each day I have been exposed to something that seems to open a door to certain understandings. Listening to Olivie, it becomes clear that you cannot fully grasp the French, France and their religious interest or disinterest if you do not get an idea of their history.

The French Revolution was an attempt to throw off the power of the king and the church which controlled all of life. The desire was to create a sharing that would bring a balance to life. The revolution brought France into what Olivie called the terror years. The old system was broken down. A religion of reason was introduced. It brought a different kind of spirituality but a spirituality that went the wrong way. It led to humanism or the idea that human beings can save human beings. Human reason would be the measure for all things.

Changes in structures occurred. What had been done by the church was passed to the mayor. A system of regions was established which are pretty much still in place.

Napoleon entered the increasing chaos and brought stability. He was able to drive away all attempts to remove him and unseat his government. He chose the way of power and had himself declared emporer. He put the final pieces in the legal and judicial system which are the system in place in France today.

Olivie called the 19^th century a century of choices. Whether monarchy or republic was decided. The industrial revolution came on the world stage.

In 1905, the clash between church and state came to a head. A distinct separation was established. The Catholic Church opposed these events. Protestant churches welcomed the separation. A kind of compromise was made. The state took control of all church property but in essence agreed in perpetuity that the Catholic Church would have access. So, the cathedral at the center of the town belongs to the town government but the town government is required to allow the church to use it.

The people of France and their thinking has been shaped by these crises and the wars they sparked. Many of the people of France don’t want religion because religion brings war. That has been their history. Religion is a problem. Most of the people of France would tell you they are Catholics even though they have not been to church. Detlaf explained today that no one in their organization is called a missionary. Missionaries are people who go to Africa where they need religion. The people of France would tell you that they do not want (or need) religion. Religion just leads to war. The works of France VIE (World Team) are called pastors. The French understand what a pastor is and what he does. When they know that a church planter is a pastor, they expect him to talk about spiritual things.

Olivie explains that the French have known so much war they are reluctant to go to war. This explains why they were so unwilling to rush in to Iraq and wanted to hold out for more negotiation.

Enough of the history lesson. The town of Montargis is being considered for a church plant. Final decisions have not been made though consideration is being given. France VIE is considering this as a new project. No buildings have been purchased. Olivie and Sophie have moved there with a view to helping those who come. In the parlance of the BFC church planting, they are a Priscilla and Aquila couple who will support the workers who might come. The leaders of France VIE are seeking wisdom for the area.

We returned to Paris making the 2 hour trip with no mishaps. We did not return to our hotel but went to the Mount of Martyrs to see the church there and then to walk some of the shops and get something to eat in the cafés that surround the area. We walked the narrow streets and again experienced the carnival atmosphere of people filling the streets.

We were back at our resting places by 10:00pm. It has now become standard to get a shower and clean off and cool down after which I sit here and begin my journaling.

Thanks to you who have read this and emailed. It encouraged me to keep at it and stay up later than I might have.