01 Novembre, 2008

Lessons from the French

It has been supremely important for us to be here with the heart of a learner. Not surprisingly, the French people appreciate substantially when we show them that we are not here to hold condemnation over their heads, nor are we here to force our views and beliefs on them. We are here to learn and to understand the French and their culture. We are here to “do life” alongside them, sharing of ourselves and our lives as we do. As we live out ministry as our life then, we are learning a lot of what it means to be French, and how to live and serve here.

The French are very proud of who they are. We’ve joked with several students that in the mind of the French, things that are French are naturally more desirable than anything else from anywhere else. They counter that as Americans we are overzealous about our own country’s superiority far more than they are. It’s an interesting topic to debate.

Living in Western Europe has vastly enlarged my concept of the world and my familiarity especially with other Western European countries. It is also changing my thoughts on lifestyle and culture. For example, I was struck how much more healthily slow my pace of life here is. Don’t get me wrong, we are keeping plenty busy here. We’ve been able to move forward with several of our outreach plans and are really looking ahead to a busy November, with several things we’re very excited about. That said, life takes a different speed here than in the US. There is more time to have a conversation with the friend that you meet while both on your way to something else. Lunch religiously takes two hours. How could you possibly accomplish a meal with someone any more quickly?

We were in Paris a week ago for the National Agape France Staff Conference. It was a fantastic experience to meet the rest of the staff serving across the country in the different ministries of Agape (campus staff, staff in family ministry, sports ministry, business ministry, arts ministry, etc.). They were so gracious and welcoming, helping us when the French was difficult to understand and explaining some of the cultural norms that I was confused by when we were there (the first morning of the conference I was lost looking for the coffee mugs to have some coffee. I tried to express my confusion to another staff person, who knowingly pointed me to a pile of bowls. Of course, who wouldn’t have their morning coffee in a bowl!?). I particularly enjoyed getting to connect with the two French intern guys who are working with Agape this year. They both spoke English well, and would help me as I fumbled through my French as we talked. It was encouraging for me to hear how the Lord had been blessing the ministry of Agape in the different cities in France. It gave me great hope for Montpellier for the future.

I must take an aside for a few amusing observations about how difference my experience was at this conference in France then it would be were this a conference in the states. I think the biggest difference was in the importance given to food, and in taking ample breaks during the conference to enjoy coffee and food. The conference started and ended with lunch, which in the states would have been cut out to lessen the cost of the conference. Each meal was given the appropriate 2 hour allotment, and sometimes that was extended to 2.5 hours. Every morning there was a coffee break midway between breakfast and lunch, so that the first session would be 1-1.5 hours, then at least 30 minutes break for coffee and other treats, another 1 hour session and then lunch! It seemed to me that we were spending as much time at the table or behind a cup of café as we were doing anything business related. Let me tell you, I was not complaining. J

After the conference, Erin, Laura and I spent a day and a half in Paris doing a little sight-seeing. The first night was awesome: we went to the Musée du Louvre (for free!!!) on a mission to find a particular painting that Erin has a history with, and afterwards went out to dinner at this fantastic restaurant where we enjoyed dinner until almost midnight (and we didn’t close the place, that’s for sure).


The next day was dreary outside, putting all of us a little out of sorts, but we saw l’Opéra, Notre-Dame de Paris, Saint-Chapelle (which was INCREDIBLE – a must-see that is often not seen), and the sweetest Starbucks I have ever been to. Wow. Then I got sick, which was awful. Slightly exhausted, and me not feeling well, we returned home, thankful beyond belief that we would gain an hour of sleep for daylight savings that night.