Bonjour Tout le monde!
Hope all is well, and you have had an excellent beginning to spring! Things are warming up here in Marseille, that's for sure! We finished language school earlier this month, so now we are heading into our time of full time ministry here. As this is a new site, we are still figuring out exactly what that looks like for us, but I am excited to be able to devote more of my time spiritually investing in the lives of my friends, as well as helping the ministry of Evolution 13 grow and expand here in this area! I can't wait to see what else the Lord has in store for our ministry opportunities here in Marseille!
As many of you know I had the privilege to go to Nuremberg, Germany this past weekend with my friend Thea. Thea is working with Evolution 13, which was how I met her. She is originally from Nuremberg, and asked if I would like to come home with her for a visit, so of course I said yes! It was a lovely time, meeting her friends and family, who all warmly welcomed this girl from America. I enjoyed being able to relax, and just hang out and be a tourist! After having a rough few weeks of homesickness, stress, and just general struggle, my time in Germany helped me to really refocus and rest in the Lord.
The past month was a difficult time for me, as I had stated in my last blog. I was beginning to question what I was doing here, what my purpose was here. I was having a hard time with the language, and feeling inadequate. I needed a time for refreshing, reminder, and reflection. A time away where I could just let the Lord speak, and be alone to listen. Going to Germany gave me all this and more! On Friday, when Thea and I arrived, we spent some time with her family and boyfriend. I can't lie, it was nice to not be expected to know the language. I was able to just relax, and not frantically try to follow along. That night, I stayed with Thea's friend, Karin, who was at work until late, so I was able to have some time alone to myself. It was a wonderful time spent alone with the Lord. I was able to let everything out, and just be completely alone with Him. I loved it! He refreshed me, reminded me that He has a purpose for my time here, and I need to trust Him in that. I felt such peace wash over me, it was exactly what the Lord knew I needed.
Saturday I spent sightseeing with Thea, exploring a bit of the city, then headed to her parents' for dinner. It was a fun time, hanging out and laughing around the table, even if I couldn't understand half the conversation. I enjoyed just being there, with such warm and lovely people. After dinner Thea shared a video about Marseille with her family. As we watched familiar scenes of Marseille caused a pang in my heart. I missed home. Home? Yes, Marseille is my home now. It was so strange to think that way, but my heart has been lost to this city. I began to miss French too. Hearing the familiar sounds, understanding (somewhat) what was being said... In that moment I realized, I love this city, God loves this city, and that's why He's brought me here. He knew I would fall in love with this place. Yes, it's hard, yes sometimes I just want to hide and cry after a long day, but at the end of it all, I love the people here, and so does He. I don't know exactly how everything will play out, or what exactly it will all look like, but for right now I know this: I need to reach all the people that I can in the ways He provides, because this city is my home, and these people are my family. For much of the rest of that night I tried to speak to Thea in French, my determination to master the language had been rekindled.
Sunday morning I went to church. Worship was incredible, the Lord moved in amazing and powerful ways. He spoke to me about many things, and my heart was open to receive. The message on the Father's heart (which was translated for me from German to English) resonated with my own heart. After church we spent the entire day at the church cafe for coffee, lunch, birthday cake (it was the birthday of a few church members), and dinner. While I was there, I was able to meet some pretty amazing people that Thea very much wanted to introduce me to. But before I tell you about them, I need to tell you a quick story first. See, about a year after I started following the Lord, He told me, very specifically about where my life was headed. He wanted me to open and orphanage. In the Middle East. Now He did not say when, but I knew this was the calling He had on my life. So since then, I've been quite open about it with friends, family, and supporters. That being said, when I told Thea a few months ago, she told me of these friends of hers, who came from the Middle East, to Germany. So we arranged that I would meet them at church, and I ended up spending the whole day with them. They told me their amazing story of escape from a very strict Islamic nation to Germany. Their story inspired me, but also sobered me. I knew the calling I had was a dangerous one, but hearing it from the mouths of people who had lived under such regimes made it very real to me. But their stories of God's faithfulness, as well as the miracles that God had performed in order to bring them to where they are now were truly inspirational. I felt so blessed to meet, and know these people.
Monday I ran errands with Thea, and went to Nuremberg castle. It was just a fun, calm day before leaving on Tuesday. Overall my time in Germany was refreshing, rejuvenating, and something I had really needed, even if I hadn't realized it before. God really used this time to help me rest in Him, as well as reflect on my purpose in Marseille. My fervor renewed I was very happy to return home, to my city.
So, thank you. Thank you for praying for me through this difficult time, thank you for your continued support and encouragement, thank you for believing, and trusting the Lord with me. My heart has been lifted, and I feel truly blessed to have all of you out there taking this journey with me. Please continue to pray for my team and I, this is not an easy journey, but it isn't one I would trade for the world. I know God is working and moving here in this city, and so of course there is spiritual opposition to that. Please continue to join us in praying against these powers of darkness, and pray for the love of God to explode and ignite a fire in this truly amazing, beautiful, wonderful country.
Blessings and Love,
Chrissy
