The Start of a Movement: Part 1.....

Bonjour Tout Le Monde!

Well these past two weeks have been quite busy! At the beginning of the month we had a team from London in town to help us jump start some new ministries as well as be an encouragement to us, and help out in any way that was needed. Man they were such a blessing to us! Then this past weekend we went to a bill Johnson conference a few hours north of here, in Ales, which was an incredible conference! SO since there's so much to share, I'll be doing this in two parts: first, the London team, and all of the incredible things God did during their time here, then a second part about the conference we went to this past weekend. The second part will come in about two weeks (After my two week break for which I will be traveling to the UK and Paris! Courtesy of my lovely tax return!) So here we go!

Well, the London team arrived on a Saturday evening, and we met them that evening at a special dinner. The next day was the first church service for Matt's new church plant. It was such a great service! The Spirit of God was moving, and it was an incredible thing to witness! It definitely got me really excited for the coming week!

So Monday we hit the ground running! After an amazing time of prayer and worship we went to the train station across the street from one of the big universities here in Marseille. We were handing out flyers for the new English conversation groups we were starting as well as doing "God tests" where basically you do a survey to see what people believe while also sharing what you believe. It was incredible, and heart breaking to hear some of the answers that I heard. Every one of the students I spoke with were Atheists, with no belief, no strong hope in anything really. It broke my heart to see the lack of purpose in their lives. We also spoke to a young man who had an intestinal disorder and was told he would only live to be forty, so we laid hands on him and prayed for healing. While he didn't believe in what we were doing, he still allowed us to do this, and I truly believe that the Lord has healed him.

Over the course of the next two days we did the same things, handing out flyers for the conversation groups, handing out chocolate with little messages written on them, and doing God tests. Some of us had some pretty amazing conversations, that's for sure! Then Wednesday we had the first English conversation group. We got to meet some pretty amazing ladies who we are still getting to know in our weekly meetings. I am truly happy and excited about the friendships forming through these conversation groups we have!

On Wednesday afternoon, and the next few days (The last few days the London team was here) we went to Cour Julien, the more artistic area of Marseille, and did some praise and worship there. It was amazing just singing at the top of our lungs worship to God, and seeing people gathering around us, attracted to the music. During this time Thea was also able to help lead a woman to the Lord! It was a beautiful thing to see. My heart was so full of all that God was doing. We have seen the fruits of it since, especially in the building of friendships through our English conversation groups. I cannot wait to see what God does during these times, but He is definitely doing something through all of this, as of course none of these meetings were by chance or by accident.

I am thankful for all that God is doing, as He is moving, and teaching me. He is showing me more and more, every day, that He has me here for a reason. He really loves the people here in this city and in this country. He is starting something here, and I feel blessed to be part of it! I will definitely share some more of that when I write about the conference we went to in Ales! So stay tuned!

Blessings and Love,

Chrissy