France is pretty much a place of spiritual void. I can say this after having lived here for almost 2 years now. Although it is predominantly Catholic, a VERY small minority of people practice Catholicism in the way that we think of practicing religion- i.e. participating in corporate worship. My French teacher, who is around my age, thought it was very interesting and unusual that 3 from our French class (all American expats, by the way) regularly go to church. She considers herself "croyant", i.e. "believing", but doesn't think it at all necessary to to do anything to practice what she believes. I think that her thinking is probably representative of the perspective of many people of my generation in France. Another French friend of mine doesn't know what she believes about God or the Bible, but she is open to talking about it with me. She has a young child whose questions she is unable to answer because she really doesn't know what she believes.
For the most part, the French are a very private people and religion is a taboo topic of conversation. It is kept out of politics and religion and education here in a much more deliberate way than in the US. There really is a spiritual void in the hearts of the French people of this generation because spirituality has been intentionally left out of life. An older Christian couple who are very good friends of ours from church have 4 adult children whom they raised in the church and made intentional efforts to disciple, but sadly, none of the children are walking with the Lord today. It seems at times that this cultural pull toward secularism is overcoming the kingdom expansion which is so desperately needed in France. We hear about marriages and first communions taking place in churches, but often this is the only time the couple or family darkens the door of the church. And although there are very old and quaint looking churches in every single small village and town which are open all the time for visitors, they are rarely, if ever, open for mass.
It is a very different atmosphere than that of the US where, at least in the South, churches are open all over town and a large percentage of people actually attend. Here, community sporting events (runs, hikes, etc) as well as all kinds of community events are typically held on Sundays, and usually in the morning. Sunday is just not a day that most people set aside for worship. Operation World, an excellent resource for praying for the nations, calls France a country "hardened to the gospel", and I concur. Out of a population of just over 57 million (1995 stat.), 43 million French people had no real link with a Christian church. The book also states that most French people see the evangelical message as an alien ideology rather than something that originated in their own country. This is pretty ironic considering that 48% of the French poplulation was Protestant at the height of the Reformation and that John Calvin was French! Please pray that the Lord would open the hearts of the French people to their need for Him and move the Christians that are here to reach out to share their faith boldly.
Anyway, I have been feeling pretty isolated way over here in France- from the church in America, including all Christian teaching, literature, and music in English. One begins to feel like one is in a sort of desert regarding resources and sources of encouragement. I mean there is no Christian TV or radio (thank goodness for the internet!) and my circle of friends are not Christians. This is why we are here, however, to be a light and a witness, so we pray that this will change. :) Mostly it is just hard to live in a place where almost NO ONE shares our worldview. The challenge to raise our child/children in a place where there is no support system of fellowship or structure for discipleship like in the States has made me extra aware of my own responsibility to disciple SA, especially in light of the fact that there is no postive peer influence in her life and no other spiritual input except ours. Please pray for us to have wisdom as we strive to raise our family in a dramatically different way than that of all of our friends and neighbors while at the same time intertwining our lives with theirs- being salt and light in a dark place.
D has been working in Thailand for 2 weeks now, and we still have one more week to go. Please pray for him to have opportunities to share the gospel with the colleagues that he is traveling with and with whoever's heart the Lord has prepared in Thailand. Pray that he will be led by the Holy Spirit in the way that he shares and that the heart of those that he shares with would be open to receive the gospel. His traveling is not easy for us as a family, but if God can get glory from it, then it will be well worth the difficulty!
Also, please pray for a Bible study group of American ladies that meets in my home on Friday mornings. We have been meeting for a few months now, and I know that the Lord has brought us together in order to do a work in our lives. The ladies all have very BIG questions about the Bible, Jesus, and Christianity, and I am praying that the Lord would draw them into a relationship with Himself. We started out as a discussion group discussing world religions and whether or not all religions lead to God, and now we are going through a Bible study that is based on John Stott's Basic Christianity. The gospel is out there, but their hearts are not yet ready to embrace it. Please pray that they would accept Jesus as God and Savior and realize their need for Him. Please pray for me as I lead them that I would use grace and truth appropriately and that the Holy Spirit would enable me to communicate clearly the truth of God's Word.
As you can tell, I have ditched all efforts to be covert on this post. I think that most of you who are reading are friends or family who comment regularly, but, if not, and you are shocked and surprised at our intentions for being in France, well, the cat is out of the bag. Really, this post is a request for prayer. Although we are not serving here in an official missionary capacity, that is our heart. We need prayer support just like those "official" missionaries do. Please pray also that the Lord would continue to open up opportunities for us to become involved in the community where we live and for me, specifically, as I continue to learn French slowly but surely. Thank you in advance for your prayer support! I believe that prayer changes things, so I am expecting great things!
For the most part, the French are a very private people and religion is a taboo topic of conversation. It is kept out of politics and religion and education here in a much more deliberate way than in the US. There really is a spiritual void in the hearts of the French people of this generation because spirituality has been intentionally left out of life. An older Christian couple who are very good friends of ours from church have 4 adult children whom they raised in the church and made intentional efforts to disciple, but sadly, none of the children are walking with the Lord today. It seems at times that this cultural pull toward secularism is overcoming the kingdom expansion which is so desperately needed in France. We hear about marriages and first communions taking place in churches, but often this is the only time the couple or family darkens the door of the church. And although there are very old and quaint looking churches in every single small village and town which are open all the time for visitors, they are rarely, if ever, open for mass.
It is a very different atmosphere than that of the US where, at least in the South, churches are open all over town and a large percentage of people actually attend. Here, community sporting events (runs, hikes, etc) as well as all kinds of community events are typically held on Sundays, and usually in the morning. Sunday is just not a day that most people set aside for worship. Operation World, an excellent resource for praying for the nations, calls France a country "hardened to the gospel", and I concur. Out of a population of just over 57 million (1995 stat.), 43 million French people had no real link with a Christian church. The book also states that most French people see the evangelical message as an alien ideology rather than something that originated in their own country. This is pretty ironic considering that 48% of the French poplulation was Protestant at the height of the Reformation and that John Calvin was French! Please pray that the Lord would open the hearts of the French people to their need for Him and move the Christians that are here to reach out to share their faith boldly.
Anyway, I have been feeling pretty isolated way over here in France- from the church in America, including all Christian teaching, literature, and music in English. One begins to feel like one is in a sort of desert regarding resources and sources of encouragement. I mean there is no Christian TV or radio (thank goodness for the internet!) and my circle of friends are not Christians. This is why we are here, however, to be a light and a witness, so we pray that this will change. :) Mostly it is just hard to live in a place where almost NO ONE shares our worldview. The challenge to raise our child/children in a place where there is no support system of fellowship or structure for discipleship like in the States has made me extra aware of my own responsibility to disciple SA, especially in light of the fact that there is no postive peer influence in her life and no other spiritual input except ours. Please pray for us to have wisdom as we strive to raise our family in a dramatically different way than that of all of our friends and neighbors while at the same time intertwining our lives with theirs- being salt and light in a dark place.
D has been working in Thailand for 2 weeks now, and we still have one more week to go. Please pray for him to have opportunities to share the gospel with the colleagues that he is traveling with and with whoever's heart the Lord has prepared in Thailand. Pray that he will be led by the Holy Spirit in the way that he shares and that the heart of those that he shares with would be open to receive the gospel. His traveling is not easy for us as a family, but if God can get glory from it, then it will be well worth the difficulty!
Also, please pray for a Bible study group of American ladies that meets in my home on Friday mornings. We have been meeting for a few months now, and I know that the Lord has brought us together in order to do a work in our lives. The ladies all have very BIG questions about the Bible, Jesus, and Christianity, and I am praying that the Lord would draw them into a relationship with Himself. We started out as a discussion group discussing world religions and whether or not all religions lead to God, and now we are going through a Bible study that is based on John Stott's Basic Christianity. The gospel is out there, but their hearts are not yet ready to embrace it. Please pray that they would accept Jesus as God and Savior and realize their need for Him. Please pray for me as I lead them that I would use grace and truth appropriately and that the Holy Spirit would enable me to communicate clearly the truth of God's Word.
As you can tell, I have ditched all efforts to be covert on this post. I think that most of you who are reading are friends or family who comment regularly, but, if not, and you are shocked and surprised at our intentions for being in France, well, the cat is out of the bag. Really, this post is a request for prayer. Although we are not serving here in an official missionary capacity, that is our heart. We need prayer support just like those "official" missionaries do. Please pray also that the Lord would continue to open up opportunities for us to become involved in the community where we live and for me, specifically, as I continue to learn French slowly but surely. Thank you in advance for your prayer support! I believe that prayer changes things, so I am expecting great things!
