MISSion

I MISS being around my team!

Most likely it's because overnight I went from staying with 3 other girls in one room, breakfasting with them and 5 of the boys as well, and doing almost everything else with various combinations of them & everyone else on team!

And now, while it's incredibly convenient to be running (or, in my case, walking briskly) around Paris - & I've covered a lot of ground - it's also very weird to be flying solo. I think I understand what Jonty*, my Aussie brother, was talking about when he mentioned the isolation-loneliness issues!

Today, the highlight was climbing around 300 steps up inside the dome of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre. Actually the real highlight was getting near the top & seeing Paris spread out across the horizon, with most (if not all) major landmarks in view. It was a partly cloudy & not-too-hot day, & the view was pretty clear. Plus, it had cost me less to see Paris from high up (5 euros = AUD$10) than it would have done to see Sydney from the Harbour Br. or Centrepoint!!

I wanted to stay up there all day, but since I'd spent a while trotting around the St-Ouen flea-markets just for the heck of it, I needed to get down and hunt sepulchres in the Montmartre cemetery. Walked around & around looking for graves of composers Adam, Delibes, Dumas, Offenbach..& dancer Nijinsky. After a long time, had found only Offenbach (& because he wrote ballet music I curtseyed to his tombstone). Then, after more fruitless searching, a bit of rain started, so I gave up & headed for the metro.

From the metro I caught a train to find Canal St. Martin. It was COOL. (Or "mental", as my English mission friends Liat* or Asher* would have said.)

A real canal!
With working locks!
And I got to see the locks in motion!
FREE of charge!!

Then I pitched the idea of the Edith Piaf museum (since I realised it was closed), & also gave up on Pere Lachaise cemetery (because it would take so long to find tombstones of composers or dancers I'd have wanted to see). Caught another metro across to the Bastille/Marais area of Paris. But did not bother seeing the Bastille itself. Did, however, bother to wander down into the Jewish quarter in rue des Rosiers. Fascinating - similar elegant food outlets, patisseries, etc., and all kosher! Had fun surprising shopkeepers I bought little foodstuffs from by thanking them in Hebrew ("toda", or "toda-rabah" if really thankful).

A few more blocks brought me to some nice fountains at the Hotel de Ville, across the river from the Notre-Dame cathedral.

I walked past both, and was subsequently even less impressed with the exteriors & artwork of the cathedral than I was with Sacre-Coeur. So many statues of apostles, saints, the Virgin Mary and of course Jesus.
And for what?

Even though the view from Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre had been so beautiful, the building itself, esp. interior, really made my evangelical Bible-based blood BOIL. All this "write-a-prayer-to-a-saint-and you-can-be-sure-God-will-hear-it" trash.. .. ..Anyone could know from reading Scriptures properly that we don't need saints/apostles/Virgin Mary to pray for us!!

All we'll ever need is to pray to God ourselves, approaching His throne of grace with confidence by the blood of Jesus.

But I digress. Other sites visited yesterday (by combination of walking, then metro when my legs grew tired) included:

Arc de Triomphe
Jardin de Tuileries
Louvre Carrousel
Place de la Concorde

My hotel, the Littre, is rather nice; if another opportunity arises to return to Paris in future, I may stay again. The pure French breakfast foods on the buffet are great; they have the best jams I've ever tasted!! No Nutella, which surprises me; Nutella is everywhere, in restaurants, cafes, on common takeaway stands & the humble home breakfast table (judging by our team breakfasts last week during mission).

Team?
Speaking of team, probably the first person I miss, for pure hysterical value, is Avi*.


Avi comes from a huge family living in the DR Congo (official language French), & displayed a cheeky sense of humour throughout mission week. Though lively & full of fun, he was also very understanding with us international members (foreigners) on team when we didn't understand what was said, or when we struggled to express ourselves in French. He was called back to Orleans an afternoon before the week ended, & things were a lot quieter without his unique input!!

I also really miss Liat*, the only English girl on team.


She's the one with the blue jumper draped over one shoulder (well, obviously, the only girl in this shot) - that's Jonty* behind (with the frisbee on his head) & Matthew* in the foreground.

After our final evangelistic evening-activity, I found Liat crying - because one of the students who'd accepted our invitations during the week (a Mexican whom Jonty hopes to follow up), had expressed a desire to become Christian. Liat's response to this was so like mine in that respect. She was also really kind, & really driven for the sake of the gospel. Which is fantastic, seeing she works for the English version of IFES under the guidance of Asher*.


An English-born Leedsman whose mother was French, Asher is depicted here taking care of a volleyball while talking with Jonah* of the Netherlands.

Asher, by the way, is one of those brilliant types - the ones who studied law at UK university. Highly intelligent with a wry sense of humour. On the last night of mission he went on a quest for a not-ruinously-expensive beer (but failed), taking Jonty, myself & some others with him. The other team members were so exhausted (well, OK, it was one-thirty in the morning!) that when we passed by our church lodgings in rue de Sevres they turned aside & went to bed.

The three of us, accompanied by two rather clingy young Asian students (who'd been with us for the evangelistic event), continued down the street. Down another street, too. Eventually we found an Italian chain place willing to serve the single beer that Asher & Jonty were looking for - though sadly, what they each ordered came to around 7 euros. They sat and talked at length about music, & I practised my listening skills and said very little.
(Try not to be too surprised! Hopefully these aural skills will be much improved if I ever return to Australia.)
Once we'd left - and they'd only had one drink each so they were quite sober in case you wondered - and we'd sent the Asian kids home (they were only 1st-year students after all), Asher and Jonty sang most of the way back to our lodgings. Which brings Avi back into the equation, because they, and Avi, and native French staffworker/"stagiaire" Dovi*, were almost always singing, or playing music - & mainly the classical kind!! Jonah* (of the Netherlands), would sometimes join them, and possibly the little Pole Matthew* as well.

I'll close by talking about Matthew*, as well as Korean-French team-leader Mia*. Matthew was so funny and awkward.. .. ..


Barely eighteen, just finished school, trying to speak French & English as well as Polish. He reminded me of my Cranbrook & St. Andrew's students as they are now - still a little boy but trying hard to be grown up. (Guessed my age as being 22, which certainly sounds better than being 31.) Yet, this kid is so far ahead of me - putting himself out to share the gospel through walk-up evangelism - & in French, too - his weakest language!!

And now on to Mia*:


As with Liat, I discovered Mia & myself had more than a bit in common. Asian background, but grown up in Western country. Broken family. Early thirties. Due to stuff at home this year, I have not been very fond of people of Korean descent thus far - but Mia is an outstanding exception. Like Avi, she was always so supportive & helpful, ever willing to clarify when help was needed. She is, in fact, a very good reason to return to Paris in the future - that's how much I liked her!!

Hope to post again before heading for the UK, but we shall see!

L/T.


P.S. To my FAMILY - if you urgently need or want to get in touch, I am in room 403 at the Littre until Wednesday morning (4PM Sydney time).

Best time to call is 6AM Sydney time, which is 10PM previous night in Paris time - I'm in my room by then. Last night at Littre will be Tue. 7th; will be in airport hotel by evening of Wed. 8th.

How did the B1 interview go?

Much love,
B2.