Paris, France. 
A place I have built up in my mind for years, but never really knew when I would get to see it.
Well, it finally happened.
I usually go on a mission trip every other year, and this year I was set on going back to Mexico. However, I wasn’t really at peace with that decision. Something told me I wasn’t supposed to go. In all honesty, the feeling confused me because it is one of my favorite trips to attend, and this year one of my good friends was leading it. I then gravitated towards the trip our FCA summer interns were going on to Budapest, but found out it was during my family vacation.
I was a little annoyed and discouraged, thinking I would have to go find a trip or not go on one at all. Then in January, our church had an advertisement for something called “The Paris Experience.” Immediately in my spirit the Lord said: “That’s what I want you to do.”
I wasn’t going to argue about going to Paris, but for whatever reason (now I know a little more 🙂 ) I couldn’t get a ton of information on what was going to be happening and what we would be doing.
Nevertheless, the Lord kept nagging me so I blindly signed up and just thought, “Screw it. Lord, you want me to go. Let’s go.”
I had a lot of doubt up until getting on that plane. Thought about the cost and not knowing what I was getting into, and almost thought about backing out several times.
I got on the plane and could not believe what I was doing. I had such a peace that week about leaving, and that NEVER happens before I get on a plane, even in the U.S.
I saw the Eiffel tower from my window and knew that somehow this was going to be life changing. Had no idea why or how, but I knew it would be.
I then proceeded to spend 9 days with about 20+ missionaries, French and American, who were devoted to planting churches in France so people could hear the Gospel. And I have never been the same since.
France has less evangelical churches in the entire country then just the city proper of Atlanta. That’s right, not including suburbs. Basically France has about one church for every 800,000 people if you break it down by population.
“That’s because it’s so Catholic.” Nope. People in France don’t go to church period. The reason mostly stems from the intense Protestant persecution in the 15 & 16 hundreds. I know seems crazy right? St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre in 1572 is a big reason being protestant is taboo. In one day almost all of the protestants in the country were murdered and it has never fully recovered. Churches were even burned to the ground in Paris.
I say all that to tell you the way the missionaries have had to do ministry is very different from here in the states. But it shouldn’t be. I have never in my life experienced such a fullness of joy and life in the seemingly mundane parts of life. Many do ministry while they go to the grocery store or have a picnic in the park. They strive to really know their neighbors and what their part of the city actually needs, and not what THEY want it to be. The missionaries are not even supposed to leave France for the first three years in order to provide cultural ties that draw them back to their respective place.
It was an epiphany for me in my own ministry. When it comes to Emory was I really diving into what it needs and not what I can bring to the table? Do we fully listen to the students and draw our programs and events from that? Most of the time we do, but when you are face to face with the love and intentionality of the missionaries in France you go back and question everything.
It also changed me as a Christian. Am I living that way in Sandy Springs? Am I really knowing my neighbors and loving my area of the city with actual intense need for them to know Jesus? I definitely struggle with that, and it doesn’t have to be intense. It could be going to the local farmer’s market on Saturday or striking up a conversation with someone you see all the time at the grocery store. None of this requires us to have advanced seminary degrees, just a heart to love.
Meanwhile, we went on a walking tour of Paris, praying for the walls the people put around their hearts towards God. It was a long and very hot day, but praying like that makes you see the place you are with new eyes and new perspective. It captured my attention. 
All of it captured my attention. Just the sight of the Eiffel tower commands it will not be ignored. And of course, just knowing you were walking where so many others had gone before you, it made your heart swell with pride. I ate at a restaurant where Ben Franklin & Thomas Jefferson rumored to eat when they were planning the American Revolution in the 1600’s. It was crazy to think we could sit where history took place.
I know this blog is long, and I will be adding more later stories later, but you should go to Paris. I am now a firm believer that “Paris is always a good idea.”
Learning as I go Along... 