Thank you very much for praying for my second trip to Paris. After an uneventful flight on Wednesday December 8th, I arrived in Paris early morning the 9th, missing a record snow fall and flight cancellations by only about 10hrs. After dropping off my suitcase at our apartment we are lending to some YW@M m!ss!on@ries, it seemed best to trudge through the slush and ice and pick up my card from the Prefecture to bar any unforseen closures the next day.
I then received my 10 year card with no glitches, hang-ups or hold-ups! After doing a jig of praise and thanks to G0d by Notre D@me, I slipped, skidded and metroed the way to the Monet collection exhibit and celebrated by seeing this rare re-collection of his works on display, without schedule of after-school picking up of kids pressing upon me. A visit I had been dreaming of making since it was announced last Spring. Monet's love of and fascination with the beauty and ever-changing mood and palette of G0d's creation and his consuming passion to capture it on canvas both moved and overwhelmed me. I felt close to G0d, as I do being in nature, as I regarded Monet's works.
Besides being a long-time fan of Monet, I am also a fan of getting together with friends. We enjoy our work that G0d has given us of building relationships and intoducing Parisien friends to Je$us though actions and words. Part of this building and maintaining of all relationships includes regular visits, conversations, and moments together, of course. Besides needing to return to Paris to personally retrieve my 10 year card, my two trips have been useful for tending to and keeping these important relationships going.
My previous trip in October was a week long and was completely filled from morning to night with visits to various friends of ours and our kids. This was very productive but exhausting as well as difficult on the rest of my family having me gone for so long. Al did great and the kids survived, although looking rather unkempt when I viewed them each night via skype. However, they communicated quite clearly to me "there's no one like mom"!
In light of this and also due to less administrative tasks to be done, it seemed wisest to make the December trip as short as possible, and short it was! I had 3 whole days in Paris! Several families I visited very briefly last time, in October, stated that they wanted me to make sure I visited them again and for longer the next trip. When planning my 3 days, it seemed best to go where there were already these open doors and continue to let God lead me as I went. And lead He did!
Thursday evening, I had a great time and meal with neighbors who are "regular" C@thol!cs (vs. the 1/yr "C@thol!cs" in name only). I felt free to talk with them about sp!ritu@l subjects and did my best to answer their questions about the French Ref0rmed chu*rch beliefs and those of other Pr0test@nt d0ctrines, while wishing my B!ble College-trained husband were there to help out!
After taking care of most of the administrative tasks Thursday, Friday morning was spent on domestic tasks, lunch and time of encouragement and prayer with a Japanese Chr!stian artist friend who is married to a non-bel!eving French man. She then helped me shop for French food gifts for our family and friends in America. Our kids are missing much about their life and home in Paris, especially their friends but also the food there and sent me with special requests to bring them back some of their favorites during my last trip there!
These items, I quickly deposited at our apartment, then rushed to go to goûter (afternoon/after-school snack) with a French family to whom we all feel close to pay them and their new baby a visit. Then accompanied them to the Jardin d'Enfants where our 3 kids have attended pre-k and kindergarten for a Christmas performance, seeing and chatting with several people we know. After a brief visit there, I dashed off to have an appetizer with a Senagalese family we know through swim classes. During my October visit, I saw them briefly, and the mother made me promise to see them again and for longer the next time I would come to Paris. So I kept my promise and was glad to hear her say that she was enjoying getting to know me better and wants our families to get together more often to get even better acquainted when we all return to Paris, saying our family is special and so kind to them all.
It was already nearly 8pm and my evening wasn't over yet! From this family, I then slid and skated back to our apartment, changed quickly, met with another neighbor lady whose daughter was in one of my English Clubs and caught the bus to join 6 other neighborhood ladies from the "Moms' Night Out" that I had started last January. We all met at a local restaurant and enjoyed a tasty meal together, seasoned heavily with lively conversation, followed by lavish desserts, a quick photo together and goodbye kisses on the cheeks. I felt very touched by the fact that these ladies had arranged to meet this evening to coordinate with my second trip back to France in order to see me and for me to see them. I was also moved by how all who had had kids in my English Club stated emphatically how much their kids enjoyed learning English with me that they refuse to (or sulk if made to) attend any other English class but mine, and are thus eagerly awaiting our/my return to continue! One mom stated, "It looks like you have your own fan club now, Nicole". How encouraging to hear that my efforts blessed them!
My last day, Saturday, was just as much a whirlwind as the previous 2 days. The morning started early, despite jet-lag and a late night, with coffee with the Marais Ref0rmed Chu*rch concierge. It was wonderful to hear of exciting changes, ideas, number of service growth and growth by births, even to couples formerly unable to conceive children. Even the Sund@y School that I helped get off the ground with some curriculum ideas is growing in numbers. She stated that we would be welcome and wanted to return upon our return next summer, is it is G0d's will.
Meetings to check is all was going well with the YW@M m!ss!on@ries using our apartment, then checking in at the bank, and a late lunch with a dear French Chr!st!an friend going through challenging times filled the rest of the morning. We then went and saw her expo of her artwork at the YW@M owned and run restaurant nearby.
Supper was following yet another open door by accepting a diner invitation to a French pre-Chr!st!an family whose son is a close friend of our son's. After chatting with their sons and saying goodnight, supper included a very interesting conversation, started by the mother about religi0n and why she didn't believe in G0d. She went on to explain to me that her grandmother so tainted and warped her view of G0d, the Cath0lic chu*rch and religi0n by mixing those 3 subjects together with such superstition and scary stories that our friend decided it was all false and rejected all, any truth about G0d along with the lies and superstition-filled stories.
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