Faithful

This is random and personal but it's worth sharing in my opinion. Below is a snippet from an email my mom sent me which instigated this whole post. She is a faithful prayer warrior and avid missions supporter. In fact, I still remember the missions notebook on the den coffee table with a map of the world and all the missionaries alphabetized and filed every time their newsletters came in. Some of the best reading I did as a child and teenager. I also happen to think Mom is fascinating! Throughout my college years she would read what books I brought home and left between semesters. Thus, we were able to "keep up" in a sense better than what I heard a lot of other students struggle with. When my theology of the Holy Spirit got blown open, she was there reading the same. When I started realizing, hey, why are women silent in the Church, she was also there reading. And when I fell in love again with philosophy, she also took interest. (Never have been able to get her hooked on politics though. :) ) As I have naturally added social justice to my list of passions and pursuits, she is always there with stories from work about how she has made a push for bi-lingual documents, how she's confronted an educator who couldn't speak Spanish to find someone who could so that equal care could be delivered, how she enrolled in a Spanish class so she could at least communicate basics herself, and she amazes me at how quickly she sees and serves "the least of these", from the voiceless premature babies to Spanish-speaking parents to Waco's poor and young single moms which frequent her hospital more than the other in town. Currently she likes to say "As a supporter of the ministry in France, it would be helpful to know/understand/pray, etc." She has helped me understand the relationship between the sending and the sent in the church so I can refine what and how I communicate. As well she has inherited all my books since I departed for France which fill an entire shelf unit to the ceiling and five boxes. So, she's taken to reading beyond her own equally large collection my Simone Weil reader in snippets and Augustine as of late...apparently. Anyway, just thought I'd pass this on.

So Sunday, as I walk into church and sit down, the service begins by the opening of a window to the baptistry alcove, where a mother and father together are sharing and participating in the baptizing and prayer blessing of their two children. I consider my prayers for you and Lauren, how a mother prays for her children day and night.....as I have been reading in II Timothy, that Paul did for his son in the Lord.....as I have been reading in "The Autobiography of George Muller", that he did for the orphans.......as I have been reading in "Confessions", that Monnica did for Augustine.

What is L'Arche?

L'Arche is an international faith-based organization which provides home, care, and a high quality of life to persons disabled both mentally and/or physically. Jean Vanier, a Canadian transplanted to Trosly-Breuil, France (not too far from me) started L'Arche communities by initially inviting two mentally disabled men to live in his home rather than remain institutionalized. From such simple beginnings, the ministry of L'Arche spans the globe today offering safe homes to many individuals who would otherwise be left in institutions or uncared for. Believing that within each individual lies the capacity to contribute to the lives of others through love, service, and presence despite appearances, Vanier encourages the formation of communities which draw upon everyone's gifts and abilities. His theology most clearly takes root in the love of God and the call of Jesus to live fully with those many would consider "broken," for by living alongside apparent brokenness, one can discover their own brokenness as well as the redemption for it. He also profoundly addresses the need for Christian community to be sought and formed in response to the great losses individualized and privatized faith incurs.

I first became aware of L'Arche during college through reading many of Henri Nouwen's works. Nouwen became one of the most influential authors, thinkers, and Christians I read during college. His books Wounded Healer, In the Name of Jesus, Out of Solitude, Reaching Out, The Way of the Heart, and excerpts from Life of the Beloved particularly shaped the way I think of ministry, of being and doing, of community, and of living in general. An academic worn by the culture of competition and intellectualism in the Ivy League seminaries, he found a place as community member and priest at Daybreak, a L'Arche community in Toronto, Canada. He often traveled and spoke at conferences, always insisting that a member of Daybreak accompany him that the life of Christ and community in their midst would be testimony to all that he would teach.

My second brush with L'Arche occurred while I lived in Washington, D.C. and participated in the Servant Leadership School's Discipleship Year Program. While I visited a L'Arche community only once, I benefited from Jean Vanier's writings as well as enjoyed art created and displayed by the D.C. L'Arche community members at Potter's House, my favorite bookstore and home away from home in DC.

L'Arche around the world takes on different cultural, religious, and organizational flavors depending on its location. However, its network is administratively tied together between all 130 locations. Most often, L'Arche communities are configured as a home wherein live an assortment of residents both developmentally handicapped and assistants. Assistants normally commit one or more years to a community, volunteering to help with daily life, chores, running everyone around on errands and appointments, and learning to live in a different than usual context. Developmentally handicapped residents contribute just as fully to the life of the community and often may be engaged in day programs outside the house.

For my time in Compiegne, I work in a rather large and well-developed leg of L'Arche which facilitates several communities in Compiegne as well as offers day programs for developmentally disabled adults. Within this day program called Le Moulin is where I help. Each day a range of activities have been developed and are offered for a regular number of enrolled participants. Time together throughout the day is spent in a variety of ways--preparing lunch, arts and crafts, sharing and prayer, swimming, cleaning, exercise, outdoor photography, taking a rest, talking, spa treatments (or at least this is how I translate the word), educational trips in the community, etc. As I help out, it is a growing and stretching time, as this is not necessarily my heart or life's call nor am I known for my patience. However, I enjoy getting to participate in the activities alongside people and one can truly see that help is needed as well as I need to learn much from program participants. I have to be honest--last Friday I got to lead the exercise session at Le Moulin and it was such a blast. We rotate men and women going to a dance studio to work with a professional dance teacher, and for the rotation when the women remain at Le Moulin, Martine and I facilitate the time. So when Martine was out of town, I got to choose the music, what sorts of exercises we did, I even pulled out the percussion box and we worked on motion/sound coordination. I am fascinated by the way I see the arts in various forms aid developmental progress, and it is such a joy to be able to contribute in an area where there is limited ability...and see those abilities grow and as a group share a few laughs and kicks. Yes, there were kicks. I put on club dance music and we practiced moving in time. :) What can I say? Spreading the gospel of dance one person at a time.

If you are new to hearing of L'Arche, Nouwen, or Vanier, I recommend you find a couple of their short books and learn more. Vanier's From Brokenness to Community is a quick read which will provide a glimpse into the heart and work of L'Arche. For a quick but meaty Nouwen read I recommend In the Name of Jesus. Of course, I also dare you to read only one Nouwen book. I couldn't. As well, if you are experiencing a time of wondering "what am I doing with my life?" many of the L'Arche communities provide a wonderful space in which to flesh out responses to that question in wonderful ways that might not ordinarily happen just doing life on your own. A certain interdependency is cultivated at the center of each community and it would be well worth giving time to both learning and growing in a place so that these principles can be taken on and outward with you for life. Besides being a space to answer such a question, L'Arche is a wonderful and well-established network of communities that is well worth checking out if you are interested in community life, service, and/or developmentally disabled needs and resources.

Because God said "It was good."

Maybe it's just in my head, but when missionaries send pictures and letters home, I feel like there's this unspoken need to be proclaim the sufferings "on the field" we are currently experiencing. Feel free to dispel this myth that is rooted in my head. I'm trying hard to as well. I want to affirm the spiritual infancy and non-existence which is France. I want to tell you how much my heart breaks when I interact with people who know Jesus only nominally or not at all. Both of these statements are true. We all have days here when we look to skies and enter empty churches and proclaim in frustration that God must have left this land. I've even heard a story of a veteran couple who prayed their official paperwork wouldn't clear so they would have to go back to the states. Yeah, it's hard.

But here's the deali-o yo: There is immense joy to be had serving here. And not just because it's France. It happens to be beautiful here in all the pictures because they have a history spanning more than 300 years. And not just because it's personally easy. Someone asked me to explain something in English instead of French to them and afterward commented, wow, you're totally different in English with your facial expressions and hands. I walk around most days living under 50% of my personality. I don't call that fun. And not because I have found my calling to France and am never going "home." In fact, the cultural differences between my American self and the lovely French are much more acute this second time around than the first summer of ministry. I'm not disenchanted, just real.

But the reason for immense joy exists at the core of ministry, at the core of fulfilling the Great Commission and Great Commandment according to the ways God has intimately created us each to do, at the core of following him wherever he leads (if it's to France, to the classroom, to family, to cooking school, to adult education for the blind, wherever!). The core of being used by God, I believe, is joy. Jesus surely didn't walk around with a sullen face--why did people follow him and why could children not resist him? Yes, in the Synoptic Gospels we read Christ prayed for the cup of his sacrifice, the culmination of his being, to be passed from him. He was not exactly leaping towards the cross. But we flip over to John and read that he promises his disciples joy, joy in seeing him, joy in the receiving of what God grants. And the joy will be full and no one will be able to take it away from them. Then he calls his disciples into his ministry, into establishing the Church, and joy as a gift of God in their midst is never renounced. And then Paul, can't get over Paul...he's got joy all over the place and the man is always traveling, often imprisoned, separated from the people he loves AND he's teaching and encouraging joy in churches. Finally, there's James. You must simply love James. "Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." He's writing to those in the Church, those that are inherently involved in ministry and prodding them on to joy despite trials.

Trials, yes, they are here for the taking. The spiritual battle is on and we are all in the thick of it. But in most of my pictures, many of my stories--I'm not trying to paint a rosy picture nor do I want to leave you with a false impression of the spiritual needs here for they are grave--we're going to be having a good time. Not just flippantly good but this is about investing in people's lives, and I think people's lives are perhaps the most significant call to joy I know. They are indeed reflections of a most full and glorious God.

In celebration of joy, here's some of its latest victims.

Me and Tiffany, fellow GEM Euroquester, say goodbye in Paris.



Natacha flashes a smile during GBU's night of worship, prayer, and discussion.



Xue is all smiles and giggles for the camera.



JoJo, Mahina, and I enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon lunch to practice English.

Today's Praises

Today I met with Corinne for lunch. She shared more about her family, how she prays, we talked about parents, time in Scripture. I eased into letting her know that I'd love to meet regularly every other week if she would like to--for prayer, encouragement, to talk about needs, etc. As we were talking, I shared with her how difficult I see it is for Christians here--"sans beaucoup de soutien, d'encouragement, les autres chretiennes." (without a lot of support, encouragement, other christians) She quietly responded, "But you're here now, and we can 'profiter' a bit from that." I think I almost cried.

So this is what I "do"--I encourage the weary and the young. I ask God to show me how to love them, how to walk with them. Then I go home and look in the mirror and think--I get to do this? What the heck?!

I praise God that he uses us despite ourselves. I praise God that he redeems us. I praise God that he has me here for a reason. And I praise God for Corinne and the others. I praise God for keeping them faithful despite their setting. I praise God for calling them to himself. I praise God for their sweet spirits. I praise God that those he has called he will not abandon.

Aren't Sundays Wonderful?!

I love Sundays. I really do. It's as if they are inherently Sabbath as they arise and exist, no work necessary to make it so. Absolutely magnificent. Last Sunday I visited a church in Senlis with an Slovakian couple who now make their home in France (and speak a gazillion languages) and with Heather, an American student at UTC. Alexandra et Pavol invited us to join them when they heard our church was having a "week-end d'eglise" 2 hours away for the weekend. Basically it was a church retreat. So after church we returned to Compiegne for a gloriously long lunch and then a drive to nearby Pierrefonds to see the chateau there, as previously mentioned in last week's blog. After a pleasant Sunday ramble, I headed home about 6pm.

Today I commenced the day's activities by preparing a salad this morning for a meeting of young adults after church. As much as I dig French food, I'm really into more ethnic varieties. Thus my choice of couscous salad with raisins, apples, cinnamon, and sugar explained--a Moroccan recipe. After a great sermon on Jesus and Zachee (Zachaeus), which I will hopefully recap at some point this week because it's worth sharing, the young adults headed to the simple annex (not to be confused with America's gargantuan church annexes that could house a small country suffering from hunger and war) for the lunch and meeting. It passed as I'm learning most French meetings pass. Eventually we reach a point...eventually. The meal seems quite sacred here, as I'm disposed to believe it is already, and the intent of our gathering--to discuss what it is that the young adults at the church are to do together, a regrouping of sorts--wound its way to the surface towards dessert time. We will be gathering one Sunday a month for such a meal accompanied by an activity afterwards, whether it be fun, film, discussion, Bible study, etc. There will also be a Thanksgiving party, actually not suggested by me but another American, which we'll plan and prepare at the end of November. I'm still learning how to be a part of something like a French church with all of my American ideas and baggage and training (not that these are bad; but I'm in France now) so I stayed rather silent and would offer comments as solicited but did not try to be my usually not-so-timid self. While some young adults headed out for an afternoon ramble, I headed back to my place to meet Mahina.

Mahina is a student I met at UTC who wants to practice English. This afternoon we had decided to hang out, and as it turns out we share an enjoyment of cooking AND she has an oven (I do not) and suggested we get together and I could teach her how to bake. Um, okay, that's only my passion. We talked in Franglais about gardening, cooking, her studies, a newspaper she recommends, and I met her boyfriend who lives in the apartment above her. She had to return to studies but not before she invited me back for dinner this evening with her and a random 62 year-old retired professor she met on the train. As Mahina said, "She's retired but very energetic, still going." So I'm headed back for that and have promised to return the hostessing favor. I think Mahina has a sincere gift of hospitality and she's also interested in going to the market together on Saturdays. It was just such a great interaction, the day is beautiful here, it's Sunday, and man, everyone should be as blessed as I to get to serve in Compiegne. Struggles, yes. I've made that clear before. But so good.

Editorial note: In last week's Week in Review, mention was made about an upcoming What is L'Arche? article as well as Op-ed. At this time, the What is piece is being drafted and as the writer has time throughout this week, plans to publish it soon. As for the Op-ed, the Editorial Board has decided it will not run as aforementioned. For any inconveniences we apologize.