Bonjour tout le monde! Greetings from sunny Paris!

We have been having an amazing time here with our friends from Le Chemin, la Verite et La Vie church. The gospel has been shared with people of many different nationalities and from different walks of life, we have seen healings and salvation and the church in Paris has been strengthened and encouraged, God is really at work in this city and it has been a privilege to share in all that He is doing here.

Each day we have been joined by members of the church to go out ‘treasure hunting’ on the streets of Paris. Before going out together we have prayed that God would give us pictures and clues about the places he wants us to go and the people he wants us to meet. We have been led on some amazing adventures and have found some exciting treasures!

Here are a few stories to whet your appetite:

We have spent a couple of days in an area called La Defense which is an important centre for business and commerce. Before setting out one team compared their clues and found that they had ‘dreadlocks’, ‘blade’, ‘right arm’, ‘video games’ and the name ‘Emily’. They headed to a ‘video games’ shop as that seemed like the most obvious place to be and when they arrived they saw a giant cardboard cut out of Jack Sparrow who has ‘dreadlocks’! They stood by Jack wondering where to go next and then noticed a dvd of the film ‘Blade’ that had been put back in the wrong place. It seemed like their clues were coming together so they thought they’d speak to the next person they saw and see if they matched up with any of their other clues. When they approached the lady at the cash desk and explained to her that they were on a treasure hunt and their clues had led them to her she was really excited and was keen to hear more about what they were doing and why. She said that the lady that worked in the shop next door was called ‘Emily’ so the team headed next door to meet her. On speaking to Emily they discovered that she had pain in her ‘right arm’ so they were able to pray that it would be healed. Emily’s boss arrived back at that point and she was anxious that the team leave the shop but they returned to the video games shop and shared more with the lady they had met there - she’s hopefully coming out for a drink with us this Saturday night!
On the same day some members of the team had found an area where they could play and sing worship music in the open. Many people stopped to listen and a couple of team members had a conversation with a man called Francois who had always believed in God but had been disillusioned and confused by his experience of religion. Francois was really keen to speak with them and gave His life to Jesus right there and then! Members of the church will be meeting up with him and he is hoping to come to the church, please pray for him.
Today we have spent time in an area called Issy which is where the church is located. A team set out with the clues ‘metal post’ (but not a lamppost), ‘manhole cover’, ‘digital clock’, ‘metal railings’, ‘nail varnish’, ‘something around the neck’, ‘infection’ and unknown to them another team had the clue ‘encouragement in evangelism’. They arrived at the square where the band were playing worship songs and found a metal lamp-post with no lamp on, by some railings and a manhole cover opposite the pharmacy which had a digital clock in the window. They thought they were probably in the right place so they waited to see if any treasure would come along! They soon spotted two ladies who were singing along to the music so they approached and asked if they were christians. The ladies were sisters, Naomi and Joy. Joy was wearing a neck scarf and nail varnish. The team explained what they were doing and asked if there was anything that they could pray for them. Joy said that she had a scalp infection that was often really itchy and irritable so the team prayed for her. Naomi said that she was fearful of sharing the gospel with people and would like prayer for that - as the team prayed she got down on her knees on the street. Joy and Naomi both go to a church in another part of the city, please pray that they and their church are encouraged and given new vision to see God’s kingdom come in Paris.

Tonight we are heading to a café called ‘Chez Benjamin’ to meet up with some of the people we have met this week.

We would love you to join us in prayer for:
1. Friends and contacts made this week to make it to the café tonight.
2. Friends and contacts made this week to come to church tomorrow.
3. God’s word to lead us through the next 24hours as we continue to share the good news of His son.

Thanks for you prayers, see you soon

Adventure Parisienne: Premiere Partie

Paris is a beautiful, bustling city where people of all nationalities mingle together to live, work and play. On Friday 10th April fifteen people from Mosaic Church arrived here in Paris amidst throngs of holidaymakers to celebrate Easter with Le Chemin la Verite et la Vie Church and spend a week on mission together.

Le Chemin la Verite et la Vie (the way the truth and the life) Church was planted in the summer of 2008 after God spoke to it’s leaders about unblocking wells of living water that exist in the city of Paris. The vision of the church is to build a community of believers that remain in the presence of God and live in His freedom and grace.

In the two days that we have spent with the church we feel as though we have been welcomed into a big family.  Today, Sunday, we joined the church for their Easter morning service, shared a delicious bring and share lunch and took communion with our new found Parisian brothers and sisters.

We are so excited about all that God is going to do in us, the church, the city and the nation this week as a result of His desire to see a church established here in Paris.

Tomorrow we will be joining with members of Le Chemin la Verite et le Vie Church to go into the city in teams of 3 or 4, asking God to lead us to people with whom we can share the truth about Jesus. Most of us feel that our language skills are being stretched and are aware of the challenges that face us as we seek to connect and communicate with the people that we meet, your prayers for this would be very much appreciated - it is only with God’s help that we can do it!

We are praying that we can be completely obedient to God’s leading and guidance as we search the streets of Paris for His lost coins.

Easter Saturday Reflections

I watched BBC's "The Passion' on IPlayer yesterday to connect again with the build up to Christ's death on Good Friday. However I'm never sure how to engage with the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

This morning I came across this quote from an ancient homily that proved a helpful launchpad into the following readings.  Isaiah 54:5-14; Psalm 30:1-4; Job 14:1-14; Psalm 18:4-6; Ezekiel 37:1,11-14; Psalm 143:7-10; John 2:18-22; Psalm 30:8-12. 

Here’s the quote
Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness.  The whole earth keep silence because the king is asleep.  The earth trembles and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began.  God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear…

John 2:18-22
18 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

I hope you find it helpful.