Events, Prayer Requests, and Other Thoughts

For the past two weeks I have been in language school during the day and doing ministry at night, such as meeting with a young-adults group on Tuesday nights. We had a Worldteam (France VIE) meeting on Wednesday night to talk about the church-plants and of course at this point I just listen to see what they are doing and what's going on. It's way too early to offer my input (lesson learned at CIT training this past summer) which was fine because I wouldn't quite know how to articulate my thoughts yet even if I wanted to. Although, I was pretty excited that I understood about 90% of the items discussed. Thursday nights I've been attending a line-dancing association to get to know French locals, and Friday nights is youth group with one of the church-plants in my town - the same youth group that I did that scavenger hunt with.

Tonight I attended an event called "Philosophy and Faith." I invited a friend, but unfortunately she was out of town. We met in down-town Paris at an adorable, cozy, little restaurant where we sat and discussed openly any questions about spirituality. It was a safe place for the French believers or non-believers to come and feel free to ask just about anything. A pastor from Germany was invited as a guest to give a Christian perspective in a non-judgemental, yet honest and Biblical way.

It's been neat to discover more of what God is doing in this nation. I met with a man and his wife who lead up a group called PULSE - geared toward the youth in France. Instantly I felt a connection with them and thought - yes, this is me and what I feel I'm cut out to do. They rally up youth in the Paris region for a time of testimonies, worship, a message, and prayer. They also meet in smaller groups at an event called "Pulse Unplugged" where they are trained and discipled in their walk with Christ. I'm looking forward to working with them some while I'm here and hope to work with them in the future, should Kyle and I return to France one day.

So Kyle... well I think it's pretty safe to say he's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I have prayed for someone like him since I was 13 years old. It's amazing looking back on some of my prayers that I have written to the Lord for my future husband. It's like all the things I prayed for I can see answered in Kyle.

I don't really understand the Lord's timing completely. I think somewhere deep inside me, I wondered if God would bring someone into my life right before leaving. You know, it just sounds like something God would do to remind me not to lean on my own understanding. Truthfully I never wanted to do ministry alone, but at the same time, I didn't want to put my life on hold when there wasn't a guarentee that God would provide someone. So I continued moving forward with missions. Now, though the timing is strange, I'm so grateful that God has given me the desire of my heart - a wonderful, godly man, who also has a heart for missions and for serving the Lord wherever He may lead. We're both so excited to do ministry together in the future - be that here in France or wherever God leads us. And now, I can definately say that the pain of waiting for the right one was worth certainly it. Please pray for us both as we seek God's discernment and wisdom for our future.