This morning I read Psalm 100. A lot of times reading familiar passages in French helps me to understand them better:
« Poussez des cris de joie en l’honneur de l’Eternel, habitants de toute la terre ! Servez l’Eternel avec joie, venez avec allégresse en sa présence! Sachez que l’Eternel est Dieu ! C’est lui qui nous a faits, et nous lui appartenons : nous sommes son peuple, le troupeau dont il est berger. Entrez dans ses portes avec reconnaissance, dans ses parvis avec des chants de louange ! Célébrez-le, bénissez son nom, car l’Eternel est bon : sa bonté dure éternellement, et sa fidélité de génération en génération. »
"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
It's been 5 months since I arrived here back in March. It feels like I've been here for 2 years, so much has happened. I have much to be thankful for. Here are just some of the things I need to express my gratitude for:
*Good health, and for God helping me with my renewed efforts to eat more healthy.
*A safe and quiet neighborhood where I feel comfortable walking home at night, with proximity to good stores and my teammates.
*Awesome teammates and partners in the faith. That, despite our differences in personality/backgrounds/opinions, we respect one another and recognize the talents each of one of us brings to the table.
(8.22.09, Champ de Mars, field in front of the Eiffel Tower - Celebrating the fact that we are all finally together as a team on the field. That night, all the adults just went out for dinner and afterwards a walk to the Eiffel to watch it sparkle on the hour :)
(8.22.09, Champ de Mars, field in front of the Eiffel Tower - Jim and Debbie S. :)
*New friends here in Paris, from Bible Study Fellowship and St.Michael's Church, and the bonding and mutual encouragement in the faith I am experiencing with a few of them.
*God teaching me, through our team Bible study of the famous 1Corinthians 13 passage, the meaning of true love. For revealing to me my weaknesses in loving others. For teaching me that true love that is patient, void of self-interest and long-suffering. (How I lack these things!)
*For super-nice neighbors! As you can tell from my previous blog entry, out of fear, I was a bit hesitant to meet some people in my building. Contrary to what I expected, however, I have met some wonderful neighbors who have been very eager to help me and welcome me.
*For some deep and wonderful conversations and cultural exchanges I have been having recently with new friends and neighbors. I am thankful to God for the many doors he has opened. Doors through which I get to share His love, communicate truths from Scripture, and explain the Gospel. What a humbling privilege this is for me. It makes me feel so small and weak to know that I am here for this reason, and yet at the same time I know this is exactly how He wants me to feel. This is not a bad thing. (2Corinthians 12:9)
*For the fact that more people in Paris since I was last here in 2002 want to speak or practice their English. This is a great benefit and advantage for us because it draws people to us since English is our "langue maternelle".
Just to give you an idea: The French may not be able to speak English well in comparison to their neighbors in Germany or Sweden for example (one guy I met at a cafe admitted that France is way behind the rest of Europe in the ability to speak English), but there is more a desire now than before to use it. When you are in the Metro, you can see advertisements everywhere for an English language institute called "Wall Street Institute" where they promise you that if you take their courses, you will be able to speak "Wall Street English". I guess this means, more like business English? Or, sometimes I'll be out at a cafe or food store with an anglophone friend. When the cashier or waiter hears us speaking English, their ears prick up and they suddenly want to engage in conversation. “Where are you from?”, they ask me. Or they'll try to tell me the total amount of Euros I owe them in English. It is so cute to see them struggle to think and remember how to say the numbers. Or when they say "It's ok, I speak English." "Eets ok, I speek Eengleesh." Being Asian, yet speaking “American” and French at the same time, that sort of makes me the "exotic" one now!
(An ad for a popular English-language school called "Wall Street Institute". In some of the posters, they pose the question "Do you speak Wall Street English?" :)
