Voila! Voila!

Bonjour,

We've made it. We had great flights. We got in around 10am yesterday and had about 30 minutes to get settled in before we hit the ground running.

Yesterday was incredible. Right out of the gate we get to see Craig at work. After getting checked in we grabed a bit to eat at a near by pizza shop. We met the owner Ahmed (ak-med). Craig and Ahmed spent about 45 minutes talking about the Koran and Isa (Jesus). As they spoke Craig translated. Ahmed had already made two prilgrammages to Mecca. Ahmed described this like "grasping hot coals" meaning he thinks his salvation is guareenteed and by making two prilgrammages his belief in his faith is unwavering. This was our first glimpse into the awesome opportunities that Craig and his team have to share the truth of Christ-the harvest is overflowing and the workers are faithful!

The team eating at Ahmed's pizza restaurant (Ahmed is standing in the back.)

After our bellies were full and our hearts were overjoyed with the divine encounter with Ahmed, we had a whirlwind of a tour of Paris to get us familiar with the rail system and to get us oriented for the upcoming week's work. It was breathtaking!

Today, 28December, we prayerwalked through the busy Belleville market. There were numerous cultures represented- it was flooded with people! We then prayerwalked to the local mosque and lifted them up to God as they participated in their afternoon prayer.

After praying at the mosque and visiting an Islamic bookstore, we ate lunch at a nearby foyer. A foyer (foe-yaa) is a dorm-type housing provided to immigrants by the government. Typically only men live in the foyers and they are together with their own, or similar, people group. We had wonderful rice that the African women are hired to cook. Praise God! Craig had a few more God-ordained encounters with men. He was able to hand out the Jesus film to Demba. Craig gave his contact information to a few men. Amazingly, one man he talked with, Diallo (Jallo), complemented the Jesus film in its good translation into his home tongue.

Craig mentioned that it's great that the team is here because since there are many of us, we draw attention to ourselves. Automatically, people approach us and want to know why we are here. One man, Mamadou, actually followed Craig from the Islamic library and wanted to hear what he had to say.

Please remember to pray specifically for these Muslims:

Demba and his sister (from the foyer)
Diallo (from the foyer)
Sidibally (from the foyer)
Ahmed (from the pizzeria)
Mamadou (from the library)

Voila!