The day was filled with lots of smiles as the team headed back into Paris to explore some more and finally perform a concert for the church in Paris, Église Biblique Baptiste de Paris. The day started with the team eating breakfast and packing up the cars for the concert. Gustavo Peterlevitz encouraged us during the meal to practice the presence of God by standing ready for whatever the day may have for us… and boy did we need that for this day! After breakfast, we loaded up the vans and headed to the city. For lunch, we went to Chartier, a fancy French restaurant, where many team members had escargot 🐌 for the first time! (You should ask them how it was when you next see them). After that, we met up with Pastor Immanuel at the oldest church building in Paris. He then took us on a tour of all the historical locations for the French Reformation. Team member, Megan Schuyler, commented on her experience on this tour by saying, “On our tour of the reformation I was surprised to learn just how significant the Christian influence was in this city. What we saw on another beautiful side street of Paris was in reality once a place where Christians were massacred for standing for truth. It was sobering to remember the cost of the faith and made me grateful that years later there are still Christians in France sharing their faith.” We finished the tour at the Musée de Louvre and then headed back to the church to get ready for our concert. At 7:30, people started to arrive, and the concert began at 8:30. The instruments began with several songs, followed by a small ensemble and a couple of solos. Finally, we finished off with everyone singing classics like “Oh When the Saints” and “Amazing Grace.” The concert was a huge success! We even got to perform “I’ll Fly Away” as an encore! The church members expressed their delight with lots of smiles and applause. Team member, McKayla Zacharias, recalls the events of the night by saying, “At the end of everything, I was so exhausted! I took a seat off to the side to just take it all in. But, I was equally as encouraged by looking out and watching everyone on our team either interact with one another or attempt to communicate with the church members. Several people exchanged contact info or took pictures with one another. It just reminded me that this is our purpose on this trip—to encourage our fellow believers (whether French or American) and to point others to Christ in all that we do!”
