Three Sundays ago at our church plant in Hossegor, a famous surf town just north of Biarritz, I had the opportunity to share my testimony with our church family.
Honestly, the whole day before, I was quite nervous.
Ok, I was out of my mind freaked.
Some thoughts that ran through my head were: "What if French people are just overwhelmed by the intensity of my story, and just think it's inappriopiate because they've only known me for three weeks?" "What if they are offended by my bad experience with Catholicism?" "What if the translation turns out wrong and they don't get the heart of what I'm trying to say?"
That day I opted out of "after morning church" lunch, and took some time by myself to write out every word of my testimony, so that it would be easier for my translator to translate. This was such a rich time, and God really helped me to articulate what I wanted to share in my testimony.
By the time we left for Hossegor that afternoon, I felt prepared, but still nervous.
Everytime I drive to Hossegor, I get car sick. I've never struggled with carsickness before, except for the last time I was in France. I think it's the winding roads and crazy roundabouts that are EVERYWHERE in this country. AND the fact that every car is a manual (jerky driving).
Needless to say, everytime I get to Hossegor, I'm on the verge of throwing up, shaky-legged, pale faced, needing to sit down and drink water for AT LEAST half an hour. It's miserable.
That Sunday was no different.
But God is so good. My dear French friend, who is fluent in English, Audrey, came to bring me some water, and I got to share my testimony with her. She then agreed to translate for me, which was SUCH an answer to prayer, because she knows my heart and I was confident would communicate everything I would want to share with this church family.
I didn't sing worship that week, which was a relief. After worship, Christophe prayed for me, and I shared my testimony with our church. It all went well. Praise the Lord.
One of our hostel guests, Oliver, came to hear me speak and to check out the church.
It was so great to get to know Oliver, who lives in London. He said he had a lot to think about when it came to Christianity, but that he really appreciated the beauty and the honesty in my story.
The response after the church service was amazing.
Pauline, a dear friend of Victoria's, whom I've shared about before, just came up to me and shared how she loved my story and how it was good for her. Tears in her eyes, she said "I wish I could tell you more, but I don't know how to in English, but thank you."
It was so good to just hug her.
Helen is another dear friend of Victoria and Pauline's, and she also shared with me how moved she was by her story. She shared how God really spoke to her through it and how she was convinced she is in the process of understanding God's love for her.
Caroline, another dear friend I've made at our Hossegor church who's my age, shared how my NAME had been in her head ever since the first day I met her. She said it was weird, how she was always thinking about my name, but that after I shared my story, she knew it was because God wanted her to listen to me and to the truth that He is good and He loves her.
It was such a beautiful night in such beautiful community.
Thank you dearly to all who prayed.
