In the Cevennes

The Cevennes, a mountain range in the south of France is a place of deep historical wounds between Catholics and Protestants that are still tangible today. The repression of the Catholics toward the Protestants has been violent, long and fierce even though there has been aggresions from both sides. Many of these Huguenots have fled all over the world, but there also remained a group here, in resistance of the Catholics. I have learned about this history while being here, but at this moment I don’t feel it is something for me to pick up spiritually in a concrete way.

I was invited to come here by a beautiful couple, Jip and Philippe that live here since several years. Phillipe is French, Jip is Dutch and is a well-known painter in the Netherlands in Israel-loving circles. I love her art work and the way she expresses biblical themes, pictures related to the holocaust and also some paintings connected to the history of the Huguenots. With beautiful colors and deeply connected to the Jewish context she is able to speak truth in love through her paintings. I can warmly encourage you to visit her website Jip Wijngaarden - I paint like I pray.

Jip and Philippe were present at the meeting with the French people during the last day of the Now Generation meeting in Marseille, see my last post Be strong and courageous. So after the meeting they took me home. The idea was, that I would stay about 5 days, so that the guest house would be available again for Pavol and his family, the European vice director of TJCII, who would come here on vacation. But we connected really well and there was just so much to do here that we decided that I would stay longer. When my next address was cancelled and I got an invitation to speak on a conference nearby, I was invited to stay another 2 weeks. So, here I am, spending my last days in the Cevennes.

This has been such a rich time! Philippe and Jip live in a beautiful place, next to a hamlet and surrounded by nature. Except for the cicadas it is extremely quiet here. There are beautiful butterflies, some of which I had the privilege of encountering up close. The vegetables from their own garden taste amazing. I have never seen starry skies as here (not even in the desert in Israel, always being too close to civilization there). One night we enjoyed watching a celestial spectacle of a meteorite rain with several shooting stars. And on top of all of this, they have a very nice pool in the garden. It feels decadent to be here so long as a missionary. Paul might have learned to be content in whatever state he was (Phil 4:11-12), I am still learning it. Before going to South America last year I thought that I had learned to be content in the lacking, but there I was confronted with little things that I missed and that were really bothering me (as lacking toilet paper of more than 1 layer!). And here I realize that I have difficulties living in abundance. But I have been trying to enjoy all things here and just be in the here and now.

And what have I been doing here, besides enjoying and learning to enjoy? Jip and Philippe have an amazing network with Isreal-loving people. From their very diverse protestant/evangelical/Messianic flavored home group to the traditional Jewish community of Nîmes and from pastor friends coming on vacation here to a Dutch couple organizing church services in Dutch for the vacationers in the surrounding. I have been able to connect with all these people, have heart to heart encounters, share about the vision of TJCII and pray together for whatever God gave to pray. This has for sure been the richest part of my time here! I have also been working on several writings in French for TJCII and on my teaching for the conference this coming week.

So tomorrow I am leaving for Gagnières, a Christian center where all through the summer conferences are organized. This coming week is the last of the season with as a theme The Messianic Hope. I have been invited to speak on the healing of memories, which I will do using the book of Nehemiah on one side and our experiences of the TJCII prayer journey to Portugal in 2018 and my visits since then on the other side. I am very grateful for the script that God gave me for this teaching. Thank you for keeping my time at this conference in your prayers, all the connections that God will give me here and the budding restart of the work of TJCII in France.

After the conference I will be going to Paray-le-Monial to spend some time with my sister.

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