Grenoble Wrap-Up

Back Home in Bonn
It was a very long ten hour drive from Grenoble, France to Bonn, Germany which included an unscheduled delay in Basel. The bright spot was it gave us an "unscheduled" caffeine stop at Starbucks for Desmond and then later dinner at Burger King somewhere on the German autobahn. Once home, I happily collapsed in my own bed just shortly after midnight. Decidedly unpacking anything waited until morning.

This concluded a three week long, very productive ministry trip. It was virtually non-stop beginning with my flight out from Bonn to Leipzig on 2 October, to my return last Sunday, 22 October.


Doors Opening
This was my first visit to Grenoble, France and it was terrific. The week before, when Desmond and I were both at the conference in Leysin, Desmond invited me to go along with him to Grenoble. He was scheduled to teach a class in a local bible school. While there, Desmond introduced me to local French pastors, Pastor Michele, Pastor Joshua from the Grenoble area and Pastor Patrick from St Laurent du Pont.

Pastor Joshua was trying to figure out the logistics of having me speak at his church's Sunday service while Desmond was speaking at Pastor Michele’s church. But as it turned out, we could not work out the transportation and time issues, since the churches were not located close to each other.

Pastor Michele did give me an opportunity to share about the Kids Prayer program before Desmond started his Sunday service message. I was very pleased with the response from the congregation, to my program. After the service, I took the opportunity to pray for some of the children.

Both Grenoble pastors invited me back to do the kid’s program anytime in the future. I am excited that our Heavenly Father opened these new doors for me. Promise to keep you posted when that all happens.

Catch Up Time
Like everyone else, travel creates a lot of catch up work and emails when you finally get back home. This trip was no exception. During this trip, I realized that there were some adjustments to make and additional teachings to create for the kid’s program. Time refines all programs, doesn’t it.

Cultural Differences
One of the side benefits of this trip was being able to tailor my message to the French speaking audiences in Geneva and Grenoble. You may wonder what this means.

It means that once you live in Europe long enough, you really begin to recognize the cultural differences each European country represents. It also means how as an American missionary, you need to present the teaching material to them. Sometimes we can unknowingly offend someone by our ignorance or perceived arrogance. If we are fortunate, someone who cares for us will "call us" on it so that we can make the proper corrections in the future.

Right now I am a little touchy about this and for good reason. Within the last ninety days, I have seen a seasoned missionary make a very unkind remark about the people in the very country he is called to serve, while some of them were present. He didn't even notice the subtle negative reaction by them to his comment.

And on the opposite side, I saw an American minister who wants to preach in Europe, blunder in his actions and statements with uncalled for "smart remarks" and idioms Europeans do not understand. In both of these cases, "their mouths was operating before their brains were in gear".

An American Perspective
From an American perspective, we generally see all Europeans pretty much alike and pretty much like us. This could not be farther from the truth. Despite the fact that the Europeans have joined together to form the European Union, each country still has its own cultural personality and pride.

At best, the faster an American missionary understands this and customizes their message to the culture, the more success and acceptance they and their message will receive. At worst, think or at least ask before making an "off the cuff" remark you think is cute.

I am blessed to have very close friends that are nationals in the countries that I minister in. They are invaluable to me in many areas but in particular with this. They know that I welcome their input and insights into how to present my material in their specific countries.

They have seen others "come & go" and fail because they lacked an in depth understanding of the local culture. In my case, it helps prevent me from making some painful or costly faux pas when I preach that will ultimately be a distraction to the message I am trying to give.

It is a blessing to have people care enough about you that they will speak into your life and provide this kind of insight, while I work and represent our Heavenly Father’s love in their countries.

Have a terrific and blessed week. Will talk to you soon.

Blessings,
Lawrence