I’m sorry that I don’t have any photos to share on this post. It’s very late, we just checked into our Paris hotel, and I have to get up early tomorrow so I just wanted to write a few things to update anyone who might the interested on how the trip to Europe has been going.
The ministry in London went really well. The conference was a great success and succeeded everyone’s expectations. I am so impressed with my host, Nick Mukuna. He is a young leader who God is raising up to help bring the message of love and unity to the Congolese diaspora in Europe and beyond. It’s just awesome to see such a clear evidence of God’s favor resting on an emerging leader.
I had the interesting experience of getting to do 3 spots of live TV broadcast on a network called Olive TV that is received all over the world. The format was a live teaching followed by call-in questions and prayer requests. We got requests from all over the globe and had the privilege of praying for many people. We sat in a simple studio with a green screen background but they put up a very impressive virtual studio background behind us and the final product looked pretty professional.
It’s been so much fun having my daughter Jordan with me for this trip. She’s been having a blast. Before the conference started we had a free day to explore the city and we saw so much of London – Buckingham Palace, Green Park, St. James Park, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Picadilly Circus. We squeezed every penny of value out of our all-day Underground (Tube) pass.
This morning we left the UK around 2:00 PM via the Channel ferry out of Dover. Got to finally see the white cliffs of Dover in person – one of my life wish list checkboxes.When we landed, we were surprised that there was no clear signage pointing the way to Paris. The destination port was in the middle of the countryside (there was a tractor dealership down the road!). My host had an in-dash GPS unit and a dash-mounted unit as well. The problem was that both of them were telling us to go in opposite directions. Very frustrating.
Finally we settled on one of the two units and started driving. But because of a snafu with the GPS we ended up going in completely he wrong direction. My host had gotten tired so I drove one shift. As I was driving I started to grow concerned that the signs looked different and the language didn’t seem to be French. I pulled over to discover that we were in Belgium! I’ve been lost before but never “in a whole different country” lost. Sheesh. We finally rerouted, put a different final destination into the GPS, and seemed to be headed in the right direction.With the +1 hour time change between the UK and France, we ended up rolling into Paris just after midnight. What an adventure. So proud of my daughter for having an amazing attitude throughout the whole driving fiasco. One benefit of getting lost was that we entered the city when there was very little traffic, and go to see the Eiffel Tower lit up like a jewel – so beautiful. The best part is that the Eiffel Tower is just a couple blocks down the road from our hotel.
Well, it’s late and we need to get up early to start our day of exploring Paris. Can’t complain about anything – God has been exceedingly good to us thus far. I made some wonderful new friends in London, got to minister to some great folks, and spent time connecting with my daughter in one of the most exciting places in the world.
Miss home and all the people I love back there. Really looking forward to getting back home, but for now we are fully engaged and enthralled by Europe.