J'aime Paris!!!

Ok...so back to stories from my trip!

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Paris once we left Hungary. We arrived Saturday evening and then had to lug ALL OUR LUGGAGE (hmm...maybe that's why its called luggage!) through the Paris subway system. We dragged it up and down MANY flights of stairs...switched trains I believe 3 times. It wasn't ideal, but I was amazed with how well the students handled it! Once we got to the hotel we got some pizza from across the street and just hung out for the night. We were all too tired to really do anything, and wanted to get rest for the next day.
Sunday morning we headed to a nearby park to debrief about the trip. This was a great time to talk and process some of the things we had learned, and also talk about what we wanted to do once we got home. It was neat to hear some of the students think of ways to reach their unchurched friends. Some of the graduated seniors were already planning ways to reach people on their campuses that they hadn't even met yet! After the debrief time, we headed to the train station to meet up with the Cameroon team! This took a little longer than planned, but it was great to see them once they arrived.

Instead of traveling in a pack of 26 we split into groups to go see the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. Rachel and I led a group together, which I was really excited about. We headed to the Arc de Triumph first. It was breath taking! As you walked up the steps of the subway it was right in front of you...and its HUGE! To get to the Arc itself you walk through a tunnel that is under the road that circles it. I was overwhelmed as I walked up under the Arc. We didn't get to go up to the top...that just means I will have to go back to Paris!
I kept saying the entire trip I couldn't really believe that I was in Paris until I saw the Eiffel Tower. I spotted the top of it from the Arc and got really excited. Everyone met at the Eiffel Tower next. On the subway there it was amazing to see it across the river.


Here is a picture of "The Quad" in front of the Eiffel Tower. Caroline, Trevin, Taylor, and I were the only four who went on both trips. We grew so close, like a family and I really love them!!


From the Eiffel Tower we headed to the Louvre! I was surprised when we walked out of the subway into a mall. At the end of the mall was the Louvre entrance, and La Pyramide Inversee, which is the inverse of the Pyramid above ground. It is also where the Holy Grail is located in The DaVinci Code. We tried to go into the Louvre to see Mona Lisa, but unfortunately it was closed. We walked around outside instead.

Our final stop was Notre Dame. What a beautiful church! Amazing detailed architecture, mesmerizing stained glass everywhere. My entire time in Europe I kept thinking about how there are so many amazing intricate detailed buildings and architecture all over the place. Buildings that were built like this hundreds of years ago by hand. Now we have technology to create things like this, and yet in the US we are so focused on getting things done the quickest and cheapest way possible so most of our architecture is so boring.

It was interesting walking inside Notre Dame because there was a mass going on inside while tons of tourists (including us) were walking around the building taking pictures. Once we came back outside we discussed how that was a perfect example of what Europe is like spiritually. Christianity is thought of something of the past. Huge gorgeous cathedrals are all over Europe, but are all for show and mostly empty. They were built with pride, not to honor God. I couldn't imagine being able to worship and focus on God while hundreds of tourists walk around my place of worship snapping pictures and talking to the people they are traveling with.

Once we got back to the hotel we all met in the lobby, both the Cameroon and Hungary teams. We had a time of prayer and worship. After we sang the Hungary team annointed the Cameroon team and prayed for us. It was a really neat and encouraging thing to do. It was strange for "The Quad" because we had officially become the Cameroon team, no longer the Hungary team.

I found out later that the guy that was working the front desk told Tony that he really enjoyed listening to us and thought that what we did was really great! How cool is that?! And we were scared that we were going to get kicked out! God is so much bigger than that!

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to the airport. Tony got a shuttle to take all of the luggage to the airport, and 2 people from the Hungary team went with it to take care of it. It was nice to be able to get on the train to the airport without all the luggage.