A Week Away

One of the most famous
independently owned bookstores
in the world.

This past week I was blessed to be able to meet my mom and grandma in Paris and spend a week exploring with them. I love traveling because it means long uninterrupted periods of reading, although I’m pretty sure I took the least direct route from Cotonou to Paris. It was wonderful to be able to cook my own meals; to wake up and play Christmas music and make a coffee (Tim Hortons French Vanilla!), all without having to get dressed for the day yet; to have conversations about the things we’re experiencing and live in the moment, rather than talking about the ship; to not have to think about work or planning or the future. But while all those things were special blessings, my week away also made me realize that I missed ‘home’ – and when I say home, I mean the ship. I missed this amazing place and the community and I was looking forward to coming back. It was a much needed break but God also reminded me of why this place is so special and why I love it here.

So what did we do while we were in Paris? Well, we did a lot of walking, that’s for sure! From one side of Paris to the other – it’s definitely not the most wheelchair friendly place in the world, with all of it’s cobblestone streets, so grandma had some bumpy rides, but we made it work. We hit all the big sites: Place de Bastille, Cathedral de Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Company, Sainte Chapelle, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower – and that was just the first day. I climbed up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and it was such an amazing view. It’s the centre ‘star’ and 12 roads branch out from it. There was also a lovely Christmas market going on which reminded me a lot of home. It even had an outdoor skating rink set up. I definitely wasn’t prepared for the ‘cold’, a whole 5 degrees Celsius. I know that’s nothing compared to Ontario right now, but when you live somewhere that is 30 degrees every day, 5 degrees is cold! Can’t complain though, who knows when I will experience cold again.

3 generations of French women, cruising down the river.

The other days included exploring the Louvre, a beautiful dinner cruise on the Seine river, trying to find a bookstore that apparently no longer exists, visiting Montmartre and the beautiful Basilica Sacre-Coeur that’s on a hill overlooking Paris, seeing a comedy show, visiting Versailles, writing my test at the Canadian Embassy, and visiting the town of Caen. That day trip was the most moving part of our visit because we went out to Juno beach and visited the museum that’s there, commemorating all the Canadians who fought in WWII. Out of a population of 11 million, 1 million people volunteered to go fight, with 45,000 Canadians sacrificing their lives for the freedom of the French people. After visiting the beach we went to the cemetery where the 5000+ Canadians who died taking Juno Beach are buried. It was a very powerful and sobering moment to read those tombstones. They truly will not be forgotten.

I was thinking about what struck me the most about Paris and there were three things that came to mind. The first, which may seem obvious, was that everything is so OLD. In 2017, Canada is celebrating its 150^th year anniversary. Cathedral de Notre Dame is 850+ years old. That really puts things in perspective. Canada is a baby in the grand scheme of things. To think that for 850 years people have been coming to pray here and worshipping God, it’s pretty amazing. It’s the church where the Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place, and it’s also where Napoleon I was crowned. So much history in one place. The same thing with the Louvre, which was originally a defensive fort, then the main residence for Kings, then a museum. It’s only been the Louvre, as we know it, with the glass pyramids (built by an American ironically), since 1993. Anyway, we learned a lot of history, but the point is, that the ‘modern’ world, how we live now, is just a very small fragment of time. It’s changed greatly from the past and will continue to change greatly.

The second thing that impacted me was the level of excellence that was put into all of these buildings. I know that there is a big debate about spending millions on large church buildings, and it certainly seems unnecessary at times, but on the flip side, these men were gifted with creative abilities and they wanted to glorify God by building the absolute best they could. They built these churches with so much excellence, laying intricate glass windows, building domes and spires, doing extensive gold and wood work. Can we imagine starting a project that would take 200 years to complete? There is something to be said for building with excellence – and people coming to see it. 14 million visitors come every year to see Cathedral de Notre Dame. There are definitely people who are profoundly impacted by visiting this church. It made me think about whether I give God my very best.

Lastly, I got a small peek into what open borders in the European Union means in terms of people. Hardly anyone we met was originally French. We met Parisians from Algeria, Tunisia, Haiti, Canada etc. Rarely did we encounter someone who was born in Paris. Some areas, such as Montmartre, were noticeably different from the typical tourist areas, with large numbers of immigrants and it changed the feel of the place. It reminded me a bit of Benin, with lots of shops selling fabric, plenty of street vendors selling their wares, and people everywhere. The world really is becoming all mixed together and one can experience many cultures in one city. But even with all this mixing, people of similar cultures still tend to live together. Here in Benin, I think most of the ex-pats live in one area. It’s interesting to observe this mixing and dividing of cultures. Ottawa, where I grew up, is still fairly homogenous in terms of population, although I think that’s changing over time.

Coming back to the ship, God helped me see that the trip really wasn’t about the test. I’m still not even sure what is going to come of that. It was about those moments where my grandma said, ‘I never thought I would see the Eiffel Tower with my own eyes’; those times where we all laughed and laughed, so much so that the waiter gave us free wine; moments where we were amazed and in awe at the size and beauty of things; those adventures when we took a bus, a train, a tram and a taxi to get to our destination. It was about realizing how precious the community on the ship is, and how much I appreciate all the friends I have here. Friends to play in volleyball tournaments with (we lost), to go on shipwreck adventures with, to ride Zemis with (with helmets!), to spend the day relaxing and swimming and getting sunburned with. I missed sitting in my office with these beautiful ladies, hatching crazy plans and laughing hysterically, never knowing who will come visit us. I missed the wisdom and guidance that my boss provides, the excitement of planning for Cameroon, of celebrating with people when they extend, of being a small part of this amazing patchwork of people that makes us Mercy Ships. It’s good to be home.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

~Psalm 139:14

The beautiful view from Basilica Sacre Coeur.