A Digital Newsletter from Living Stream Ministry
Before the start of the official torch relay and Olympics trips, three gospel trips took place in Lille from 8 April to 8 June. Saints from Lille, France, and Brussels, Belgium, joined those gospel teams. Families living in Lille and the surrounding area meet in Brussels each Lord's Day. The church has not yet been established in Lille, but the expectation is that through the coming gospel trips the Lord will do something marvelous to raise up His testimony in this city!
The goal of these previous gospel trips was to till the soil, prepare the ground for the next stage, strengthen the local testimony in each place, and encourage and refresh the local saints. During this time, the saints were so impressed by the French people’s openness, especially that of the young people. Many young people prayed to receive the Lord. The Lord desires to gain this generation of French people!
The main burdens for this trip were: 1) to follow up on those who had been contacted during these three previous trips and 2) to distribute Bibles and speak to people so that the Lord could gain more for His interest.
Follow-up:
To follow up with those who were contacted previously, we sent them seminar invitations and held two seminars the first two nights in Lille, and four whom we invited came. We also had eight follow-up times with some we had met previously and five additional follow-up times with the local saints in the week after the gospel team left.
Testimonies:
We had lunch with a young student, and she opened up about her situation. She said that the day we met her she had been praying that God would put someone in her path to encourage her in her faith, and then she met us! We were the answer to her prayer. We shared that we can contain God because He had created us with a human spirit. This simple truth became a marvelous revelation to her.
Another young sister had stayed in contact with a local sister since meeting us. She spent the evening with us in a saint’s home and shared that she often reads the Word and does not understand what it means. We read Jeremiah 15:16 together: “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your word became to me the gladness and joy of my heart." She then realized that even though she does not always understand the Word, she can still enjoy it and eat it, because it is good for food.
Another sister with whom we had stayed in contact also came to a saint’s home, wanting to be baptized! Praise the Lord for a baptism in Lille! Our trips to Lille are producing fruit.
Distribution:
Concerning our second burden, we had such a good time meeting new ones while distributing Bibles in Lille and Brussels.
We felt that we were fishermen who had no need of nets because the fish were jumping into the boat! For example, just as we were setting up, six young people came to receive Bibles. They all prayed to receive the Lord!
Testimonies:
We met a Spanish-speaking couple interested in receiving a Spanish Bible, but we did not have any with us. They agreed to meet us later to receive one. This gave us the opportunity to eat dinner together. We had a good time together; the husband shared his experience of the Lord and asked if the saints could come to his city to distribute Bibles. He even offered for us to stay at their place!
A young man from Amsterdam came to us and was very interested in receiving a Bible. After sharing with him about the Bible and how Christ was revealed in it, this young man was led to pray to receive the Lord. We had lunch together at a nearby restaurant. He was very open and very affected by the sharing of the brothers and sisters. He shared how he recently was praying to God, but instead of praying for things and matters for himself, he asked God what He wants. He was deeply moved as he shared. We could tell that he had had a very real experience with the Lord.
Later that afternoon we had coffee with another student. Our time together was a time of sharing, enjoying our Lord, and reading His Word. At some point, she asked, “If we all believe in the Lord, why is there is so much division among Christians?” We then enjoyed reading the verses that say Christ is unique and not divided. Eventually, she shared that she did not have any Christian friends and felt isolated but that now she finally felt there was someone her age (our local sister) who she could pursue the Lord with, someone who calls on the Lord out of a pure heart.
A Christian woman came and told us how happy it made her to see us distributing Bibles!
We also had two short times of distribution in Brussels. Even though our time was short we enjoyed our time of blending with the saints in Brussels.
Lille Statistics:
Brussels Statistics:
Prayer Burdens:
Note: This report has been abridged. To sign up to receive the full text of these reports as they are issued, go to https://courantdevie.myflodesk.com/. The archived reports may be found at https://view.flodesk.com/emails/66698cac3cb3150ba06a9644.
Both teams came together every morning for coordination and then headed out to the two distribution cities (Versailles and Palaiseau). We all had wonderful fellowship and blending since both teams stayed at the new Paris meeting place in Palaiseau. Some local families with young people and some other saints were able to join the teams.
Having the Paris young people with us as an important part of these teams was a true highlight; how fervent our Paris young people are! Two young sisters went out with us today. One, a 16-year-old, was so passionate, active, and bold in contacting people and sharing with them The Mystery of Human Life as well as verses from the Bible. It was a marvelous experience having the sisters translate from English to French with the many new ones. The Lord has especially blessed the local young people, and their portion is indispensable.
In the beginning, language was a limitation but the Lord knows no barriers. We are now able to communicate with people in French with the help of local saints. We were really encouraged by the young people in Paris. There is a special flow of the Lord here with all the saints, especially with the young people who are responding to the Lord’s burden for the Bible distribution.
Testimonies:
A Russian-speaking brother spoke with a Russian-speaking student from Kazakhstan. The student was led to pray to receive the Lord, and he wept. Afterward, as he walked away, he exclaimed across the campus, "I feel different!" The brother responded, "You just got saved!"
Some saints approached a woman that was glancing at our table. She told them that she had a desire that very morning to read more of the Bible and had hoped to buy a new one. She shared how she was recently convicted concerning her living and had started to pray and sense the Lord’s presence. She had seen that religion was man’s creation and was looking for something more. She received the Bible with joy and set up a meeting time with the sisters within the hour.
There are many Christian believers here who emigrated from French-speaking Africa; they love the Word of God. Almost all were extremely grateful to receive the Bible and blessed our labor in the Lord. Many were already meeting in groups but were open to being connected with us through WhatsApp. Many who live in France have relatives in Africa. May these gospel trips bear fruit both here and in Africa in the years to come.
We approached a man waiting for the bus, and he gave us only five minutes to present the Bible. During the first three minutes, he kept asking, "Where do you meet in Paris?" Even after presenting the Bible with footnotes, he still asked the same question. This time, he followed up by saying, "I am seeking a 'real' church in Paris. The Bible you have is very good but tell me where you meet. I believe the Lord listened to my prayer and sent you here to meet me!"
We met a lady and asked for her favorite verse. She recited Isaiah 61 about the jubilee with enthusiasm. She said that while she was walking, musing on how the Lord had graced her, she met us on the corner of the street. After receiving the Bible, she said it was the Lord’s answer to her conversation with Him. She thanked us with a big smile and was grateful for the spiritual food, saying, “The Bible gives life to me.”
Three of the new ones with whom we have been in contact told us that they read their Bibles every day and that they were all really touched by the richness of the footnotes.
One of our new ones called to thank us for the Bible and to ask how the Bible distributions have been going. He was very happy to see us distributing Bibles and said that more people need to know the Bible and be saved. He said that every time he reads the Bible, he will be thinking of us. He realized it wasn’t a coincidence that he had taken the wrong bus to our area but that it was so he could receive a Bible. Finally, he told us to send him a message anytime there was a meeting that he could attend if his work schedule permits.
Palaiseau Statistics:
Versailles Statistics:
Prayer Burdens:
Note: This report has been abridged. Future reports, if any, will be very brief. However, you may sign up to receive the full text of reports directly from France as they are issued at: https://courantdevie.myflodesk.com/. Archived reports may be found at https://view.flodesk.com/emails/66698cac3cb3150ba06a9644.
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