From the streets of Paris

So I was minding my business at a cafe preparing for a teaching next week on Shabbat (Feb. 13th at 7:30pm at the American Church of Paris) and all of a sudden about 20 vans of riot police showed up and cordoned off the little traffic circle near where I was sitting. These guys look like a black and blue version of the all white Darth Vader troops, with full riot armor on. A few students tried to get by the wall of men with clear shields and they were simply pushed aside. Since we live at the Sorbonne we will need to get used to these types of police responses to scheduled demonstrations and protests that are always happening in our area. They even post signs in the buses and metro when service will be disrupted due to "manifestations," the French word for public, pre-planned disturbances. No one could say who were the demonstrators or what the massive police buildup was about. Most commented, "It's the students again." A still small voice said inside of me, "You were born for this." Love and Shalom. David Schneier

We are recovering from jet lag and getting back into the flow of life in Paris. Monday, we met with a local guy who has a lot of experience with organizing events in France. He told us something that gives a picture of life here: The French develop relationships before they organize anything and maintaining a real relationship is key to walking together. They can support events that Americans organize but that will not bring lasting fruit if we have our event and then just leave and not be heard from again. This was so important to know if we want to bring new flows of the Spirit into France that won't be just a flash in the pan. As one writer put it, the God of Israel is not the God of the show. This is especially important as we begin to lay the groundwork for Chuck Pierce of Glory of Zion to share here in the fall of 2009. We were told that many in France are skeptical or distrust the restoration of apostles and prophets to the body of Messiah yet without these gifted leaders the body is not complete and its destiny is hindered. We were also told of apostolic leaders weeping because of the rejection of their annointing and no avenue to fulfill their calling. Please pray for this important time for Chuck to speak into the body in France, this key country in Europe and the world. Shalom. David Schneier

Sat, January 31, 2009

We had a chance to view French life from the inside Saturday night by attending a building party near the Louvre. The residents of a six story building invited friends to come and spend an evening together. Each apartment opened its doors and people milled around the building enjoying seeing old and making new friends. You can't get into the building unless your name is on the list and you have ID. Each apartment provided food and drinks for the moving celebration and the conversations reverberated through the halls and stairwells. We have been invited to a small followup meeting of some people who were interested in what we are doing in France. This is what we shared about in the US in January, that living our destiny involves small daily steps to discover the great plan God has for us. Our faithfulness in responding to God's still small voice to "Lech Lecha," to get up and go, keeps us on our path to our daily destiny. It's a wild ride and worth every step we take.