France Day 4: May 20th

I woke up on the 20th and ate bread for breakfast, which became somewhat of a theme. We spent the morning prayer-walking through the streets of Marseilles. It was a very discouraging experience. The streets looked more like a third-world country than what we would traditionally think of in France. The people had stands at which they sold cheap goods and many people looked poverty-stricken. (Before we left we were warned about the pickpockets and thieves in Marseilles, therefore I did not take my camera along today).


After lunch we saw two very different building projects. The first project was by the local Islamic community. They are building a giant mosque in the city of Marseilles. This mosque will cost them 22 million euros (roughly $30 million) and will be the largest mosque on the continent of Europe. They showed us a model of the building and then gave us a tour of the site. The ceremonial ‘first stone’ had been laid just shortly before we arrived. After touring the site we stepped outside and prayed for the building and the people who will enter it. We prayed that our Sovereign God will use this building in some way for His glory. We then visited a very different site. The next building was three-stories high and has (barely) survived multiple fires. The inside of this building had rubbish and debris everywhere. It was the site where the Marseilles pastors wanted to build a Protestant church. The local mayor has agreed to give them the building for a lease of 90 years rent free, but it will take them 280,000 Euros (roughly $400,000) to fix up the building. We spent time praying over the site and praying for God’s provision.


The day finished with us going to the Marseilles ‘center’ to eat pizza and hear testimonies. We heard many stories of North Africans who came to faith in Christ. It was very encouraging to hear these stories. Seeing the building sites that day had left me heart-broken and discouraged (which is not necessarily a bad thing, I think it is good to feel that way every now and then). However, hearing these powerful testimonies was just a reminder that no matter what seemingly huge, human obstacle is in the way, God is going to draw people to himself and glorify His name. We introduced ourselves to the local community of believers and had a nice time of fellowship before leaving for the night.