Being a Missionary to France
Marita and her beautiful family
Nothing could have prepared me for what it would take to be a missionary to France. It has been more than I could have imagined, but also harder than I could have fathomed. I believe it is the grace of God that conceals the hardships and trials from us at first. God always starts us off by giving a promise. His promises make us delirious with hope and expectancy to see His glory fill the nations. We feel honoured to partner with the rightful King of all the Earth, and humbled that He is calling us into these great adventures. Therefore, we say “Yes” to the assignment He has for us. True to the pattern of scripture, we soon discover that wherever there is a promise of inheritance there will also be giants that would try to block us from our inheritance. This has been my journey of discovery as a missionary to France. Great promises bring gigantic battles, but from the fight and the struggle emerges the sweetest revelation and experience of an even greater and incomparably good God.
As I reflect back on my journey as a missionary in France the last six years, I can still see the promises clearly. Even though I have come to face giants, I have also tasted the joy of the Lord’s victory through different seasons here on the mission field. And it feels as if I’m only just beginning.
Being a missionary to France meant I had to learn the culture and the language of the French. I love the discovery of French culture. I remember the first time we had a proper sit down meal with a French couple. It was an embarrassing experience for us! In our South African culture you fill your plate up with all the food that is on the table but that is not the French way. We noticed that this couple was just having salad but thought nothing of it at first. We eagerly reached for second portions of meat and vegetables. Only when they removed their “salad” plates and dished up the “main food” did we realize our blunder! After that came the cheese board with baguettes, and lastly the dessert. They say France has a cheese for every day of the year because they literally have over 365 types of cheeses. I have many more embarrassing moments like that to tell.
Learning the language has been challenging. French is not an easy language and the tenses system is complicated. It requires dedication and hard labour to acquire. We started off with French tutoring, but as soon as we started getting busy with planting an international church in Paris, we neglected our French learning. I enrolled in a French Language school for missionaries in January 2021 in the midst of the pandemic and was able to pass my B2 level French. I now have a very good foundation, but to be honest, I am still growing in my French. I feel comfortable enough to have conversations with people, but I am not at the place yet where I can preach fluently in French. That is my next goal that I am working towards.
From the very beginning, God has given us wonderful French people who helped and served us to make France our home. The real treasure of France is her people. This has been the most amazing and humblest discovery of all for us. As a family we have been through a very dark and difficult two and a half years. Both my husband and I have had to fight intense and uncertain health battles. He started having frequent epileptic seizures starting in November 2019. He has had epilepsy since childhood, but his seizures have been very controlled, having only one seizure every two to three years. Then the pandemic hit and I was being stretched really thin because of my husband's seizures, and because of financial and other stressors. Something in me snapped and I was diagnosed with PTSD. I found myself in a very deep, dark pit and I was not able to function well. I had nothing to give. I thought that we had come to minister to and serve the French, but in our season of greatest brokenness and weakness, they have opened their hearts to us and served us. They welcomed us into their inner friendship circles and cared for us practically. My friend gave me permission to come and sit on her couch when I was completely overwhelmed with panic and anxiety. She is not a believer but yet she showed me the tenderness of the Lord when I needed it so desperately. My husband had a seizure in a restaurant and afterwards vomited. His friend came and cleaned it up, and later that night drove to pick him up from the hospital. We have many stories like this. We have seen the gold that the Lord has placed in the hearts of the French. God has, in an upside down way, given us a glimpse into the beauty, love, servanthood, and kindness that He has placed deep inside these people. Our vision and desire has been renewed and enlarged through this season of brokenness to reach the French people with the gospel. We handed over the leadership of the international church, and are believing to plant a French speaking church in the future.
Thank you for reading this far. I have more to share with you in the next post about some of the specific giants I had to face in France, and the crafted weapons God has given me for it.