My first trip out of North America in over 11 years, I was very excited to be on an airplane once again. But not before going throughsome difficulties; going through metal detector 3 times because Iforgot to take off my belt.I packed very light for this trip, (1 school bagpack + 1 slingbag). People questioned my decision to bring so little, but the way I sawthings was that this was going to be a missions trip, so I did notneed to be in my comfort zone; only bringing what was necessary (mypocket pc for ex to write this post :) Before boarding the plane (after finally passing through theaforementioned metal detector), I received great news that I wasaccepted to a job position at the taxation branch for the provincialgovernment. Finding a summer job was initially the biggest obstacle for me deciding to come to Europe, so I thank God for answering myprayer and being so faithful and provident.The plane trip was very enjoyable, I didn't nap on Air France becausethe entertainment system was so good. The 4 of us watched movies & played "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". But this also meant I wasgoing into Europe w/o sleep from the previous night.After arriving at the airport, we were picked up & driven to thehotel. Car's in Europe are very different (very small & compact) and the traffic was very dangerous (motorcycles driving inbetween lanes).But we did arrve safely to our Hotel & proceeded to unpack.We spent the rest of the day getting our bus passes and travelled to"the island", Chinatown & Notre Dame Cathedral. The group consisted of the 4 of us from MCAC Pastor Tim Wai and his wife Christina, PastorJones from Jubilee AC with Esther & Allison. It was an interestingexperience riding the confusing yet comprehensive Metro system.The youth & adults of the St. Maur's CAC was very welcoming &hospitable helping transition into Paris less difficult for us.Everything so far had gone smoothly and Eleasa's mischlefs made forsome good laughs (I'm sure she would write about it).I also got along well my roommate for the conference. His name isMoise Che from French Guyana who is studying @ Dalhousie.During prayer time at night, God spoke to me & made me aware of this: Just as the book of Daniel was about God being in control despite thecircumstances, so now I am in that situation in Paris & laterAmsterdam where I don- know what to do but God is still in control ofeverything. Day 2: May 15,The conference was not to start until 5pm on this Wednesday, so it wasmostly another day of touring Europe with the group. I had agood/uniterrupted night's rest after pulling an all-nighter the previous day, so the tour of Paris by bus was enjoyable.Because of a National holiday the next day, bus services wereinterrupted as the police force (along w/ their horses) practice theirparade route. Hence, we arrived half an hour late; missing registration and late for opening ceremonies...but made for some goodtimes travelling.The St. Maur's CAC is smaller than MCAC, but it was homelynevertheless & it was awesome to see all the people there serving in all different aspects & seeing the 2nd generation French speakingChinese Christians & their enthusiasm for God & excited about theconference.The conference had people from all over. I had the chance to talk to people from other parts of Canada as well as a group of people fromNorway & Sweden (who had brought along a Norwegian trovel edition ofSettlers!). It was a good opportunity for me to step out of mycomfort zone & talk/fellowship with new ppl. After the Opening Ceremony where Pastor Tim Chan had given an introduction to the bookof Daniel (timeline of the book: 1234 875 96 101112).At certain points during the day I was untalkative which led to somelonely times, this showed me that I still had a lot to work on in terms of just relating & socializing with others in general. Thisrelates back to king Nebuchadnezzor & how even though he had acceptedGod above was truly God he still ended up having pride issues which hindered his relationship with God. By this. I mean thatNebuchadnezzar's pride issue was not settled with over night...and myquiet/shy nature will not change overnight either but I must continueto keep working at it & not be disappointed. Unfortunately, fellowship back at the hotel was cut short due to afirealarm which sent us all outside for a while.Before going to sleep, I finally had the chance to meet up w/ Pat &Shirley to talk & pray about thq upcoming Amsterdam mission's trip. It was our first meeting together, but this was a good start to ourpreparing for it.
-Kevin
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