By Peter and Patricia DeWit, PAOC global workers in Paris, France

You might be surprised that…

There is no such thing as take-away coffee in Paris. You sit, take off your coat, put your elbows on the table and sip your coffee s-l-o-w-l-y.

You might be surprised that…

Parisians do not wear a neckerchief, a tilted beret or striped t-shirts. Tourists do, though.

You might be surprised that…

Parisians do not enjoy visiting the Eiffel tower, but they do enjoy picnics along La Seine.

You might be surprised that…

They say that having a car in Paris is like swimming lengths in your bathtub. So we walk. Or take the subway, called Le Metro.

You might be surprised that…

Saying ‘hello’ goes along with something called ‘la bise’, where you kiss the person on both cheeks.

You might be surprised that…

Even men do ‘la bise’.

You might be surprised that…

French food is famous but also a little weird.

You might be surprised that…

Having dinner together is VERY important for Parisians. So is family and getting away from Paris for la vacance.

You might be surprised that…

We don’t have a church building. We meet on Sundays in an art gallery.

You might be surprised that…

One Sunday a month the art gallery owners have a fashion show, so we need to meet somewhere else that week. That’s when we have a party. We call it “Party With A Purpose.” We invite all our friends who never go to church, for different reasons. We share the love of God in fun ways. These parties help the owners too, and they get business and publicity.

You might be surprised that…

There are Parisians who quit going to church, some who said they would never go to church or never wanted to believe in God who are coming to our Parties With A Purpose! They are very curious about the church in a bistro!

You might be surprised that…

We talk to total strangers. But it isn’t long before those strangers are our new friends, and then they are soon coming over for dinner. Or we are going over to their place for dinner.

You might be surprised that…

Your church supports missionaries in Paris. Paris?!

Paris is full of people who are like the prodigal son. They are longing to return home, but shame and fear keep them away. So, like the Father, we watch from afar off, looking for the prodigals. We run to them while they are on their way back, and invite them into our home. And like the Father in the story Jesus told, we cover them in the Cloak Of Protection, we place the Family Ring of Belonging on their finger, we find their size of the Shoes of Human Dignity, and then we make their favorite food and let them know how glad we are to have them eat together around our table.

You may NOT be surprised that…

Slowly and conversation-by-conversation, Love leads the prodigals back to their place at The Father’s Table.

Please pray…

We are always praying for more surprises! They cause us to keep learning and depending on God.

 Please join us in praying for the DeWit family. We invite you to connect with them by email/mail and social media too. Here’s how you can stay connected:

Email: Peter.Dewit@paoc.org

Address: 4458 Florida Rd. RR 3, Harrowsmith, ON, K0H 1V0

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeWitsinParis

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterDeWit