I am always amazed at the excitement and nervousness from those going on their first short-term mission trip, most of the time they don’t know enough to know what they need to be nervous about. There is an excitement in their eyes as they head into the unknown. They prepare testimonies and lessons, not knowing how God will use them or if they will be effective. They pack what is recommended and wonder if it will be enough. They comfort their parents and loved ones, and try to reassure them everything is going to be alright, while at the same time not knowing what the future holds. But through leading and prayer, the journey begins.
A lot of mission team members, especially those who have never been on mission before usually become broken spiritually sometime during the week of the trip. They discover a new outlook on sharing, faith, trust, and God. Why is this? It is simple, during the week they are constantly hearing the word of God either from others sharing or through the preaching or their own study. They also see the word of God come to life. That doesn’t mean that the bible gets up and starts walking around. But they see the Spirit of God begin to work in the lives of the people they come in contact with. They walk the streets with a single purpose, to find the person of peace with whom they can share the good news of the gospel. Some are hit with the hard truth that not all will accept the gospel, so they plant a seed not knowing the condition of the soil. Other times they begin to pour out water onto unknown soil, unaware that a seed exist and has been waiting for the moisture that God will use to bring it to life. They get excited and don’t know what to do when out of the ground springs forth life. A miracle, they get to see cold dead bones come to life. After that experience, they have a drive to share and no longer need to be pushed in front of people to share with. Oh what it would have been like in Acts to walk the streets and see God work, bringing people to life through the proclamation of the Gospel. But wait, could that still happen? And could it happen here?
After returning home and a couple weeks of rest, life returns to normal. The mission was accomplished, people were saved and now we are back comfortable, safe, fed, and loved. Or are we? There is always a sense of completion at the end of a mission trip. Not that that would be wrong in the short term, but there is a since of that was where we were on mission at, but now we are back and we have things to get done. Real stuff, school, work, friends, problems, and you know life. Right?
One of the greatest tragedies we have is short-term missions. I know you saw a bunch of people get saved, and God really “showed up”, but stay with me. There is a since of awe and wonder during the week of a mission trip. And we look forward to the next year when we can go and feel that same since of awe and wonder. But let’s compare it to a race shall we. Anyone who runs foot races understands that you have different splits. These are markers throughout the race to gauge your progress, and to ensure you are on pace. A short-term mission trip is sort of like a split. It is a time to see if you are where you need to be in your spiritual life, in your reading and study of the word, apologetics, doctrines, and if you can articulate them to the world around you. The shortness of the week gives you the opportunity to push yourself hard and to evaluate yourself. The tragedy is that the short-term is looked at, as the race itself. We return with a sense that we ran and will rest up to run again next year.
The race however is not over. In fact it is just beginning. When you return home, it is like passing the first mile marker. The street is no longer filled with cheering fans, the road narrows, and the reality of the race sets in. Here is where we must work our hardest. This is where we must pull from prayer and scripture, the strength to press on. Where most might sit and rest, we must run to win. We don’t just return to normal life, we return with a renewed sense of awe for what God has been doing and we must now trust even more so that He will continue His work. We saw on foreign soil God work in others lives. Now we must trust that He will work in ours for His glory and to reach those around us. We are home; this is where we must turn from our sins, where we must love God more than mother and father, more than friends and things. This is where we live out what we preach, if we believe that which we have taught. Did we believe it? Do we believe it? If so, then are we disciplined for the miles ahead? Paul tells the church at Corinth “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”. Are we disqualified or are we still in the race?
There are no short-term missionaries; there are only missionaries in different context. When we return to our Jerusalem, let us seek the hope that is only found in Christ. Let us not lean on our own understanding, our own wisdom, which is foolishness. Let us not fall victim to busyness and the lure of shiny objects that promise fulfillment. Let our knees be worn out for those nearest to us. Let our time be determined by the cross and His call, trusting that He will provide the time for work, family, fun, and ministry, as we continue the race. We have found our greatest joy in walking by faith; let us not check our faith with Homeland Security as we return home. But let us be reminded daily where our ultimate security is found and where our joy is greatest. Wherever you woke up at, wherever you find yourself, wherever you stand today, then that is your mission field. Time to get running.
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Ah, Paris! The city of love, light, croissants, couture
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From the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre and Notre-Dame to the Champs-Elysées, the
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streets, parks and squares, iPhones in hand.
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A few blocks away, there’s the art gallery where rents have
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The reason? What’s been dubbed the ‘Emily effect’, driven by the hugely popular Netflix series
Emily In Paris, starring Lily Collins as a quirkily dressed
American marketing executive who tries to build a life
for herself in the French capital (without, notably, speaking a word of French).
Ah, Paris! The city of love, light, croissants, couture – and a magnet for 30 million tourists from around the world
every year
From the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre and Notre-Dame to the Champs-Elysées, the French capital isn’t short on iconic sights
A lighthearted romcom full of frivolous plotlines and mildly offensive stereotypes, the show – written by Sex And The City creator Darren Star – has won legions
of fans (58 million tuned in to watch the first series in 2020 and Rishi Sunak has professed his love for it), who are
now trekking to Paris to hunt down the real-life places frequented by their heroine.
But many locals are less delighted. In Paris it’s become known as ‘l’invasion des imbéciles’, which translates as
‘the invasion of the morons’. Graffiti with the words ‘Emily Not Welcome’ has been scrawled in angry
red on the side of one building.
A recent editorial in Le Monde, a French daily newspaper, bore the headline: ‘They think they own the neighbourhood!
Emily In Paris – an invasive neighbour.’
And these invaders could be about to multiply. For Dharma, an ‘experiential’ travel company (which organises global tours hosted
by Instagrammers and reality stars), has been given the green light
by Netflix to start running Paris By Emily holidays, designed for the show’s superfans.
It was a quiet place before and now it’s like Disneyland
The five-day group trips, the first of which departs next April, start at £2,155 per person (flights aren’t included, and you’ll have to pay £2,870 if
you want your own room) and will be led by ‘Emileaders’, chirpy tour guides
fully versed on all things Emily.
The itinerary includes activities such as cocktail-making,
a pastry masterclass, a French lesson and a visit to a designer atelier,
not to mention ‘content capture’ experiences,
vital for securing those picture-perfect Instagram shots.
Interest in Paris By Emily tours since their launch just over a week ago has been huge, Dharma’s founder Charaf El Mansouri, 34,
tells me. ‘It’s been pretty crazy,’ he adds.
‘There’s a lot of demand from the US at the moment.’
But does this fairytale version of Paris exist?
And is the influx of Netflix tourists good for business – or a
boom locals hope will fizzle out? With a suitcase full of Emily-esque outfits,
a £288 Eurostar ticket – a tenth of the cost of Dharma’s tours – and my rusty GCSE French, I’ve come to
find out.
My first stop is the Place de l’Estrapade – or ‘Emily Square’ to
fans – in the 5th arrondissement, fringed by ramshackle cafés and a bubbling
fountain, which forms the backdrop to Emily’s apartment, her favourite bakery and the restaurant
where Gabriel, her on-off chef love interest, works.
Now, I’ve watched all three series of Emily In Paris and this doesn’t look quite like I’d hoped:
bins are overflowing with rubbish, there are traffic cones everywhere and the
water in the picturesque fountain is seriously murky.
This reaction is something Thierry Rabineau, owner of
the 19th Century La Boulangerie Moderne, deals with
constantly. It is here that, in the very first episode, Emily buys a pain au chocolat – and here
that, daily, fans queue up to do the same. ‘We’re a neighbourhood boulangerie and some people don’t understand that,’ says Thierry, who has been running the
bakery for eight years. ‘We want to preserve our soul,
we want to preserve our way of doing things.’
My first stop is the Place de l’Estrapade – or ‘Emily
Square’ to fans – in the 5th arrondissement, fringed by ramshackle cafés and a bubbling fountain, which forms the backdrop to Emily’s apartment,
her favourite bakery and the restaurant where Gabriel, her on-off chef love interest,
works
Now, I’ve watched all three series of Emily In Paris and this doesn’t look quite
like I’d hoped: bins are overflowing with rubbish, there are traffic cones everywhere and the water in the picturesque fountain is seriously
murky
Admittedly, he adds, the series has been bon for business:
40 per cent of trade now comes from Emily tourists and
it’s a welcome bolster in the summer when his regulars are away en vacances.
Pain au chocolat sales have ‘exploded’ (one recent customer bought £100 worth to take on the flight home),
he’s won awards across France and there’s talk of a franchise in Saudi Arabia.
The famous pastry – yours for £1.30 – lives up to the hype: it’s melt-in-the-mouth
delicious, buttery and flaky, and, if you ask
nicely, they’ll give you a ‘… In Paris’ bag to personalise with your
name.
Livia, 27, a student from Italy, has one: she sports an Emily In Paris T-shirt and tells me she’s come here alone for the weekend, just to visit the sights from the series.
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