In Paris for the Weekend

A friend of mine is getting baptized tomorrow. She became a believer during the summer of 2009. I love baptisms. Its a sign of life: God still saves today. Grace is evident in her life.

For a little piece of French culture, I live two hours away from Paris. For a Frenchman, that means that traveling to Paris is a rare and special occasion. Two hours is a long trip (I'm exaggerating slightly). In anycase, French certainly don't live on the road like Americans.

By the way, I love Paris!

Phuket, Thailand: Paradis (lost)?

I've just read an email from friends in Phuket, Thailand. I was there in 2006. It is in many ways picture perfect. Everything about the scenery is gorgeous. In fact, near Phuket is James Bond Island, the beautiful island in The Man With the Golden Gun (1974).


But there is another side to life in that lush region. Here is what my friends report as they ask us to pray:

"From the 18^th - 27^th of October, Buddhists and other interested people (incl. Tourists) are celebrating the annual “Vegetarian Festival”, which celebrates the Chinese community's belief that abstinence from meat and various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar will help them obtain good health and peace of mind. During the festival participants are praying to the Nine Emperor gods and have to keep themselves ceremonially “clean”. Monks and people in trance are walking on hot coals or sharp blades or piercing themselves with various instruments. It is a gruesome and demonic festival with huge tourism attraction.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US AND THE BELIEVERS IN PHUKET!! "

I'll only add, "and pray for the people that are not yet believers in Phuket." Let's pray. 

A Few Photos From My Italian Weekend

As you probably know, I flew to Italy last weekend to visit friends from the Doulos. We spent three years together onboard and had a great time meeting up, talking, laughing and encouraging one another. If you want to have a look at the photos, you can just go see the Facebook album.

A Few Words From the Desk of Stéphane...

Hi everyone,

I just got back from the annual meeting of the local band. I'm headed straight for bed, but wanted to mention that I spent the weekend in Italy. Thank God for Ryan Air. As a student (and a Christian), there is no way I could travel any other way. I had a great time. I'll try to mention some of it at some later time. But I still haven't given a summary of the weekend in Switzerland, so I'm not promising anything.

Praise God for Ryan Air!

Ryan Air is this low cost airline that has revolutionized they way we live, travel, date and fall in love. A friend of my mine, upon hearing that I was considering a long-distance relationship, had only one question for my attention, "Ryan Air! Does Ryan Air fly there?"

One of my best friends is flying in today from Dublin. It will be good to see him again for the weekend. We first met onboard the Doulos where we were on the same work team for 6 months. With a few other guys we began meeting together on a near daily basis to start of the day with prayer, encouragement and Bible reading.

He left the ship about two years before I did, but he's done a good job calling up every holiday to talk about life. Each time, we've reconnected nearly instantly. I'm grateful to God for the gift of friendship. May it continue this time around.

For those of you reading this that feel you don't have that kind of friendship, pray and ask God, who loves to care for His children. Then live a life as transparent as possible, allowing people to see your strengths, weaknesses and failings. That is good soil for friendships to take root.