Cafe ou late, s'il vous plaît!

In terms of accomplishments, I must say - it was an excellent day!

After pushing it through yesterday and trying to stay awake, despite the fact that on my Bahamian clock I was supposed to be sleeping the night, this morning was not so bad.

Upon my arrival to the hotel yesterday morning at about 7am I was told that check in was at 2pm...I was tempted to say that "it is 2pm somewhere right now" but I decided to explore the area surrounding the hotel instead. It was awesome to see little fruit shops and parks with benches everywhere just to sit and chill. I got me a sandwich and enjoyed it sitting at a kiddie park on one of the benches...

My hotel is actually on the eastern side of Paris, on the outskirts...a nice place that kind of looks like an art/performance building. As a matter of fact, here they have a theatre that stays open during the winter season. My room reminds me of my walk-in closet, but it is super cute and has a great view, so I do not mind at all.

After checking into the hotel and thoroughly enjoying a hot shower, I almost went to sleep. However, I would not have been able to forgive myself for wasting a whole day sleeping...besides, then I would have been awake at night...so, tired and cold I strolled along the streets of Paris and ended up in one of the street cafes. They have them here everywhere and they have the best coffee! The summer here is like Bahamian winter 60 degrees Fahrenheit and all I packed was summer clothes. Thank God for the DRG jacket that I grabbed, just in case. I really wanted to read but my brain was not having it and I decided to do some people watching...there are so many different beautiful people in Paris! I even made friends with one of them.

My new friend's name is Francisco and he is actually from Spain, finally someone who speaks the same language :) It was interesting to find out that here there are more Muslims than Christians. After talking to Francisco I learned that he has many friends who are Muslim and that if he was to convert into anything and follow a certain religion it would be Islam. He even has a Koran. I learned that they believe in Jesus and even have the historical account beginning from Adam and Eve, but the difference is - they believe that Jesus was a prophet and that Mohammed is the last prophet that came after Jesus...they even believes that Jesus is coming back to defeat the Antichrist! After an awesome sharing and an exchange of what we believe I said my good byes and started to praise God that He was present in my life and that He brought me to a place in my life where I can know Him and no longer be confused about or doubt who Christ is! It is that knowing in my heart that was not there before but is undeniably present with me now...that no matter what or who comes along with something else I can love and respect them and my faith would not be shaken :) I even thought to myself that "God is aware of this conversation and He knows each one of us and He loves this person as much as He loves me, the only difference is that perhaps he is not aware of how much he is loved by God". Isn't that the case for most of us?

In the past couple of days the Lord has taken me to places in my heart, examining it and showing me where I came from...giving me a look into my past before He takes me into the future...he reminded me of my old ways of thinking and my old desires and how much He has transformed all of that. Every waking moment of this day, as I went out of the hotel, I had more and more reasons to be thankful and to praise His name!

Places I visited:
- Notre Dame (check!)
- Le Louvre (check!)
- The Eiffiel Tower at night! (check!)

Added bonuses:
- Watching the sunset from the Ferril Wheel of Paris!
- Having sushi for dinner right in front of the Eiffiel Tower and watching the light show at the same time!

Personal effort that went into planning: zero!

I literally did not know where I was going next and ended up in all those places at the perfect time each time!!! I could not have planned it better :)

Thankful and grateful...let the journey continue :)

I love it how You are right on time!!!

Last thoughts...before the departure.

Oftentimes we see difficult situations as something to avoid and run away from. That is how I felt in the past couple of days, just looking forward to running away from what I had to deal with in the 'here and now'. It really seemed like there was a constant attack coming at me from every angle, and so unnecessary, weakening me and weighting me down. It was that feeling that you just want to jump on the plane and let it take you far away and it did not matter where....in my case, that day was fast approaching and in many ways gave me a sense of relief. But one thing that I do not agree with is running away from my problems because that rarely solves them. So instead I asked God to show me what I needed to do or learn while I am still here, and began to pay attention.

Today turned out to be a day that started off as a huge mess, worse than yesterday! I felt like this project, that we are working on so hard, was falling apart and was going to fall through! I had to try really hard not to lose my cool and to remain calm and professional at work when certain people were being especially rude and disrespectful. At one point I had the desires to walk out and leave completely, but I didn't. Instead I went to my office and I was determined not to move and wait for God to let me know the next step. Every time I would get the urge to get up and go to check how things were running I refrained and stayed there, praying...

A while later the person who was causing all the turmoil came into my office and their attitude was a lot better. He was able to take responsibility for the way he approached the issues and we were able to have a conversation in a positive way. But that was not the best part. The best part was when a friend of mine came in, whom I have not seen in months, and helped me out a lot in the ministry with the youth. She came to volunteer her time today to assist with this outreach project we are working on. So, we started to talk in my office and the Lord was giving us an opportunity to share our hearts in a very deep way. I learned about the struggles she is facing in her marriage and I was able to pray with her and God allowed me to share my story with her and everything that has been going on; how much the Lord was revealing His presence to me in many ways recently, about this trip and everything that it meant to me. This was very encouraging to her, but more so to me!

 In that moment of sharing, the Lord told me that no matter what I am feeling right now and the frustration I am experiencing, He is there and He got this! He showed me this morning that it was ok for me to step back because the people He provided to carry out the vision for this project are ordained by Him and it was time to relinquish control. He revealed to me that there are things that He wants me to do, like having time to listen to my friend and being there to pray with her and encourage her through the sharing of my story.

I realized that if it was not for the conflict earlier I would not have been in my office waiting for something...waiting to be used by Him in her life.And here is what I was being reminded of...that we tend to press on and push our own way to get some things done for God, but He has another plan for us. This was the last thing that I had to learn before my trip - that when I feel like I am stuck or want to run away I need to stop, pray and wait for Him to make a move, that troubles are a way of God getting our attention. As a matter of fact, in James 1:3 the trials and tests are said to be our friends that prove our faith which helps us not to give up. "Learn well how to wait so that you will be strong and complete and in need of nothing" (verse 4)

 In essence, my going away message is clear, learning well how to wait as God continues to bring everything to completion...

Counting the days.

This is a much anticipated trip for more than one reason for me...I mean, the timing could not be more perfect and that is more reason to believe that this trip is literally ordained by God!


How can one not be excited to embark on an adventure to a far away land that all your friends wish they could go to? Yes, I know, there are things to be considered and traveling can be pretty scary, but I have a great deal of peace about it. Besides, I get to see my grandmother who is my heart and soul and I have been waiting to make this trip to see her since 2006 - my last trip there!


So, starting point - Nassau, Bahamas... Destination - Khabarovsk, Russia...everything in between is to be discovered.


It is amazing how God allows us to experience things in life and all of those experiences bring us to a certain point where His presence can be manifested in such a real and powerful way! This trip is a representation of my devotion and commitment to trust Him and walking by faith. What will happen and how it will turn out will only be known as the path before me unravels...do you dare to journey with me?