Recap: Last Week

What a week it has been here in Marseille!


As may be readily apparent, I am still in France. Though my original return date was June 13, an opportunity opened for me to stay a few more weeks. I sought the Lord and felt confirmation in my heart to remain here for the rest of the month. I look forward to helping Matt follow up with the many contacts we made last week, as well as work on translation of the One to One book into French. I am thankful for the blessing of additional time here to continue the work that the mission team began.


Here's a brief synopsis of last week to catch everyone up to speed:


After moving to Ésaïe 55 in Allauch, we spent the first 3 days distributing packets to the residents of La Valentine, where Matt and Christy live. It's the 11th district (arrondissement) of Marseille. In the packets were a Gospel of John and flyers for Big Tommy's upcoming events at the tennis park here. We went out in teams of two and it was a great way to learn about the area and explore it. By Wednesday, we had distributed 1,300 packets!


We also had an assembly at the school the Rasch kids attend. All the children were so energetic! Big Tommy gave an encouraging speech about pursuing one's dreams and then did some feats of strength, including ripping a phone book in half, smashing unopened soda cans with his hands (soda went everywhere, ha!) and breaking a pair of handcuffs he was wearing. We had this crazy catchy music playing (Vous êtes fatigués? On n'est pas fatigués!) and really had a great time with the kids.

Big Tommy getting prepped

On Wednesday evening, Big Tommy also did a little show at the Ésaïe 55 children's ministry. Along with his "actes de force," he told the kids about how Jesus had changed his life. At the end, he asked if any of them wanted to receive Jesus in their heart. Several kids raised their hands, and so I was called upon to lead them one by one in a prayer in French. It was one of the sweetest moments of this trip. 

On Friday and Saturday night, Big Tommy did shows for the community at the tennis park. We had a lot of people come both nights, and our team was able to meet Matt and Christy's close friends. A friend of Matt's from Paris came down to translate at both events. 


One of the team members, Ben, actually did several of the stunts with Tommy. At one point, Tommy wedged Ben's arms between big cinderblocks and then smashed them with a sledgehammer! Somehow, Ben came out unscathed. He also twisted medal bars like they were Twizzlers. We're all proud of Ben for his strength and willingness to participate!

On Sunday, we had an outside service and Big Tommy gave a final performance. He shared his testimony with the congregation of how he came to know Jesus and how the Lord changed his life. Afterwards, we had a "pique-nique" with church members and friends. It was a great time of fellowship!