Unexpected McDo Encounter

We have made a habit of not talking much about the ministry side of our lives on this blog. There are reasons for this, but I think it would be entirely appropriate to share what happened to me yesterday when I got a very unexpected opportunity to speak with a Frenchman about God.

The story begins with the reason why I was where I was. My supply of contact lenses have been running low, and so I had to visit an eye doctor to get a prescription and then yesterday, I was waiting to meet Mark and the kids to go to an optician to be fitted for new contact lenses. We never know who speaks English and who doesn't, so Mark was coming with me to make sure that we would be able to communicate well with this optician. I had some time to "kill" after classes and before meeting Mark and the kids, so I went to a McDonalds (they call it "McDo" here) on the Champs-Elysees and planned to use my time doing my French homework.

I found a seat on a barstool at a counter by the windows that looked over the amazing Champs-Elysees, and began working on my homework. There was a man sitting two seats over from me reading a newspaper, and a gal two seats over on the other side of me gazing out of the window. Before long, I had my dictionary, my verb conjugation book, and papers all over the place trying to figure out a new grammar rule.

I was sitting just inside the windows under the McDonalds sign in this photo:

I had been sitting there for about 15 minutes and was completely engrossed in my work when the French gentleman to my right asked me in English what I was doing. I said, "I'm working on my French grammar homework."

He asked, "Why are you studying French?" I said (in French), "I am a student at the Catholic Institute of Paris, studying French."

He asked, "Why do you need to speak French?" I answered, "Because I am living in France now, therefore it is important that I learn to speak French well."

He asked "What are you doing in France? What is your work?" I tried to answer his question in English, but he didn't understand my answer. Just then all of his papers fell on the floor and he went about gathering them from the floor. But, rather than return to his seat...two down from mine...he plunked himself down right next to me. In fact, even though the barstools were bolted to the floor, he seemed awfully close! (The French have very different rules about personal space.)

I answered his question in French so he could better understand. I told him that we are here to create a new church in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. His response was unbelievable. He lit up like a firecracker and began to rant and rave something terrible for the next 30 minutes or so. He was speaking in a mixture of French and English and I was trying terribly to make sense of all that he was saying. Here's the gist:

-Religion is old news. We don't want religion. If I had a daughter, I would tell her to stay away from religion. It doesn't matter at all. All that matters is technology, diplomas, inventions, science, cell-phones.

I had a very hard time getting much said at all during his ranting, but I was able to interject here and there. My cell phone was laying on the counter, and he pointed to it when he said "only things like this matter." I took my cell phone and asked him, "When I die, what value will this phone have to me then?" His response was more and more ranting.

-He informed me that he had studied philosophy and Buddhism and Hinduism and none of it was worth anything. It all leads to nothing.

I asked him if he had ever read the Bible. He looked like he was going to blow a gasket on this one! He said (and I quote), "No. Blah. The Bible is for babies." His voice and his face were full of disgust.

-He then informed me that "the Christ" (as he said it) never wrote a single word, that others wrote what they thought he had said centuries later (I interjected and said, "that's not true"), that "the Christ" was a lunatic and nothing he said was true.

I responded, "What if the things he said were actually true? Then what?" He didn't like that idea at all.

I think it was at this moment that he asked me if I have any degrees. If I was "reading between the lines" correctly, I think he was implying I must be a pretty dumb person to think the Bible was something worth reading. Anyway, I told him about my degrees. I really don't think he was very impressed. Oh well!

-He continued ranting about the church and how it just wants people's money and gives nothing back to the people, about how messed up the church is and so forth and so on. He was referencing the terrible problems being exposed in the Catholic church in Ireland with Priests abusing children. He was getting more and more animated all the time and I decided that I would just listen as best I could.

When he finally settled down, I said, "Sir, with all due respect, you have not let me finish one sentence yet. I would like to ask you to let me say one complete sentence." He agreed. I said, "Whether you like it or not, God loves you." OH MY, OH MY!!!!! He was furious! He imitated being on the phone and said, "You are impossible! Do you have a direct phone line to God and can hear his voice?" I said, "God is as real to me as you are, and He loves you."

With this, he started getting up to leave in a huff and he was sputtering words that I couldn't understand. As he was beginning to gather his papers, I said, "May I ask you a question about French grammar? I am having a terrible time figuring out the difference between "que" and "dont."

He came back, and sat down just as close to me as he was before, and proceeded to help me for the next 15 minutes with my homework. His demeanor was calm and focused and he was determined to help me figure out these two words. As we worked on the grammar together, he stopped from time to time to jest and to mock me, but honestly it was really funny.

Here's a photo of my homework...with his handwriting all over it. (I wonder what my teacher will think!):

My cell phone rang, and I knew it was Mark. He had arrived and was waiting with the kids on the street below. I explained that my husband was waiting for me to this Frenchman, but we hadn't finished the homework. He quickly grabbed his McDonalds receipt and wrote his name and phone number on it and invited me to call him anytime to get help with my grammar.

Here's the receipt (with the phone number altered so it isn't readable):

Then he asked me if we could meet again sometime at this McDonalds. I explained that I was only in this part of town because I was visiting an optician nearby. He asked why I was wearing contact lenses because the "religious folks" really would look better in glasses. I smiled and protested that my eyes are very bad and my glasses are too thick and that I much prefer wearing contact lenses. What a jokester!

I thanked him for his help and I told him it had been a pleasure speaking with him. He (miraculously), said the same thing in return; that it had been a pleasure meeting me. He suggested, again, that we might meet again sometime and that he would gladly help me with French grammar anytime, but not religion. I said "Thank You" and walked away.

Phew! Talk about an unexpected opportunity! Sadly, though, this Frenchman named Homero with his strong opinions about Jesus, the church, the Bible and religion are far from unusual. Would you pray for this man? It's the Homero's of France...and many more like him...who need to know the Lord.

Before I go, I'll include some photos I took on my way to this McDonalds. Here's a cafe on the Champs-Elysees:


Here's what happens when you leave your tray on the table...with even just a speck of food left on it:


ICK!!!!

Here's a really neat building that I passed along the way:

I still just marvel at the grandeur of Paris. :-) Well, that's enough for today. Enjoy the final days of March!

P.S. What a pleasant surprise: the optician spoke excellent English! :-)