Finally Here in France!

October 6, 2014

Hello friends,

I am finally here in Marseille, France! It is good to be back here after so much work. After a long couple of days of travel, it was so nice to be in a familiar place with familiar people. It took me two planes, three days, two buses, one creepy hotel in Paris, one train, almost no sleep and a lot of time assuming I was going to be lost in the world forever, but I finally made it!

It was so incredible to see how God provided for me throughout the whole process of getting back here. In just the travel portion of getting here God provided me with people who spoke English and were willing to help me find where I needed to go. God provided me with one specific women who helped me find the correct bus stop (that was down a block or so from where the first bus dropped me off) and helped me figure out my stop for my hotel. This woman lives in Paris but had lived in the Bay Area for a while! I was so blessed just by her presence and the comfort she brought to me. She made the fact that I was lugging two large suitcases and a very stuffed purse and backpack in a foreign city in a foreign country not feel as foreign. God knew just what I had needed in that moment and He provided for me so effortlessly.

Preparation for my trip had not been easy, but God took care of me through the whole process. From raising enough funds to head out (I am almost half way funded!). I was slowly but surely receiving support. At first I was so overwhelmed by the idea of having to raise so much money, but God eased that issue from my heart and has been taking care of it (Through all of you!).

A huge hurdle in making my way back to France was getting my visa. To apply for my student visa I had to apply through something called Campus France. It is a section of the government that controls study abroad students. Since I will be attending French courses, I fell under this category. To apply through Campus France they required a very extensive application. Such as essay answers as to why I wanted to be in France and how I thought France would affect my professional plan in life…  And an endless supply of paperwork that they were never pleased with. At one point I had received an email from them saying that my application was cancelled (Campus France also wasn’t to keen on returning my phone calls or emails). That was a ten days before I left for France. But God miraculously intervened and I was finally granted permission by Campus France to go to the consulate in San Francisco to officially apply for my visa.  Which again God provided for me and I got three days later.

With all the busyness and rushing around to prepare, I was so shocked to see that October first had finally come and I was leaving. Somewhere along the line I guess I forgot to factor in that I would be in another country, away from my family and friends for nine months. I didn’t even think it would be so hard and for so long. Leaving my family at the airport and then being alone in airports and a hotel was incredibly painful. I felt so lonely and sad. But God again is working in me through this, He is still mending my heart from being broken when I had to leave my family, but He is also giving me a new strength. A strength where I can survive so long without my normal comforts of home and rely on Him to be my sole provider of comfort.

All of my interactions from leaving my family at the security point in Oakland to now have been God taking care of me and giving me what I need. I am just starting this journey and there will be so much more that God will do for me and so much more pain and sadness. But there will also be so much joy and happiness to come. I am so excited to continue moving forward here in France, with learning French, meeting new people, and allowing God to be the sole provider.

Yesterday a friend and I were translating verses from English to French. We started with an easy one we both loved and it fits perfectly with the start of a new adventure. Josue’ 1:9 Ne t'ai-je pas donné cet ordre: Fortifie-toi et prends courage? Ne t'effraie point et ne t'épouvante point, car l'Eternel, ton Dieu, est avec toi dans tout ce que tu entreprendras.

Please continue to pray for me while I am in France:

• Please pray that God continues to work in my heart and provide for me in ways that He knows I need
• Please pray that as I start to study French that God gives me the ears to hear the words clearly and blesses my mouth as I try to replicate
• Please pray that I am able to form Christ honoring relationships with everyone I encounter and that I can ultimately bring Him glory

Thank you so much for your time and support! If you are interested in supporting me financially please go to  www.pccaroundtheworld.com. Scroll down to the GIVE button.  In the drop down box click mission trip support, and write Shelby Hurst in the comments box.

Thank you for your love and time!

God Bless,

Shelby