Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up – Luke 18.1
In the Paris Church of Christ several families were raising their children together through the 1990s and early years of this century. Then in 2003 the church went through the upheaval that is part of the history of our church now. A lot of people moved away to other places.
The church administrator Frederic Bouchet found it difficult to find a job. After two years he and his family moved to the US, back to his wife’s hometown in Virginia. This was a hard decision for them. In their hearts they wanted to help the Paris church get back on its feet. But God has blessed their decision.
Their oldest daughter became a Christian in the Paris church and
they have been able to see their two other daughters become Christians in
the North Virginia Church where just recently Frederic was appointed as an
elder.
The family however continues to have the French church very much on their
heart, and every year God has worked it out so that the three daughters,
Emilie, Olivia and Lucie, have been able to come back to be part of and
serve at the French-speaking youth camp.
Olivia Bouchet’s best friend growing up in the church in France was
Raphaëlle. Raphaëlle’s family also ended up moving away from Paris at about
the same time as the Bouchets left for America. But they moved to the south
of France, to the city of Toulouse and there is no Church of Christ in that
area. Raphaëlle longed for her church friends, and Olivia longed for Raphaëlle to become a Christian like her, but the obstacles were real. They kept up their friendship thanks to the internet, and Raphaëlle started to read her Bible daily.
In the summer of 2008 Raphaëlle spent 2 weeks with Olivia in Virginia. During that time she and Olivia had many deep talks and Raphaëlle had her first Bible studies. Olivia remembers: “Her faith was incredible. She’s so strong. It was when she was in high school, all alone with no strong spiritual friends around her that she began to earnestly seek God. She constantly sent me questions and she would even contact some of the teen sisters she met here in Virginia to ask them what had most inspired them to become Christians.” After Raphaëlle’s return to Toulouse the two girls
continued their on-going spiritual conversation by phone and the internet.
Then last summer, Raphaëlle came to the French-speaking youth camp, in the Swiss Alps, and the two friends met up again, with Raphaëlle announcing
“We’ve got to continue to study the Bible!” So Olivia was again able to study the Bible face to face with her best friend in France! Olivia would be leaving to go back to the States after the week at camp, but God had provided for Raphaëlle – a young couple were living in a town just an hour away from Toulouse. The wife, Tara, had been a teen leader in the Boston as
a single and so was experienced with studying the bible with teens. With her husband Ludovic, who had worked with the French teens in the past, they
had come to help out with the youth camp. So Tara and Olivia were able to study with Raphaëlle during the camp, and Tara then continued the studies
with Raphaëlle during the following weeks.
So on 26 September 2009 at the age of 17, Raphaëlle was baptized in Tara
and Ludovic’s home. Amazingly, Olivia Bouchet and all her family were able
to “be there” through Skype! Getting up at 6am that Saturday to “attend”
the noon baptism in the south of France was a dream come true for the whole
Bouchet family as they heard Raphaëlle’s confession and saw her put on
Jesus Christ as Lord all on the computer screen.
This coming summer the two will meet up again at the 2010 teen camp in the
Swiss Alps. Raphaëlle’s little brother will be coming to pre-teen camp as
well. Prayerfully, next September, Raphaëlle will be able to go to college
in the Paris region, and so be a part of the church in Paris.
