Today was a day that was dedicated to the Lord and to resting up for the rest of our trip. We got a late start because France went to daylight savings time yesterday, with no warning. Therefore, we ended up getting to church a few minutes late, but about a half an hour before the other tourists. We got a seat and participated in the service. It was very different, with lots of sections where we read together. We couldn't see a whole lot from where we were. The highlight was at the end when they invited people from the audience to join the choir up front. Racheal and I took them up on the offer. The words were printed on the back of the bulletin and the tune was simple. Just when we had finished and were looking for a way to return to our seats, they broke out in the "Halleluia Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. After a bout ten seconds of complete shock, I got Racheal to ask the choir member beside us for a book. She had an extra one and we sang the remainder of the song. Of the six parts that were sung, I think I got onto at least three of them at one part or another, but I had an awesome time and the choir itself was incredible. It actually sounded like angels from heaven singing praises to God! This completed a dream that I have had since joining our choir about five years ago. Maybe one day our choir will be able to sing it. Of course, we will need more choir members to sing all of the parts (hint, hint).

After returning to the hotel, we had about a three hour nap, followed by a complete church service held in our hotel room. We invited Odé and his wife, Mary, and they gladly accepted. It turns out that Odé is a deacon in his church and his wife is an elder. We studied the book of Romans in great length, focusing on the struggles that each person faces in their battle with sin and how Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection allow us to have victory in this battle. We discussed how God's grace does not make us free from holy living, but rather it compels us to live holy. We ended with a communion service of bread and grape juice. I then went over the steps to being saved and verified that each person present had been saved. We each gave our testimonies of how we got saved and many tears of joy were shed. Afterward, we went to a local restaurant and shared a meal together. Odé and his wife leave in the morning, but Mary told me that something that I had pointed out in our study of Romans made an impact on her and that she had never read the verse like that. The verse stated that serving God and seperating ourselves from the world is our "reasonable service". She is an elementary school principal in Jacksonville, Florida (they both came from South Carolina) and she shared some of the dificulties of being a Christian in the public school system. She and Odé gave the kids some words of advice and thanked God for placing them here at this time for this purpose.

In the morning, we plan to go to the island where the original inhabitants of Paris founded the city. It includes the monuments Notre Dame and La Sainte Chapelle, as well as the Palais de Justice, the original castle for the first royals of Paris. We then plan to go to Montmarte, the beautiful baslica on a hill, overlooking the city of Paris. Stay tuned for details.