“Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials.” – Matthew 17:4a NLT
Peter declared this during the Transfiguration story in Matthew 17. The record of this story in the Mark and Luke gospels says Peter was so terrified he didn’t even know what he was saying. I can relate to Peter’s loss for words.
Last month I, along with my Uganda colleagues (Melanie, Danae, and Kyle), revisited the city where I first did French language learning. Besançon, France was my first stop on the journey to Burundi in 2018. It was an intentional time of language learning in an immersive environment. I knew very little about the environment. The language school was new to me, the city was new to me, the culture was new to me, everything was new to me. In this French region there were few English-speaking options for me to find comfort. I was in deep.
Here’s what I wrote at the time. First impressions. Praise God, this prayer was answered (first paragraph)!!
Reading it again now, it doesn’t sound so “deep.” It sounds optimistic, wide-eyed, adventurous, carefree. As I walked these familiar streets again in 2024 I was carrying more anxiety for my 2018 self than I actually carried at that time. What was this feeling? Similar to Peter, I was at a loss for words to express myself.
Back then, I used public transportation and my feet to take me everywhere. When I was not in class the perfect weather allowed for me to crisscross the city. After 8 weeks I felt like I knew every curve, every feature, every pocket of the city. Of course I didn’t know the half of it, but it felt like a place I could traverse with ease. The silly thing is I did all this with only a passing knowledge of the language. I could introduce myself and that was the peak of my French language powers. So why upon the return was I so fondly connected to this place? In 2018, I was building shelters of memories and this return in 2024 was my chance to revisit some of those shelters. Narrow streets, shady parks, one majestic fortress, quant cafés, forest trails, tram station stops, they all carried some kind of memory for me.
“Lord, it’s wonderful for me to be here!”
But there’s more!! The crowning memory, the “crème de la crème” of the entire 2024 visit back to this place was a “very French meal” with my host family…in the same house where I first stayed. That family and that house was such an oasis for me in a new cultural environment. Fully emersed in French language and culture I kind of floated around during that time, not really sure of where I was supposed to be. I could always regroup in their comfortable home welcomed by their fresh smiles. They were so generous to me (Merci beaucoup, François et Rachel! Que le Dieu de l’espérance vous remplisse de toute joie et de toute paix dans la foi.).
My Uganda colleagues also stayed with the same host family during their language learning time. We were all encouraged on this visit to their home when we could understand more of the French conversation. It was another pillar for me of how far the Lord has brought me. I remember being terrified in 2018 of getting pulled into a conversation and then counting the seconds until I could exit such a conversation. But on this reunion, I could actually enjoy and contribute to the conversation. Of course, I didn’t catch everything but enough to be a participant and not just a voyeur. Thank you, Jesus, for some progress!!
“Lord, it’s wonderful for me to be here!”
There is something memorable about the growth in those hard places. It was challenging to arrive there for the first time and to be stretched beyond what I could formulate. I was present in this place upon my return but not fully understanding what was happening. Perhaps a similar feeling which Peter had during the Transfiguration, present but not understanding. So what was my takeaway from the return? I treasure those memories of struggle and shaping. My initial time there was brief but as I walked those streets again, I could feel it was steeped with deep, deep reminders for me of His faithful shelters.
