Metz Tour: Fruit in France

This past weekend’s ministry in France was truly marvelous–many souls were saved, the churches encouraged and new and old friends met. I landed in Luxembourg Friday afternoon and drove in to the north of France where I stowed my gear and headed out for an evening meeting in Longwy. Pastor Vincent Ferenandez and I lead worship at L’Eglise Sans Frontiers followed by a powerful message from Rosemarie Claussen and Boris Grisenko.

Rosemarie is Adolph Hitler’s god-daughter; her father was the General of the Nazi Police. When he began to see the atrocities be ing committed against the Jews, he began smuggling them out of the country. Finally caught, he was given the choice of watching his family murdered or taking cyanide. He chose the later–just days before the Russian liberation of Poland. Rosemarie and her family were taken into custody and grew up in very poor conditions in Russia. Eventually she went on to write about her story and now ministers on the dangers of bitterness, the need for forgiveness, reconciliation and support of Israel. All that to say that seeing her and Boris on the same stage was one amazing image I’ll never forget.

Why? Because Boris Grisenko is the Rabbi of the Kiev Messianic Jewish Congregation in Ukraine–one of the largest Messianic congregations in the world!

Saturday morning we hit the road, pounding the streets of Metz with flyers and the Gospel, promoting the weekend’s events and telling people about Jesus. I joined my friends Sverker, Nils and Alain in spreading the news. My favorite conversation was with a street begger, a young man that needed a lot of love and encouragement.

From there we drove to the city’s prison, a large monolith on the east side. I was unable to bring a camera in so all I have is a picture of the outside (pictured right). But how I wish I could show you pictures of what happened! I played and ministered for about 45 minutes to a crowd of men and women, encouraging them and telling them about the life and love of Jesus. People wept as the spirit of the Lord began to move in their hearts. Then a new friend, Tony Anthony, came and shared his testimony. And what a testimony…

Born to a Chinese father and an Italian mother, he was taken to China by his grandfather at age 4, a Grand Master at Kung-Fu, to be raised in the tradition of his ancestors as a Grand Master himself. A brutal childhood ensued, his grandfather teaching him the ways of being a warrior. He returned to England at age 12 where he continued his training and eventually went on to start competitive fighting. It wasn’t long before he earned the prestigious “world champion” title three years in a row, having never lost a single fight in his entire career.

The tragic death of his fiancee sent him over the edge and he turned to a life of violence. He became a professional body guard and then a debt collector, using extreme action against people, breaking limbs, backs and killing them. He was eventually caught in Cypress and put into a Turkish prison where he had to fend for his life. But it was here in prison that a pastor began to reach out to him. Six months later, Tony surrendered his life to Jesus and has been preaching the Gospel as an evangelist for the past 18 years!

Over 25 prisoners gave their lives to Jesus that day! The pastors and volunteers who minister there every week were really blessed by our presence and we encouraged and prayed for them as they continued their work with these new converts.

From there we grabbed a meal together and then headed to Salle St Exupery in Woippy on the outskirts of Metz. Here we had a huge meeting where over 40 people came forward to give their hearts to Jesus!

Sunday morning we returned to the hall for the day, starting with a joint church service. The Spirit of the Lord was so sweet in the room; then I remembered that God commands life and blessing upon us when we work together in unity!

In the afternoon I met with my France-based music team and held a practice for the evening’s outreach concert. The concert started at 5:30pm and I walked out to a packed-out hall. We played many familiar French songs from my CD and then a number of news ones, including new translations of “Amazed” and “Beautiful One.” Many thanks to Elie and Malikah for running sounds and lights, and my band Xav, Greg, Florian and Stefan! (I took a few shots from the stage–the header above–after calling Jennifer on the phone so everyone could shout hello).

I shared a brief Gospel message, including a few of the stories closest to my heart about how God birthed a love for France in my spirit. (LEFT: Manu, Samuel, CH, Vincent). My French brother Manu translated for me as we went into an altar call. Many people, young and old, came forward for first time salvation and rededication; we loved on each of them in a wonderful time of prayer and prophecy. A number of people were delivered and set free! Hallelujah!

The very next morning I was up at he crack of dawn and on a plane headed back home. After numerous delays, airport changes and last minute re-routes, I finally got on the last flight from Boston to Syracuse and made it home just after midnight.

Please keep Jennifer and I in your prayers as we depart on Thursday for a week of meetings in Dalkeith, Scotland. I’m very excited about this trip and have a very expectant heart about what’s to come! We’ll keep you informed as things progress.

Thanks for reading! Blessings to all my peeps in France!

CH