My story
First, Gail Willows from Exeter tells about her two summers in Champfleuri, then Alison Bush from Oxford tells about her summer in Saint-Étienne
Champfleuri is a Bible School
and Holiday
Centre in the foothills of the French Alps.
Throughout the summer they run summer
camps for different ages.
I first came to Champfleuri in 2010, just after
finishing my A-levels. Having applied to study
French at University I wanted a chance to
improve my French. I had previously been on
holiday to Capernwray (a Torchbearers Bible
school in the UK), and heard of a
Torchbearers centre in France. After
searching the website I made contact via
email and agreed to volunteer for two weeks
at Champfleuri.
I set out for Champfleuri rather nervous - flying alone to a foreign
country to stay with people I’d never met, but glad to be heading for a
Christian Centre. I found that I really had to trust God, throughout
the journey and my first few days there. God is faithful, and I was
relieved to arrive safely and find everyone so welcoming. I was also
grateful to the camp directors who trusted God in bringing people, like
myself, to Champfleuri.
I was shown what to do by the helpful and friendly staff. I worked on
camp TED (Totally English Days). This is a camp for American and French
teenagers; the Americans come from Christian organizations in the US.
The French campers come to learn English and also to learn about
Christ. While I was there I learnt a lot of French from speaking to the
other Staff members and chatting to the French campers.
The Staff Team’s main role is to serve God by serving others. We were
responsible for preparing and serving meals, doing housework and
general maintenance work such as gardening. On a typical day the staff
team eat their breakfast, then serve breakfast for the campers. After
the meals we wash up and clean the kitchen. In the morning we have a
team Bible study and then work in groups cleaning the different
buildings. We have free time after lunch when we can relax, join in
with activities and sometimes go on trips outside the camp, such as
swimming in the nearby lake. In the evening we work until about 8.30pm
or 9.00pm and then we have more free time until bed. We all have one
day off a week.
At Champfleuri I discovered how to serve God even in the small things
such as washing up. I learnt to work together with others and
experienced French culture and the importance of Christian missionary
work there. I also feel that I have grown in my faith and have learnt
put to others first even when things are difficult.
I would really encourage others to consider working at Champfleuri. In
particular, Christian Students studying French or with an interest in
missionary work. Whilst a knowledge of French is not essential it
does help. I think Staff workers need to be willing to serve God in the
work they do and be prepared to work hard serving others.
Alison Bush from Oxford tells about her summer in Saint-Étienne
At church I’ve
often heard people talking
about our “brothers and sisters around
the world” and this always struck me as
odd – how can I have a brotherly/sisterly
relationship with people I’ve never met,
whose language I don’t understand and
whose lifestyle I can’t imagine? In 2011
I had the fantastic privilege of finding out
more about what it means to be in God’s
international family.
I’m studying modern languages at university and last year was my year
abroad, which meant moving to Germany and then to France to soak up the
languages. I spent 9 months teaching English in the middle of Germany
where I was overwhelmed by the welcome the local church gave me. It was
amazing to turn up and immediately be warmly brought into the church
family – despite being a stranger with a weird accent they saw me as
their sister!
My plans for France were up in the air until a friend at church in the
UK mentioned that they knew a couple working for France Mission in a
city called Saint-Étienne. So several emails, a telephone call and
quite a few prayers later I was on my way to eastern central France to
spend two months helping Rachel and Peter Calvert at their church.
I spent the first two weeks doing the cleaning and catering on two
Christian camps where it was great to see a team made up from different
backgrounds working together to give others the opportunity to hear
about Jesus. During the rest of my time in Saint-Étienne I did some
cleaning for and read the Bible with one of the ladies at church who
had recently had an operation, I helped out with Sunday school and
babysitting, and learnt more about what it is like to be a Christian in
France. In everything I did I had to trust God to give me strength and
courage, and I experienced His faithfulness and peace in those two
months like never before. I was particularly struck by the way He made
it possible for me to communicate with people even though I was not
confident with speaking French – He truly worked through my weaknesses.
I loved being in a church that was just the right size for everyone to
know one another; seeing people with very different lifestyles and
interests united by their love for Jesus. It was also hugely
challenging to see the desire the church has to reach out to those
around them – even when this meant facing a greater level of apathy and
secularism than we encounter in the UK.
Looking back now I can see how much God blessed me and strengthened my
faith during my time in Saint-Étienne. He showed me that I could step
out of my comfort zone with His strength and the support of other
Christians. I would encourage any students of French who are planning
their year abroad to think and pray about working with a French church
– serving, learning and discovering more of God’s blessings. Wherever
we go we’ll find brothers and sisters, united with us in Jesus and
we’ll see His immense faithfulness too.
