Mark's Story

'‘Leading up to my year abroad my life had fallen apart, more pathetically than spectacularly. I stumbled into Paris bright-eyed, over-dressed, and more than ready to fulfill every French stereotype possible. I started smoking compulsively, bought scarves and flamboyant hats, and strutted around baguette underarm.

I was certainly happy during those first months in Paris, though that familiar cloud of frustration and depression still hung over me. Not yet ready to abandon my faith entirely, I had been hovering around St Michael’s Church, but remained arrogantly aloof until God had enough of my silliness.

One weekend in January I somewhat unexpectedly lost my room and found myself with nowhere to turn but St Michael’s. A friend there let me crash on his floor. This display of radical hospitality was the turning point for me, and I was thrown irretrievably into the St Mike’s community.

It is impossible to describe the importance of the generosity and hospitality that I learned from my friends there. This was what a community of disciples looks like. This experience of ungrudging self-giving really deepened and strengthened my relationships with God and neighbour.”

Mark, from Canada, studied French in Paris in 2002 – 2003 and attended St Michael’s Paris, the ICS-supported chaplaincy.

Source: ICS News December 2003