Last Saturday our family headed into downtown Bordeaux for a time of street evangelisation organized by one of the two other sister churches in the region. We were able to distribute a good bit of literature and had several profitable conversations. A couple memorable comments we received were: “Long live la Saint-Barthélemy!” --a reference to the massacre of French Protestants by Catholics in 1572 (intended negatively); and “You and Obama, both coming back to help the Europeans!” (intended positively).
Unfortunately, we can't share the sounds or smells, nor do we have pictures of the conversations we were involved in. But here are a few shots we took to give you an idea of what the city is like.
The city square where we met (the collage below shows only one side) has stood here since before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. The cathedral (St. André) was consecrated by Pope Uban II in 1096. In 1137, the 15-year-old Eleanor of Aquitaine married the soon-to-be Louis VII in this cathedral. (It has been around a long time.)
We saw pigeons.
We saw people dressed in many different colors and styles.
We saw guys showing off their roller-blading skills and others ignoring them.
We saw clowns.
We saw Florent, the pastor of a sister Baptist church on Bordeaux's right bank in a discussion with someone about the Gospel.
We saw a whole lot of people crammed onto the tram which we rode in and back out of the city.
We saw Rue Sainte-Catherine at Place de la Victoire.
We saw South American Indians (at least, we think they were South American Indians) singing, dancing -- and selling their CDs.
All in all, pretty typical for a trip into town.
2 comments:
Seems like a pretty busy Saturday in downtown, BX! Love the rollerblading picture. Too funny! I don't think I'd have sat there and ignored them, though. I would definitely have gotten out of there way!
Wow - a lot of different sights all in one city!
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