Dear praying friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers concerning the opening last evening of the movie Oxygène et even more so for the testimony of our friend Tricia Lawrenson.
When we arrived at the theater there was already a big crowd waiting outside and by the start of the movie the theater was full. The producer introduced the movie and explained how he had discovered it. At the beginning it was a short movie in Flemish that was about the lives of some teens who had cystic fibrosis. It is not a movie about the disease but about how to make sense of life when we know our lives will be short. The director of the movie is young, 28 years old, and he has cystic fibrosis. The movie is now in French.
It is magnificent and it is remarkable to see how the actors play their roles. The movie deals with a wide range of topics: living with a terminal disease that shows few outward signs, do you stay in school when the future is uncertain, can you love someone and have a lasting relationship, can you have children, waiting for a lung transplant, the reality of death.
Before coming to France Tricia had prayed that God would open a door so that she may encourage both people suffering with cystic fibrosis and those who surround them, family and friends... God answered her prayers in an incredible way with the opening of this movie.
Max Gavi, who is the local director of the Cystic Fibrosis foundation, asked Tricia just a few hours before the start of the movie to tell her story once it was finished. I would be doing the translation. Thankfully during the projection of the movie I was seated next to Tricia and busy with translating the story so I was not overcome with the emotion of the movie. After it ended there was a time of discussion for about an hour and the producer of the movie asked Tricia to come to the front and tell her story.
It was a powerful and touching moment. She clearly expressed her faith. Her testimony mirrored the themes that made up the movie. God helped me to not get mixed up in the translation and to get through it all without crying.
The theater was filled with local authorities, medical professionals, those suffering from cystic fibrosis (many very young), parents and family members of these young people. There were also parents of young children with CF, parents who have lost a child, and members of the Gregory Lemarchal association (Gregory was a well know French singer with CF who died a 4 years ago at the age of 23). There was another non-profit association composed of 20 or so French athletes who work with children and teens who have CF, encouraging them to be active in sports.
During the discussion time a number of the spectators spoke about the way the movie had touched them and how it reflected their own experience.
As everyone left the theater, Nathan and Tricia were surrounded by people who wanted to thank the personally for the hope they had given them. Nathan and Tricia took down the addresses many of these people and will let them know of the other events where they will share their story during the time they are here. There we also many other conversations and many requests to continue the discussion, to see each other. Also Tricia will have other opportunities to speak...
Please pray for what happens next...
The owner of the movie theatre (6 Rex) has offered to show the movies longer than was originally planned, 3 - 4 weeks. If you are in Grenoble or elsewhere in France please take the time to see the movie and to tell other to see it.
This Friday, October 14th, Tricia will give her testimony at a women's breakfast.
May God fill her with His Spirit and may he speak to the hearts of those in attendance.
In Christ who is our hope.
Sylvie
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