With IFES in Paris
Donation protected
At the end of August/beginning of September, I will move to Paris, France for about a year to work with IFES (the sister organization to Intervarsity) as part of the InterAction program, http://ifesinteraction.org/. IFES is an organization that works with students, predominantly students at universities, doing outreach, evangelism, and discipleship of Christian students. Some of their activities include supporting the local student leadership in their journey, providing help where needed. They organize retreats to connect Christian students from different universities, and staff workers often meet with students one-on-one to study the bible, pray, chat, etc.
Why am I doing this?
Since I started my studies in 2010 with a Bachelor's in Mathematical Science I have been involved with IFES. I spent four and a half of the past 7 years as part of the student leadership teams of both the groups in Galway, Ireland (where I did my Bachelor's degree), and in St. John's, NL, Canada (where I did my Master's degree). During the past 7 years, I learned an incredible amount from fellow students and in particular staff workers that came through IFES. There has always been someone I can come to with anything that was on my mind, someone was always there, listening, praying. I know that they had a big part in making me who I am today. And now, out of a deep gratitude, I feel an itch, a desire to give something back. My heart is to be able to help and support other (younger) students in the same way as others have helped me.
(student leadership, St. John's, NL, Canada)
Why Paris, France?
There are a few reasons why I want to go to Paris to do this. On very simple one is that I have been living in different parts of the world for the past 8 years, ever since I turned 18. It will be very nice to be, at least for a short while, closer to home and my family. Paris is also the place where Amanda (my French girlfriend, in case you were wondering who that random person might be) lived for a few years, as she was pursuing her Bachelor's degree. This city certainly caught her heart, and in turn mine, so spending some time investing into the Christian community in that city is close to both our hearts. Also, Paris has a lot of different universities and thus a large number of students overall (French as well as international), so there is a big need for people like me to come and work with them. And since I mentioned Amanda already, we are both moving to Paris around the same time. Even though we will stay boyfriend/girlfriend (stop asking) and we won't be living together, this definitely is a big and important step in our relationship after being long-distance for more than three years.
Christianity in France
Paris (and France in general) is a very interesting country with regard to religion. Historically, France is a very catholic country, almost half of the people would consider themselves Christian (mostly Roman Catholic), a little less than 10% consider themselves Muslim, and about a third claim to be atheistic. However, of all the people in France combined, only about a third claim to actually believe in some sort of supernatural power. This includes people of any religion, meaning that the vast majority of people who call themselves Christian do not really believe it (anymore). Just being a Christian is already often not easy, but especially so in an academic setting. This makes is all the more important to come alongside students and help and encourage them in their walk with Christ.
More interesting information (including the above statistics) about religion in France can be found in this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_France
(Sacré Coeur cathedral, Paris)
How can I keep in touch and/or get more information throughout the year?
I will regularly send out a newsletter to all supporters and anyone else who would like to receive one. If you want to be added to that list, just shoot me an email or tell me in person and I would be more than happy to add you to the list of awesome people :-)
Why do I need your help?
For my work with IFES I will not get paid. I also wont be able to work on the side, as this is already a full-time position. So I rely on people like you, who can spare a few dollars/euros/younameit to help me do this mission work. There are different ways you can support me financially, the easiest one probably being through this page right here. However, if you want to get a receipt for tax purposes, that is of course also possible! It currently is already possible for Canadian supporters to give through IVCF Canada (see below), and I am currently in the process of also getting something set up for Germany and the USA.
The goal here at GoFundMe is set to €15,000 (about US$17,000). This is roughly the very minimum amount necessary to spend a year with IFES in Paris. In fact, this turns out to be a little below the minimum wage in France. Since the cost of living in Paris is very high, particularly for rent and food, this will have to suffice for only the really necessary things like rent, food, insurance, student retreats, and hopefully anything else that might become necessary during that time.
A huge Thank You to everyone who is able and willing to support me! Even if you are not able to (that is totally okay), please still keep me and the work of IFES in Paris in your prayers!
Lukas Spies
Why am I doing this?
Since I started my studies in 2010 with a Bachelor's in Mathematical Science I have been involved with IFES. I spent four and a half of the past 7 years as part of the student leadership teams of both the groups in Galway, Ireland (where I did my Bachelor's degree), and in St. John's, NL, Canada (where I did my Master's degree). During the past 7 years, I learned an incredible amount from fellow students and in particular staff workers that came through IFES. There has always been someone I can come to with anything that was on my mind, someone was always there, listening, praying. I know that they had a big part in making me who I am today. And now, out of a deep gratitude, I feel an itch, a desire to give something back. My heart is to be able to help and support other (younger) students in the same way as others have helped me.
(student leadership, St. John's, NL, Canada)Why Paris, France?
There are a few reasons why I want to go to Paris to do this. On very simple one is that I have been living in different parts of the world for the past 8 years, ever since I turned 18. It will be very nice to be, at least for a short while, closer to home and my family. Paris is also the place where Amanda (my French girlfriend, in case you were wondering who that random person might be) lived for a few years, as she was pursuing her Bachelor's degree. This city certainly caught her heart, and in turn mine, so spending some time investing into the Christian community in that city is close to both our hearts. Also, Paris has a lot of different universities and thus a large number of students overall (French as well as international), so there is a big need for people like me to come and work with them. And since I mentioned Amanda already, we are both moving to Paris around the same time. Even though we will stay boyfriend/girlfriend (stop asking) and we won't be living together, this definitely is a big and important step in our relationship after being long-distance for more than three years.
Christianity in France
Paris (and France in general) is a very interesting country with regard to religion. Historically, France is a very catholic country, almost half of the people would consider themselves Christian (mostly Roman Catholic), a little less than 10% consider themselves Muslim, and about a third claim to be atheistic. However, of all the people in France combined, only about a third claim to actually believe in some sort of supernatural power. This includes people of any religion, meaning that the vast majority of people who call themselves Christian do not really believe it (anymore). Just being a Christian is already often not easy, but especially so in an academic setting. This makes is all the more important to come alongside students and help and encourage them in their walk with Christ.
More interesting information (including the above statistics) about religion in France can be found in this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_France
(Sacré Coeur cathedral, Paris)How can I keep in touch and/or get more information throughout the year?
I will regularly send out a newsletter to all supporters and anyone else who would like to receive one. If you want to be added to that list, just shoot me an email or tell me in person and I would be more than happy to add you to the list of awesome people :-)
Why do I need your help?
For my work with IFES I will not get paid. I also wont be able to work on the side, as this is already a full-time position. So I rely on people like you, who can spare a few dollars/euros/younameit to help me do this mission work. There are different ways you can support me financially, the easiest one probably being through this page right here. However, if you want to get a receipt for tax purposes, that is of course also possible! It currently is already possible for Canadian supporters to give through IVCF Canada (see below), and I am currently in the process of also getting something set up for Germany and the USA.
The goal here at GoFundMe is set to €15,000 (about US$17,000). This is roughly the very minimum amount necessary to spend a year with IFES in Paris. In fact, this turns out to be a little below the minimum wage in France. Since the cost of living in Paris is very high, particularly for rent and food, this will have to suffice for only the really necessary things like rent, food, insurance, student retreats, and hopefully anything else that might become necessary during that time.
A huge Thank You to everyone who is able and willing to support me! Even if you are not able to (that is totally okay), please still keep me and the work of IFES in Paris in your prayers!
Lukas Spies
Organizer
Lukas Spies
Organizer
Karlsruhe
