“Eternal Victory” in southwestern France

Unfortunately, France didn’t win “their World Cup”, but many French Christians proclaimed the greatest victory in a special Rugby World Cup New Testament called Victoire Éternelle (henceforth VE). It includes 40 clear testimonies of faith in Christ shared by sporting champions, as well as the Psalms and Proverbs. I decided to buy 50 copies and collect them in Toulouse from a Kiwi called Matt Gwynne.

VE was published by Holistic Sports (holisticsports.fr), whose leader is Joël Thibault. I’d met Joël in 2022 near Rennes, where he helps lead a church called Espérance des Nations (esperance.life). Matt works closely with Joël and is now a chaplain with the rugby league team in Toulouse. Matt delivered VE, and we had wonderful fellowship with him and his South African fiancée whom he married in December 2023.

In Toulouse we visited a couple we’d got to know from the Église Baptiste de la Côte Basque. This time we had the added pleasure of meeting their 2-year-old daughter! Oh, the joys of Christian fellowship! They took a good number of VE to distribute in their church near Matabiau station. Before leaving Toulouse for the Gers countryside, we met two very friendly gentlemen on the street (asking for directions is a sure way of getting to know people in the friendly ville rose). They both gratefully accepted a VE.

So, we got to Fleurance, the small town where the Lord placed me for my year abroad in 1975. A church was planted there in 1980 and I’ve kept in close touch ever since. I was able to speak in the Sunday service about my work in Wales and also about VE. Fleurance is a rugby-mad town! Many worshippers wanted VE copies for family members. It was such a joy to talk with a 17-year-old at the service who loves rugby and loves the Lord. His father is a coach at nearby Lectoure Rugby Club.

Another highlight was after a lecture in Auch on its club’s 100-year history. I got talking to the club’s secretary, who was very friendly and welcoming, and he willingly accepted a copy of VE for the club and firstly for his reading. His club helped nurture the world class talents of four current members of the French squad: Antoine Dupont, Gerard Alldritt, Anthony Jelonch, and Pierre Bourgarit.

Alldritt, the French captain, hails from the Gers’ second largest town, Condom. I decided to look up the ADD (Assemblies of God) church there. There was a Friday morning prayer meeting, but I mistimed my arrival. However, as I was about to walk away from the empty church building, I saw a man approaching from a nearby street. He turned out to be the new pastor, recently arrived from Brive! I praised our Lord for His timing. We had good fellowship, and he took a fair number of VE to share among his church congregation.

All in all, it proved to be a true blessing for myself and Gwenda: our Airbnb host and gîte host in Fleurance also willingly accepted the VE. It wasn’t what I’d envisaged way back in 2021, but “His ways are not our ways” as I often discover.

Please pray for Joël Thibault who’s appeared a few times on French TV to share the Christian view on many serious issues which have cropped up among professional French footballers. He gets invitations to speak at schools and colleges about his work as a sports chaplain and the importance of Christian principles in the world of sport.