Jsu Garcia answers questions at the Premiere of Spiritual Warriors in Paris
Bonjour! "Spiritual Warriors" in Paris by Jsu Garcia, photos by David Sand
(left to right) Jsu Garcia, John-Roger, Michael Hayes outside the Cinema in Paris for the Premiere of "Spiritual Warriors"
John-Roger, Jsu Garcia and friends are currently traveling in Europe, screening the Spiritual Warriors movie. Below is an update from Jsu from their adventures.
We arrived and were greeted by Vincent, Lesley and the locals. Since the sun sets around 9:45pm, after loading the luggage, and getting on the bus and setting off towards Paris, we took advantage of the white nights, and found that it was still daylight when we arrived in Paris after an hour and a half drive from the airport. About 22 of us went out to dinner -- a beautiful French style New Orleans kind of looking restaurant -- spiral staircases, very bohemian. Our welcoming dinner was the launching of the Premiere of Spiritual Warriors in Paris, France, and thanks to J-R for being a grand part of this, and allowing us to tag along.
The lightning rods here in Paris are Gisele and Corinne, our friends who made it all happen to screen Spiritual Warriors in Paris. Last time J-R was in Paris was 2005 and he was crossing the Champs Elysees and I had a Polaroid moment when I saw J-R cross the Champs Elysees again. I was grateful at the moment realizing how lucky we all are to have J-R in our lives. We then went back to our 200 year old hotel with some views straight to the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde and Champs Elysees.
Day 2
Michael Hayes, John-Roger, Jsu Garcia
Our second day in Paris started with a bus ride to Fontainebleau, one of many homes of Napoleon Bonaparte, and hunting palace for Francis the First. Then we went to the local restaurant and we were greeted by Stephan who graciously served us (what seemed like) a fifteen course meal (now I know why they died so young). Then we rode back on the bus to Paris, and waited 'til sunset for a cruise around Paris on the Seine. By midnight, all of the lights around Paris go off (they have a timer) and so did we. We went to sleep. On a personal note, though we seemed slightly older, the grace and love that John-Roger shared with the French MSIA community is very evident by their beaming eyes. Olive oil, Eiffel Tower, baguettes, the Seine, croissants, Arc de Triomphe, pastries, the Opera, chocolate desserts .... ahhh, Paris. Thank-you John-Roger from all of us, Love and Light, The Spiritual Warriors
The Arc de Triomphe
Day 3
The inappropriate day. Just so my readers understand, whenever things are not in flow for me, I call it the inappropriate day.
It started with going to test the movie, we picked up Gisele, Zoe, Phil and Brooke, and without going into long winded details we clashed -- we had a cultural clash. The cinema director / owner Isabel is a very punctual person, and she had to do things her way. And being Americans, we had to do things our way. We clashed, we almost lost the cinema. But Gisele, the charmer and the referee that she is, she saved the day.
With all the rules and regulations that Paris has, with buses and unions, and the times that the drivers have to take for themselves to rest, we decided to rent four cars. And including the cars of our locals, we had a caravan of eight. We started the day with the fundraiser and the beautiful Chalet des Iles. Everyone loved the fundraiser -- a simple like restaurant in the Paris park, on an island that you had to take a little tiny boat to get to. We had no time for coffee and dessert because we made a spontaneous decision to caravan to the beaches of Normandy.
Spiritual Warriors group at Normandy beaches
Before Normandy we stopped at Monet's house and gardens, and we went to a castle about 40 minutes away from Monet's house that overlooked the Seine river, that was built by William the Conqueror to fortify any ships coming into Paris. And then we were like bats out of heaven and drove quickly to Juno -- the spot where the Canadians landed on the beaches of Normandy. We called in the Light, the sun was setting. Vincent was able to hold the kitchen open in one of the restaurants in Juno, so that 20-some odd people could enjoy a Juno meal. We arrived back in Paris at 3:30am in the morning. I woke up refreshed, and I heard many others woke up refreshed also. It was definitely a Spirit filled moment on the beaches of Normandy.
Day 4
Spiritual Warriors poster at the cinema showing the Premiere
Spiritual Warrior Day. Corinne continued to lead the group in her knowledgeable tours. We started with a city tour through all the great spots like Notre Dame, Napoleon's Tomb, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Latin Quarter and many more. Then we were dropped off at a very commercial hot spot where we had lunch -- the Grand Colbert -- and prepared ourselves to go straight to the cinema, to find that there were people lined up outside waiting to get in. And by the end of the showing the director / owner Isabel shared with me that she was profoundly moved by the reaction of the people that saw the movie, and she shared with me how much she also loved the movie herself, and that we were welcome anytime. I bent down and kissed her hand, and apologized for the clashing of the cultures, my inappropriate day. We ended the Paris tour at a beautiful restaurant called L'Avenue where all the locals of Paris and all the traveling Americans said our final goodbyes.
Crowd outside the cinema waiting for Spiritual Warriors premiere
In closing Paris will always be the Notre Dame, our lady. And so will the MSIA community in Paris. And once again I am elated to see J-R in 2008 in Paris, sharing with the community, and that ultimately it's about love, love that we have for each other, for all the communities around the world, and that J-R, the Spirit, the Christ is the glue that keeps us all together.
Spiritual Warriors group
Thank you J-R, for letting me realize, and being patient with my learning, always your son, Zeus.
