By Corban University,
Salem, Oregon
“It’s not always easy to be an American in Paris,” says junior intercultural studies major, Sam Bonkowski. Recently, Sam was part of a street evangelism team who took to the City of Lights to share the gospel during the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“Paris is a glamourous city,” Sam says, “But this was far from glamorous.” The team was led by Corban alumni, Matthew and Barbara Douglas, and would meet early in the mornings to pray and coordinate before hitting the streets of Paris. But during the day, it was up to Sam to face the busy streets and share the gospel. Ten-hour days spent canvasing crowds in the summer heat and humidity, walking miles between sites, and facing continual rejection, she struggled to see her purpose during the early days of the trip.
Thankfully, Sam was not alone. She was joined by fellow Corban student, Stacsia Crossan. “Together, we really sought the Lord about it, and that’s when we started to turn a corner,” Sam says.
“It was way out of my comfort zone, standing on the street corner, trying to get people walking by to stop and talk with me,” Stacsia adds. “But I was learning how to be obedient and plant seeds, even when I knew I wouldn’t always see the reward.”
The pair were able to lean on each other and focus on the task at hand, concentrating on one courageous connection, one conversation, one person at a time. “But thank the Lord the French like take long lunches,” Sam laughs. It was in these times of rest during the middle of the day that Sam and Stacsia were able to recover, process, and pray for those they had encountered, and for their next hours of ministry.
It wasn’t until the two arrived back home that they began to fully process their experience. “I may not have been able to share the gospel with every person that I handed a tract to,” Sam says, “but if they see and read about Christianity, and the small interaction they have with a Christian is kind, respectful, mature, and bold about the truth of the gospel, then that is a positive association that God can use.”
For Stacsia, her difficult experience as a foreigner in a different country, facing cultural and language barriers every day, gifted her with new perspective concerning her community at home. “It gave me a new understanding of what it could be like for a lot of people coming here, and to be on the lookout for how to reach out to people who may be experiencing that here,” she says. “We need to truly open up our eyes to the people around us.”
While it may not always be easy being an American in Paris, and even though the tourist hotspot will likely never feel like a vacation destination to Sam and Stacsia, they are both grateful for the faith and growth produced by trials and perseverance, for the opportunity to spread the gospel, and also for the privileges that they enjoy at home—a home on Corban’s campus.
“I’m so grateful to be back in a place that nurtures and encourages that same missional lifestyle we adopted in Paris,” Sam says. “Instead of jumping back into a culture that discourages and disregards all that happened on the trip, here it is a continual conversation about sharing the gospel. I am so grateful to be at Corban.”
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