Opening gifts while basking in the glow of family is something Americans may take for granted. But not Rod and Kendra Lindsey and their four children.

The missionaries to Paris are spending Christmas in the United States for the first time since 2005. On furlough since July 6, they are staying at a house in Waco provided by Columbus Avenue Baptist Church.

They are recharging their batteries with Bible study and visits with friends who have supported their ministry.

Kendra and Rod Lindsey, along with their kids (left to right) Magness, 7, Marin, 5, Ell, 12, and Sam, 14, are spending Christmas at home in Central Texas for the first time in five years.
Duane A. Laverty / Tribune-Herald

And they are indulging in pleasures they couldn’t find in France — Mexican food and Dr Pepper.

“We have time to rest and pray about our future, whether that means France or somewhere else in the world. We want to be faithful to what God would have us do,” said Kendra Lindsey, 43.

She graduated from Waco’s Richfield High School and met Rod, 44, at Baylor University. They were married at Columbus Avenue.

Kendra’s parents, Raymond and Glenda Weldon, still live in Waco.

Rod, an ordained minister, grew up in Gainesville but his parents, Arlen and Judy, now reside in Kerrville.

Rod and Kendra Lindsey acknowledge Paris may seem like a strange place to serve as missionaries. Others who carry the word of God to foreign countries often encounter grinding poverty and hunger. They provide food and medical care to meet the physical needs of people while witnessing to them about their spiritual needs.

In Paris, though, the Lindseys encountered an affluent populace apparently lacking for nothing. They said many people they met felt little need for God in their lives and quickly rejected the Lindseys’ message.

“Paris is called the ‘City of Lights,’ but it truly is a city of darkness,” Kendra said.

That’s why the Lindseys find it so refreshing to spend the holidays at home this year, among people who share their love for Jesus Christ and fully appreciate the meaning of the season.

The Lindseys dedicated themselves to mission work in 2001, not long after joining others on trips trip to Morocco in North Africa and to France. But they didn’t arrive in Paris until 2006, spending the time in between praying, preparing for service and undergoing background checks and interviews by the International Mission Board.

The board, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, helps link missionary families to countries where they could most effectively serve and where the need is greatest.

By the time the Lindseys were prepared to leave, they had four children, so the board would not send them to a dangerous environment.

“They chose Paris, where they thought we, as a family, could share our beliefs,” said Kendra, adding that the board pays the living expenses of missionaries with donations from churches.

The Lindsey family includes sons Sam and Magness, ages 14 and 7, and daughters Elle and Marin, ages 12 and 5. They speak French well and introduced themselves in that language during a recent visit.

Even the family dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Truly, seems to prefer French.

“She often cocks her head to one side,” Kendra said, “and gives us a funny look when we talk to her in English.”

Born to serve

Raymond Weldon, Kendra’s father, said his daughter’s decision to become a missionary did not surprise him.

“She’s always had a heart for other people and she’s so bright. It just seems like it was a natural thing for her to do,” Weldon said. “In fact, the whole family has a heart for missions.”

Weldon and his wife, Glenda, visited their daughter and son-in-law in France two years ago. Kendra returned to the United States briefly for treatment of an eye ailment. So their time apart has been broken up.

But having nearly all the family around for the holidays is something special, Raymond Weldon said.

He plans to continue a tradition of asking youngsters to build paper airplanes to sail across his front yard. The boy whose plane flies the farthest will win a model airplane and the girl with the winning flight will receive jewelry.

The Lindseys said that even while celebrating Christmas in America, they will think about friends in France. Handing out religious tracts or trying to start a church would not have worked.

So they shared the gospel after building relationships with people they met at the food market, during school functions or at meals they hosted.

“When we said we were starting a home Bible study and asked people to attend, some said, ‘No,’ but others said, ‘Yes,’ ” Kendra said. “We continue to pray for those whose hearts have been softened.”

Rod described the French as friendly when one gets to know them, but also abrupt, straightforward and without “Southern pretense.”

In the Bible Belt, he said, people might graciously accept an invitation to church, but never attend.

“There,” he said, “if they don’t want to talk about spiritual things, they tell you.”

He said France is culturally Catholic, but its fastest growing religion is Islam, because of the exploding immigrant population.

France’s efforts to curtail entry into the county is challenging missionary work.

One man’s story

Rod said he thinks often of a man he called Midi.

He said he does not even know his last name, but he runs a tattoo parlor that seems out of place in the upscale Paris neighborhood where the Lindseys lived.

“He never came to a saving relationship with Christ, but I did witness to him and I showed my respect for his work by letting him tattoo my left ankle,” Rod said.

That tattoo includes a Bible verse, Romans 10:15: “And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.’ ”

The Lindseys said they will continue to spread good news, but where it will happen rests in God’s hands.

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

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