My name is Pierre. I'm 33 years old. I was born in Aix-en-Provence but I grew up in a large Protestant family in Chartres, just about an hour southwest of Paris. After my Baccalauréat (high school diploma), I studied for four years in Tours and Nice and completed the first year of a Master's degree in history. Then I was a librarian in Paris for severn years. This enriching work experience taught me many things and allowed me to meet people, read a lot and live a nice life in Paris, surrounded by friends and the church community. But something was about to happen...
It took me several years to understand the call of the Lord. It was through hard times and unemployment that God touched me and began to work in me, even though at the time I wasn't fully aware of his action. That's when I started reading the Bible regularly and developing an interest in theology and spiritual matters. It was a gradual process. It wasn't until the fall of 2016 that I realized that I wanted to become a pastor. It was a sweet and powerful revelation, made possible by the guidance of my prayers and the Holy Spirit. Things fell into place, both in my spirit and in my heart. I was happy and grateful for everything that was happening to me and the way it all unfolded. "He has made everything beautiful in his time." (Ec. 3:11)
From that moment forward, I made the decision to attend the Faculté Jean Calvin in Aix-en-Provence., where students are taught the reformed, evangelical theology inspired by the works of John Calvin, a more orthodox doctrine than its liberal, Parisian counterpart. This is the main reason why I chose this university. Another reason was that my grandfather also studied here and worked as a minister in this city for several years. Finally, the last reason was my desire to come back to my birthplace, a beautiful city bathed in the light and warmth, on the foothills of the famous Sainte-Victoire mountain that Cézanne painted so often.
This is, in a nutshell, the story of my life and destiny as a student in Aix, with the help of God!
"Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?" (Prov. 20:24)
Pierre Guibal, student