Greetings from Antequera, Spain. We hope this finds everyone well and blessed. This year has seemingly passed by very quickly and it hardly seems possible that we are already in the month of April. These past months have been busy around our house. It has been like Grand Central Station around our house with people coming and going constantly. Some people have come for a meal, some for a day and night, some for three days, some for a week or more and the company has been non stop for awhile now! We love to have company, since growing up in a missionary home as a child it comes natural to me to have people in and out of our home. Lately we have had lots of youth come through and some of them have even started calling us Mom and Dad. Some of them have come to Spain for a few months or weeks from other countries to learn Spanish. They always find Love, Hugs, Food and laughter at our house. More than one has told us they love to come to our house because they get much needed hugs which many of them do not get at home. We are always glad to give out hugs they are free and can be very healing. So the good news is we have had lots of company, and the bad news is everyone comes from other places or countries so do not stay. But we hope and pray that as they leave our house they take something with them the knowledge that they are loved and that they are not alone.
This season has been quite hard it has been a season of much Spiritual Warfare. Many of the Evangelical churches is Spain included here in Antequera have been struggling. Attendance seems to be at a very low point in many churches to the point that some Churches share buildings and some Pastors hold services in more than one city. One Pastor that is a native Pastor of this city and has had a church here for many, many years has seen a great decline in church attendance and has gone to another city to start a church to see if he can reach more people there. There has been a Huge influx of people arriving from Muslim countries and there was recently a report in a local newspaper about the police being concerned that there could be terrorism directed at the Evangelical Churches.
This past week with Easter celebrations the streets of many cities including Antequera were taken with huge crowds of people as they carried altars of Idols through the streets in great processions and people go out and cry and sing as the Idols are carried through the city streets. Even in the middle of the night there are processions at 2 and 3 a.m. Then after all the crying and emotion shown people take to the bars to drink and it ends up in all night drinking party's. The spiritual atmosphere is very heavy and it is like we are literally in a Spiritual battle. The sad thing is that once the celebrations are over many people may not even darken the church door until the next years celebration. It is all pomp and show but there is no LIFE in any of it. This year I took the opportunity to share with several neighbor women the real meaning of Christ's crucifixion, and Resurrection. So the seeds have been planted and we pray and water and wait for the results which come from the Lord.
As I have mentioned previously in another letter we rented a converted car garage to hold our services in. Vicente and Isaiah have worked very diligently to renovate the place including putting in a false roof. The building roof was of corrugated asbestos and with winter temperatures reaching 19 F it was very cold in the building we could see our own breath! So little by little we have worked to fix the place up and get it in a better condition. The Muslims had asked to rent the place for a mosque at the same time we were offered the place for a church, and the landlady chose to rent it to us. Well now there are 3 Muslim families that have moved in right next door and just down the street to the building. So we are praying for them and looking for opportunities to reach out to them. The family that moved in right next door does not speak Spanish and just moved here from some other country. We know that they can hear us sing and maybe preach too. Please help us to pray for these 3 families.
Vicente and I have started gathering with some other missionaries on a weekly basis to pray, and also to participate in an inductive Bible study. In this way we are encouraging one another and praying for one another for truly it is not easy to be a missionary in Spain.
I think that I might have mentioned before but Spain has caused us Pain but in that pain we see God can turn things into Gain!
The other 2 missionary families have moved to Spain in the the last 2 year period, so we are the "elder" missionaries. :) This coming August will mark our 9th year in Spain!
Wendy, Kasia and Isaiah have also been taking some leadership classes and will soon be finishing that course. Wendy has been doing some counseling and also translation for a counselor that works with broken women coming out of situations of sexual abuse, abortions, drug abuse ect. God is using Wendy and it has been a time of great learning experience for her as well. All 3 kids continue to be a big help to us in the work in Spain. All three are seeking God for the next step and plan he has for each one. We appreciate your prayers for them for God to open doors and provide the needed finances for each one as they step into the next season God has for them. Both Isaiah and Kasia continue to participate in a weekly youth cell group where they help with the worship and imparting the Word. Isaiah is stepping out more in the area of photography media type stuff which he really likes. Thank you for praying for our kids!
We appreciate your prayers for both Vicente and my health. Both of us have been battling health issues and we are continuing to contend for Divine healing over our bodies.
In closing we want to thank you for standing with us through your prayers and giving we are able to continue to be here doing the work of the ministry. We know that God is moving and working in things beyond what we can see and we know that there will be a Great Harvest because His Word does not return void and we believe that a time of harvest is coming! And you have a part in that Harvest.
This is the Word that we want to speak over you today:
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’
Numbers 6:24-26
Together for a Harvest,
This season has been quite hard it has been a season of much Spiritual Warfare. Many of the Evangelical churches is Spain included here in Antequera have been struggling. Attendance seems to be at a very low point in many churches to the point that some Churches share buildings and some Pastors hold services in more than one city. One Pastor that is a native Pastor of this city and has had a church here for many, many years has seen a great decline in church attendance and has gone to another city to start a church to see if he can reach more people there. There has been a Huge influx of people arriving from Muslim countries and there was recently a report in a local newspaper about the police being concerned that there could be terrorism directed at the Evangelical Churches.
This past week with Easter celebrations the streets of many cities including Antequera were taken with huge crowds of people as they carried altars of Idols through the streets in great processions and people go out and cry and sing as the Idols are carried through the city streets. Even in the middle of the night there are processions at 2 and 3 a.m. Then after all the crying and emotion shown people take to the bars to drink and it ends up in all night drinking party's. The spiritual atmosphere is very heavy and it is like we are literally in a Spiritual battle. The sad thing is that once the celebrations are over many people may not even darken the church door until the next years celebration. It is all pomp and show but there is no LIFE in any of it. This year I took the opportunity to share with several neighbor women the real meaning of Christ's crucifixion, and Resurrection. So the seeds have been planted and we pray and water and wait for the results which come from the Lord.
As I have mentioned previously in another letter we rented a converted car garage to hold our services in. Vicente and Isaiah have worked very diligently to renovate the place including putting in a false roof. The building roof was of corrugated asbestos and with winter temperatures reaching 19 F it was very cold in the building we could see our own breath! So little by little we have worked to fix the place up and get it in a better condition. The Muslims had asked to rent the place for a mosque at the same time we were offered the place for a church, and the landlady chose to rent it to us. Well now there are 3 Muslim families that have moved in right next door and just down the street to the building. So we are praying for them and looking for opportunities to reach out to them. The family that moved in right next door does not speak Spanish and just moved here from some other country. We know that they can hear us sing and maybe preach too. Please help us to pray for these 3 families.
Vicente and I have started gathering with some other missionaries on a weekly basis to pray, and also to participate in an inductive Bible study. In this way we are encouraging one another and praying for one another for truly it is not easy to be a missionary in Spain.
I think that I might have mentioned before but Spain has caused us Pain but in that pain we see God can turn things into Gain!
The other 2 missionary families have moved to Spain in the the last 2 year period, so we are the "elder" missionaries. :) This coming August will mark our 9th year in Spain!
Wendy, Kasia and Isaiah have also been taking some leadership classes and will soon be finishing that course. Wendy has been doing some counseling and also translation for a counselor that works with broken women coming out of situations of sexual abuse, abortions, drug abuse ect. God is using Wendy and it has been a time of great learning experience for her as well. All 3 kids continue to be a big help to us in the work in Spain. All three are seeking God for the next step and plan he has for each one. We appreciate your prayers for them for God to open doors and provide the needed finances for each one as they step into the next season God has for them. Both Isaiah and Kasia continue to participate in a weekly youth cell group where they help with the worship and imparting the Word. Isaiah is stepping out more in the area of photography media type stuff which he really likes. Thank you for praying for our kids!
We appreciate your prayers for both Vicente and my health. Both of us have been battling health issues and we are continuing to contend for Divine healing over our bodies.
In closing we want to thank you for standing with us through your prayers and giving we are able to continue to be here doing the work of the ministry. We know that God is moving and working in things beyond what we can see and we know that there will be a Great Harvest because His Word does not return void and we believe that a time of harvest is coming! And you have a part in that Harvest.
This is the Word that we want to speak over you today:
24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’
Numbers 6:24-26
Together for a Harvest,
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