May Update

Brook and me at Plaza de Espana


Fountain at Plaza de Espana


Chocolate con churros! So yummy!


Cash cow in Germany... I know my dad can appreciate this!


A fun little bench in a small town outside of Munich.

Life in Spain:

Well I finally arrived! I’ve been here a little over 2 weeks and have enjoyed getting settled in. My team has been especially helpful with this. Thankfully because of my delay in Germany, Brook’s stay in the U.S. didn’t seem long! She arrived very shortly after I did. Her visa was ready and she hopped on a plane back to Spain.

Since we’ve both been here we have been able to begin meetings with our supervisor, Nolen. Talking with him about our job of finding Latinos excites me as I have been ready for too long to get down to business! Brook and I will do a month of language school, and then our travel around Europe will begin soon after.

One of the issues we are encountering with locating Latinos is that many European countries haven’t had a census in many years . Those that have, have unreliable information that we cannot use. We are definitely at the ground level as far as mapping out locations of our people group.

God has been good, and the team has located immigrants and started conversations that hopefully will lead to more opportunities for sharing of the gospel. Carmen Pachalian even had a gathering with some women recently! Pray this opens doors.

Pray for the Spikes that will be arriving in Barcelona before mid May. Please also pray for the Woodsons and Halls who are doing some extra training in Vancouver and will arrive in London at the end of the summer.

The team is assembling and the work is ahead. Pray for guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may be efficient in our work. My desire is to please God first, and to make his name known. Pray that I can do this adequately in another language!

Trailblazing:

One of the things about Madrid is that there are Latinos everywhere! The tricky thing is that some Latinos look just like Spaniards.
Team members have been going to parks and starting conversations with people. Some of these conversations are basic about family, work, and where they’re from. Brook and I have even met a guy from Peru who works at a restaurant, that is very near to our apartment. We are hoping that this may be our “man of peace” or someone who can be a gateway to other relationships so we can share the gospel.

I am constantly reminded of the darkness surrounding Spain. Church is not a normal thing to do on Sunday, and the mention of God is almost nonexistent.

Pray that we are able to identify immigrants who are Latinos. Pray for the churches already here in Spain that they may continue to grow and reach the lost. We are indeed blazing a trail, so that churches can be strategically planted amongst Latinos in the future.

Physical Progress Update: Legs are swollen, but have gone down quite a bit recently (I attribute that to prayer). I face stairs every day all day long with Metro stops. Walking is a constant challenge, but I’m definitely surviving. Pray that I have minimal pain and stiffness and that stairs get easier!