Small Steps. Big Faith.

So, the fall season is starting to crank up here in Spain. The majority of folks have returned from their summer vacations and have started back to work. The university classes will start in a couple more weeks. Today was the first day of school for many school children. Ministry with Agape is no exception. This week we had our first virtual meeting as a group. There are 5 of us on the Ministry Team Development Coaching Team (MTD Coaching Team)  and we are spread out all over the Iberian peninsula: Málaga, Portugal, Valencia and Catalunya...so 21st century team meetings happen via the internet. (As a matter of interest, 3 of the 4 teams represented on this team are also in the process of having babies. The first, Evelyn Ana, was born August 27. The second should be ours--Aaron Daniel--who was supposed to be born September 14...but he´s taking his own sweet time. The third, in Valencia, is due to be born some time in November.) The Spanish Agape staff are some of the mos...

In the last 10 days, I´ve been sitting in front of my computer, but I´m not a couch potato. Look at what I´ve done: ....I had a video conference with a roommate from college with whom I lost touch 10 years ago, ....I have discovered three new products from reading the blogs of friends, ....I´ve watched the local regional news for Burlington, N.C. via the internet from Spain, ....I have reconnected with 4 of minstry partners by Facebook  after months of being out of touch, ....I exchanged instantaneous messages with a good friend in a far-away Eastern country by our mobile phones, ....I´ve shown off all of our baby "equipment" by uploading digital photos to own personal blog, ....I have added insight to my newsletters using movie clips from YouTube , ....and I just recorded a video message for you, my ministry partners, before the baby comes (which you can view below)                            ...

So, just a quick update for all of you following the visa-in-transit story. Last night I received an email from the couple waiting for their papers. Here is a clip from it... Hi Jill, Wanted to let you know that we received the visa documents yesterday in the mail!  We are now getting ready to leave for Houston tomorrow and turn everything in.  We did check the postage on the envelope and the documents were mailed on Aug 17 th . We’ll touch base once we have settled in to Granada or after you have the baby   J I had been praying all day and I was working hard to trust and believe (in the midst of my disappointment with the surrounding circumstances and possible negative outcome). When the email came I was elated and even overwhelmed. Why? Why am I still surprised when God answers prayer? Maybe just amazed that the God of the Universe would choose to be involved in the small details of our lives. Anyway, just wanted to thank you for praying. One more ...

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry....He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." Psalm 40:1-2 The other day I was counting up the years that I have worked with Agape Spain. I came to live in Spain in the year 2000...so it´s been 9 years! I can hardly believe it. During this time, I´ve seen a lot of laborers arrive and a lot leave...hence the idea of a revolving door. The last 5 years have been spent working in Barcelona at the national level. In 2006 I began helping our international staff with the ever-tedious process of getting their visas to live and work here with Agape. As I have dealt with seemingly simple logistics (from hotel reservations to mailing letters in Spain) to more complicated issues (like these religious visas being granted and assuring that organizational financial accounts in order) I have seen how some doors have opened and others have closed, sometimes because of bureaucratic error and sometimes for ...