Raised Up for Such a Time as This?

By Jill in Spain -
Esther is one of my Bible heroes. A small town girl steps up to the plate at just the right moment and as a result her people are saved and history is changed forever.

While I can´t say that my situation is the same as that of Esther´s, it is interesting to see how God may open a door for the Spanish church here in Spain as a result of a few conversations this month.


My friend Kathie got in touch with me a couple weeks ago to refer me to a friend of hers who started a mentoring ministry. This friend happens to be long-time Navigators staffer Stacy Rinehart, founder of MentorLink, the ministry chosen for the Leadership Development track at the next Worldwide Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa this Oct 2010.

It´s interesting to see the chain of events....

March 3
MentorLink´s Weekly Prayer Requests: March 3
• Spain – Urgent – We are asking the Father for Mentors and Partners working in Spain. Pray with us as we wait on Him. Please contact Stacy Rinehart (StacyRinehart@MentorLink.org) if you know of any potential partner.

March 4
I spoke with Stacy and with Frode, the European representative for MentorLink, about a significant need for mentors and for mentor contacts in Spain. There are at least 100 people signed up for the conference and requesting mentors but noone availabe yet to mentor them.

March 8

I received this email from Kathie...

Jill,
Quickly wanted to forward this weekly Prayer Team Update from Stacy. Note his mention of you (but no name) and the help you are bringing! God provides every time!!
MentorLink´s Weekly Prayer Requests: March 8
• Spain – Praise: It appears the Lord provided a wonderful gift this past week with a leader who is willing to help us find partners and mentors in Spain. This is a real provision of the Lord and a gift to the Spaniards who will be served in the months and years to come. Thank you for praying.


The night of March 8 
My son Aaron suddenly gets a fever of 104º. We race to the hospital (in the worst snowstorm in 30 years) to find out that he´s come down with a urinary tract infection. He was admitted to the hospital and stayed for 3 nights. 


March 16
So, now, it´s been almost 2 weeks since I spoke with Stacy and I haven´t had a chance to move on this incredible opportunity. I have a list of key leaders that I know in Spain from a variety of ministries. I´ve been praying about my conversations with them. Aaron is better now. So, what am I waiting for?

I´m just a bit nervous. What if I can´t explain the need very well? What if they aren´t very interested in this incredible opportunity? What if they say "no"? Of course, these are human fears that can hinder if I let them.

Would you pray that the Lord would prepare the hearts of these key leaders and that He would guide my words and even my method of contact with them? Most of all, pray that the Lord would raise up godly mentors throughout Spain to provide guidance and leadership for these 100 Spaniards requesting mentors.


Thank  you! I´ll let you know what happens!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Closing a chapter - "graduating" another cohort of new staff

By -
Image
pictured above: front row - Donna, Jill, Lucía, Liz back row - Andrés, Dani, Jemima, Mateo, Laura, Israel, María, Penny 12 of us descended on Barcelona, gathering in a rented Air B-n-B apartment. It almost felt a little bit like the 12 disciples in the Upper Room. Many had come from very busy ministry schedules. Some flew in from other countries. Others were flying out to other countries after we finished.  These staff represent a variety of ministries:  GAiN , Athletes in Action , Operations and Human Resources , Family Life This group of new staff were wrapping up their two-year training period as New Staff with Ágape. Just as in the orientation, we looked together at 3 more of the 39 topics. We took time to be with the Lord. We reflected on what it means to be a servant leader, the role of coaching others and how to put to evangelize with our actions. Pictured below: María, Lucía and Laura spend time with the Lord before our first session. Pictured below: Andrés and Liz tak...
Read more

Meet the Monkey on Mondays!

By Jill in Spain -
Image
Every week, heck, every day God is working in our lives....but how aware are we? How have you seen Him show up this week? One struggle in communicating regularly was related to the "slow" nature of ministry. Sometimes, it is hard to see what God is doing. One rationale that dominated  my thinking is that maybe it is that God is working much more slowly here, so rather share news each month, I may have to wait, 6, 9, 12 months to have a story to tell. However, as I make this shift to share a "blip" from each day, it has revolutionized the way I see God's work here, in my personal life and in ministry. A specific tool I am using to deliver my messages and stories to you across the ocean is MailChimp, an email marketing platform online; and, although I am sure that I am not getting nearly as much out of MailChimp as I could, but just the fact to be getting any news out at all is a big step for me. The MailChimp platform allows you to write back directly t...
Read more

Immigrant moms advancing together

By Jill in Spain -
Image
An American, a Brazilian, a Spaniard and 9 Moroccan women walk into a neighborhood center....it sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? God has a great sense of humor! Let me tell you how this story works out.... My church in Spain has an amazing outreach ministry in a city neighborhood highly populated by Moroccan immigrants. While immigration has increased globally, Catalunya has one of the highest percentages of immigration world-wide.  This drastic and relatively rapid change is historic and also traumatic for a Spanish system that is not prepared to receive so many immigrants. We personally have seen the burdening effects of immigration in our schools, at our hospitals and in our neighborhoods.  Many of those who come from Morocco are the poorest of the poor. They arrive looking for work and a better life. They come without having learned the language. Many, especially the women, come as illiterates, even in their own language.  While this is a challenge for our ...
Read more