Small Steps. Big Faith.

Energy, joy and wise living. These are three words I would use to describe Elena Lobo, Ágape's intern during the 2019-20 school year. Elena is from Seville and I met her for the first time last spring when I interviewed her by skype.  Even at hundreds of miles away, her vibrance and strong commitment to the Lord were evident. After acceptance she came to Barcelona for a couple of days for our Intern Orientation, (above, far left). Since October, Elena has been working with the agape+ (pronounced AH-ga-pay Mas) team in Barcelona where she is getting college credit for her major in Psychology and learning to serve the Lord through social justice projects. Elena is pictured, left, leading a discussion to raise awareness with high school students about social justice. As the coordinator for the Intern Program, I met with Elena this week to hear about her experiences so far and to learn how we can keep improving this special year of learning for other interns who come in the ...

In the last year, Gema Álvarez, our LDHR Director, has also joined Ágape's National Leadership Team (NLT) along with 2 other women and one additional man. The choice to include women on this team brings a new dimension to what was once a male-only group. Gema is gifted in public speaking and inspiring others to consider how God wants to use them in the Great Commission. She also brings an element of wisdom and discernment in addition to years of experience as she leads the staff application process. We are different from one another and I have no doubt that the Lord brought us together on purpose to sharpen one another. God has definitely used Gema to hone my character and to sharpen me into a more effective servant for Him. This week during our LDHR meeting, we discussed important details that should be included in a job description for every National Minstry Director. One important, over-arching theme that Gema and Rex have been pushing for over the last few years is th...

This morning I had breakfast with Athletes in Action staff member, Jessie Starrenburg, pictured here with fellow staff member, Marian Bootello. What a treat it was to get to know her better. Jessie is from Holland but has made her life here as a missionary with Athletes in Action, Agape's sports ministry. She is married to a fellow soccer player, David, who is from Peru. Jessie truly lives as one who has been sent by God to the athletes in Barcelona. In fact, the term " missional " means to strive to be an agent, a representative of the kingdom of God.  In addition to coordinating various evangelistic sporting events throughout the year, she has been playing on a Spanish women's soccer club team for the last 3 seasons. Her objective: to develop sincere friendships and to be a light for Christ on her team. While the atmosphere is mostly superficial, she has had the opportunity to delve into deeper, more significant topics with a couple of the women on her te...

Since 2015, Donna Cannella, a fellow American, has faithfully led the charge to ensure that our new staff in Spain are well equipped for a lifelong trajectory in ministry.  In addition to coordinating the communication and all the materials for the 2-year training experience for the new staff, Donna prepares the trainers who will accompany and train the new staff as well as coordinates the event teams that host the orientations for the new staff. Every Tuesday, we meet in Terrassa, a city half way between her city and mine to work through the details of these various areas of ministry.  Apart from her work with Ágape, she is a wife and a mother of a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old. She also has served as the coordinator for all the Sunday School classes at her church. In the midst of giftedness and ministry growth, there is always a risk of burnout. When we meet, Donna is transparent about challenges and is not afraid to share about her ups and downs. She has recen...

This morning I got a call from Omar. He is from Peru, he is married to Patry and he is a big Star Wars fan. He is also a fellow staff member with Agape here in Spain. He is helping to promote an evangelistic event that will begin in May 2020 and will have follow-up events for several months afterward. You may have heard of because the goal is for it to be a worldwide event: GO 2020. There is a promotional video that we would like to use, but it is in English. Materials are much more effective with Spaniards if they are in English. So, Omar called to ask if I might translate the text from English to Spanish  and then he will put the Spanish text into the video as subtitles. "Sure!" I said, "You can always count on me to help you with translation projects." Although dubbing is ideal, at least subtitles open the door to greater comprehension of many video tools for our Spanish volunteers and the Spanish churches aroud the counry. Here's the video below....

The 21st Century is full of digital toys for adults. And, of course, it's no different for kids. Especially for boys, the draw to video games seems to only increase and intensify with age and this is no different for Aaron. In our house, I started out with pretty strict rules regarding the amount of screen time allowed , including video games. Currently, Aaron is allowed to play 1 hour of video games every 2 days. While I'm not super rigid, I do try to keep him committed to this rhythm....and surprisingly, to his credit, he has gone along with it. On the off days when he does not play video games, Aaron has been developing his creativity and imagination. He loves to draw and also enjoys writing. Also, even at age 10, he still plays with toys and imagines stories and adventures, just as he did in his younger childhood years. That being said, Aaron lives for his time on his latest digital toy: The Nintendo Switch. His current favorite game is Luigi's Mansion 3, which...

Google Drive is a digital platform that we use a lot in Agape Spain. When I first discovered Google Drive, I thought, "This is going to be great! Having a common platform, will make working with others, especially staff living in other cities, much easier!" Oh, how naïve I was. Although technology can help bring us together,  I have not yet found an app that will do the hard work of listening well and reading between the lines. We still have to do the hard work of clear communication for ourselves. Today I met with 2 fellow staff, this time both Americans, about some lessons in our New Staff Training material, specifically our Staff Development Cycle (SDC), or Ciclo de Desarrollo de Staff, a tool that exists to give tracks to run on as our Directors and their staff pursue individual development. Having reflected on my "who's on first"-type conversation from the previous day, rather than jumping in directly to talk about ideas and plans, I decided to...

Video is a powerful medium that can speak to people on so many different levels. This is one of the reasons I appreciate YouTube so much, to have access to a wide variety of videos.  Overseas living is sometimes hard to explain in a way that others might understand.  This "Who is on first?" sketch is one of the classics of Laurel and Hardy comedy that also serves as a great illustration of what happens sometimes when we communicate cross-culturally.  This confusion or miscommunication in conversations is something I experience from time-to-time with my Spanish co-workers, not to mention with my Spanish husband! Today, our team met to talk about some details for next fall's incoming class of interns. I was asked to bring some suggested dates for the Intern Orientation so that we can decide on the dates as a team.  Our conversation lasted more than an hour! And in the end, nothing was decided. We will have to meet again next week when we have more info...

Many years ago, a dear friend, and a member of this ministry support team, gave me a gift: The Daily Light , a devotional book orginally compiled by Jonathan Bagster and more recently published by Anne Graham Lotz. I pulled it out at the beginning of the year to help me to become more consistent in spending time in God's Word. Today, there were a number of Bible references listed today, including Psalm 23:3 which serves as a reminder that it is God who restores us and it is God who leads us. This passage reminded me of my running partner, Silvia, who has struggled with a recurring injury. Last week , I revealed the spiritual nature of my job. So, with the "cat out of the bag," I took one more step to keep sowing spiritual seeds with her. This is the text message I wrote to her...."I have a devotional book...(I have actually had it for many years, but have just started using it again!) And these are 2 of the passages from the Bible that I read this morning....

I came on staff in 1992. 28 years ago, all the adminstrative tasks for tracking and connecting with my financial support team was done by hand and paper print outs sent to me with my monthly paycheck.  In the late 1990's, an amazing software called TNT was developed for the computer which would allow us to connect with CCC headquarters to automatically download all donation information as well as store notes and contact information. As great as this technology was, it was still a bit complicated and awkward for me to use. It was not designed for the faint-hearted. The interface, with its many sections and details required great focus and discipline in order to really benefit from the software.  So, last week I discovered MPDX, a phone app that allows me to connect Campus Crusade's database in Orlando, Florida quickly to access any information I may need regarding donations and donors. It will even send me notifications on my phone to remind me to follow throug...

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...

Aaron is now 10-years-old. Within the last year, he discovered new truths about Santa Claus and the source of his gifts at home. So, with this in mind, the grandmothers were given new freedom to try different types of gifts for Christmas this past December. Both of Aaron's grandmothers hit the bull's eye with their gifts! His Spanish grandmother decided to give money so that he could choose what he wanted this year. He chose a game that he was introduced to when accompanying me to a New Staff Training event a couple years ago. The game is CATAN , ( pictured left.) His American grandmother sent books. Aaron really likes to read and this skill has been supported and fed by the generosity of Yaya Nama (my mother's grandmother name in Catalan) by buying and sending many books over the years.  This year was no different. In fact, we recently visited a local book store and Aaron found a series that he discovered during a visit to the U.S. called Bad Guys ...

This week Agape received an email from Soi Lee , a young Spanish teacher in Germany whose Korean family moved to Germany when she was young. Soi contacted Ágape Spain because she is looking for a way to improve her Spanish and at the same time, serve the Lord in the process. As we spoke by skype I was impressed with her positive attitude and her servant heart, as well as her steps of faith, travelling to a variety of countries around the world in her short life time to serve the Lord on different projects. After considering all of our ministries, she has expressed a desire to serve her 2 weeks of vacation with Agape's Pilgrim House, Fuente del Peregrino , in Ligonde, Spain. The challenge for us is that currently, the summer dates that she is available are always highly solicited and the beds are full--NO ROOM AT THE INN. However, after talking with the director of the Fuente, Natan de Souza, he expressed amazement and surprise about how the Lord moves people to meet the...

When I joined the LDHR team (Leadership Development and Human Resources) in 2014, my desire from the very beginning was to help pioneer our "department" of Leadership Development, because at the time, nothing specific and intentional existed to develop leaders here in Agape Spain. As I have waited patiently for an opportunity to contribute to this essential area of any company, especially a discipleship-making ministry, I have poured my energies into similar strategies, including our New Staff Training Program (pictured above with our first class of New Staff and Trainers in Feb 2016) and our Internship Program. And stilll, my desire and commitment to specifically focus on developing LEADERS and raising up NEW LEADERS has not waivered. Finally, after many months of prayer and conversations with our leadership, I will begin to work with Garrick Roegner (pictured far right, back row) this winter and spring to create a new path for development for our current nation...

Silvia is a champion-level runner. She has been running since high school. In the entrance to her home, there is a display case filled with trophies and medals from past races that she has won over the years. If I had known this, I probably would never have agreed to meet with her.  She is now a mom of a 2-year-old and a part-time English teacher in our village. I met her through another acquaintance in town. I needed to get back into shape after several years of absence from a regular running routine. She wanted to improve her English. So, a plan was born to meet and help one another mutually.  So, we meet on Wednesday mornings to run for an hour and speak in English. Since I am huffing and puffing, I let Silvia do most of the talking. During our times together, I have discovered that Silvia and I are similar in several ways: we both have strong personalities, we both prefer honest, direct communication, we are both visionaries and prefer to see the big picture i...

I saw her across the rows of seats at church on Sunday morning. Sandra and I had both volunteered to do some work at church last September to help prepare the building for the new school that would be opening at our church. It had been months since I'd seen her, so as soon as the church service ended, I raced to greet her. She briefly shared an update on life since I had seen her last, but her face shared so much more. She seemed downhearted. Sandra is from Peru, had a great job in Human Resources and enjoyed her life close to her family. In spite of these things, she decided to come to Spain to try out life here. Living with her sister, she is working and doing her best to integrate in society here. However, she is struggling with culture shock and really missing home. Shortly after she arrived in Spain, a very special aunt passed away. Her sister was able to go back to Peru for the Christmas holidays, but she stayed because she had to work, which meant she spent the hol...

On Monday I drove to Martorell (about 30 minutes from home) to pick up Ana Cecilia Manco Pérez, or "Ceci" to stay in our home for a few days. Ceci grew up in Peru and currently has Argentinian nationality. Ceci had applied as a new staff member to work with Agape here in Spain, but was still waiting for the final word from our leadership on her acceptance. Ceci is a professor, an author and recent graduate of  a Masters program in Madrid in AudioVisual Communications. While she has many gifts to offer, she has one major handicap: she is unknown to the world of Agape and Agape is new to her as well. In December, during her interview, the advice she received was that it would be important for her to learn more about the various ministries of Agape . As a result, I offered our home near Barcelona as a place to stay so that she could visit the staff and ministries in Barcelona. On Wednesday, she was able to attend the weekly "co-working" gathering in the heart...