Investing in Jessie Starrenburg

By Jill in Spain -

In celebration of Women's history month, during this month of March, I want to share with you about the the privilege I have to work with all kinds of women in Ágape, some volunteers and others long-term staff. 

Today, I celebrate International Women's Day by introducing to you an international woman: Jessie Starrenburg.

Jessie is from Holland is a full-time staff woman in Barcelona with Athletes in Action. She coaches a girls' soccer team as well as plays adult women's club soccer with a local team. As a coach, she sets the tone for teamwork, hard work and respect while leading by example with her peer players  by taking the initiative to develop connections with her fellow players. The environment is not always easy but she trusts that the Lord has called her there to be salt and light in a world that is not often open to spiritual topics.

Last fall, Jessie asked if we could meet more regularly one-on-one as she desires to be challenged to keep growing in her leadership. She is already an incredible leader on and off the field. It is an honor to be getting to know her better, to pray together with her and to challenge her to continue using her gifts and scale her leadership as God expands her influence.

Jessie and I meet every 1-2 weeks online to talk about aspects of leadership and continued spiritual growth. 
One area in which Jessie would like to grow is learned to live an unhurried life.


Ruben and Aaron and I attended one Jessie's soccer games last Saturday. Although they did not win, they worked hard and were able to see some improvement over the last few months.

Please pray for Jessie as she continues to grow in her relationship with the Lord. 
Pray that she would depend on Him more and more. 
Pray that He would guide her specifically as she seeks to develop her spiritual gifts and make an impact for Jesus in the lives of young women and girls in Barcelona.













 

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