Small Steps. Big Faith.

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...

Finish packing. Drop Aaron off at school. Drive the 26 miles to pick up my teammate, Donna.  Load the car with the groceries. Drive 22 more miles to the retreat house reserved for our 5 most recent recruits who will be joining our staff in 2023. Sometimes, I can get so caught up in the details that I forget that what we do is making an impact in the lives of people in Spain because what we do is share the Good News of Jesus with others. In January, these 5 women were invited to join us outside of Barcelona for the most recent New Staff Orientation. These 2 days are reserved to get to know these new staff better, to allow them time to get to know each other, to orient them to the culture and mission of Agape and to address their concerns as they begin. If we do this part well, they are more likely, not only to have a positive, fruitful experience, but also to stay longer. (left and counterclockwise) Jill at the bottom, Donna, Andrea, Nathy, Zuleika, Becca, Laura, Begoña  The mi...

In July, God brought a new member to our Agape team for the 2017-2018 school year, intern Alejandro Bo, from Alicante. With Alejandro's arrival, God also gave a new challenge for me.... I had participated in new staff orientatons on various occasons previously, but this was my first time to organize and host an event like this. Since Alejandro lives closer to Barcelona than to Málaga,  where the directors of the LDHR team are, the decision was made to hold the Intern Orientaton in Barcelona. (Of course, since it was just one new member, the responsibility of this orientaton event was lighter than if there had been 20, although 20 new staff is what we are dreaming about and praying for in the upcoming years!) Working side-by-side with me was my fellow LDHR member, Donna Cannella. Donna is gifted as a detail person and a public speaker. Her perspective, clarity and thoroughness brought great balance to this time of welcome, preparation and orientation for Alejandro. At the l...

"José became a Christian at the Student Retreat!!!!" "Ruben and Loida are discipling several teenagers from their church." "Next weekend, we will host a cross-cultural training for a student mission trip to Argentina."      These are all statements that I have in the last week from staff who are working on the front lines. Full-time staff on the field are a crucial part to taking the gospel to every corner of Spain and the world!     Behind each full-time staff member on the field, there is also a special team, known here as the CAPACITY team, who works KEEP these staff on the front lines of ministry by depositing paychecks for them, creating and maintaining email and website platforms for them, providing training with ministry and leadership skills for them, etc.      In February 2017, the CAPACITY team (a virtual team of 11 staff living in 7 different cities) gathered in Valencia for 3 days for our own...

grow·ing pains   (gr ng)  plural noun 1.  Pains in the limbs and joints of children or adolescents, often attributed to rapid growth but arising from various unrelated causes. 2.  Emotional difficulties that occur during adolescence. 3.  Problems that arise in the initiation or enlargement of an enterprise. Recently several supporters have asked the question about my role in ministry here in Spain. The truth is that it has been slowly evolving for the last 5-6 years. At times it has been difficult to define and even more difficult to pinpoint and share what God has been doing all around me.  I'd like to try now to illustrate what I understand God to be doing in Agape Spain during a season of incredible growth for this ministry. I'd like to do in through a Bible story and some organizational numbers. There is a story from Exodus 18 that illustrates the strain of growing pains and that "a-ha" moment in Moses' life where he realizes that...

This year's National Staff Conference for Agape Spain, Llamados (Called) 2013,  was held April 19-21 in Platja d'Aro, Spain.  An American couple living in Argentina, Tim and Annette Gulick, designed the talks and the small group activities which made up the bulk of the conference content. They challenged us to reflect on the reality of the world we live in, the gifts and talents that each one of us possesses and the material resources that we've been given to help those in need.  The Gulicks, along with National Director Edi Souto, reminded us that we live in a broken world in which we have experienced 4 aspects of broken relationship: with God, with others, with ourselves, and with the environment. The message of hope highlighted God's plan....a path to reconciliation and healing of these broken relationships. The gathering was also a great opportunity to see many of the new staff  that have joined Agape since Janua...

When I first arrived in Spain, more than ten years ago, Tere Alvarez was just leaving for a year-long STINT in the U.S. At that time Agape Spain did not have an official Human Resources Department. By faith Tere set out to learn all she could to establish this crucial area for our National Office to ensure that our Spanish staff and interns would have the necessary processes and infrastructure so that they could get on with the job of taking the gospel to the nations. This month, Tere announced the decision to move on to pursue new directions in ministry and missions. Because she carried SO MANY responsibilities, as of now, there is no ONE person who could fill her shoes. However, the national direction has challenged me to take on several of her responsibilities, including payroll, hiring contracts, tracking incoming staff support and reimbursements, in addition to already coordinating the visa process for our international staff. With much trepidation, I have answered the call...

The phone rang this afternoon. "Hey Jill, have you got a few minutes to talk?" I had just finished eating and Aaron was still sleeping. "Sure," I said, welcoming  the opportunity to visit with a staff friend between bottle feedings. It was an international staff woman needing to process some thoughts, concerns about administrative decisions, uncertainties about the future for ministry in her city. Surfing the cultural differences in a national organization can be a challenge at times. In our ministry here we all have the same heart--to see Spaniards come to know Jesus...but there are situations where the WAY we go about things is different. That can be confusing at times. It´s helpful to have someone to help interpret the situation, a fellow compatriot who has gone before us. Even though I´m not on the frontlines of campus ministry in Spain at the moment, I have logged quite a few years here. Not only have I learned something about the culture, but I´ve also g...