Small Steps. Big Faith.

As Ruben and Aaron and I drove across the north of Spain toward Galicia, hundreds of pilgrims, represented on the map above) were doing their own pilgramages from different points toward the city of Santiago, Spain. Chris Pratt, a fellow teammate from my days of planting the campus ministry at the University of Granada, and his wife Anna Pratt invited us to join them and two other families for a week in  Ligonde, Galicia, Spain  to serve the pilgrims who pass by Ágape's pilgrim house,  lafuentedelperegrino.com .     Below left we are pictured at our first team meeting where Chris explained the history of the house and the vision and mission of La Fuente del Peregrino.        For one week our team of 8 adults and 8 children served pilgrims walking along the Camino de Santiago, providing coffee and lemonade, clean bathrooms, cold water from our fountain and for a lucky few, dinner and bed to sleep in, all free of charge. We learned how thi...

One of the staff I work with is Abraham Crespo, (pictured right) who is staff with Athletes in Action in Málaga. This past July he was part of the staff team that hosted the 16th annual Campus Villa de Frigiliana Basketball Camp. More than 50 boys and girls from all over Spain arrived in Frigiliana , said good-bye to their parents, pulled on their high-tops and reported, ready to train, learn, participate, laugh ´til they cried.  During the week, the staff and campers also enjoyed the presence of CVF´s guest basketball star, Tremmel Darden, forward for the Real Madrid basketball team. (pictured at right, center) In addition to drills, practice games, meals and free time, the campers also had the chance to hear  about Darden´s personal life story, his basketball experiences and his relationship with Christ. Abraham and other staffers will continue to follow-up with campers who expressed interest in hearing more about Christ.     Check out thi...

Patry Mendez (pictured here on the right) is one of the amazing staff that work with and serve here in Spain. Patry directed the 5th annual English Camp for young people in Granada, Spain which was held July 15-21, 2013. It is a partnership between the high school and university ministries of Agape in Granada and a believers who come from the United States to teach English and to share their faith in Christ. The following are Patry´s reflections from this year´s camp: This year, I held the role of general direction for this project. After months of intense preparation, and in the midst of a difficult pregnancy, the 5th edition of our ENGLISH CAMP was held here in El Zaidín (on the outskirts of Granada) with the help of 70 campers!  We are so grateful to God because we had wonderful opportunities and experiences with these kids. We were able to strengthen some already-existing relationships and also form new ones, quite significant relationships that are providing beautiful op...

It's been 14 months since we've seen each other....but Sara (name changed), a fellow professor of English, and I have stayed in touch. Sara is Spanish but speaks amazing English. She wasn't my official mentor while I taught at the English academy from 2008-2009, but she and I taught the same age group (10-year-olds) on Mondays and Wednesdays. She was so gracious and patient with me, answering all my questions, sharing her materials and encouraging me along the way.When the school year ended (June 2009) several of the professors got together for an end-of-the-year dinner. They surprised me by showering me with baby gifts, no doubt a result of her initiative. After exchanging several emails in the last year, we finally got together today for coffee at Plaza Vella (Old Square) pictured left. It was so fun to see her. Of course, I had Aaron with me, which might be distracting for some....but she was so gracious and kind, holding him, walking him around the table as we got t...

All along the hundreds and hundreds of miles of trails that represent the Camino de Santiago ( The Way of Saint James ). there are hostels that cater to the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims headed to the destination city of Santiago.    La Fuente del Peregrino   (The Pilgrim´s Fountain) is a hostel/refuge that was created by Agape 11 years ago, located in Ligonde not far from Santiago, to serve and minister to all those who pass by. Coffee, water, first-aid and spiritual materials are available to all who pass by. The refuge has 10 beds available to pilgrims on a first-come/first-served basis. The pilgrims are served dinner (family style) and breakfast at no charge, although donations are welcome. The work teams are made up of Christians from all over the world who sign-up to serve 1-2 weeks at a time. The days are long but the company is pleasant. The ministry opportunities are incredible, as many people who walk the "camino" are open to spiritual things a...

Agape Spain is moving forward in its mission of reaching every Spaniard by gaining access to some great tools to help communicate the gospel again for the first time. At our national staff conference last week, we received a pack of 4 films in DVD to help us communicate the gospel to those around us. One of those DVD´s is Damasucs , the story of Paul´s conversion experience and his ministry that followed. It is produced by a Syrian Protestant Film Company, Agape4Media, and filmed on the actual sites of the events. It is written by Maysaa Salloum and directed by Khaled al-Khaled. (see trailer below) This film is regularly used by LifeAgape, another branch of our minsitry which reaches out to the Muslim world. If you go to their web site,  Life Agape , on the tab above the internet address, you´ll find this quote in English and in Arabic: Jesus Christ is not a prophet.   He is the Son of God. Spain is home to more than 1 million Muslims, most coming from Morocc...

Last Tuesday the doorbell rang at 5pm. "Ruben, you get the door," I pleaded. I was weary after caring for Aaron all day and just didn´t feel like dealing with more people. "No, you get it," replied Ruben who had also been up since 5am when he left to work the morning shift. So, I begrudgingly went to the door and peeked through the peephole. "Oh," I said. "This is not who I expected," I thought to myself. I opened the door with a surprised smile and said, "Hello! Come in! Come in!" (all in Spanish of course.) It was my new downstairs neighbor, a young mother with her daughter, just a month younger than Aaron, in tow. The Lord had prompted me to stop at her door several times in the last few months. The first time was before Christmas, just to introduce myself. People here don´t really talk to their neighbors and it can take years before you even know their names; but since she was new and young and a mom too I thought, "What ...

Although Eastern Europe and its circumstances are quite different from those of Spain, here in Western Europe, the need for a Savior is just as great. I recently watched "The Wall: A Generation Later," and listened as Campus Crusade staff from around the world, many of whom worked for 20+ years behind the iron curtain, talked about the way it was--before and after. They give testimony to the incredible changes that took place and they give God all the credit. I pray that it will encourage you as we continue to labor here in Spain. I don´t know God´s timing but I believe that when He is ready He will bring sweeping change to Spain as well. The Wall: A Generation Later from Jim Southard on Vimeo .

One day last week I was working "on location" on a mountain top. Yes...a literal mountain top. (Sometimes I just marvel at the opportunities I have and often wonder, "How in the world would I put what I do on a resumé?") At the end of May staff leaders from all over the world will come to Spain, actually to Montserrat (about 6 miles from my little pueblo), to an event hosted by Campus Crusade for Christ, Internationl. They are coming to discuss reaching the large cities around the globe with the gospel. "Global Cities Summit" (or something along those lines) is the title of the gathering. Their planning team, based in Orlando needed help with some preparation on the Spain side and somehow this job ended up on my desk. I've helped to facilitate letters of invitation and permission for visas for specific people coming from India and from Ghana. I don´t really mind. Events like these help keep alive my vision for reaching the world. They also help me...