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...

In March 2021, Pep y Silvia participated online along with 25 other couples in the S.O.M. (Seminario de Orientación al Matrimonio), our pre-marriage weekend conference offered to engaged couples and recently married couples throughout Spain. In April of 2022, although they had a previously scheduled commitment, they participated through video by sharing the benefits they received through their experience with the S.O.M. Because of their incredible communication abilities as well as their maturity and love for the Lord, we challenged them to consider giving one of the talks at the most recent S.O.M. What a great decision that was. There were 12 couples this year participating on-site in Barcelona AND simultaneously online. Pep and Silvia were amazing, not only in their talk about Marriage and Society in the 21st Century, but also in their servant hearts, connecting with couples and serving until the very end of the conference and then getting into their car to make the 3-hour drive back...

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...

As mentioned previously, our social work ministry, GAiN (Global Aid Network) has been developing a special project among Moroccan immigrant women . This year 5 different Spanish classes have been offered, serving over 100 women, in order to help them improve their language skills, improving their chances of finding a job and making their way in Spanish society. (Pictured above are some of the students from my Friday morning class.) This project was started 5 years ago by Isabel Fernández, Agape staff member with a degree in Social Work. She has worked tireless, not only to create the structure for these classes, but also to build relationships with the various city officials related to this project, as well as using her professional knowledge to help several of these women rise above their economic and cultural challenges. Soon, Isabel, along with her husband, Agape Spain´s National Director, and their 4 children, will be taking steps of faith to blaze new trails in a differen...

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...