Small Steps. Big Faith.

So, the fall season is starting to crank up here in Spain. The majority of folks have returned from their summer vacations and have started back to work. The university classes will start in a couple more weeks. Today was the first day of school for many school children. Ministry with Agape is no exception. This week we had our first virtual meeting as a group. There are 5 of us on the Ministry Team Development Coaching Team (MTD Coaching Team)  and we are spread out all over the Iberian peninsula: Málaga, Portugal, Valencia and Catalunya...so 21st century team meetings happen via the internet. (As a matter of interest, 3 of the 4 teams represented on this team are also in the process of having babies. The first, Evelyn Ana, was born August 27. The second should be ours--Aaron Daniel--who was supposed to be born September 14...but he´s taking his own sweet time. The third, in Valencia, is due to be born some time in November.) The Spanish Agape staff are some of the mos...

In the last 10 days, I´ve been sitting in front of my computer, but I´m not a couch potato. Look at what I´ve done: ....I had a video conference with a roommate from college with whom I lost touch 10 years ago, ....I have discovered three new products from reading the blogs of friends, ....I´ve watched the local regional news for Burlington, N.C. via the internet from Spain, ....I have reconnected with 4 of minstry partners by Facebook  after months of being out of touch, ....I exchanged instantaneous messages with a good friend in a far-away Eastern country by our mobile phones, ....I´ve shown off all of our baby "equipment" by uploading digital photos to own personal blog, ....I have added insight to my newsletters using movie clips from YouTube , ....and I just recorded a video message for you, my ministry partners, before the baby comes (which you can view below)                            ...

So, just a quick update for all of you following the visa-in-transit story. Last night I received an email from the couple waiting for their papers. Here is a clip from it... Hi Jill, Wanted to let you know that we received the visa documents yesterday in the mail!  We are now getting ready to leave for Houston tomorrow and turn everything in.  We did check the postage on the envelope and the documents were mailed on Aug 17 th . We’ll touch base once we have settled in to Granada or after you have the baby   J I had been praying all day and I was working hard to trust and believe (in the midst of my disappointment with the surrounding circumstances and possible negative outcome). When the email came I was elated and even overwhelmed. Why? Why am I still surprised when God answers prayer? Maybe just amazed that the God of the Universe would choose to be involved in the small details of our lives. Anyway, just wanted to thank you for praying. One more ...

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry....He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." Psalm 40:1-2 The other day I was counting up the years that I have worked with Agape Spain. I came to live in Spain in the year 2000...so it´s been 9 years! I can hardly believe it. During this time, I´ve seen a lot of laborers arrive and a lot leave...hence the idea of a revolving door. The last 5 years have been spent working in Barcelona at the national level. In 2006 I began helping our international staff with the ever-tedious process of getting their visas to live and work here with Agape. As I have dealt with seemingly simple logistics (from hotel reservations to mailing letters in Spain) to more complicated issues (like these religious visas being granted and assuring that organizational financial accounts in order) I have seen how some doors have opened and others have closed, sometimes because of bureaucratic error and sometimes for ...

During these weeks of waiting for the baby to arrive, we´ve been trying to make room for him, which has meant sorting through my stuff and throwing away non-essentials. I´ve done a fairly good job of parting with things (my efficient friend, Jalynn, would be so proud of me). However, there have been a few things that I just have not been able to part with. Among those things are a few select journals that I´ve carried with me from my days on campus at the University of Granada. With all this extra time on my hands, I decided to go back and read through some of my thoughts and experiences, recorded at a very different point in my life from now. August 9th, 2002 In the next 3 years I long to see... *20 new Spanish staff raised up in cities where they can be trained *group after group of Spanish students discipling each other *a regular annual conference providing times of worship and Biblical teaching for students leaders August 19th, 2002 There are many times when I lose hope, ...

Well, after a couple of months of being away, I'm finally back home and longing to reconnect with my blog. One of the things we did in July was take part in the Agape Campus trip to the Camino de Santiago. I worked with 5 ohter women in the kitchen, providing sustenance and humor for the pilgrims in our group. It was a lot of work but it was also very fun too. The staff and students that participated this year made the trip unique and special. There was lots of walking, eating, sleeping; but there were also times of personal reflection and group discussion as well. This summer journey is one more seed planted in the minds and hearts of these young churchgoers as they examine more about the power and hope of Jesus on a very practical level: as teacher, as healer, as savior, etc. Ruben was able to come and join us on the last few days of the trip. We walked into Santiago together on the last day and caught the laser light show celebration in front of the Cathedral. ...

For more than 6 months I have been working with a small team of Spanish staff to pull together the first-ever Staff Family Retreat for Agape Spain. We had a couple of meetings beforehand, several phone calls and LOTS of prayer. Our team arrived a day early in order to prepare. We had a few tasks to complete, but mostly I wanted for us to pray together. Finally the day had arrived. They came pouring in one or two cars at a time. We had over 100 people participate in this retreat. The work team worked together, stepping in to encourage and pick up the slack where necessary. The staff at the residence were so helpful and flexible! The hostal had a GREAT location: beachfront just outside of Valencia. The main speaker, Ester Martinez, a renowned Christian psychologist in Spain, talked about finding the balance between ministry and our personal lives and challenged us with the phrase that Paul speaks to Timothy, "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if...