Small Steps. Big Faith.

Over the last 2 years Agape has seen an encouraging rise in the number of new staff joining our ministry. I was in Málaga this month (Oct 8-10) to assist in our ministry support development training for new staff in Spain. In was a very encouraging time to get to know these young staff and to hear their stories, to remind them of God's faithfulness in raising up our ministry support team and to encourage them in all that God has called them to do. One of the staff I met is Pablo Gómez, or Pablín as he is often called. He has been volunteering for several years with Agape, but the end of 2012, he made the most important decision of his life, to not only dedicate part of his time serving God but rather to work full-time to build bridges in order to help change lives by introducing people to Jesus. Below he shares a bit of his story.... "My name is Pablo J. Gómez, but everyone calls me Pablín. It's a name that I identify with because, although I am tall, I recognize...

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...

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...

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...

According to one frontier mission’s leader in the Muslim world, one of the most important trends in missions today is the increasing number of cross-cultural missionaries sent by "second world" countries, which includes mobilizing Latin Americans to reach the Muslim world for Christ. Meet Isaac: he is the newest incorporation to the Agape Spain team. He has come to work under the supervision and direction of Osvaldo de la Espada and Vielka Sempris, helping to minister to the north African community (Moroccans, Algerians, Tunisians, Libians, Egyptians, etc.). At the end of February he was granted permission to obtain his visa for entering the country and last week he arrived. "Hi! My name is Isaac Valdés. I come from Panama. I´m 26-years-old and I am an industrial engineer. I will be connecting with the north African university students in Málaga, working on the campus and doing my best to serve the students there. My longing is for God to raise up a movement of bel...