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 May, the Global Family Life office granted us the rights to print The Art of Parenting study. There were several edits that needed to be made to adapt the Latin American Spanish to Spain Spanish. Due to supply chain issues, there were challenges in getting right material to print. Then the month-long Spanish vacation time hit in August.  FINALLY, near the end of September we got our first batch of these books, in Spanish called El Arte de ser padres .  I am so hopeful for how God might use this study in the lives of moms and dads here in Spain. Please pray for the first study that will start at our church in Terrassa in early 2023. Also pray that the Lord would open many doors for us to promote this study to churches and communities throughout Spain.

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding and most challenging responsibilities one could ever take on. It brings great joy, but can also wear us out and even create great frustration, especially when things don't go the way we wanted them to. Time Out for Parents  ( Darse un respiro ) is a Christian course on parenting but uses no Christian language nor bible references. It is designed to minister to all types of parents with the desire to build relationships and create community. I was certified in Spain in May to teach this course, but had no specific context in which to launch it. I asked the Lord where to start. After talking with teachers, principals, the local library and even the town government, I was encouraged to launch the program in our little village. I created a website with info and a sign-up form and the city hall even prepared publicity (left). All the information was sent out to parents in the 3 local primary schools as well as the local nursery school. digita...

Dani Sanmartin completed the consolidation of his support team in January. In February, we hosted a team leader training time using the Together (+Juntos )  study that we recently printed for married couples to host bible studies at their church or with neighbors. While I was in the U.S. for Michael's funeral, Dani (front row) had begun his new role as our first FamilyLife Spain staff member. He is pictured here with 4 other new staff and trainers at the New Staff Orientation that Donna (pictured right) and I had been planning for months.   Donna's husband, Israel and Dani and I have been meeting several times a month to begin to work through Ágape's New Staff Training curriculum, which provides a solid founddation for new believers and encouraging reminders for older believers. Sometimes we meet in each others' homes and sometimes we meet online.  Our commitment to prioritize this 36 topics over the next 1.5-2 years allows us to spend time together, share our lives an...

I just said good-bye to a new friend whom I hope I will see again soon.  Victoria Geck contacted me last year through a staff friend. She is working as an administrative assistant at a music conservatory, but her heart for the people of Spain has been growing steadily over the last few years. I suggested she COME for a visit to see what God is doing here. And she did! Although we didn't know Victoria before, we opened our home to receive her so as to aid her investigation about Spain and possible ministry opportunities here. She travelled to Seville, Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. She was able to meet with several Ágape staff to get a first-hand look at how God is working to reach Spanish people with the gospel. Victoria had an especially encouraing visit with Nacho Marques, our national director, in Valencia. It seems that her gifts and talents could meet a great need in our national office, including finances, communications and graphic design. After heading back home, Victoria ...

Agape held its national staff and volunteer conference a the end of May 2022 in El Escorial, outside of Madrid.  Our family and FamilyLife Spain's new staff member, Dani Sanmartin, traveled together by car to join the over 100 staff and volunteers to worship the Lord together, to reconnect with others from around the country and to be refreshed. God keeps adding to our numbers by raising up more laborers for the harvest.  In the last 18 months we have had 12 new people join our staff plus.  Each of these people passed through a rigorous application process, several of which I guided and facilitated. The process includes gathering and synthesizing many documents including the staff application, self-evaluation, a doctrinal questionnaire, and multiple references,  as well as a face-to-face interview. At our conference in May, we celebrated this incoming class of new staff who have joined us. Several of the volunteers who attended our conference were convinced of God's ...