Small Steps. Big Faith.

In celebration of Women's history month, during this month of March, I want to share with you about the the privilege I have to work with all kinds of women in Ágape, some volunteers and others long-term staff.  Today, I celebrate  Dámariz and Zuleika , a mother-daughter couple who are both connected to Ágape in different ways. Dámariz and I actually met over 10 years ago because her husband and Ruben were co-workers at Tyco Electronics. Their family came to our house for Thanksgiving many years ago....but then we lost touch. 2 years ago, Dámariz gave me a call because her daughter, Zuleika, was graduating from college but had a strong desire to serve in full-time ministry with university students.  Zuleika joined Ágape as an intern last year and has been an amazing addition to the Campus team in Barcelona. Her vitality and commitment to students has drawn several students to the Ágape activities at the University of Barcelona. She has been able to have significant spirit...

  In celebration of Women's history month, during this month of March, I want to share with you about the the privilege I have to work with all kinds of women in Ágape, some volunteers and others long-term staff.  Today, I celebrate  Supermamás , a small group of women who live in the surrounding area who are caring for their newborns and little ones and seeking to grow in the Lord at the same time. I remember when I was a new mom in our little village of Sant Vicenç de Castellet. I was so far removed from my Ágape community in Barcelona. The days were long and lonely for me. God was faithful and sustained me and carried me.....but I have never forgotten that difficult season of life and have prayed for an opportunity to be an encouragement and a light for other moms so that they don't have to learn to be moms in isolation and loneliness. I started by mentioning the idea to a few moms at our church who live close to me. They invited a couple of moms. They seem to have rea...

In celebration of Women's history month, during this month of March, I want to share with you about the the privilege I have to work with all kinds of women in Ágape, some volunteers and others long-term staff.  Today, I celebrate International Women's Day by introducing to you an international woman: Jessie Starrenburg. Jessie is from Holland is a full-time staff woman in Barcelona with Athletes in Action. She coaches a girls' soccer team as well as plays adult women's club soccer with a local team. As a coach, she sets the tone for teamwork, hard work and respect while leading by example with her peer players  by taking the initiative to develop connections with her fellow players. The environment is not always easy but she trusts that the Lord has called her there to be salt and light in a world that is not often open to spiritual topics. Last fall, Jessie asked if we could meet more regularly one-on-one as she desires to be challenged to keep growing in her leadersh...

In celebration of Women's history month, during this month of March, I want to share with you about the the privilege I have to work with all kinds of women in Ágape, some volunteers and others long-term staff.  Today, I celebrate María Casanova , a Spanish woman who serves on the Operations team in our Ágape National Office in Valencia. I met María 3 years ago when she applied to join our staff full-time.  María is unusual in our evangelical environment because she is Catholic. When she was younger she considered entering a convent, but, in the end, did not go that route. It has been a blessing for María to discover that she can serve the Lord and minister to others in a full-time way although she has not entered a convent. Because of her energy and friendliness, she has brought so much joy to our staff as she serves tirelessly to bring clarity, explain procedures and equip staff to be even more effective in their administrative responsibilities. She is such an interesting pe...

An American, a Brazilian, a Spaniard and 9 Moroccan women walk into a neighborhood center....it sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? God has a great sense of humor! Let me tell you how this story works out.... My church in Spain has an amazing outreach ministry in a city neighborhood highly populated by Moroccan immigrants. While immigration has increased globally, Catalunya has one of the highest percentages of immigration world-wide.  This drastic and relatively rapid change is historic and also traumatic for a Spanish system that is not prepared to receive so many immigrants. We personally have seen the burdening effects of immigration in our schools, at our hospitals and in our neighborhoods.  Many of those who come from Morocco are the poorest of the poor. They arrive looking for work and a better life. They come without having learned the language. Many, especially the women, come as illiterates, even in their own language.  While this is a challenge for our ...

Workshop: "How to start a ministry to married couples" On Saturday afternoon, December 2, we had the opportunity to showcase Alex and Monica and Nathanael and Sarai, two married couples who are actively developing ministries to married couples in  Spain.  7 couples connected online from the north, south, east and west of Spain to hear about God's faithfulness in saving and strengthening marriages and to consider how He might use them too to mentor and develop other married couples in their corners of Spain. What a treat it was to have Ruben with me as we created this space for couples to learn from leaders with years of experience. Below you can see us both in the top right hand corner as I hosted this conversation. Alex and Monica have been working with couples at their church in Barcelona for 10 years. Nathanael and Sarai served married couples for several years at the church in Panamá and are now facilitating growth opportunities for couples at their church i...

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?   And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written:  'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! '" -Romans 10:14-15 2023 has been quite a busy year for requesting missionary visas, one of several hats I wear as I serve in Agape Spain.  Although I am not a lawyer, I have learned so much over the last 15 years about the visa application process for religious visas. While it has been quite time-consuming, it has been a privilege to be one of the first from Ágape to meet these international staff  and  to serve them well through this seemingly mundane and sometimes challenging bureaucratic procedure. Nathy Ángel with GAiN Nathy Ángel, who is from Colombia, was working on a masters in Applied Neuromarketing at the University of Valencia when she got invo...