Here's a taste of what God's been doing through us in Spain:
Diego is 13 years old. He has shoulder-length brown hair and deep chestnut eyes. His bronzed complexion speaks of many an hour playing on the sunny beaches of Malaga . As the YWAM team from Orlando , Florida takes up the walking street with their loud music and colorful shirts, Diego can't help but be intrigued. He's never seen anything like this before, so he decides to sit on the ledge to watch. As he listens to the message these Americans are sharing, he realizes that they're speaking about Jesus. He's heard about this before; at school they told him it's all a lie. As three of the team members approach him and share the story of what Jesus did for him and how he can be his friend, Diego knows: he senses in his spirit that this is true. They tell him that all he has to do is believe and confess. Suddenly, he leans forward and asks, Now? Can I do that right now? The excitement on his face mirrors the hope that has suddenly filled his heart. It's not a lie! As he fervently repeats the prayer that will change his life, Diego can't help but smile! Just when he thinks they've given him enough, one of the Americans takes off the silver cross he's wearing, hands it to him, and tells him that every time he looks at it, he can remember what just happened. Gratefully, he takes the cross, kisses it and wraps it around his wrist. He promises that he'll come back tomorrow so they can give him a Bible. As he begins his walk home, Diego knows that his life will never be the same.
Friday, July 13, 2007- 9 p.m.
~Grace
I first want to thank God for giving me this opportunity to come to Spain to tell people about His love for us. Also, I thank Him for giving me strength and courage to speak. Second, thanks to my ministry partner, Skinner, who always keeps pushing me to go talk with people. So far, we have been able to talk to a lot of people. Skinner and I have been able to plant the seed in many hearts letting them know that they will come to Christ because they are hungry for it. Anyway, the great news is that last night we were able to talk to three young kids. There was a 13 year old girl, Rosio, a 10 year old girl, Anna, and a 9 year old boy, Edward. We talked for a bit and finally started to talk about Jesus. I asked them if they wanted Jesus in their hearts and all three said, Yes! We talked some and let them know more. What is cool is that it turns out that someone else had been talking to their grandfather and he was really open about the Gospel. He did not accept but we know his is ready and hopefully tomorrow will be his day!
~Angelica
I saw a group of girls. Grace and I went up to talk with them and I was able to share what God had done in my life. In addition, I talked about how Jesus is the truth. Two of the four girls believe in Jesus now so praise God!
~Dylan
Psalm 25:1- "O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you my God."
In Spain many people ask me why would I want to give my life for God or what does it mean to give my life for God? After watching a drama about Jesus' sacrifice to take the place of sins, called More Than I Deserve, a man, Franco, and his son, Andreas, came in a deep conversation about these very questions. As Riis and I, with our YWAM translator, Pablo, spoke to Franco; he revealed to us that if someone gave a life for me I would give my life for them. When we asked what do you think about God giving His only son for you and your sins he stated, He could not do it with his son, maybe his sons organ, a family or friend, but not his son's life! Standing on the boardwalk thinking about what we had just spoken about. We encouraged him stating that God just wants your love and a relationship with you. We proceeded to tell him that it is the reason why God sacrificed Jesus on a cross as a living sacrifice. Franco stated that it could be that he can have that relationship with God. A large seed was planted and watered. Thank the Lord that we were able to pray with him and see his heart for a relationship with God. He said, I want to read some from the Bible you gave me and I would like to pray with my wife. I know God is beckoning him out of love for Franco.
~Anna Maria
Over the course of this trip, God has done so many amazing things, but there is one particular encounter that I will truly never forget. The Sunday before we left for Spain, we performed our program at the church that hosts YWAM Orlando. I was scheduled to speak at the end of our program. We had done our program earlier that morning and I shared something personal that God had done for me, but God really impressed upon my heart the heaviness in the room; He wanted me to share about how He is a God who can meet needs and lift burdens instead of my personal story that I had shared earlier. I got up and shared with the same conviction that God had expressed to me and the response was almost non-existent. I felt like I had done what God had wanted me to do, but I was anxious to find out the response. We split up into teams and began to pray and it was cool, but I still wondered if there were people who were blessed by the message. After I prayed with some people, I returned to my seat and a woman approached me. She told me that she was blessed by the message; she began to tell me about her current situation. She told me that she is trying to bring the rest of her family to America, but she is facing serious financial issues. She misses her family so much, especially her son. She said she woke up this morning telling God that she needed to see her son today; she was so discouraged she just needed to see his face. I will never forget her next sentence: “You were my son today, I needed to see him and God sent you. You remind me so much of him and I am so blessed by you.” She began to weep. I embraced her and encouraged the woman the best that I could. On the outside I had words of encouragement, but on the inside, I was truly speechless. It’s truly amazing how God can meet every need and you will always be amazed at what God can do through you when you are just obedient. These principles have been proven true for all of us on this trip everyday.
~Riis
Wonderful things can happen through the power of Jesus Christ. Out of all the
things He can do, however, the most essential is salvation. Last Saturday night,
God used me to save someone’s soul for the first time.
Our EpicQuest group had just finished another performance on the La Cala del Moral boardwalk. As we were asking God who to talk to, I turned around to see Aja walking up to me. For the previous two nights, I had joined her and others to translate while they were talking with Angel and Magali. Aja wanted me to
translate in a conversation between Janet, her, and Marisol.
We initially talked about where we were from and her daughter who is nearly two years old and was alternating between her mom and a set of nearby stairs. She was visiting her in-laws from Argentina which happened to be the owners of “El Posta del Angel,” the restaurant we kept performing next to.
Aja prayed for words to say and I believe her words were so good, they must have been divinely inspired. She had me translate that we were not trying to be like salesmen, but more like someone that has eaten food from a great restaurant; we want others to taste what we have tasted simply because it is so good.
Marisol was extremely receptive to what we were telling her. She had been to
church a few times in her life, but she did not know what it meant to pray for
salvation. After explaining, we prayed together and I interpreted in Spanish.
We dedicated and presented her with a Bible. I can’t spell very well in Spanish so we enlisted the help of Pablo, a worship leader at the church we are staying at. Unfortunately, he did not appear until halfway through the writing of the education, but I explained to Marisol that it made the dedication that much more special.
Soon after, we said our farewells. As I was walking away from her, I began to
feel a great joy; only a fraction of what Jesus Christ must have felt. It was a
great feeling to be used in His name. Before we left, Aja asked her for contact
information (we wanted to follow-up), but she lives in Argentina far in the
country side with no Internet and far from the post office in town. She also
cannot come to church because she works on Sunday. So as I close, I invite you,
gentle reader, to pray that Marisol finds people to grow in the Gospel with as she explores her new faith.
~Edison
I know that most of the YWAM team may be writing about people that they have been ministering to, but my testimony is about how God has given me a gift to minister through that which has caught the eye of many people and many have been saved by. You ask, “What talent is that?” That talent is Dance and Drama Ministry. God has put it into my heart to dance and be dramatic so that when I am dancing or performing dramas, I feel as if I am connecting to the audience; they see the passion for dance that God has given me. Along with the music that is played in the background, their hearts become open because of the messages and the testimonies of my teammates. From there, they become new in Christ!
~Shanaya
Tonight like many other nights Marina and I found ourselves sitting in prayer and looking among the crowd of people and asking, “Lord, who is it that you’ve place here tonight for us to bring to you?” Before we new it the two of us were on our way to talk to two older women sitting along the boardwalk. The two of them watched us perform a series of dances and what I feel is our most powerful drama, “More than I Deserve.” It was immediately clear that these women were lacking a joy. They both had very serious and almost defensive expressions on their faces. Marina succeeded in carrying on a casual conversation and gradually introducing the significance of our performance. At this point one woman got up and left, and we never encountered her again. Although, one woman did stay with a enough willingness to listen to what we had to say. With a Catholic background Agustina was amongst many of those whom believe that the only way to communicate with God is through a virgin. I sat next to Agustina as Marina explained this misconception and presented to this woman that she can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I was looking at this woman’s face and asking the Lord to please bring joy into this woman’s life. At the finish of that prayer her face transformed from a serious emotionless expression to that of a smile full of Joy. At this point I knew that Agustina had received something from the Lord, she was ready to have that relationship. As Marina wrapped up her conversation she turned to me and said, “She wants us to pray for her.” I immediately knew the words I needed to pray and with Marina translating she heard every bit. Marina continued the prayer asking the Lord to warm Agustina's heart and bring her new hope. With the conclusion of our prayer Agustina got up and was ready to dance, literally rocking back and forth with a huge smile. Agustina was transformed from the inside out.
~Adam
Strange things happen here. The flowers are in full bloom. The wind is stronger. No man has stopped our program. Our air mattresses do not deflate. I truly believe the grace of God is here. Satan too has had his hand in our mission, his foot in our pathway. One was robbed of his wallet, another attacked by a jellyfish. But I have witnessed the faithfulness of this team and the goodness of our God. You see, when God calls, he equips, and he leads, and he follows through. No man, no sea creature can hinder that plan. I truly believe God speaks greatly to us when we become servants. The Lord gave me wonderful insight as I went about my daily tasks.
Raking leaves is such a tiresome task. On several occasions I dripped sweat
pulling weeds and collecting dead material. After all the work, the lot was still filthy; I hardly noticed any difference at all. As I placed another bag full of all I had collected, I noticed the line of bags I had created. It was then I had seen the product of all my hard work. Sometimes I feel I drip sweat for the sake of the Gospel. I feel I make no impact, as hard as I try to clean, it is still filthy; the world is still imperfect. But when I step aside to observe what the Lord has done, when I look at all that has been gathered in the harvest, I see the tremendous difference and I am encouraged.
~Michelle
After our last performance, Angelica and I saw a man on the beach and decided to go to him. He was a nice man. He has a servant heart already and simply needs Jesus. He knew there had to be a god out there somewhere, but he wasn’t sure about which god. He informed us he reads the Bible and knows about Jesus, but he just hasn’t received Him. Eventually, his family came, and he had to leave. He told us that he worked on the beach at ten in the morning. So the next morning, Angelica and I went down to beach to talk to him. He was setting up chairs, so we helped him. As we were talking to him while his brother-in-law came over and we got to talk to him as well. After the brother-in-law left, another one of his friends came over who happened to work with him. The man did not get saved but he is coming to the BBQ on Sunday and he is bringing his entire family, so we are praying that we can witness to the entire family and that they will get saved. His friends heard the message too, se we’re praying for them as well. We are happy that we got to at least share the Gospel with several other people.
~Skinner
Spain has been an amazing experience for me. I have learned a lot about myself and how to better minister to unbelievers. I have seen many people get saved and give their lives to Christ and God used me to do that. Seeing people’s lives change for Christ has been amazing and has become a passion of mine. This
missions trip has sparked a fire in me for God. He has changed me so much.
Before I came here I did not know that I could be used by God in a way that could
dramatically change someone else. I know that Spain belongs to God and I am happy that God has used me to change this nation. I believe the people we have spoken to are going to make a difference here in Spain. This is only the beginning of a new chapter not only for Spain but for me. I feel like I can relate a lot to the people. God has truly put this nation on my heart. The conversations I have had with these people have helped me to better understand God and I feel like they have a better understanding of him as well. The questions they ask are sometimes hard to answer, but they have made me want to seek God and get in His word, in order for me to be more effective. They make me want to know more about God so that I can better answer their questions. Jesus is Lord and He is using little ‘ole me to make a difference. I count it a privilege and an honor!
~Janet
Mainly throughout our time here in Spain, the team has done performances in one specific location. That place is behind this restaurant that seems popular
amongst the locals. Night after night, I would go and talk to this college age
boy named Arne. His job at his family owned restaurant is to cook fish out back
behind the restaurant. Jesus has given me such a heart for Arne. The first night after I talked to him and he told me, “I don’t want God,” I prayed for him and God told me His plan for Arne’s life is for him to be a fisher of men. Two nights later again I went and gave him a Bible with fish on the cover. I told him what it represented. He did not give his life to Christ that night, but I believe in him even before he believes in himself. I know I became good friends with him to show Him God is with us and more importantly, God is in us! I told Jesus I would give anything for Arne to know Jesus. One soul is so precious to God and when I think of all the Lord has for Arne it makes me cry. Please pray for Arne and for his whole family at that restaurant because I have been praying and know that God has something huge for this whole family. They will be fishers of men and as people come to their restaurant they will have to leave different than ever before because they have life in Jesus! John 14:6. Thank you Jesus that you are the way, the truth, and the life and that no one will be able to come into your heaven unless it is through
you!
~Don
One night when we were working with the “Jesus Revolution” kids, Manny and I were assigned to help three girls go out and talk to people. We ended up going to talk to this lady named Anna. Manny translated for the girls and I helped with comments here and there. Anna was a really nice lady; she said that she believed in “God,” but she wasn’t into religion or the church. We had a good talk with her and before we said goodbye, we asked if we could pray for her. She said, “No, not for her specifically but that we could pray for everyone in the world. So we each took turns praying for “everyone,” the kids didn’t have their prayers translated so that they could just straight up pray for the lady. I wanted to have her understand my prayer so I started praying for everyone and then transitioned into praying for her in the context of God using Anna to bless everyone and just how much God loved her and how God had created her for an awesome purpose. It was really because at the end she thanked me for my prayer. Pray for her and trust God will grab her heart!
~Alexa
Jesus Revolution (J. Rev) was in need of translators and because our team has been blessed with so many Spanish speakers I was sent to work with J. Rev. J. Rev (as I refer to them) was about a mile down from where the YWAM team was located. They performed their triangle dance (as I call it) and their drama which is a blessing. God did amazing things through me while working with J. Rev. I got to talk to many people and even help lead some of the people to Christ. Sometimes, the people we lead to Christ did not fully understand what salvation is. It was a good thing that I was there to be able to better explain it to them.
~Manny
I’m trying to put in a capsule three weeks of ministry time that will be engraved in my life and will be part of my personal experience. My first impression was “Cultural Awareness is that night I read Revelations 7:9.” After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb…..
I realized that is not just that Spaniards’ culture is different from ours in
America. It is also learning to value another culture; it is learning how to
minister to and reach the hearts of the people in this area. Europe consists of
so many countries right next to each other giving the opportunity to learn two or
more languages. Plus, Spain being one of the main doors to Europe it is so easy
to meet people from many nations and languages as the Scriptures say. All of us
could benefit from being more culturally aware-both here overseas and at home in
U.S.A. After our first night of ministry I realized that many women and men my age and even younger, who have lots of material things, are also looking for a purpose or reason to live and invest their lives. Many told me that they admire my life and wished they would be in my place. Wow! How blessed I am. Well, that first night of ministry a family of three came to that same place of grace in Jesus Christ, my Lord and now their Lord and Savior also!
~Marina
From where we ate our meals, you could look out the windows and down the white-walled path to the Mediterranean. The walk from that window to the beach took nearly 20 minutes, and it was a walk that we made almost daily on our way to the place where we ministered. Out of the many amazing conversations that happened on this outreach, several in which I was able to take part occurred while walking this stretch of road. It was so exciting to realize how close discipleship opportunities are. It was just a simple walk. But God allowed it to become so much more important than that. Going home, I’m beginning to understand that I don’t have to wait for a tender moment in a worship service or for a mocha at Starbucks to strike up a meaningful conversation. I can have deep conversations in the car on the way to Blockbuster or on a walk to the cafeteria. And it’s not that this is some new, profound concept. I think I could have intellectually explained this all to you before I went to Spain, but now I think I actually understand it with enough depth to act on it and to have this concept become a part of my regular life when I return home.
~Justin
|
