Speaking Frankly, by Michael Frank

OK, so now what...?

I just went on an incredible journey to a country on the other side of the world and met some amazing people who share a love and passion for the same God I worship here in Atlanta, Georgia. Friendships were made, and existing friendships were made stronger. For nine days, I laughed with, as well as shared hard conversations with these friends. For the most part, I left all of the worries I may have had back home, back home. I was able to focus on these new relationships, their needs and our mission. For some of you reading this post, you can relate. Either you have been on a mission trip as well, or have been on some form of retreat with a group of friends and experienced moments that at the time, you thought and hoped that they would be "life changing" moments. You arrived back from the trip with a new paradigm, new or stronger beliefs, and you have that "gung-ho" attitude to pray more, to be the better man or woman you know you could be, and to have that closer relationship with God and with your family and friends, new and old.

Then, once settled back into things back home, you open your mailbox, your email inbox, and you check your voicemail. Your calender fills up with appointments and dinners, birthday parties and social functions. Mortgages and bills become a priority, and your "quiet time" is more often spent balancing your checkbook rather than reading the book of Romans. It's almost like someone is very subtly, quietly under the radar, throwing out constant little distractions out there to keep you busy and to keep your motivation and new found desire, subdued...

Luke 9:62, Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

To all reading this post, including myself, who have ever begun some form of mission, some type of service, went on a short term trip, and our service begun and ended there, and we did not remain in prayer and support for the people we met. We are doing as much of a disservice to God if we have never went on the journey in the first place.

We put our "hand to the plow" and just begun our work when we went over to Spain on our mission trip. Our objective has been given, and our mission did not end when we heard the pilot say, "Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for choosing Delta, and welcome to Atlanta." We should remain united together so we do not "look back", and become distracted with all that is going on in our lives.

Our mission has just begun...

"Deep Thoughts" by Carolyn:

Well, we're back, and there is so much to reflect on, so I thought I'd share a few "deep thoughts" by Carolyn with you. These are things I learned, out of MANY others on our trip, and I invite my other teammates to add on if they so desire. Some may only be funny or meaningful to our team, but here it goes:

• "No moro" is not part of the Spanish language (just the Michael "Franko" language)
• "Estoy Caliente" is NOT the right thing to say if you're feeling hot (as in temperature)!
• The "painted man" in Barcelona really does exist (and puts a horse to shame)
• Jen Tanksley loves "hamon" (Spanish "ham")
• I could drink "cafe au leches" everyday (coffee with milk)
• "Rufus" Tankersley or Tankerton will never exist if Jen or Scott have any say so (and that's not their last name anyway David)!
• Michael Frank was NOT Julie's "secreto amigo"
• Ty Pennington and the "Extreme Home Makeover" crew has NOTHING on us!
• if you're going to get lost in Spain, be sure David Walker is behind the wheel
• don't ever use a "vineyard" as a landmark when trying to remember directions (MEL)! They are everywhere in Spain!
• Never go to Spain without Julie Allen (she's the #1 translator)!
• Watch out for Betsy when music is playing
• Bob may be "older" but he has some of the best jokes you've ever heard and he's not afraid to use them!
• Roundabouts can be difficult to get out of when driving
• Watch out for baptist youth groups
• Long live the "Pepecar" van!
• Don't ask Jennifer J. to open her eyes during pictures
• Black paint is not easily found in Spain
• When you need an interior designer, call on Jen Tanksley!
• Isma now knows "sign language" for "WHATEVER!"
• "Franko" has significant meaning and should be adopted as Spain's official language (don't you agree-o ?)
• Dino's Gelato (in Sitges) is the best in the world!
• If Michael Frank cracks a joke, he's sure to follow it up with "Thank you...I'll be here all week!" (he even learned to say that in Spanish)
• Be careful when trying to take a picture with Cara... she may make you do the "heel click"!
• Never let Jim leave America with certain "musical cards"
• Jennifer J. has many "half-baked" moments (as we ALL do), and get her to explain the meaning to you sometime
• "Boquerones" are the way to David and Michael's hearts
• The "Running of the Bulls" in Spain is like Nascar in America (with sports commentators too)!
• Never get in a girl-fight with Jennifer J.
• Julie likes to give wake-up calls and then go back to bed
• Never plug an expensive hair straightener into an adapter in a foreign country
• When traveling to a foreign country... take music from home!
• "What happens in Spain, stays in SPANISH!" (:

On a more serious note.....

• The size of a congregation isn't as important as the heart of a congregation (for God)
• The best way to start your day is with a devotion given by BOB!
• Scott knows how to lead a small groups session very well!
• Music transcends culture (especially music that is praising God)
• Listening to "Indescribable" sung in Spanish, is one of the most beautiful melodies
• The people of Spain are family-oriented and very hospitable!
• Melanie's pictures capture every "Kodak moment"
• Getting "support letters" from family/friends back home, while in a foreign country, can give you the "boost" (or encouragement) you need to keep going
• Children like Oriol, Isaac and Noa can melt your heart (especially Michael's)
• Though Raquel hardly speaks English, she got up and told us that she "saw christ in us" and that she "wanted to be like that to others" IN ENGLISH with no problem... must have been God speaking through her.
• You never know who might be needing God in their lives (ie: Chave, the chair salesman)
• God can be found in EVERYTHING... from the breeze coming off of the Mediteranean Sea, to a blog shared among friends, to a song sung in another language
• Alvaro, Tamar and Dani are amazing musical talents!
• It IS possible to feel like family with people you've known for only a week
• Betsy doesn't even know her own strength as a leader sometimes... but WE all do!
• that LOVE can be felt from 6,000 miles away (even after 50 years of marriage)
• that each of us has a need for God's grace and forgiveness in our lives
• Sharing a testimony (even through translation) can bring others closer to God
• God works miracles everyday (as in the case of Eugenio being healed last week)

I know there's much more that I can't think of right now, but this will give you a sneak peak into our amazing week (yes, I'm a poet too, and "I'll be here all week", as frank would say). (:

Missing our new friends......

Like Betsy, I (Mel) am waking up this morning and processing all that I have experienced this past week. I am so grateful for my new friends in Spain. God has strategically planted hearts for Him in the beautiful area we visited. There is salt and light in Spain and I wanted to share the faces of some of these people.


Isma, Eva and Isaac are a precious family! Isma and Eva spent countless hours driving, translating, answering questions and loving us! They took days off work to be with us. They have hearts that are bent toward drawing others to Christ and we know God has big plans for them. Isma was our "class clown." As Cara says, "He cracks me up." He gets it honestly from is father, Josep. Isma and Ava engaged in some very intentional conversations with us. Their honesty and love are so refreshing. They desire to see the unchurched of their community feel loved and accepted in church and I know God will use them to bring about His purpose! They have hearts that are willing to do what it takes.


Alvaro, Raquel, Oriole and Noa are another family that stole our hearts! As we have mentioned, Alvaro translated the song "Indescribable" and it was so beautiful! He is a very gifted musician (singer, keyboard, guitar) with a wonderful heart for others. He and Raquel took time to be with us this week even though they had family coming in from out of town to celebrate Oriole's 4th B'day (which was Sunday). Alvaro took time off work during the week to drive us around and help at the church. This family loves God and they have such a desire to see their church impact the community of unchurched people. They are available to God and I know He will use them in a big way!


Dani and Tamar are another couple who took time during their week to be with us. Tamar made the Ikea run to Barcelona with Betsy and some of the team. They were looking for blinds and other items need for the work we did at church. What a trooper!! I think she even made runs to the paint store with Scott and Jen! Dani is as talented as his brother Alvaro. I never say him practice "Indescribable" until 30 minutes before the service on Sunday! He placed the drums and I was blown away by the sound! He also works the sound and video equiment (along with Isma). What a great couple. They are just fun to be with. They took us to an amazing restaurant one night. We sat outside and then enjoyed a beautfiul walk along the docks by the water! Again, hearts for God that He will use to bring light to Spain!


Jim, Cara, Jennifer and I had the wonderful honor of eating one night with Josep and Merce in their home. Josep and Merce are Isma and David's parents. As I said before, Jospeh has the same sense of humor as Isma and we definitely shared in the universal language of laughter. What a joy to be in their home. Merce is an amazing cook. Cara usually doesn't like shrimp but she loved Merce's (both with and without eyes). Jim did have to peel them for her, but she went back for more! Joseph has a huge heart and I was so touched by him. On Saturday when we had them write the names of the friends they were praying for on the wall at the church, he was so overcome with emotion. What a love for others! We would have loved to spend more time with their son David. However, he works in the entertainment industry and was gone most of the time on the Ricky Martin Spain tour. He ate one night with us at Isma and Eva's and we wished we could have spent more time with him. One thing he said that really touched us was regarding his visit to North Point. He and Alvaro came over in January to observe our production crew. He said that he had heard so much about North Point.....the big screens, the games in the youth rooms, the music, the moving lights.....However, what touched him the most was the community and love for each other. He said it was the first thing he noticed when he arrived. He felt welcome and could sense the love of the people for each other! Isn't that amazing! It's what we desire as a church!

Thanks for reading. I'll echo the sentiments of everyone else. It was an amazing trip. I couldn't have imagined a better team to go with or better friends to discover in Spain!

With a full and thankful heart,
Melanie

Take me back to Catalunya ASAP!

Where is the cafe and cocoa crispies???

Did anyone else wake up this morning at 4:40am wondering where the team was? I wanted to pop down the stairs and see Jim and Michael already enjoying the hotel breakfast and Bob quietly reading in his bible. Oh how I miss even my rock hard bed today!
I fear unpacking any of my thoughts too soon as I want to allow time, as Scott said, to really process just what happened 5000 miles away this week. Im sitting on my couch looking out the window onto the street and for a second I could think that nothing happened to me the last 10 days. Everything here is the same. I am still unemployed (which turned out to be a nice thing since the day was so long yesterday), there is still a wedding to plan in 3 months now, my grass still needs cut and it looks like an afternoon thunderstorm may appear - just as usual. But then I thought I would read over the blog this morning just to take an outside look at what actually happened. After reading over the posts from each of the character's on our team I am assured that something did happen. God showed up.
God showed up in ways I could never have put on paper or in a plan. God showed up in our unity as a team, in the patience of each of us after 10 long days. He showed up in the conversations with Alvaro on the way to the vineyard. He showed up in our group meetings. He showed up everynight at dinner when we would sit for hours and listen to our Spanish friends talk about their desire to see God's church in Spain. He showed up in Chave and in Tomas and Raquel and even in Juan Carlos, the hotel worker. God showed up BIG! And as an added benefit - he showed up in my heart. I am so grateful for the exact team that went to Spain. THe 12 of us in a weird way could be like the disciples...not necessarily the brightest most equipped but altogether - wanting to follow. I realized this week how Big of a God we serve. I am thankful, too, to have somethign else to consume my thoughts. I cant help but thinking incessantly about Alvaro and Dani and Isma and the men of the church. I want to badly for them to see God at work too and I know in a way, this week, they did. I am thankful that I have something to pray for and specific names to remember. I am grateful that we got to be a part of something Huge. I promise you - it may be 5 years and it may be 12 but sooner or later because of the presence of "salt" in this country - light will come. God is working now to prepare hearts and people to be advocates for His kingdom. I feel so priveleged that we may have been some of the first to see his finger print on this city.
Thank you for your constant prayers and support. We feel that you are just as much a part of this journey and we hope too that you are burdened to pray for this church and our new friends. But if you dare, pray Big, too, for Spain and for Europe and for God's kingdom to come to this earth all over the world. You will be blown away as you start to see Him move.

Missing Espana,
Betsy

We're back after a LONG 10 hour flight today! Here are some pix from our week.....
a. Julie and Betsy painting the front showcase in the foyar of the church.

b. Alvaro with his kids, Oriol (4) and Noa (2)

c. Carolyn with Isma, Ava and their 4 year old son, Isaac.

d. The entire team with members/leaders of Iglesia Evangeliste.

e. Alvaro, Tamar, Jennifer (from our team) and Dani, sang "Indescribable" (Chris Tomlin) in church on Sunday (in both English and Spanish!

f. From left to right....Alvaro, Isma and Danny
g. Michael Frank with Noa (Alvaro and Raquel's 2 year old girl)... she LOVED him!

h. Leadership/ Small Groups training on Saturday (Scott led a lot of it).

i. our group with Eugenio (in front with black shirt), who had the heart attack.... and other members of their church.

j. Julie, Melanie and David painting walls.

k. Michael and Jim moving equipment out of the church.

l. The church before renovation began.

m. David and Julie talking to Chave the chair salesman (see blog on Tuesday or Wed.)

n. Our group enjoying lunch by the sea in Sitges.

o. This one is of Iglesia Evangelica (the church that we renovated all week and have a partnership with) in Sitges, Spain.

Adios Espana from Julie

Well, we are about to leave this great country. We have had a fabulous experience meeting these people and establishing relationships. We have seen God work in amazing ways and are so thankful for the opportunity He gave us to come here and be a small part of something big. God is definitely working here and it was incredible to be a part of that. Thank you all for all your support and prayers. We definitely felt the prayers and they were greatly appreciated. Please keep Vilanova Protestant Church in your prayers as they continue to create environments to reach the unchurched here in Spain. This is a difficult task for them but with God on their side it will become reality. Please pray specifically that God will bring a leader who will take this church to the next level. Thank you and we love you all. Os queremos.

Speaking Frankly, by Michael Frank

It is almost one in the morning over here, and we have had a long, and very awesome day. I am worn out, but I wanted to leave this trip with one last ¨deep thought". I read a blog before I came on this trip with a similar message that I am about to give, I have heard it preached before, and I have read books with the same message. Now I am adding my opnion to it...

For those of you (and I am including myself in this blog for sure, I promise you) who ask the Big questions. Who Am I? What Am I Doing Here? To those of you who sit on I-285 in rush hour traffic, day after day and moan and complain. To those of you who work to get promoted, earn the promotion, and then feel not as fullfilled as they thought they would when they were imagining the promotion. To those of you who are in a job they do not like and do not know where they should go. To those of you who are getting close to retirement, and to those who are just getting their resume in order. To those of you who have just screamed at God and yelled, "What do you want me to do! I am not happy here, doing this. What is it that I am supposed to do!?"

In the blog I read, the author described it this way...imagine God as a General of an Army, and he is giving his command to all of his troops. He gives one mission for everyone to accomplish. He spells it out clearly, giving is objective and his promise. If God spoke to you and told you, "Your Purpose for your life", would you follow his command?

Matthew 28:18-20. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

He said simply, "Go". He did not say, "not to if you were to old", Bob Cox, on our mission trip is 76, and he would have worn out, did wear out, people 40 years younger than him on this trip this week. He did not say, "not to if you were to young". Our leader, Betsy, is 26, and she could give many men twice her age a class on leadership. Jesus did not say only go if you were rich or poor, healthly or sick. He said "Go".

For those of you who say, "Well, I would go, but I need some sort of sign, or plan, or to be told what I´ll be doing first, then I´ll go".

Hebrews 11:1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

And lastly, I will loosely quote from memory, a movie line (its a guy thing) from the movie Braveheart, by the main character, William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson. " Many years from now, when you are lying in your bed, will you be happy for where you are, or will you wish for one chance, one chance, to come back here, to this day! And to Fight for your Freedom!" (again, that was loosely quoted, but you get the idea?)

Translation to what I am talking about... many years (who knows but God how long you have?) from now when you are lying on your death bed, will you be content with your life and what you have done. Or would you wish for one chance, one chance, that you were able to go back. To suck up the courage, push away the fear. Silence the "yeah, I would like to do that, but..." and to do what you have, not been given the option to do, but the command to do with your life.

He said simply... "Go".

Final Meeting in Spain by Jim Filmore

Today was the culmination of an absolutely incredibible week and an amazing experience. By now, you have read the background on our trip and we have shared many experiences. It is difficult to put into words the impact this week has had upon my life and the friendships that have been forged in such a short time. We traveled thousands of miles to meet a group of people in a different culture who speak a different lanaguage and yet a common thread binds us together. Everybody that I met had a heart for God that was manifested in their openness, friendship, and generosity to others. While we came here to help this community, I feel that they have given us so much more in return.

We finished our meetings tonight by revealing our "Secreto Amigo". This was a system that was set up by Carolyn and Cara to help encourage our team. When we revealed our secret amigo, each of us described what we appreciate about that person and how they impacted us on this trip. We could have stayed up for hours as there was no lack of positive attributes to describe everyone in the room. Of course, we recognized that anything we accomplished was the result of God working through us and was not a result of our own power. If we took a moment to think of those in Spain that impacted our lives, we could also easily assemble pages of thoughts. Isma and Eva were an amazing blessing throughout our week. They re-arranged their schedule and cleared their calendar to drive us from our hotel to the church numerous times. They did so while maintaining a positive outlook. Isma made me laugh so many times with his witty humor that I often forgot that English is not his primary language. Tomas and his wife Pure are parential figures in the church. While Tomas spoke almost no English, it is amazing how I felt his warmth and fatherly presence simply when he laid his hand on my shoulder during our first meeting at dinner Tuesday night. Alvero and his wife Raquel amazed me with their ability to be such loving parents while juggling their commitment to their church. Alvero is such an incredible modest guy and yet is so gifted. A few days ago, he said that he didn´t really play the guitar and yet an hour later he was effortlessly strumming away to a new song. He also didn´t mention that he sung or played the piano and yet he lead morning worship with an incredible voice and a presence behind the piano. I could go on an on about the people with whom we met. However, the bottom line is that we realized that this trip was not about some new paint or decorations that we made to a building. This trip was about God´s kingdom and His church. As Scott stated so eloquently this weekend, a church is not a physical building. If North Point Church burnt down, then the true "church" would continue as small groups would still meet. We experienced this fellowship today during our BBQ. No color of paint on the walls nor any decorations in the hallway could create such fellowship. God working on us...in us...and through us...creates such fellowship and it was amazing.

Thanks to everyone who supported us on this trip. Thanks to those who supppored us financially and spiritually. Your letters and words of encouragement were invaluable during our journey. I pray that what we did here this week has a positive impact on his community in Spain. I know that it had a positive impact on my life and I will forever be changed as a result of this experience.

- Jim Filmore

Thoughts from BOB

Our mission here has been completed. We have felt the Lord's leading during the entire week. Today, Sunday, July 8th the Christians honored us with a cookout in one of the local parks. WOW! What a great day of celebration. It is 10:35 in the envening and we're about to have our last team meeting while here in Spain. Pray for our safe trip back to Atlanta.

Love in Christ
Bob Cox
See you tomorrow honey.

Speaking Frankly, by Michael Frank

Tonight will be first time ever (for me) to "blog", or type on a Spanish keyboard. This should be fun...

It is the next to the last night for our group, and what an amazing week it has been. In case you have been reading the previous blogs, you are up to date on what an incredible group of people there are in this part of the world, who have and share their passion and hearts for God. You have no choice but to be humbled and know that there is a God and that he is bigger than you can comprehend. Today was the first day that all the leaders of the church were able to come together at the same time this week, along with a few of its members, and see the church for the first time after we completed our renovations. To see grown men overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of their "new" church was incredible. To break out into small groups with the leaders and members and just ask them questions on what they thought the direction and destination was for their church and their community...was also amazing. We heard their needs and their viewpoints, and it was humbling to know that there are people in other parts who have the same obstacles and challenges that we face in spreading His word.

And to preface this next part, I have heard of this done before on other mission trips, and thought the idea of it was cool, but I had no idea... To come across the ocean and listen to a new friend that you have met sing "Indescribable" (by Chris Tomlin) in his language really opens your eyes to see just how big of a part this thing is and how big God is.

It was another long, and awesome day. A morning workout on the beach across the street of our hotel. A devotion led by an incredible man, Bob Cox. A quick visit to the church that they are building here in Vilanova, and then the rest of the day with its members in Sitges. And to close the night with just our group at dinner here on the boardwalk, Oh, and we heard a very intriguing testimony by Carolyn Norton...this a great close to a beautiful day. In shorto, I have had a lot of funo. And I can´t wait to come backo hereo...

Michael and the Spain Team 2

TGIF in Vilanova!

We began our day today with a team meeting where Michael Frank shared his testimony, which was a good start to the day. Isma met us for breakfast at 9:30...where some of us ate a traditional croissant but the more daring team members ate "bikinis." They actually turned out to be not so daring sandwiches of ham and cheese! We then divided and conquered. One group stayed and prepared for the training on Saturday and the rest went to clean the church and put it back together. The cleaning crew was very efficient and innovative. The vaccuum cleaner didn´t work well, so Jennifer made a "lint brush" out of a aersol can and simple roll of masking tape. Might sound funny...but, it worked!!! Bob and Michael swept the carpet...yes, you read that correctly, they "swept" the carpet with brooms. Julie straightened the sound area (cords etc.)...Jim moved chairs and did many other tasks. Melanie cleaned the foyer. Carolyn mopped the floors and ran errands back and forth to the store, and Cara cleaned the bathroom!! NOT a fun job, but very necessary. While we were there, David, Betsy, Jen and Scott stayed back at the hotel and planned for Saturday.

Around 2 pm we all went to Barcelona (Isma drove us in our van) and met up with the ¨planning¨team for lunch. Carolyn was even able to meet up with Ben, one of their Coca Cola Scholars who was in Barcelona too! We walked around and shopped and saw the sights for a couple of hours, and then took the train back to Vilanova. We had so much fun with Ava and Isma, and we´re already sad knowing we have to say goodbye to them in 2 days.

Tonight David played tennis with Alvaro and his brother Danny (at courts by their house), and he had a chance to talk to them about their vision for their church. Then, we split up and some of us went to dinner with Isma and his parents (Joseph and Mercedes) and the rest went to dinner with Danny, Tamar, Alvero, Raquel and their kids (at Danny´s house). Both dinners were outside under the stars. Our new friends in Spain are very hospitable and make us feel so welcome!
Those of us who were at Danny and Tamar´s house finished the night watching all of the pictures we´ve taken so far on this trip...on Danny´s movie projector at home. Truly, we feel like these people are FAMILY. God has been sooo good to us!

Tomorrow we have a big day of planning and training for church leaders. We will do icebreakers with them and then break into small groups and discuss different things that our church does at home that they want to learn. There has been a lot of division at this new church, so your prayers are needed for a great day of fellowship and ¨bonding¨ tomorrow (especially between the members and leaders of their church). We fully expect God to show up big again, so we´re not worried, but it´s been very tough for them lately. They work in their regular jobs all week and then spend all weekend preparing for church Sunday (unpaid of course), and the men especially also feel the pressure of being a good husband and father aside, so they are exhausted. We have told them how all of you back home are praying for them and it means so much to all of them, so MUCHOS GRACIAS from Iglesia Evangelist. (:

Hasta Luego....until tomorrow.
(Cara, Carolyn, Melanie...on behalf of Spain team)

Church is Finished at Last

After luncho, we wento to the churcho (By the way, we are speaking a new language made up by Michael Frank that we call "Frank!"). At the church we worked hard until about 9:30pm painting and putting the finishing touches on the display case in the foyer. It looks magnifico! I (Cara) just know the church members who haven´t seen it yet are going to love the improvements and feel proud of their place of worship. We quickly ran back to the hotel to get changed to go to dinner with Tamar and Danny, two of the members of the church here in Vilanova. They took us to a restaurant on the sea where many of us had our first taste of paella, which was muy bueno! Then, we took a short walk down the street and have just returned home. Tomorrow, we will be cleaning the church and planning for Saturday. Hasta luego!

Cara (on behalf of Spain Team 2)

Late lunch by the sea....

The wind is blowing, the sky is the most brilliant blue you could ever imagine. The only thing inhibiting our view of the Med sea is the green tops of the palm trees. We are eating tortillas or bocadillos or "Subway" type lunch and then heading up the hill to finish our work on the church. Oh, and FANTA is our drink of choice!
Our friend, Alvaro is our tour guide today and he has skipped worked to make sure we are taken care of.(and we have been very well taken care of (Is that English I just spoke or Spanish? I dont know anymore.) Anyway, Alvaro keeps laughing at us because he is hoping to have a true Spanish style lunch with us today but as typical Americans, we are wanting to finish our work. But even a quick sandwich in the middle of Sitges (the town where the church is) is a treat here!
I may be writing too sappy for my team (as they sit throwing down a fast sandwich)and they can get on to me later but my senses are on overload!!! I think my heart wants to jump right out of my chest. Even eating lunch on the side of the street I can feel God at work. He is at work in me persoally, he is at work in the unity of the team even in the midst of 5 straight days together. He is at work in the lives of so many of the people we have met....Chave the chair salesman, Lars the fabulous tour guide at the winery (Okay, so that is another story and could take a whole afternoon to write but yes, we visited a winery during our half day of recooperation) and especially in the hearts and lives of every person we have met with the church here. My cup is so full right now and I am so grateful for each and every circumstance that has allowed us to be right here right now in this moment. Thank you, God, for the wind and the 78 degree temperature and no traffic and no humidity and for Alvaro and Sara and grapes that make wine and Eva and her heart. Thank you for bocadillos that nourish us for a busy afternoon to finish our work. Thank you for FANTA, thank you for your beautiful Spanish countryside. Thank you for allowing each one of us to be a part of something so large. On to work now - we promise - well, maybe after we stop and get a gelato on the way up the hill. It's a must for an afternoon of painting!

Tonight we will start to plan our "retreat" with the Spanish team on Saturday. We will be spending the whole day with everyone from the church here. Please pray for direction and pray that we would listen as we are guided in how to create a "retreat" with lasting impact. We feel and appreciate your prayers.

Ciao from Sitges.
Betsy and Team (and, yes, we have had gelato everyday! Rough rough life.)

Work hard, play hard...

The church where we have been working

Chave the Chair Salesman...Day 3

Happy 4th of July to our friends and family back home! Today we started (as we do everyday) with our morning meeting, where the ¨leader of the day¨ goes over plans for the day and gives a small devotion of some sort. Today was my day for that (carolyn) so I focused on the word ¨freedom¨ and had everyone start to think what that means to us as Americans and being ¨free in Christ¨. Then we headed to the church in 2 separate cars...and the van with most of us in it had a ¨European Vacation¨ moment where we went around the ¨roundabouts¨ too many times (ending up in FRONT of the car we were supposed to be following) and ended up getting lost on the way to Sitges. However, with Dave´s good driving skills and landmarks from the day before, we miraculously found our way. Some were saying on our team that (getting lost)was the first of several spiritual attacks today. Later in the morning, we realized we had oil based paint that we couldn´t use on the walls for primer, so as we were going to return it, we spilled it all over the sidewalks on the outside of the church. Scott, Julie, and David took a bath in turpentine trying to clean it up. Some of us have also had trouble using our credit cards over here, and it took a long time to get all paint and supplies that we needed. BUT, God is good, and by the end of the day, we had the entire church painted from top to bottom! Another great part of the day was when Alvaro came to help us, and he and I sat down and planned songs for the service on Sunday. I typed English words and he translated in Spanish. It is so amazing to see how music transcends culture. They love the same songs we do and listen to the same ones we listen to back home. It was a moment we won´t soon forget.

Another amazing thing that has happened on this trip is that we have met a chair salesman named Chave(pronounced Cha-Vee, who we affectionately call the ¨chair guy¨ and looks like Ray Romano). He has been coming to the church several times and showing us chair samples(bc- we decided that buying new chairs for their church was going to be one of our main projects) and each time he has been asking about this ¨church¨ that we are renovating. Julie has done an amazing job translating with him (and everyone else here who speaks little English). Basically he told us how people in Spain don´t go to church bc- only older people go and it means nothing to their life (no relevance). He was fascinated by the concept of ¨having a relationship with God¨and that younger people his age go to this church. By the end of the first day, he told us we were ¨fun¨ and today when he walked in, we all yelled his name and he had the biggest smile on his face! If nothing else happened this week, bringing Chave in contact with this church might be reason enough for us to be here.

We got back to the hotel late and showered and went to Ava and Isma´s house for dinner. THAT was the best part of the day to many of us. We sat on the floor with Isma and David (his brother) for hours talking about the future of their church and encouraging them to not give up. There are only 30 people that go to this church, and a majority of them have personally invested a lot of their own money to help build this church, even taking mortgages on their own homes in some cases. Scott made a good point of saying that ïf there is no struggle, it might not be worth doing¨ and that the enemy would want nothing more than to see this church fail. SO TRUE! So by the end of our talk with them, we felt that they were more encouraged and we all left feeling like God really IS showing up BIG this week just like we prayed.

Sorry this is so long but there is so much to say! On behalf of our entire team, we LOVE our support letters from all of you back home, and we love the comments you have put on our blog. We are praying for all of you too! Lots of love from our team.

Day 2 Recap

We got so much work done today! It´s 1:30 in the morning now, and we are about to turn in after a fun (and exhausting) day working on the current church facility in Sitges(about 15 miles away from Vilanova)! While the new church in Vilanova is in early construction, and likely won´t be completed for at least a year, the current facility in Sitges still needs to be "fixed up" during the transition. This is something we really prayed about in the months before the trip, as we really wanted the church leaders and the congregation to have a meeting place that they could be proud of as they invited others to come and worship.

We saw the church for the first time today, and immediately got to work on the walls in the sanctuary, the windows and walls in the foyer, and expecially the storage room. The plaster walls were originally covered with large sheets of burlap to cover large holes and cracks, but after we removed the coverings we got to work on the repair. It was wonderful to see the team work together in this capacity... whatever needed to be done, our team members would just shift jobs to complete the task. Jim and Frank moved heavy office equipment upstairs, Cara and Carolyn organized the cleaning of the storage room, Jen Tanksley spearheaded store trips to get supplies and the right paint colors for the building... I was amazed at how members of our team worked selflessly to complete even the smallest tasks. Although the walls have spackle all over them now, we are so excited to see what the place will look like tomorrow when we start applying the first coats of paint on!!!! Some of the church leaders like Isma, Eva and Alvaro plan on coming in tomorrow night to help out with the work! It´s so exciting to finally get to work on the project that we have been praying about the last several months.

This evening, we went to dinner with Tomas and his wife Pudi, as well as his son Alvero and his family. Even with a bit of a language barrier, it is such a joy to be with these people who in touch with what God is doing for their church, and they are so thankful to have us here helping them.

We can´t wait to see what happens tomorrow! Happy 4th of July from Spain!!!!

We´ve Arrived!

We arrived safely in Vilanova! Our flight was on time and very uneventful. Our hotel is directly across the street from the beach and the weather is beautiful! Everything went great!

After checking into the hotel, had a wonderful outdoor lunch and then had some down time to get adjusted to the time change (the new Delta planes have inflight entertainment and not many people actually slept...too busy watching movies, listening to muscic and playing games). Some team members are meeting with the leaders to map out our plan for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

Please continue to pray for Eugenio. He was in the hospital in Barcelona, but was moved today to the hospital here in Vilanova. Please pray for his continued healing and that we (especially Bob) have some great time visiting with him. We are praying for very intentional conversations that encourage he and his volunteers.

Also, please pray for Mary Ann. We were so disappointed to have to leave her in Atlanta! Pray that we are able to communicate clearly and accomplish much as we help the church create relevant environments in Vilanova. We will be meeting with volunteers as well as doing some ¨church¨ makeover work....without Ty Pennington or his megaphone!

Thanks again for all of your love, support and encouragment. We are expecting God to do great things this week!