Week 5 Seville

We have come to discover that a land that is very dry. is also a land that is very thirsty and we have got to witness that first hand.  Countless of times we have seen people walk away during the message, but unlike the United States, there is something that draws them back to hear more of the message just like that of the roots of a willow tree searching for water, This has been an exciting part of the trip to see God at work in the hearts of the people.

As we close week five of teaching puppets, drama, and sketch board at the church where Paul preached Sunday evening, we are grateful that the congregation were very enthusiastic and encouraged that many decided to return for the training after witnessing the drama, "Set Free", and the message from Hebrews, chapter two, which mirrored the drama with the Gospel of forgiveness and redemption. Following the training sessions each night we went to the streets of Seville and shared the Gospel with drama and sketch board messages..

The believers in España have such beautiful hearts which are reflected in their music, praise and worship and we will miss them so much! The gratitude they show us is genuine and touching and causes us to wish we could do more! But there is prayer and we can lift them up to Jesus from anywhere. Together we serve a mighty God!

  

Our thanks and much gratitude also goes out to Carey and Sharon Owen for hosting us these past two weeks.  They willingly opened up their house to a bunch of teenagers (and three old people), fed us, nurtured us and gave us a place a place to lay our heads each night.Carey and Sharon have been a great example to us all for their gracious, servant hearts and will always have a special place in our hearts.

The End of Five Amazing Weeks

For the fourth week of ministry in Spain, we started with a kids club in a small park. When we got there, we set up and while we waited for kids to show up we had an amazing time of fellowship with the people we were working with. We taught them how to polka dance, waltz, and we talked with a lot of the study abroad students. The area we were in didn't have many kids, so after we waited awhile we decided it would be good idea to move. We then had to pick up everything (including the easily, broken puppet stage) and carry it to another part of the park where there were kids. While we were in the middle of puppets, there were minor technical issues with the sound system. So we had to go right into the kids message that I was giving that night. With Gods help, somehow the message of the Gospel was spoken through me. 

On Monday, we started another three days of training a church for open air ministry. We didn't have as many translators but somehow with our little Spanish and their little English, they learned Sketchboard, drama and puppets. When we went out Monday night, we prayed beforehand that God would open the hearts of the people we would talk to. The amount of amazing conversations we all had proves that God really does answer prayer. 

These five weeks have been amazing, so thank you to anyone who has supported us financially or with prayer because we wouldn't be here experiencing these amazing things without you. - Lauren Hollidge

One Country, One Body, One God

This past week we have been working with two Spanish churches. It's been amazing getting to know the people of the church, working with and training them for ministry. One night when we were out doing a kids/family ministry in the park two, separate, older ladies were sitting on park benches listening to the message. After the program was over and it was time to talk to the people sitting around, Carey went and talked to one and Sharon the other. They were very responsive to everything they talked about and heard.They were both invited to the church on Sunday and guess what?.......They both showed up at church on Sunday morning! The older lady she loved the message really wanted to start coming to an evangelical church.  She said that she felt empty 

empty inside and said, "What do I need to do to have someone come and visit me to tell me more about these things that are new to me?" What an awesome response!  We all know that Jesus's love is the best way to be fulfilled! It was amazing seeing the change of heart that happened from just starting off as a friendly conversation. 

Throughout the two services we went to that Sunday, the worship was incredible. It was like we all gathered as one giant body through Christ, praising Him through singing and praying together. Even though the service and songs were in Spanish it was so cool connecting with other believers from a totally different way of life. It's so awesome to be one team with the church and as believers, come together as one body through Christ to help minister in the parks and to continually praise God throughout the day. 

That Sunday night we performed the drama in front of church for them all to see. They loved it and applauded so much when we finished! Afterwards Paul did the message for the service that night on the paint board. The pastor was so nice and thanked us multiple times for coming and being there with everyone. He thanked us for the message that we shared and really appreciated how we didn't water down the gospel. He told us how the Gospel message is so clear through our ministry and how sometimes some people make it seem weak. He explained how the entire church really wanted us to come back to be with them and was praying that one day some of us would come back as missionaries in Spain! I'm very excited to strongly

finish out this week and to continue to proclaim the Gospel as much as possible hoping it will inspire other believers to do the same. - Seneca Bradley 

God Working In Lives

This week we are had the opportunity to work with another church doing more training and night ministry. Monday was our first day of training and a lot of people came. Everyone seemed really interested in learning. Also, we did night ministry at a fountain just outside the metro entrance for Puerta Jerez. We had a lot of good conversations. There were a few people who stayed to watch multiple messages and dramas. The people seemed really receptive to the Gospel and no authorities told us to move, or gave us any trouble.

Thank you for your prayers. We have really seen God working in the lives of the people here, even though we were told not to expect much of a response. Please pray that God would give us the strength to finish out the week strong and that we would have a safe trip back and that we would not miss any of our flights. Thank you. - Nate Palmer

Nonbelievers 'n Rollerblades 

This week has been so amazing! Going into it, we did not know what the plans were, or if we even had a plan! We ended up training more people to use the sketchboard, puppets, and drama. Then, in the evenings we would do adult ministry in front of the metro station to Puerta Jerez. What was so amazing about this week was how God truly opened the eyes of those who either watched the drama, or listened to the Gospel message on the sketchboard. On our first night of ministry, Joan and I got to talk to four Asian students from the University of Toronto. I talked to two of them, Sabrina and Tina, about how God just absolutely loves them, and I explained the Gospel to them. After saying this, not only were they speechless, but their eyes lit up like Christmas trees! Never had I seen nonbelievers be so excited by the Good News, and it was so amazing to see the Holy Spirit working in their hearts right before my eyes. Additionally, Joan was talking to the other two, Iko and Vicky. These girls were persistent in proving that science was the answer to everything, and that they didn't have any religious beliefs. Also, watching Joan talk to and question them about God, and also seeing the conviction in their hearts as their "smart-alec" responses withered away, was so amazing and such a God thing! On our second night of ministry, Seneca, Bethany, and I got into a great, yet brief, conversation with three girls: Keira, Maritza, and Gisella. Keira was the only one who spoke English, and was so enthusiastic about what we had to say about God and His love. She even questioned us "How can you do this? How did you know this was the right thing to do?". She was so excited to talk to us about this, and seemed genuinely eager to truly seek and find more about God. Just as there were so many highlights about our nighttime ministry, we had some distractions and downfalls. In the middle of Joel's message, "If Only" on the sketchboard, a large group of rollerbladers came through and waited, very LOUDLY, in front of sketchboard (Joel is a Swiss missionary we met in Spain). Rather than paying attention to what was being preached, they all socialized with one another. They stayed for the duration of the message, and eventually left afterwards. In addition, our first day of ministry, there was a group of break dancers who were blasting their music. Let's just say, we've had our fair share of boomboxes and rollerbladers! 

Thank you all so much for your consistent prayers and keeping in touch with what God has done in our lives this summer! God bless you all, and those we talked to! - Erica Feagans

Sketch Board Training

God Touching Hearts on the Streets

Fun with Family Ministry

Fun at Park Ministry