What God is doing in Spain

Serving Before We Serve

2011-05-27T10:16:00.005-04:00

The countdown is on! We are officially less than ONE month away from departing Atlanta and heading to Parque Este in Sevilla!! We are all thrilled to see our friends and are eager to meet new English Camp students.

Before we leave home to serve an ocean away, we wanted to serve our community here in town. The team chose to support the Atlanta Union Mission and it's goal to end homelessness in Georgia. Among the many locations the AUM has, one of the largest operations is the Thrift Store, which is operated in Marietta near the Big Chicken. Our team met early last Saturday for a some fuel at a nearby Cracker Barrel and then headed over the the AUM Thrift Store. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Henry, a long-time advocate for the homeless. Henry is hard to describe if you haven't met him- he has the most amazing smile and happiness about him and has a genuine love for serving the needy. Even greater is his absolute love and devotion to the Lord.

After an introduction to the Mission and a tour of the facility, we were ready to begin our duties. Henry introduced us to Vickie (pictured), the store manager, for our assignments. We paired up and took on the tasks of folding and sorting linens, cleaning pictures for sale and sorting, hanging and tagging donations. Michael took on the tough task of accepting the heavy donations and putting together donated furniture.

All-in-all, the four hours we spent at the mission and with each other FLEW by and our time was up before we knew it. We were excited to head to Spain together in the first place, but after bonding with each other while serving on our home turf. We are so excited to head to Spain in 22 more days and can't wait to update you from Sevilla!!

Con amor,
stephanie, arinn, carrin, joanna, kim, michael and thea

Day 3 in Spain!!!!

2010-07-25T17:42:00.004-04:00

Well, we are complete with day 3!! Its almost midnight here and we are closing up shop. We had an AWESOME day today!! We got to go to the ICF church service this morning and they have certaintly grown. They had about 60 people in attendance this morning. Samuel (preacher) said that there were 3 women today that were brand new and had never been before! AMEN! How awesome to see God work! After lunch all the church members had brought a different dish and we had lunch (Pot Luck done the Spanish way)!! The food was oh so good! After lunch some of the church members took us down to Barcelona where we got to roam and in true tourist fashion, take a bunch of pictures. Micheal (one of our fearless leaders) has done an awesome job driving the PePe van. He didn't even need the GPS today, which is awesome. We are back to working at the church in the AM. We are painting and taking a trip to IKEA to purchase the furniture for parts of the church. The people here are so open and warm.. THey have truly opened up their homes and hearts to us. We, as a team, only hope and pray that we repay the favor to them and hope that all who encounter us see God in us. As it says in the Gospel of John "He must increase and I must decrease". Please keep the team in your prayers and more updates to come... Love and Blessing from Spain Team 2010! :)

Hola from Espana

2010-07-24T10:10:00.006-04:00

Hola from Espana!!!

Well we made it safe and sound. Our flight over was a little bumpy, but GOd provided us with safe travels. And after a quick nap yesterday and a solid 8 hourse of sleep, we are all rested and ready to go! We hit it hard today, priming, sanding and cleaning up at the new church builiding in Villanova. We had "Desyunon (lunch)" today w/some of the church memebers at the church in Sitges. We have quickly adopted the song "Allyjandro" as our team song. Not by choice, but bc it got stuck in my head and it has spread to the rest of the team. I will say this...the people of Spain are super passionate about bringing God's word to the people in their communities. The new church building is going to be a great tool for them to reach out to their neighboors and show the Glory of God. Since we have been here....one thing remains the same... no matter the culuture, age, economic background...we are a people designed to seek and need our God. He is doing mighty things. In a country of 46 million people and only 100K Christians.... it reminds us how lucky we are to grow up in an environment where the name of Jesus is heard often. And we have mucho respect for the people here as they have been tasked w/the purpose of carrying God's word to the masses. But as the Word tells us, "The harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few" !! More updates to come.... God is LOVE!

Encouragement for the Team heading to Vilanova!

2010-07-22T13:09:00.003-04:00

This devotional was sent to me this morning from Passion City Church (Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin's church), and I thought it was appropriate for Michael and Cara's team as they leave for Spain today (and also good for our friends in Spain to hear as they struggle to be a "light" in this dark world)....

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. "

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

God speed as you head over to my favorite place in the world! I am praying for you all and excited to see pictures and hear all about it! I will be praying for your safe travels, protection from the enemy, that God will be glorified through your words and actions and that He will give you strength and energy in using the skills and gifts that He has already equipped you with!

Love you guys! (AND my 2nd family in Spain)!
Carolyn

Tres días más y estaremos en España!!!

2010-07-19T12:12:00.003-04:00

Hola Amigos en Espana!!!

Hi, or Howdy, as we like to say in the South. We just wanted to say HI to all of you and tell you that we are so excited to be coming over to Spain and spending time with you all. We have been praying for the mission trip for months now. We have been praying for our hearts and for the hearts of the people of Spain. Our prayer has been that God would work mighty wonders in all of us and through us while we are in Spain. And that those people in your communities would be affected dramatically by the LOVE of our Lord. We are confident that God is doing a major work in the country of Spain and HE is working through each and everyone of you. We are really excited to be working beside each as our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can't wait and we hope you guys are as excited as we are. We are honored to be chosen to come to Spain and work with you all. Our God is amazing and HE transcends all countries, boundaries and culture! AMEN! Only 3 more days and we will be in Spain. We love you all and will see you very soon!

Love-

Spain Mission Team

Michael, Cara, Heather, Cheryl, Jamey and Brant

III CAMPUS DE INGLÉS

2010-07-01T08:11:00.002-04:00

¡El equipo han regresado a casa! Gracias a estudiantes, profesores y amigos que han hecho posible uno de los mejores Campus de Inglés. Viejas relaciones han sido fortalecidas, nuevas relaciones han sido creadas y muchas vidas han sido impactadas. Gracias de todo corazón de parte de responsables, voluntarios y de toda la iglesia Parque Este.

The week is coming to an end...

2010-06-26T19:00:00.003-04:00

wow wow wow. we are so thankful for an awesome week with our sweet friends here in sevilla. this time the team has been able to spend more time with pepe and mari, hearing their stories and praying together. for this we are so grateful. to see pictures and hear stories of how the church went from a dream to reality is nothing short of miraculous. pepe and mari abandoned a life of comfort many years ago. together with their beautiful children, they work daily to build relationships with the community they love. theirs is truly a labor of love. watching new faces fill the rooms at parque este this week has been so encouraging for the team. as we have heard repeated often this week... it is one person, one life, one heart changed at a time. only God can change the hearts of men, this we know. trusting in his perfect timing, we wait to hear stories of life change long after we return home. for this week, we are thankful. for your prayers and support, we are thankful. for our great and loving God, who rescued all of us when we were just lost sinners, we are thankful. glory to God. gracias gracias Señor.

we leave for malaga in the morning. we will travel by train and arrive midday. the team will debrief and all but julie and i return home monday morning. please pray for safe travels for the team and for the time we spend in sevilla to be beneficial to the community. we will host a movie night, game night, and more to continue investing in those new friends who attended camp this week. julie and i travel home thursday morning and we would appreciate your prayers for safe travel as well. here are just a few photos to sum up the last few days.

a reminder pepe gave us today has stuck with me and i would love to share it. when you think of spain, you don't necessarily think of missions. but in spain only 1% of the population are evangelical christians... as you pray for us, please pray that God would bring a revival to spain to change the hearts and minds of the people here.

con amor,

arinn, amy, tom, julie, joanna, kim, and steph

mas fotos

2010-06-24T10:31:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures we wanted to share with y'all from the last couple of days. Enjoy!

Con amor,

Julie y Arinn

Dia 2 y 3

2010-06-24T10:00:00.002-04:00

Hola!!!! The last two days have been fantastico. We are really enjoying hanging out with Pepe and Mari and their family and all the people of the church as well as the new folks who have come. God is so amazing and has brought many people to the camp each day. Tuesday we had 54 people and Wednesday we had 40 people. Most of the people who are coming are outsiders which we are so thankful for. God is definitely working and doing something here in Sevilla. Last night we went to eat at a church members house, Nono and Maribel. They were very gracious hosts and the food was excellent!! All of us ate enough tortilla espanola to last us until next year. It was muy deliciosa. Pepe, Dani, and Maria were ever so nice to take us downtown yesterday and show us around in 104 degrees heat!!!! It was a great opportunity to see how beautiful downtown is as well as learn a little bit about the history of Sevilla. We are very much looking forward to camp tonight and tomorrow and for what God has in store. We know he is working because we have seen his hand this whole week. What a great God we serve! Thank y'all so much for your prayers and support. We love y'all!

Prayer requests:

-the church members- that God gives them the words and strength as they form relationships with the outsiders.

-the outsiders- that they sense God's peace in the church members and have a longing to come to church

-safe travels for the team

-that we continue to feel energized and are an encouragement to everyone we meet

Viva "La Roja"

2010-06-22T18:43:00.004-04:00

Soccer/fútbol is very popular here! We were so fortunate to watch a match with our friends in Sevilla. The sport is so popular that we ended class early the first evening so our attendees could get home in time to watch the match! That's dedication! We stayed in the church and Dani put the game on the big screen for us. It was such a great game!!! Spain defeated Honduras 2-0. It's hard to describe how excited our friends here are about their fútbol, so I will just let the photos explain.

Tomorrow we will update you on camp. This has been such an amazing year with over 50 students attending camp each day. Praise God!

Enjoy the photos and VIVA ESPAÑA.

Con Amor,

Arinn y Stephanie

Pictures from Day 1

2010-06-22T10:44:00.003-04:00

God´s Favor and God´s Strength

2010-06-22T06:24:00.004-04:00

God´s favor was with us the entire trip. We had no delays or misplaced bags for which we were grateful. On our first night in Sevilla we had dinner with Pastor Pepe and his family. Can you say amazing Taco Pizza!? We need to bring that back to the states!

Sunday we went to church. The worship was beautiful and Pastor Pepe was preaching through a series entitled ¨Staying In Love.¨ We received warm greetings from the people of East Park Church in Sevilla and immediately saw how accepting and loving they were.

We got our first taste of downtown Sevilla when we went out for Tapas at 9PM. Culturally dinner is late in Spain with folks eating after 9 or 10PM. It is also a very social and meaningful part of their day, not something to be rushed through. I would love to see us bring this back to the states. Thank God we have adjusted well to eating later and getting to bed later.

Monday was day one of the English Camp. We got an ¨early¨start getting to the church at 11AM to set up and prepare for the evening session starting at 7PM. It was great to see our team come together with the church as we all worked to set up the different environments making sure we had all the supplies we needed. God´s presence was evident in the harmony of our cooperation.

It was so great to see the people arrive, getting their name tags, notebooks and t-shirts. Many of them wondering what the cost was and why everything was free. We were blessed by their arrival and attendance and even more importantly their participation. We had over 50 people come out on our first night from age 3 to 63.

World cup is huge in Spain so it would not be hard for you to imagine that we watched Spain destroy Honduras 2-0 on the big screen in the church. Can you say fanatical fans!

PRAY FOR:

The power and presence of Christ to be with us and go before us and East Park Church
Pastor Pepe, his family and church to develop eternal relationships with the people from the community who are coming to the English Camp.
For the church and us as a team to be emptied of ourselves and filled with, by and for the power and will of the Holy Spirit to be the light and aroma of Christ to those we meet.
The Holy Spirit to remove the (blinders) of cynicism in the spanish culture when it comes to the evangelical church and that He would give the people of the surrounding communities of East Park Church eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to love Jesus!

pictures to come this evening...

English Camp 2010 - Meet the Team!!!

2010-03-17T21:50:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe it is almost time for the third annual English camp! Our team is so excited to travel together to Sevilla this June to serve the people of Parque Este and their community. We ask for your prayers as we begin preparing for camp and bonding as a team. Our team members are Kim, Joanna, Amy, Tom, Arinn, Julie, and Stephanie. I've attached a picture of the team. We'll post more after our retreat and daily once we are in Spain. I can promise none of us will be wearing jackets in Sevilla like we are in this photo :) Thanks in advance for your prayers and support.

Con amor,
Steph

Another team in Sevilla as we speak....

2009-09-14T15:03:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Dave Karger and his team have arrived safely in Sevilla, and you can read all about their trip at this other blog that they created just for their team:
http://spainconnections09.blogspot.com/ . It sounds like the first 2 days were rough (with late luggage and a couple of other hurdles), but all is good now, and their "mission" is underway! Check it out!
Carolyn

GRAN DOMINGO EN PARQUE ESTE

2009-09-08T16:37:00.002-04:00

September 13: ¡Great Sunday in East Park!
1. Beginning of the first row, after the summer holidays, with the title "implies".
2. Lunch together in East Park.
3. Afternoon of prayer with some very dear friends that come from global X Atlanta.

Greetings to all.

13 de Septiembre: ¡Gran domingo en Parque Este!
1. Comienzo de la primera serie, tras las vacaciones de verano, con el título "Implicado".
2. Almuerzo juntos en Parque Este.
3. Tarde de oración con unos muy queridos amigos de global X que vienen de Atlanta.

Saludos a todos.

Beginning of the new course of the station

2009-09-04T05:56:00.002-04:00

Please ask your prayers for the beginning of the new course of the station in East Park.

Por favor, ruego vuestras oraciones para el comienzo del nuevo curso de la Estación en Parque Este.

"La Estación" en la calle

2009-06-28T19:00:00.003-04:00

Hoy hemos realizado un programa especial de "La estación" en la calle. Una fiesta de fin de curso para los niños de la Estación y sus amigos con juegos y distintos talleres. Ha sido muy divertido y nuestros vecinos han podido ver de cerca "La Estación" y sus voluntarios.

Thank You/ Gracias

2009-06-28T18:49:00.004-04:00

Una vez más, hemos podido disfrutar de una relación muy especial de amor y servicio al Señor en Parque este; para ver a muchos llegar a conocerle y establecer una relación creciente con Él. Hemos visto nuevas caras y hecho nuevos amigos y nuevas relaciones. Julie, Kim, Lisa, Arinn, Shaun y Stephanie. Gracias por dejar todo para venir a ayudarnos. Gracias por vuestro trabajo, cariño y generosidad. Nos sentimos orgullosos de que forméis parte de la Iglesia Parque Este.

Fiesta de clausura del II Campus de inglés

2009-06-28T18:27:00.003-04:00

La semana del Campus de inglés ha terminado con una fiesta en la que han venido los participantes, sus familias y amigos. Nuevas caras, nuevos amigos y muchas, muchas risas.

Desde Parque Este, queremos deciros a todos....

Hasta lel ano que viene!! (Until Next Time)

2009-06-28T05:27:00.003-04:00

What a great week it has been!! We serve such an amazing God and he has definitely shown Himself to us this week! We were so blessed to spend our time with some incredible people who shine their light for God throughout Sevilla. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!! See you all on Monday!! :)

Que Gran Dios Servimos!

2009-06-27T08:49:00.002-04:00

Hola! Wow! It has been a fantastic week here in Sevilla with the people of East Park Church. We finished the camp yesterday and are having our celebration tonight at the church. The "students" from the camp as well as their family are invited to come and share in what they learned this week. We can't believe the week is already over. It has flown by. We had a great time teaching and making new friends.

We have seen God's hand all week. We have had some prayer requests answered and seen God work in big ways. There were a lot more new faces this year from the community than last. What an answer to prayers. Pepe and the members from the church did a wonderful job making relationships with these people, inviting them to church, and getting the word out about East Park Church.

The families of the church have been so gracious in hosting us and having us over to their houses for dinner. Last night was our last house dinner. We went to Pepe and Mari's house and it was fantastic. We have truly enjoyed their hospitality and friendship. We are definitely going to miss the Spanish dinners!!!!

Thank y'all so much for the prayers and support. Continue to pray for East Park Church, the people who came to the church, the seeds that have been planted, the members of the church, and our travels.

We leave tomorrow for Portugal and will be home on Monday.

Once again, gracias and what a great God we serve!!!!

We love y'all!

Hasta pronto!

Stephanie, Shaun, Kim, Lisa, Arinn, and Julie

Solo Dios!

2009-06-23T19:25:00.001-04:00

Hola from Espana! Here we are, finished with day 2 of classes. We have had a great time so far and we are all loving the experience. Yesterday, Monday, was a little slow in the morning but picked up full speed for the evening class. We had a total of 35 students for the 7-9 pm class.

A group picture before our first class on Monday morning.

Today was great and we had many more students in the morning. We split up our intermediate group and had Julie and I teaching one group while Arinn and Kim worked with the other. Stephanie worked with the little kids (big surprise) and Shaun with the advanced group.

One of the most incredible things that we have seen on this trip is the love that these people poor out to each other and to us. The members of the church are so sweet and open up their hearts and homes to us. The God that we serve is truly an amazing God. We have all seen that it does not matter what language we speak or what country we are from, God is Great!! He is working in so many amazing ways with East Park Church.

We are blessed to share this week with this extended family!

Out to dinner on Sunday in downtown Sevilla.

We had 15 of us walk around the city and for dinner. What a wonderful evening!

In the coming days please help us and pray for the following areas at East Park Church:

1) That the next steps wou

ld be made clear for those that are attending the English camp.

2) If the door opens, that we can share truth with the students and be a spark that starts an incredible fire for Jesus.

3) Encouragement for Pepe for our presence to be a reminder of the love and support that they have from around the world.

4) That we all will continue to maintain a positive spirit and to keep Jesus at the forefront of our trip.

Things are we are Thankful for, Praises!

1) Our safe journey here and that all of our luggage arrived safely.

2) The positive attitude of all 6 of us and the love and laughter that we share.

3) The attendance has grown each day for our English camp.

4) So many familiar faces from last year are back again this year!

Ciao,

Lisa (Arinn, Stephanie, Shaun, Kim, & Julie)

Here is our chauffeur Shaun!

(He must think he is parking at North Point and not in Spain!)

Este equipo es increíble!!!

2009-06-22T17:23:00.003-04:00

Hoy ha sido nuestro primer día de campus. Por la tarde hemos tenido casi cuarenta personas no cristiana!!! Teníamos todo preparado y esperamos la hora de comienzo con expectación. Comenzó a llegar tanta gente que tuvimos que empezar un poco más tarde para saludarles e inscribirles. Todo el equipo daba gracias a Dios en la intimidad de nuestros corazones por tantas caras nuevas. Gracias a Dios por cuarenta nuevas relaciones. Por cuarenta nuevos amigos. Gracias al equipo por estar tan preparado y ser tan creativo, divertido y servicial. Todos estaban encantados!!! Tenemos por delante una gran semana!!

Pepe

We're Here!!! :)

2009-06-21T12:14:00.003-04:00

HOLA HOLA!!! Estamos aqui! We are here. After being number 20 in line for take off in Atlanta; then to Philly with a last minute chic-fil-a stop; then to a lay over in Barcelona. We are here! Pepe and Mari were there to pick us up with big smiles! We were also VERY blessed because ALL of our luggage made it there. We immediately went back to Pepi and Mari's home for a quick lunch of sandwiches and chips.

We then went back to the wonderful hotel to shower, and rest for a bit. The hotel is wonderful; clean, modern and quiet. We are in a residential area of Sevilla about 1 mile from the church.

Mari and Pepe picked us up at the hotel and we made our way to the church. The church is amazing! Small yet amazing. Last year there was no air conditioning, but this year there is!! Waumba Land, Up Street, The Attic and 2 other fabulous sitting areas(in case you are not familiar with North Point Ministries) are present to carry on the themes of North Point.

Pepe sat us down and filled us in a bit on the history of the church and the path the Lord has brought him on. Being an Evangelical church in a country that rejects religion and only follows traditions is very difficult, yet his steadfast is amazing! His desire to teach Jesus to the people of his country is inspiring.

After our little talk, we walked around the corner to a local bar(restaurant) and had the most wonderful tapas of stuffed mushrooms(with RANCH), grilled meats, jamon serrano on bread with a garlic tomato sauce, croquettas and of course french fries, that seem to come with every meal. While at dinner, at 10:30pm, the whole town came out and kids were running around having a blast while family members sat and ate dinner. The safeness of Spain is a very cool thing!

Today we woke up and went to see Pepe preach. Wow WOW and WOW! A truly blessed man. He is in the middle of a series called "This is Love." Pepe brought to light Matthew 22 and helped illustrate Christ's love for us. He continued to remind us how we need to love one another like Christ loved us! There were around 40 people at the church service this morning. We then headed off to visit and have lunch at two church members house. Both families went out of their way to make us feel welcome and loved!

Next adventure : SEVILLA!!! we are off to tour the city!

Much love to all

Kim (and Julie, Shaun, Stephanie, Lisa and Arinn)

A Espana Vamos!

2009-06-18T12:50:00.002-04:00

Well, we are off on Friday to head to Sevilla for English Camp II. Stephanie Johnston and I will be returning to Sevilla after a great trip last year, and we have 4 new, fabulous people going with us. We are very excited to see what God has planned and how he is going to work. We know he has a great plan. There are about 20 non-Christians from the community who have signed up for the camp!!! Please pray that we, as well as the church members can plant a seed with these people and they come to understand God's love, grace, and peace.

We would like to thank y'all for your support and prayers while we have been preparing for the trip. God has once again been so faithful and we have raised more than enough money for this trip. What a great God we serve!

We will be updating the blog while we are over there, so please check it out and see what great things God is doing for the lovely country of Espana!!!

We love you all!
Stephanie, Kim, Arinn, Shaun, Lisa, Julie

Noticias desde Sevilla

2009-06-18T11:54:00.008-04:00

Saludos a todos desde Sevilla,

Primero, queremos dar gracias a todos por lo que hacéis por España y para que las iglesias en Vilanova y en Sevilla puedan ser atractivas y relevantes para las personas a las que no les interesa la iglesia, tal como la han conocido hasta aquí.

En segundo lugar, queremos pedir vuestras oraciones porque en estos momentos un equipo de global x está saliendo de Atlanta para Sevilla para realizar nuestro II Campus de inglés. Este es uno de nuestros eventos pensados para crear nuevas relaciones con las personas que viven en el barrio donde está la iglesia. Muchos nos visitan para informarse y están interesados.

Por favor, pedimos oración:

1. Para un vuelo seguro del equipo.

2. Por un tiempo muy especial de comunión y de risas entre el equipo y la iglesia.

3. Por la ayuda del Señor para que se creen nuevas relaciones.

4. Que podamos conectar con la gente del barrio y se den los primeros pasos en el camino hacia una relación con Jesús.

Estaremos actualizando las noticias de todo lo que Dios esté haciendo en esta semana.

Gracias por formar parte de Parque Este.

Saludos a todos,

Pepe

Thank you!!

2009-06-04T17:17:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone!
I haven't had the chance to post or even to read this blog since the team left almost two weeks ago (wow, time goes fast!), but better late than never!!
I just wanted to say thank you again to Carolyn, Mozelle, Brandi, Steve, Gail, Renee, Jamey, Bobby and Alan for the wonderful time you spent with us. I really appreciate all the materials and training you left with us (especially the spiritual gifts booklets), and I think that the week you were here was a very significant one for us as a church. It was great to get to know you all and to spend time with you in fellowship. I hope I get to see you guys again soon - either here or in Atlanta!!
Much love,
Sarah

Pix from our trip

2009-05-28T13:46:00.000-04:00

Here are "highlights" from our trip (hope this works)!

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=607864015/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Carolyn

2009-05-28T08:17:00.002-04:00

While recovering from the jet lag of the return trip from Spain, I have been reflecting on how marvelous God is in allowing me to be a part of a team He ordained to carry His work and word to other parts of the world. This trip was my second to Vilanova/Sitges to work with the wonderful members of ICG. They have been like sponges, soaking up methods to grow and improve, and I have seen tremendous progress just from October 2008 to now. The willingness to try new things, even though it may seem to be contrary to their culture has been nothing short of amazing -- true "coninciGods" have abounded. Each member of this team had specific gifts and/or talents that were used in so many amazing ways. Each of us was approached by members of ICG during the week and on the retreat for discussions and questions. Every event, excursion, meal, and meeting included some level of discussion and prayer with ICG members. They gladly shared their country, heritage, and culture with us. The biggest change I witnessed was the willingness to openly share troubles and concerns, requesting prayer for trials they are facing, and to receive God's plan for their lives.
There are truly too many highlights to list, for fear of forgetting one or putting one in front of the other. Each and every day presented opportunities to serve and help. I also learned something every day from the people there.
One personal highlight, non-ICG related: During the trip to Barcelona in October 2008 for the prayer walk led by Loles, I encountered an older gentleman in a square, painting delicate and detailed scenes. I often lamented the fact I had not purchased one of those paintings and expressed hope to Loles and Samuel during this trip that I might encounter him again and this time to bring home a painting or two. After going into the Barcelona Cathedral for prayer, we were on a small, narrow street and began walking to our next station when I looked up and saw the man walking toward us!! I stopped him and got Samuel to translate for me to tell this story. He led us back to his square where many of the team bought paintings from him and learned he is 86 years old, and has been painting in this same spot for over 25 years. I will frame and mount these paintings, along with a marvelous photograph of him, to help me remember one portion of our trip.
The willingness of Samuel and Carmelo to spend time with us after just experiencing personal losses in the deaths of a close friend and a mother, were acts of such selflessness almost beyond my comprehension. They allowed us to share with them and to share with us of themselves.
I pray God will allow me to go back at some point to share and learn more with these wonderful people of His.
In Christ,
Bobby

We're Back!

2009-05-27T16:24:00.011-04:00

Well, we're back and doing our best to recover from jet lag and colds! Since we didn't get as much time or internet access as we hoped while we were in Spain, the rest of our team will take time to update all of you in the next few days. Here are my personal favorite moments from our trip....

1. Mozelle's talk to the church the Sunday we got there (see picture above). Though uncomfortable in many ways (due to how open and honest she was about tough times in her life), God really used her to touch several people's lives in their church who also had been through hard things in their lives and never shared that with anyone.

2. The pregnancies and babies all around us! Brandi (on our team) is pregnant, and so is Eva (from their church in Spain), as you can tell by the picture above, but also there were some little ones who really touched all of us and made us smile and laugh all week (Julia, Carolina, Llibert, Noa, Oriol, Isaac, David and more!).

3. "Family Style Dinners" at their homes.... always brought great food and fun conversations, and it's a way of eating that we all should practice at home too!

4. Our debrief in Montserrat.... we were above the clouds, surrounded by God's beauty high in the mountains, as we had our final debrief as a team, with Samuel, Sandra and Julia with us most of the time (and Eugenio and Laura later in the day), and it was very special to hear the team's favorite moments, challenges, successes etc. from the week.

5. Starting Point and Small Group training (Tues. and Thurs. nights)...both went very well and we got good feedback from them as well. It seems that they learned a lot of new ideas that they didn't know before (esp. with SG that they never had before).

6. The retreat with their church (in Pineda del Mar).... our team was honored to get to accompany ICG on their first church retreat! The weekend centered around "praying" (specifically breaking up the "Lord's Prayer"), and our team was in charge of games/ activities, which included a fun "Amazing Race" game. My favorite moment was Saturday night, when we had "open mic" night. Several people from our team (me included) and a lot from their church in Spain, got up and really poured their hearts out on the microphone that night, and it was amazing! That was the night I cried a LOT bc/ of everything said. The weekend ended with Jamey (on our team) giving a great concluding talk on "The Lord's Prayer"!

7. Visiting Tarragona with Carmello, Loli and Merce.... I had never been before, and it was one of the prettiest cities I'd ever seen! Carmello grew up there, so he was very proud to show it off to us and give us a tour. My favorite site was the memorial/ amphitheatre area where many Christians were killed years ago, and now, that part is shaped like a cross (see picture above). We all stopped to reflect on what that must have been like for those who were killed for what they believed in. The day there ended with an amazing lunch at La Grotta (inside a stone cave).

8. Conversations that I had with people like Sara Ais, Tamar, David, Samuel/Sandra etc.... There were also new folks I had never met before, like Patricia, Lee and others, who I loved meeting this time too.

9. Our service project on Tuesday (in Sitges)...where we successfully collected tons of food and perishables for the Food Bank there that feeds 120 families! We were all amazed at how many people in the community participated, and we made it in the local paper too!

10. Overall, the week was amazing and just seeing how much their church (ICG) has grown in the past 3 years, is proof that God is using everyone there to be His hands and feet in Spain! It was so encouraging to hear how their small groups are growing and learning, and also to walk into their church that first Sunday morning that we were there, and see many new faces!

I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve these people in Sitges/Vilanova who have become like a 2nd family to me...for a 3rd time! I want to thank all of our friends/family for supporting us through prayer and finances; my incredible team for pulling together and working so hard all week to serve them too; and all of you at ICG for your hospitality, generosity, opening your homes to us, loving us and spending so much time with us! You have blessed us more than you can ever know!

Muchos Bessos!

Carolyn

retreating

2009-05-23T05:29:00.002-04:00

We arrived at the retreat location around 6 pm last night and set up for the reception. Church members arrived later in the evening and we were off to dinner. The focus of last night´s activities was just to get everyone loosened up and to learn a little about one another. Our retreat team had some fun activities prepared and we had great fun playing games and getting to know one another better! We are staying in a small boutique hotel and we pretty much have the place to ourselves. Good thing, because the games and fellowship went late and proved to be a hit! Who knew Scattagories in Spanish could get so competitive!?!

Currently, almost every church member is working thru a spiritual gifts test we brought and we´ll be discussing the results of those shortly before lunch and some free time. Then the remainder of our sessions together will be focusing on prayer. Can´t wait! Its amazing how short a time we´ve known these people and how easy they are to fall in love with. God has been quick to bind our hearts together. Thank you all for your prayers, comments and encouragement. Hope to get some photos up later today.

Recap from Thursday

2009-05-22T07:05:00.002-04:00

Posted by Steve Roach:

We had a wonderful day spending more time with our friends here in Sitges and Vilanova. We spent a few hours bonding while painting the church´s childrens room and kitchen. Both were in need of a new look at fresh coat of paint. Our team really put hard work into the project and our friends from Spain were very appreciative and loved the refreshed look. We then joined them for some tasty local seafood paella at a local restaurant. We spent time picking their brains about how many of their current church programs are doing.

Later last night we met back at the church along with 15 members of the church for Starting Point training led by Renee, Mozelle and Jamey. Starting Point is a program that we use at Buckhead Church in Atlanta to provide a great beginning baseline for people interested in getting involved with church. It is normally a small group of about 10-15 people that meets weekly to discuss topics about religision and faith at a high level. Our teammates did an outstanding job during the training and the church members are very excited about implementing this program. We received great feedback and they let us know that this program has been something they have been wanting to implement. We also left them 50 starting point packets which include workbooks and CDs in Spanish to get them started which were provided thanks to your support.

It was another day filled with great activities and we are all loving the people, food and our felowship in Spain.

2009-05-19T17:23:00.002-04:00

post by Brandi Booker:

Hola Friends and family!

Today we accomplished great things. We worked with Group 514 (the community service group for the church) to collect food for the Caritas Food Bank in Sitges. We were amazed at how generous the community is here!!! Many people chose to donate items from the list we passed out and we were able to deliver over seven grocery carts full of non-perishables to the food bank. This food bank serves over 120 families a week in the local area.

Tonight we had dinner and small group training at the church. Nine people came from ICG and it lasted for threeeeeee hours due to great discussion (and lengthy translations :)) They are doing a great job in their current small groups and are very excited about growing this environment. While several members of our team led the training, the others were painting and making preparations for our retreat this weekend!

Can't wait till tomorrow!

2009-05-19T17:10:00.001-04:00

Recap from Sunday

2009-05-19T14:54:00.002-04:00

Post by Mozelle Pittman:
I was asked to speak to the church this past Sunday. They had a video from Rob Bell called "Rain". Go to YouTube to listen to it. It is an amazing video. It talks of how it always rains in our lives. It is not a possibility but a fact... it will rain. I got to speak after that video for the service and share how God has been with me through my life. It was an wonderful experience that allowed me to be open my heart and let the world see how much God has touch and changed my life. To be asked to do that was such an honor and I could not think of a better way to start my trip off. I have to admit... I almost passed out from my nerves before I went up... then slipped on the floor walking to the front. I guess that was God's way of putting a smile on my face instead of the tears I had in my eyes : )

Now it is Monday night and we are meeting with the executive team to discuss different visions for the church. We can't believe we are here and able to be part of building God's kingdom. We want to thank each and every one of you for assisting us in being here and also praying for our team while we are here.

We do not have a lot of access to the internet but will update as much as possible.

P.S. Thank you for the emails and letters that you sent before we left. We receive a few each day! I was so shocked and surprised that I could not stop smiling / crying as I read them. I will get more daily and can't wait to hear more of your thoughts !!!!!!!! I love all of you from the bottom of my heart! MOZELLE : )

Pepe and Mari visit Atlanta!

2009-04-30T17:22:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, some of us had the pleasure of seeing Pepe and Mari (from our partner church in Sevilla), who were in Atlanta for a wedding! Unfortunately their stay here was very short, but we had fun catching up with them nevertheless.

As one of the few people who have NOT been to Sevilla on a mission trip yet, I didn't know Pepe and Mari well, so I took the chance to have dinner with them one night while they were here, along with several others who had been on trips to Sevilla before. All I can say is WOW! God has gifted Pepe with an amazing ability to communicate God's word to his church in Sevilla (and anyone he comes across), and even more than that, Pepe and Mari both are filled with kindness and passion for spreading the Gospel in Spain! It's all over their faces and on their tongues!

Sweet Julie Allen, who we all know is a gifted communicator (and fluent in Spanish) herself, interpreted the whole time I talked with Pepe at dinner, but I think we both understood each other well and one thing we have in common is our passion for Spain and excitement for what God is doing there! One day I hope to get to Sevilla and see what God is doing at their church in PERSON. In the meantime, I thank God that I get to also see the amazing things God is doing at the small church in Sitges and through the hearts of the people there as well. God is GOOD!

Here are more pictures from their visit: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=412520015/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

(if the link doesn't work, try taking out the "http://" or just check it out on my facebook page!)

Pepe and Mari... I am praying for you and your church!

Love, Carolyn

----------------------------------------------------

(Here is my attempt to translate into spanish through yahoo.... ):

¡Hace algunas semanas, algunos de nosotros tenían el placer de ver Pepe y a Mari (de nuestra iglesia del socio en Sevilla), que estaban en Atlanta para una boda! Desafortunadamente su estancia aquí era muy corta, pero nos divertíamos el alcanzar ellos sin embargo.

Como uno de la poca gente que no ha estado a Sevilla en un viaje de la misión todavía, I didn' t conoce a Pepe y a Mari bien, así que tomé la ocasión de cenar con ellos una noche mientras que estaban aquí, junto con varios otras que habían estado en viajes a Sevilla antes. ¡Todo lo que puedo decir está GUAU! Dios tiene Pepe dotado con una capacidad asombrosa de comunicar God' ¡la palabra de s a su iglesia en Sevilla (y cualquier persona que él parece), y aún más que ese, Pepe y Mari ambos se llena de amabilidad y de la pasión para separar el evangelio en España! It' ¡s por todas partes sus caras y en sus lengüetas! ¡Julia dulce Allen, que todos sabemos es un comunicador dotado (y fluida en español) ella misma, interpretó el todo el tiempo que hablé con Pepe en la cena, pero pienso nos entendíamos que cosa bien y una tenemos en campo común es nuestra pasión para España y el entusiasmo para qué dios está haciendo allí! Una esperanza del día I de llegar a Sevilla y de ver lo que está haciendo dios en su iglesia personalmente. Mientras tanto, agradezco a dios que consiga también ver que dios asombroso de las cosas está haciendo en la pequeña iglesia en Sitges y a través de los corazones de la gente allí también. ¡Dios es BUENO!

Aquí están más cuadros de su visita:

Pepe y Mari… ¡Estoy rogando para usted y su iglesia!

Amor, Carolyn

16 days and counting!

2009-04-30T16:29:00.004-04:00

AMIGOS!

Our team of 9 leaves for Vilanova/ Sitges in 16 days (May 15), and we couldn't be more excited! We just had our team retreat at Lake Lanier two weeks ago, and had an amazing weekend of fellowship, prayer and planning for our trip. We also celebrated Brandi and Mozelle's birthdays that weekend! Here are more pictures from that:
www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=432855015/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
(and above is a picture of everyone except me, Carolyn, but you know what I look like).

Now, let me briefly introduce you to this incredible team:

Brandi and Steve are married and just found out that they are having a baby BOY in October! They feel very blessed and ask for prayers for a healthy pregnancy. Brandi is on the "Encouragement Team" for our trip, and Steve is our faithful "FINANCE" manager for our trip, which we all know is a HARD job. He's so good at it though! This will be their first mission trip to Spain (though Steve has been to Spain before and knows a little Spanish himself).

Renee Crosby is the "Queen" of Starting Point and Small groups, as she has led several of them through Buckhead Church. She's a great leader, talented in most anything she puts her mind to, and she's creative on top of that! Wait until you see the amazing "rice jars" that she's made to encourage people to pray for Spain (that's all I will tell you for now). This will be her first mission trip to Spain!

Bobby Garrett is our "apprentice" on the trip (meaning he wants to learn more about leading a trip to Spain in case he can do that in the future). He's the oldest on our team, but we would probably all say he's the "wisest", as he has an amazing story, which includes a "secret service" background! This is his 2nd mission trip to Spain (he came with David Walker's team last October).

Jamey Gibson is in his 30's and part of our "Ministry Team". God has really gifted him with the skills of Biblical Wisdom and "sheperding", and he and Alan have been leading our devotions and "worship time" during our retreat and each meeting. I (Carolyn) had the pleasure of going on my first overseas mission trip to Romania with Jamey about four years ago, but this is his FIRST mission trip to Spain!

Gail Turk is our very own Spanish "guru". She lived in Spain for several years and knows the language fluently, so we have been relying on her to teach US some words and phrases in Spanish! Don't expect too much of us, but we do know a little more now, thanks to her. She's also a flight attendant for Delta, so while this will be her first mission trip to Vilanova, she has been there once before on a layover and met some of you briefly. She also has been on one mission trip to Sevilla last year!

Alan Boyd is also on our "ministry team" (with Jamey) and has been helping to prepare us for this trip through his gifted devotions and prayers. He works for a roofing company in Atlanta and has a construction background, so if you need a "handy man" while we're there, HE is your guy! I have the pleasure serving with Alan on the "host team" at church on Sundays as well. He's our "Captain"! This will be his first mission trip to Spain.

Mozelle Pittman is going to be our "communicator" at your church on Sunday, May 17! She has an amazing story of how God has brought her through some hard times and back, and I felt like she was the one God would want to talk to you that Sunday. So voila! I also have the pleasure of being in a new small group bible study (called "BLC") with Mozelle every Tuesday night! This is her first mission trip to Spain.

Finally, there's Carolyn (me), and God has chosen me to be the "leader" on this trip again, which I feel blessed and humbled to do. This is my 2nd time leading a trip to your beautiful town, but the 3rd time coming on a trip there, and I wish I could explain how excited I am! There are no words though. All of you are like family to me! I know God has gone before us and prepared our way, and HE is the ultimate leader for this trip, so I am not worried in any way, but just very ready to be there!

So there you have it! We all are so encouraged by what God is doing in your country, and we can't wait to be a part of it in a few weeks. We will be doing a little bit of everything with you, from Starting Point and Small Group training, to a church retreat with all of you, to lots of prayer and hopefully some encouragement too!

By the way, congratulations to Eva and Isma (our friends in Vilanova) who are pregnant and due in September! They find out on May 20 (while we're there) if they're having a boy or girl! Please pray for their pregnancy as well. AND congrats to Alvaro and Raquel, who are celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary! WOW!

Muchos Bessos y abrazos!
"Carolina" and team

Sevilla English Camp Team hits the course!

2009-04-29T22:03:00.011-04:00

As a short term mission team, we are fortunate to be provided with one team building experience prior to leaving the country. This past weekend we drove up to Berry College, home of the beautiful Winshape Wilderness course. There, we were led through great discussion by a couple well-versed in team dynamics and personality profiles. We learned that we have a well-rounded, multi-talented group of people packed into our small team! All morning we discussed the DISC profile assessment and had verbal and practical application of how we will work together while we are in Sevilla. Then after a delicious Chick-fil-A lunch, we headed over to scale a 35 foot telephone pole. There was a ladder propped against it, and you would climb the ladder then the pole(which was not stable), and then stand on a tiny little piece of wood at the top before leaping off and trying to touch a cone. It was intense. I am proud to say our entire team scaled the pole! What a brave group!!! Our team had already bonded really well, but this weekend just confirmed how wonderfully blessed we are to be serving alongside each other and helped build even deeper relationships. Some of the highlights of the day were digging into each others unique gifting, solving a really difficult puzzle relying on communication and identifying a pattern, and braving the soaring heights of a wobbly telephone pole!

All in all, it was a wonderful day. We are thankful God has provided this opportunity to serve, and we pray that He uses all of our work for our dear friends in Sevilla for His glory! We are less than 2 months away. Thank you for your continued prayers!

Julie, Kim, Lisa, Arinn, Shaun, and Steph

Meet the Team - Sevilla English Camp

2009-03-27T19:28:00.002-04:00

This June we will be heading to Sevilla to hold the second english camp at East Park Community Church. The team is SO excited to see everyone in the church and invest in their community. Please pray for our team as we continue to raise the support we need for the trip, prepare the lesson plans, and head off for our team retreat in April.

Here's a picture from our last team meeting... pictured from l-r are: Lisa, Stephanie, Shaun, Julie, Kim, and Arinn.

Introducing...the next team to come to Vilanova!

2009-03-17T23:12:00.005-04:00

HOLA AMIGOS!

Here we are! Fresh off of our third team meeting. I finally got everyone together for a group picture so you can meet the next team coming from Atlanta May 15-26. We are 9 people strong...some coming to Spain for the first time and others having been before, but we all felt like God was calling us to be a part of His "bigger plan" in your country, so we can't wait to step foot over there in May!

This blog will be short, but I wanted to introduce everyone (from left to right, sitting down first):

Brandi Booker (married to Steve, behind her)
Alan Boyd (in red)
Mozelle Pittman
Bobby Garrett
Steve Roach (Brandi's husband...top left, 2nd row)
Gail Turk
Renee Crosby
Jamey Gibson
Carolyn Norton (ME)

We are still getting to know each other, and we haven't told our "testimonies" yet, but we all have our "roles" for the team meetings and our trip over there, which include:

Ministry Team (Alan and Jamey): to do devotionals at each meeting and while in Spain
Service Team (Mozelle): to help with any service project we may do in Spain
Cultural "Expert" (Gail): to teach us some basics in the Spanish language and culture (she's fluent!)
Financial team (Bobby and Steve): to keep track of the money we raise, our budget etc.
Encouragement Team (Renee and Brandi): to keep us all feeling encouraged and energized while we're over there

And I, Carolyn, have been called to lead this team (2nd time leading a team to Vilanova, and 3rd time going on a team there)! Bobby is going to "apprentice" so he can learn more about leading a trip there too one day.

So that's us "in a nutshell" (as we say in America)! There will be more to come, but for now, know that you are all in our prayers, and we can't wait to see you and share more with you in May!

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!

Hasta Luego!

Carolina (and team)

Eugenio in Atlanta!

2009-03-13T22:09:00.009-04:00

It's been a long time since we have posted a blog here from Atlanta, so I figured it was time to do that since we've had a special guest in town. Eugenio has been here from Vilanova, and this week, we finally got a chance to see him! Randy and Crista Walton invited some of our mission teams to their home for dinner last night (Thursday) so that we could spend some time with him. We had yummy fajitas, though Eugenio says "You always feed me mexican food when I come here, and I'm not MEXICAN!" (we do know that, we just love mexican food). (:

Anyway, it was a fun night of seeing old and new faces.... faces from old trips like: Besty (who is now pregnant with a BOY due in May), Cara, Melanie, David Walker, Jill Hansen and me (Carolyn); as well as some new faces who will be coming on my trip to Vilanova in May (Alan Boyd, Mozelle Pittman and Renee Crosby). Also in attendance were: Brad (Betsy's husband), Randy and Crista Walton (and their girls), Paul and Barbara Hanock, Eugenio (our guest of honor) and also our new Spain friend Mario (from Madrid! He's in David Walker's fusion group and goes to Buckhead Church with us now!).

After a nice dinner together, Randy gathered us all around and we talked about the progress at Iglesia Christiana del Garraf (Eugenio's church in Vilanova, that we have visited), as well as what still needs to be done (mainly finishing the new building). We also talked about AFCI (Ambassadors for Christ International), and the amazing things that are going on around the world through their missionaries. Let's just say that GOD WAS IN DA HOUSE! (: We are so proud of all that you're doing over there! Keep up the great work!

The next blog you see from me (Carolyn) will be to introduce my new team coming to Vilanova May 15-26. We have 9 amazing team members that I can't wait for you all to meet! They include:

Brandi and Steve (married couple; first time coming to spain)
Bobby Garrett (who came on David's trip in October)
Gail Turk (who has been to Sevilla trip and met some of you in Vilanova on a short layover; she is a flight attendant)
Renee Crosby (first time coming to Spain)
Mozelle Pittman (first time coming....)
Alan Boyd (first time coming...)
Jamey Gibson (first time coming...)
CAROLYN! (this will be my third trip there!)

We'll update you with more soon, but we are so excited to hear more about what the Lord is doing through you (and for some of us to come SEE it for ourselves very soon)! Here are more pictures from Eugenio's visit:

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264756865/a=4776916_4776916/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Te Amo!

Carolyn

Breaking attendance records!!!

2009-01-26T13:29:00.006-05:00

Great news from Vilanova!!!
Great news from the Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf!!!

Follow the link.

ICG's new series and work session

2009-01-23T10:27:00.004-05:00

January 25th. You have a new message
Next sunday, Eugenio Berruezo is going to preech about the messages we daily receive and how much we pay attention to them.

This is the promotional video:

Tiene 1 mensaje nuevo from icg on Vimeo.

Work session in Sitges
Because we want our facilities to be the best we can, this saturday, we’re going to have a work session in our building in Sitges.

Also we’re going to set up the auditorium with the new 15 chairs we bought just to fit all the people coming.

We’re going to have a good time working and laughing.

You’ll see pictures of that!

Stay tuned.

You can find both news in our new blog just for our friends in the States to know what's going on and what's coming up in the Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf.

Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf has his own blog!!!

2009-01-23T10:16:00.007-05:00

Hey everyone!
We just want to let you guys know about our new blog just for our friends in the United States.
This is where you'll find everything about us, all our activities, our news, i mean, everything going on and coming up.

If you want to know everything about us, you just need to go to:
blogusa.iglesiadelgarraf.com

Feel free to leave your comments, you just need to register and type. :D

See you there!

PS: It doesn't mean we're no longer posting here but that's going to be our main information site.

VIDEO DE LA SERIE "DONDE"

2009-01-21T17:10:00.003-05:00

Esto es una muestra del buen trabajo que está haciendo el equipo de producción.

Se trata del video de la serie de tres partes que acabamos de terminar titulada ¿donde?

en la que presentábamos nuestros propósitos para 2009.

DRIVE INTERNACIONAL EN SEVILLA

2009-01-21T16:08:00.005-05:00

Ha sido una muy buena experiencia que hemos vivido el grupo

que ha podido estar a estas horas en la iglesia Parque Este.

Hemos contado con traducción simultánea y hemos disfrutado el tiempo

juntos hablando del tema mientras tomábamos un café.

¡Estamos entusiasmados con esto!

Gracias por DRIVE IN

Saludos desde Sevilla

iTunes Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf Podcast

2009-01-15T07:33:00.003-05:00

Since we're having great services every sunday morning, a lot of the people attending to our Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf asked for having our speechs as podcast for them to able to listen it again on their mp3 or to share it with their friends because they liked it.

Well, now we have the solution for that.

Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf has its own iTunes channel where everyone can listen and download our podcasts.

Right now there's only one podcast available but as soon as we have more we're going to add it there.

It also can work for you guys who know some spanish, you can listen it and you're going to improve your spanish and you'll know much better what are we talking about on our services.

If you experience any issue with this iTunes thing let us know and we'll try to help you.

BTW, there are more news to come. Stay tuned. :D

Navidad 2008 en Parque Este, !GRACIAS!

2008-12-26T14:58:00.006-05:00

El último domingo del año nuestro servicio se llama ! GRACIAS! Queremos celebrar

las grandes cosas que el Señor ha hecho y también decirle GRACIAS a todos los que

han hecho posible Parque Este en estos dos años. Nuestros pensamientos y nuestros

corazones están con vosotros.

Gracias de Parque Este

Gracias de Pepe, Mari, Dani, María y Pablo

Navidad 2008 en Parque Este. Evento de Navidad en la iglesia

2008-12-26T14:24:00.004-05:00

El 20 de Diciembre celebramos un evento en la iglesia con música, un sketch, una charla y algo de comida. Pudimos invitar a nuestros amigos y algunos vinieron.

Navidad 2008 en Parque Este. Los niños de "La Estación" invitan a sus amigos y celebran una fiesta de pijamas en la iglesia

2008-12-26T14:16:00.002-05:00

Navidad 2008 en Parque Este. Los niños de "La Estación" recogen juguetes para niños necesitados

2008-12-26T13:47:00.010-05:00

Saludos a todos desde Sevilla.

Os deseamos una feliz Navidad y un feliz año 2009.

Hemos estado muy ocupados con los diferentes eventos que hemos organizado para Navidad.

Os comento algunas fotos. Arriba los niños de "La Estación" han recogido juguetes para niños necesitados.

And again... (last time, i promise)

2008-12-15T11:06:00.002-05:00

As i told you guys this is no longer going to be a new in the blog. From now on you have to think in our sunday service as a place full of people.
Almost no chairs and a bunch of the regulars were not there, again.
We have to realize quickly how are we going to solve this -great- problem.
We're gonna run out of chairs so soon...

Again we would like you guys to pray for:

Please, pray for wisdom for us to lead this situation.
Please, keep on praying for more people to come.
Please, pray for us to be ready for this new people.
Please, pray for our new building in Vilanova to be finished as soon as possible.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

And again...

2008-12-01T01:20:00.002-05:00

Well, looks like this is not gonna sound as a new anymore...
Yesterday, in Sitges, we had a great service.
The worship time was absolutely amazing, this guys rock!
Also Eugenio talked about "invest and harvest", he was great as well.
The church was almost "sold out", only a few empty chairs left, and again some of our regulars were not there. Again new people.
Well, looks like we have been investing our time very well lately and people is coming more and more...
We're gonna run out of room for everyone in the sunday service so soon...

Now, this is your homework:

Please, pray for wisdom for us to lead this situation.
Please, keep on praying for more people to come.
Please, pray for us to be ready for this new people.
Please, pray for our new building in Vilanova to be finished as soon as possible.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T02:42:00.002-05:00

"Memory is the mother of gratitude"

We remember you bay name before His kingdom.

Blessings all for a Happy Thanksgiving.

Eugenio, Sara & Marc

ICG packed again...

2008-11-17T05:29:00.003-05:00

Sarah wrote about that two weeks ago after last sunday service.

Well, yesterday was the same. The church was almost overflowed. And again some of our regulars weren't there.
Yesterday realized that i don't know the name of some of the people there... amazing.

We've been investing in relationships and also in time to get an atractive church.
Looks like we're starting to harvest our investments.
And there are more to come...

Thanks for your prayers and support.
Please, keep on praying for more people to come.
Please, pray for us to be ready for this new people.
Please, pray for our new building in Vilanova to be finished as soon as possible.

2008-11-16T11:10:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone,
I just thought I'd share this newspaper article with you all.... the Diari de Vilanova (the weekly paper of Vilanova (it's called a 'Diari', a daily, but it's a weekly...) wrote about last week's flea market, and look at the picture they used to illustrate it! If you look closely, you can see Isma, Isaac, Marc and Miquel. And the Grupo 5/14 sign made it too!
Sarah

5/14's first projects

2008-11-11T17:54:00.002-05:00

This weekend, we officially kicked off Grupo 5/14 (our new community service group) with two projects. On Saturday, a small group of us volunteered at a disabled activities center called L'Esplai de Trobada. We had a great time getting to know the kids there, and we're excited about spending more time with them in the weeks and months to come.

On Sunday we set up a table at the Sitges Second-Hand Fair. It was basically a community flea market, and we all had a really good time negotiating and selling stuff! Miquel and Marc were in charge of marketing, and thanks to them we had a table full of fun price tags and signs (all the neon-colored things in the pictures). By the end of the morning, we'd made €335 for future Grupo 5/14 projects, which isn't bad considering that this was our first fundraiser. The whole flea market thing isn't really 'done' in Spain, but as you can see from the pictures, this one was a big success, with a lot of people selling and a lot buying! We also had a really cool sign (thanks, Isma!!), which invited a lot of people to ask us about the church and about our group. All in all, it was a great start! I just wanted to let you guys know how things are coming along, since I know a lot of you have been praying for us in this area!
Sarah
PS- People kept making offers on Carolina's stroller... so we finally had to put up a 'not for sale' sign on it. It looked pretty funny when we sat her in the stroller with that sign above her head. She drew more attention than anything we were trying to sell!! :)

October 2008 Vilanova Team - Post Trip Dinner

2008-11-08T22:42:00.005-05:00

Hola a todos!

Esta noche, nuestro equipo de Buckhead Church tuve un reunion final en la casa de mis padres. Nosotros tuvimos comida, jugemos "agujero de maiz", y miremos un exposicion de fotagrafias del nuestro viaje en octubre. Esta noche es la oportunidad de recordamos los razones por nuestro viaje, y tambien a continuamos a rezar por la gente de Espana.

( What I am trying to say in my broken Spanish above is)...

Our team had our post trip meeting tonight at my parents house in Marietta. It was a time for fellowship with our team, an opportunity to share our trip with friends and family, as well as a reminder to all of us to continue to pray for the church in Vilanova and Sitges. We played some cornhole, had a wonderful meal together and watched a slideshow that I made from the 2000 pictures that our team took on the trip. It was really great to have everyone meet up again after having some time to think about our trip these last few weeks. I'm especially thankful that we are able to share our trip's experiences with many of our friends and family here in Atlanta. Tonight we invited Wade, Cheryl, Courtney, Carolyn and Tammy to join us as well. More and more people are being exposed to what God is doing in Spain, and we are excited about what this means for future trips!

Our team was so blessed to be able to witness firsthand the progress that is happening in Vilanova and Sitges with ICG. We feel so honored to be able to partner with ICG to reach the people of Spain for the Lord. Every time we see members of our team here, we are reminded of what God is doing in Catalunya. We pray for God's continued blessings for the unreached in Spain.

By the way, has Monse and Olga come to church yet?

Here are some pictures from our post trip meeting and dinner at my parents house. Michael and I were humbled in cornhole by the girls...

Love, David

My first blog ever!

2008-11-04T21:47:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time a group singles from Buckhead church traveled to Vilanova, Spain in hopes of impacting the lives of a group of people. Little did they know how this very special group of people would impact them.

As I sit here on election night in America, I think of how I have never known what it is like to be told I have to worship a certain way. I never realized what a luxury it was until I got the opportunity to see a small glimpse of what forced religion can do to our souls. Our God is so great to give us free will and I freely love Him.

Thank you to everyone in Sitges and Vilanova for opening your homes and sharing your hearts. Thank you for allowing us to pray for you and with you. I've always believed that prayer works and I'm glad that you guys are seeing all of our prayers answered in a very real way. Sarah, we were so excited to get the news of your attendance on Sunday!

I have never written on a blog before and I was told to just write what touched me the most. Well in order to do that I would have to choose between hiking to the top of beautiful Montserrat and being able to put my feet in the Mediterranean Sea. Between walking the streets of Spain while praying aloud to our Father for His blessing over these people and listening to the sounds of people worshiping Him in a language I can't speak. Between connecting with some amazing Christians and praying for the people there that aren't. All in all, this trip exceeded any expectations I might have had. My eyes and heart have been opened even more.

You guys continue to be in my thoughts and prayers and I hope to be grossed out by your food again very soon. ;)
Much love to my extended family in Spain,
Jill

Church in Vilanova: Prayer for Monse and Olga

2008-11-04T08:20:00.005-05:00

Hey everyone-

A wonderful thing happened during our trip to Vilanova a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to share...

On the plane trip to get to Barcelona, our team sat next to two ladies who were traveling back to Spain from a NYC excursion. Their names were Monse (short for Monserrat, wow!) and Olga. Our seats were mixed up with theirs, so in the course of finding the

right seats, Cibele struck up a conversation. They spoke no English. Turns out that these two women were both widows, and they spent a lot of time traveling together. Cibele found out that one of them was Catholic (but never really went to church much) and that the other called herself a Buddhist but that she was still "searching for something." Cibele communicated to them that we were going to Spain to serve with a church in Vilanova and Sitges... and they said that they lived IN VILANOVA!!! They were curious about the church, so Cibele got their contact information to see if they might want to meet up during the week.

Both Monse and Olga were told about the prayer night that we were going to have at the church on Friday night late in the week. It wasn't until after the prayer night that we found out that they had gone to several churches in Vilanova looking for us so they could attend!!!! Cibele and Eva were so excited that they wanted to meet up so they could get connected.

On Saturday after our service project of cleaning up the property around the Vilanova church, Eva, Monse, Cibele, Olga and myself went into Vilanova to meet up for expressos. They were having such a great time together that I hated to tell them we had to take off in order to make it to dinner at Alvaro and Raquel's. Eva got their contact info! I wanted to post this picture of Eva, Monsa, Cibele, and Olga for you to see (from left... Eva, Monse, Cibele and Olga).

In the months leading up to our trip as well as during the trip, our team and the church prayed for God to bless the church in Vilanova. We prayed for God to continue to bring new people in, to grow the small groups, to cultivate more small group leaders as well as to provide the funds necessary to finish the new church building in Vilanova. This continues to be our prayer.

Thank you Lord for your faithfullness in blessing the church members in Vilanova and Sitges. We pray also for Monse and Olga, that they will have future opportunities to interact with Eva and to be able to attend ICG in the future. Thank you for using the church members in Vilanova and Sitges to spread your word all over Catalunya and Spain. Amen.

Ya'll have a great day! Please pray for God to guide America's electorate as we choose our next leader today...

David

"CONGRATULATIONS"

2008-11-04T08:09:00.002-05:00

Hello Guys:

Today it will be one very special day in your country, an also for the rest of the world. For those that we have lived in a contry in the one that was porhibited to vote, we know very well in a very special way what meaans this big party of having the freedom fot to go and choosing our leaders.

For this reason "CONGRATULATIONS". Enjoy this day and remember: God always has a plan behind everything what happens in our history.

We are praying for all of you and your contry.

"God blesses America" especialy today

From Spain: Eugenio

the power of prayer

2008-11-03T14:17:00.002-05:00

So.... do you guys think that it was a coincidence that on the first Sunday after the Buckhead team's prayer trip here ICG was PACKED to overflowing? This past Sunday, it was standing room only, even though a significant number of our regulars weren't there for various reasons. Half the people there were new faces.
So, a coincidence? I don't think so! It's so amazing to see prayers answered so quickly!!!
Sarah

Un video de la Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf

2008-11-01T11:26:00.004-04:00

En este video.... Julian, David y Alvaro practican la cancion de "Indescribable" en espanol antes de la servicio de la iglesia en Sitges.

It's David. I am going to try an post in Spanish every once in a while so I can learn, so hopefully the previous sentence made some sense.

It has been a week since we returned from our mission trip with you guys. Be encouraged... we were so amazed at the progress that has occurred there in the last year! I look forward to seeing you guys again soon, and our team continues to pray for God's blessings in Vilanova, Sitges, Catalunya and all of Spain.

One of the things that I always look forward to when I visit is having the opportunity to sing my favorite praise songs in Spanish... so I just had to post this video that Scott took. Enjoy!

David

GRACIAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-28T02:44:00.002-04:00

Wow, what a wonderful week we spent with David, Michael, Scott, Bobby, Jill, Cibele and Laura. First off, a huge THANK YOU to the whole team for sharing your time, your hearts and your prayers with us. As a church (and for me personally), it's a huge encouragement to spend time with people who have come so far just to show us love. It just makes me realize yet again how special it is to be part of God's family. It was wonderful to get to know all of you, and I know that this trip was only the beginning of relationships that will last a long time.

You guys did a great job keeping the blog updated - a hard thing to do when your days and nights here were so full!! But it's great fun to look back and read about the week and see the pictures (though I know you just posted a fraction of them - there must be zillions between all the cameras!!)

I'm sure we all got something different out of your trip, but it was definitely a growing experience for all of us (and a lot of fun too!) This past week was great and gave us some wonderful opportunities to spend in prayer, but I'm also really excited to see what blessings will come out of this time. The Lord was listening as we all prayed for Spain and for our church here!

I'm sure I speak of behalf of the whole church when I say that we are grateful and humbled by the fact that you all made such an effort, and in some cases a real sacrifice, to come here to Spain just to be with us, to pray for us, to know us and to love on us. What a huge blessing! I hope I see you guys again soon - either here in Spain or there in Atlanta!!

Lots of love,
Sarah

The next series in East Park Church

2008-10-27T13:56:00.006-04:00

Por favor,

orad por la próxima serie de dos partes en la que

Marcos tratará el aspecto práctico y las implicaciones

de ser creados a imagen y semejanza de Dios.

Mira el clip de video que Josué ha preparado.

Gracias,

Pepe

October 08 Vilanova Team: Final Day

2008-10-25T19:15:00.005-04:00

This is our last shot from the beach in Sitges, Spain. We just finished praying for the church and sharing again how wonderful our week was here. We'll post more pictures and stories from the last few days in the morning...

David

Speaking Frankly, by Michael Frank

2008-10-25T18:32:00.005-04:00

Tonight we come to a close on our mission trip to Spain. It was a truly great trip. I am so very thankful to each and every member of the church here in Garraf. Everyone here as opened up their homes, and their hearts to us. I can only hope and pray that they were even remotely as blessed to have us here with them as I feel we were/are blessed to have them in our lives. Our friends here in Spain have an amazing heart for God, and a desire to know Him, to serve Him, and to bring others to Him.

My hope and goal that a day will come soon when I come back here on another trip, and sit in their new church in Villanova, and witness a service in full attendance!

I am thankful for these people, for their hearts, their hospitality, and most importantly, THEIR FOOD!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you. I will see you again.

Speaking Frankly, by Michael Frank

2008-10-23T18:11:00.003-04:00

I've been to church

I've read the book

I know He's here, but I don't look

near as often as I should

Yeah, I know I should

His fingerprints are everywhere

I'd just slow down and stop and stare

opened my eyes and man I swear

I saw God today

by George Strait

October 08 Vilanova Team: Monday and Tuesday

2008-10-21T19:16:00.005-04:00

Tuesday:

Our team spent most of the morning and afternoon with David Martinez, Isma's little brother. David was so excited on Monday afternoon to help construct a "cornhole" set with Michael and myself. Cornhole is a game that is gaining much

popularity back in the states, and our team really enjoyed playing together when we used it as a team building experience on our pre-trip retreat about 6 weeks ago. We couldn't help but share it with our friends here in Vilanova and Sitges. We decided to give it another name in Spanish... so we call it "Agujero de Maiz". Isma, David Martinez, Michael and I went to an AKI (the local Home Depot) to purchase some lumber and screws for the job. Then David, Michael and I took it all up to the church in Sitges to assemble. Nothing like some power tools and sawdust to promote some male bonding time with our Spanish friends-- David Martinez proved to be quite the expert carpenter! The plan is to finish the project for the church to enjoy while we complete the service project of cleaning up the two church sites this week.

In the late afternoon, Eva and Issac met up with us in to pray for the people of Vilanova. We split the team into two groups, and we went through the town of Vilanova to pray for the many people who do not know God here. We are praying continuously for a revival here in Spain, and we believe God is blessing La Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf so that His Name will be known all over the country here. For generation upon generation in Spain and throughout Europe, the traditional Catholic church has slowly become an afterthought in the daily lives of people here. The desire of La Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf is to have a church that emphasizes making church relevant again. In the past year and a half, we have been so excited to see small groups expanding and new people coming to see what makes these Christians different.

Monday night we went to dinner with the executive Leadership team from the church. They chose an American type restaurant with a nice open area so we could discuss the church, small groups and service. Mom, you will be pleased to know that I am eating very well... Over dinner we discussed small groups and the things that they want to work on moving forward. It is so great to see the progress that has happened over the past year. God is really making things happen here, and it is wonderful to witness.

Tuesday:

Today Samuel and Loles took us on a prayer walk in Barcelona to pray for all of Spain. We went to see the many churches in Barcelona to learn about the history of the Catholic Church here. For years it was associated with government control and oppression, even corruption... so it made it easier to understand the people falling away from the church over the generations. Sarah Andrews also met up with us this afternoon. It was pretty neat to see the spot, near one of the churches, where Christopher Columbus was sent on a mission to find a route to the East Indies.

After a long day, our team split up to meet with two different families from the church: the girls went to eat with Eugenio and Marc, and the guys went to eat with David at Dani and Tamar's house. It has been a great day. I am ever thankful for this mission team and our Spanish friends here in Vilanova. Tomorrow, our team will travel with Eugenio and Loles to Monserrat in the mountains to pray for the region of Catalunya. I will attach a few pictures...

Thanks for following along. I appreciate the letters of encouragement that I am getting this week.

David

¡Gracias por una semana fantástica!

2008-10-21T12:35:00.008-04:00

Mary, Nova, Kimber, Kevin, Chisty, Wendy, Leigh, Katie, Sherri y John.

!Qué semana tan extraordinaria hemos vivido juntos! Una semana en la que hemos

experimentado, una vez mas, grandes bendiciones y apreciado, una vez mas, vuestra generosidad y ganas de servir y de compartir vuestras experiencias e historias con nosotros.

Cada uno de vosotros ha sido especial y ya formáis parte de nuestras vidas y de la

historia de lo que Dios va a hacer en Sevilla.

En nombre de la iglesia Parque Este, del equipo de responsables y de mi familia, Gracias. Gracias a cada uno y a todos los que lo han hecho posible.

Pepe y Mari

Oct 2008 Sevilla Spain Mission (Slide Show Part-C)

2008-10-20T06:13:00.001-04:00

We all arrived in Sevilla hoping to leave a lasting impact behind, but as our mission comes to an end, we realize that the impact goes both ways and that our own personal Walk with Christ has taken giant steps with personal growth. Pepe exemplifies a strength that only our Lord can provide and through his example, along with everyone at Iglesia Parque Este, our hearts have grown in ways we didn’t know were possible. Today the presence of our Lord was truly present in Iglesia Parque Este. Although the words spoken were unknown to many of us, somehow we still knew the message and felt the Lords presence all the same. Thank you for inviting us into your hearts, homes, and Iglesia. God Bless to all and we will always keep you in our hearts and prayers

October 08 Vilanova Team: Sunday Service

2008-10-19T18:54:00.001-04:00

Michael Frank just posted a summary of the day's events. I wanted to add a few more pictures. I am starting to understand why I am wide awake at 1AM after a packed day... I am drinking espressos with 3 sugars every night. I feel like I won't be able to go to sleep for the next couple of days. Here are a few more pics...

David

Speaking Frankly, by Michael Frank

2008-10-19T18:09:00.004-04:00

We just finished a truly awesome day. As I said while we were having our night cap a few minutes ago as a team, it seemed like every hour was my "favorite part of the day".

We started out with our morning meeting and devotional as a team, then we walked up to the church (about a 10-15 min walk) and went to their Sunday morning service. The church looks amazing! They have done so much to it, and put in so much work. They opened with worship songs that we sing in America, Indescribable, Mighty to Save and How Great is Our God (In Spanish of course). And one of the coolest things I have seen happened as we were singing Mighty to Save. At that point, everyone in the congregation was quiet, sitting down, and just watching Alvaro, David and Julian play guitar. But somewhere in the middle of the song, people from the congregation started standing up and singing along... it was very powerful. Very hard to describe just how powerful, just amazing to see the same church that year ago, was very quiet and reserved about their faith, to now, stand, sing out loud, and to be open about it.

Followed by the service was yet another amazing meal, this time served at the church. Several people on our team commented during the meal that it is like one big family here. (everyone is practically family here, but that's besides the point).

Then we had our small group break out session. I gave a brief introduction on Small Groups and our viewpoint on them at Buckhead. Then we watched a quick video by Andy from the "Pause" series, subtitled in Spanish. After the video, we broke out into two groups, guys with the guys, girls with the girls.

Each group had a set of six discussion questions to discuss in regards to the video. Our hope and goal was to get them into groups, and from our team leading by example, show them that its good to share and to be open in a group, even as men...

The guys, we only got one question out of the way, then we started getting questions, comments and feedback from their experiences with small group this past year, how we conduct small group in America. We actually had really deep discussions from the very start, and almost each one was inquisitive and open. It was really awesome to see their heart for God and they are growing. The guys also commented how they liked just being in a guys group, and that it was easier to share that way. Right now, they are in mixed groups, guys and girls, and they say that they don't ever get too deep, its mostly just "surface conversation", small talk... we introduced the thought of maybe that they continue with their current small groups, but once a month or so, get together with just the guys... we'll stay posted with that.

The women... the report we got back from the women was that they covered all six questions pretty quickly, then the conversation became real light and chatty..... women........( I am so just kidding for whoever is reading this and does not know me...)

The night ended with dinner at Isma and Eva's place. Yes another amazing meal in Spain! Thank you Isma and Eva so much for your hospitality and friendship!

It was an amazing day. There is no other way to describe it.

Stay tuned for more updates from our team, and more "Speaking Frankly"!

Thank you for reading ( I hope someone is...)

Michael Frank

Oct 2008 Sevilla Spain Mission (Slide Show Part-B)

2008-10-18T19:12:00.002-04:00

Tonight we met so many wonderful new friends at East Park Church and with much enthusiasm; our new partners welcomed the concept of Small Groups through the sharing of our own personal experiences. With approximately 30 attendees, we split into three intimate groups to reside in small living room settings much like Buckhead. Topics near and dear to each of our hearts were shared to express the strength, love, transparency, authenticity, inclusion, family like characteristics to which we all have found in our individual Small Groups. Afterwards we continued our fellowship as a whole to the local Pizza restaurant….. mucho delicioso!!

October 08 Vilanova Team Arrives in Spain!

2008-10-18T18:38:00.004-04:00

It's after midnight here, and we are wrapping up our first day in Spain! We have all been up for nearly 36 hours straight, so excuse the typing errors. We touched down in Barcelona at about 7AM local time this morning... after we got our bags, Alvaro and Isma arrived to pick us up and take us to Sitges where we are staying. Most of today was supposed to be time to recover from the long flight, but we were too excited to take any rest. Michael, Cibele, Jill and myself took a run along the coastline to explore the Mediterranean town. It has been about a year and a half, but Michael and I remembered our way to the church. When we finally got there (we were soaked because it was raining), we found Alvaro, David Martinez, and Julian there rehearsing the music for tomorrow's service. We listened to them practice for a little while and then we headed back. We discussed our goals for the week while we are here... we wanted to share with each other how our small groups are working. We have a few workshops that we have put together to partner with our Spain friends on small groups, service in the community and strategies for moving forward. We are probably most excited about attending the Sunday service tomorrow and spending the whole day with the entire congregation.

Sarah, Miguel and their two month old baby Carolina met us for lunch, and we talked about what had been happening at the church recently. They are so excited about having us with them for the next week!

We all broke off on our own afterwards to explore more of the town. At 5PM, we met up with Alvaro, Raquel and their two kids Oriol and Noa to see the progress on the construction of the new church in Vilanova (the church in Sitges is a temporary site until the new building in nearby Vilanova is completed). Much construction has been completed, about 60%... and they are still raising funds to complete the project. One of our big service activities this week is to work together with them to clean up the property in and around the construction site. After we toured the church, we prayed together with the Lignan family over the church and the communities surrounding it. It was really awesome to pray with our team and also to listen to Alvaro, Raquel and Cibele pray with us in Catalan and Spanish.

We then went in to Vilanova for dinner with all of our Spain friends that we haven't seen for the past year. For Michael and myself (since we have come to know our friends here so well), this trip is very special. This mission trip is more than just a week long visit. Our friends here have come back to the US multiple times to stay with us and work with Buckhead Church on developing their own ministry. Alvaro, Raquel, Isma, Eva, David, Sarah, Dani and Tamar have come to see us so much that they have become family to us. Dani and Tamar even stayed with my parents last summer when they spent a week in Atlanta.

Even the new members of our mission team have already seen how easy it is to come to love these people. We love our Spaniard friends that we have come to know so well and we continue to pray for them, ever looking forward to what God is doing next here in Spain. I am about to fall asleep, so here are a few pictures from the day's events...

David

October Vilanova Team Leaves for Spain!!!!!

2008-10-17T11:12:00.006-04:00

The October Vilanova Team from Buckhead leaves for Spain today! We will be working with La Iglesia Cristiana Garraf just outside of Barcelona from October 17th-26th.

In the first picture, we had just arrived a

t the check in counter at Atlanta airport... from left to right-- Scott, Laura, Michael, Bobby, David, Cibele and Jill.

In Vilanova, we will be partnering with the church families to help them continue to develop small groups as well as assist them as they begin to reach out to the community through service opportunities. Michael and I are returning for our second trip to Vilanova and Sitges... so we can't wait to see our friends again! Today is pretty much a travel day-- we are flying to New York (JFK) and

then on to Barcelona! We will arrive in Barcelona at about 7:50 AM local time (keep in mind that Barcelona is about 6 hours ahead of us). Right now, we are waiting for our New York flight to board... the girls are making fun of my "fanny pack" but I call it a money belt (se

e the second pic below). W

ell... time to grab something to eat! More of our team will post soon!

Oct 2008 Sevilla Spain Mission (Slide Show Part-A)

2008-10-16T18:53:00.004-04:00

Today we visited East Park Church with much excitement of all that has been accomplished. The Lord is truely at work here in Sevilla Spain with this amazing group of Christians. You can feel these people's love pouring out into the streets and I know it is just a matter of time before the people of Sevilla will be pouring in to East Park Church just the same.

Hasta Manana

2008-10-15T18:55:00.001-04:00

Hasta Manana
God Bless

Oct08 Seville Spain Mission (Video A)

2008-10-15T18:35:00.002-04:00

Buenas noches
God Bless

A que hora sale el avion?

2008-10-14T17:08:00.004-04:00

In just a few hours a new team of 10 from Buckhead Church will arrive in Sevilla! We are thrilled to meet the community of East Park Church and look forward to our week in Sevilla. This picture is from our group retreat. Pictured in the back from L to R: Kimber, Leigh, Wendy, Mary and Katie. In the front row is Kevin, Christy and Nova. Not pictured are Sherri and John.

So far, we made it through to our gate without incident. Unfortunately, Kimber's 8 cans of red bull put her bag over the weight limit so she donated about $20 worth of red bull to the security checkpoint guard. Do they sell red bull in Spain? We'll let you know. Otherwise, Kimber will start drinking coffee this week. We'll keep the updates coming from Spain. Hasta luego!

Seguimos trabajando en "La Estación"

2008-10-05T16:21:00.004-04:00

El equipo de "La Estación" ha organizado un curso de iniciación al teatro dirigido a formar

a aquellos que cuentan la historia a los niños así como aquellos que forman parte del equipo

de voluntarios. Hemos pasado toda la tarde en la iglesia y ha sido muy útil y divertido !Ha sido un éxito! Hemos tenido como 20 personas y no ha visitado una chica del barrio.

Estamos muy animados con los que Dios va a hacer a través de "La Estación"

Gracias por formar parte,

Mary

Here I Am

2008-10-02T13:09:00.011-04:00

Hello!

This is Julia the Samuel and Sandra´s daugther. I came two days a go from my trip after a looooong time. It seems like my flight departured with some delay. But, as I say, finally I got here well, and I just wanted to thank you for your

prayers and all the expectation and the joy you have shared with my parents for having me here save. I have also heard that there was an e-mail flying few hours after my arrival wich I'd also like to thank. I looks like I'm kinda' famous. I'm not I?

Just let you know that this two days out of the cave have been a completely new experience. You wouldn't believe it! There's so much to see, so much to hear. So many people. And all of them so friendly! (Well, besides some guy with a white suit). I found a little old man without hair in his head (just like me) and a white beard, talking with my father. They say it is my uncle Eugenio, but I'm not that sure yet. But anyway, he has been talking about me, and he has been making tones of plans for me. I may have heard something I wasn't ment to. But I didn't tell them, anyway.

But, but... Do you want to know? They said I might be able to see you, sometime. Perhaps this coming year, perhaps the other.

But... would you like to see me?????

(Excuse my poor language. I might not do everything right. But, you know... I didn't have that much time. I'm doing my best :P)

Júlia.

This sunday in Vilanova...

2008-09-19T13:41:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,

The speaker is Nelson, an amazing comunicator and a better guy.
He's going to talk about being humble and trusting in God instead of in ourselves.

This is the graphic line.

The worship band are working so hard to lead us in an amazing worship time.

We're going to have an amazing sunday service.

Please, pray with us for new people to come.

El proceso del nacimiento de la estación

2008-09-17T17:29:00.003-04:00

¡HA NACIDO LA ESTACION!

2008-09-17T16:06:00.004-04:00

Ha sido muy deseado y ya ha llegado. Se llama La Estación.

Es nuestro ministerio de niños en Parque Este. En La Estación ayudaremos a los niños, cada domingo, a confiar en Dios, tomar decisiones sabias y establecer amistades sanas y duraderas en una manera pertinente y divertida. Estamos muy contentos y muy agradecidos a todos aquellos que han tenido que ver con este nacimiento: Bethany, Toni, Brian, Robbie, Brooke, Elle, Renee, Beth, Monique, Megan, Jim de North Point, Buckhead, Browns Bridge, a la iglesia y al equipo de Parque Este y al Señor por esta semana fantástica.

Pepe y Mari

Saturday

2008-09-13T05:59:00.003-04:00

Less than 10 hours ago our team was painting, building and priming and now we are back at work early this morning. Things are really starting to take shape in La Estacion as we anxiously await Sunday morning. The final projects to be done include detailing the murals, assembling the stage and cleaning up the sanctuary and Waumba Land. We’ve used every inch of this place to get the job done and it needs some TLC before the morning ☺. It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago, we walked into a room primed with white paint. By the end of the day today there will be a completed La Estacion!

As we have been working throughout the week, we have had many people looking in and wondering what’s going on. It is so encouraging to think of the potential of this church. In fact, the man who came to install the air conditioning could not believe this was a church and mentioned that he would love to come back!

This community is bursting with kids. As we were painting the ticket booth, one of them stopped to ask us what we were doing. In response to all of the questions and curiosity, we are excited to help them with a fun event this evening for the kids in the area. There will be a bubble machine, bean bag toss, face painting and in true UpStreet style….candy! Some of the teens and kids have agreed to take this project on as their own.

As we were leaving the church last night at 11:45pm, we were amazed at how many people were hanging out at the café around the corner and that the kids were still playing on the playground! Spain is a fun place to be!

Here are a few pictures of Elle(our awesome tranlsator) and Bethany (our fearless leader). Also pictured are our fantastic construction crew (Jim, Renee, Brian). Marcos one of the leaders here is also pictured with the construction crew.

La Estaction on Friday!

2008-09-12T13:15:00.005-04:00

It’s Friday and we are moving along with our project to create La Estacion which is Spain's version of UpStreet!! Many trips have been made to numerous stores and countless hours of painting, staining, building a stage, building a barrier to help with the sound, and laying bricks have made up hours of good relational time to get to know and love the families in Sevilla! :-)
We have broken our team into several groups with Robbie, Beth and Megan working hard on the entrance to the children’s space and it looks amazing. Brian, Jim and Renee are our builders and they have spent countless hours sound proofing the room and building the stage and roof for the “station." Monique, Toni, and Brooke are our painters and are working hard to paint the murals on the walls and create the “station”. Elle is our constant interpreter and has shown amazing patience and endurance as she is constantly called away from working on translating curriculum to go to the store or help with a conversation. I (Bethany) am doing a little of everything and loving it! I’ve spent the last several days going to seven stores and buying more material and décor for the room along with groceries for lunches here at the church. I’ve also gotten to paint a little and help with odds and ends but I'm grateful to just be with amazing people in a beautiful country!
Our schedule has been much the same every day. On Wednesday, we got to the church at 9:15am and began worked on our projects until 8:00pm when we drove back to the hotel to change and go to Mari and Pepe’s house for dinner at 9:30pm. They were wonderful hosts and dinner was amazing! We got back to the hotel about midnight having accomplished a lot with the help of our friends here in Sevilla!
Thursday we worked from 9:15am to 8:30pm and then went back to the hotel to change and and go to Toni and Marco's home where we enjoyed a delicious dinner around 10pm! The days seem to fly by!
A special moment happened for us yesterday as Jim had a brilliant idea. When we were building Buckhead Church, the members came and wrote names of their friends and neighbors who they were praying for on the unfinished walls. That way, they were reminded to pray for these people every time they saw the wall. Some of the members of East Park Church wrote the names of the kids in the neighborhood on the wall before we began working and it was a meaningful moment!
So, that is where we are! We have made some great progress and can't wait to unveil the finished product! God is good!

PS- We've attached a few photos from today. Bibiana and Maria, two teen volunteers, are pictured in the frame. We've also pictured our painting team and front entry team.

2008-09-10T10:46:00.004-04:00

Tuesday:

We made it! About 16 hours after meeting at Hartsfield airport the Sevilla UpStreet team was greeted by Pepe, Mari and Nono and escorted back to our hotel. One of our first opportunities to serve happened right after we got off the plane. Nono encountered his friend, Antonio, who ironically enough had been on our flight from Madrid. Antonio, his wife and two adorable daughters were stranded with a car that would not start. Nono had jumper cables to start their car, which in turn jumpstarted our trip of serving others in Sevilla.

After dropping off luggage and freshening up at the hotel, it was off to visit the church for the first time. Amazing! So much has been added since Bethany and Toni's trip in April. They now have a loft space and the main area of the church has a new look and feel.

When the brainstorming was done, our team felt great about the work that was ahead of us. At that point, we did a brief walking tour in Sevilla and had an early dinner (9pm). Pepe and Mari took us to a place with a variety of delicious tapas, then we headed back to hotel. Everyone was looking forward to getting some well needed sleep after 36 hours of being up.

Wednesday: Most of today has been spent making trips to the wood store, the paint store and the insulation store. Every construction item has its own store. We are starting to make a little dent in the work, but we anticipate some long nights ahead. Overall, we are enjoying time with our wonderful hosts in Spain and are so excited to be a part of what God's doing here in Spain.

Alvaro, Raquel, Noa and Oriol visit Atlanta!

2008-09-08T18:12:00.009-04:00

picture captions:

1- David Walker's team coming to Vilanova in October

2- David, Carolyn, Alvaro and Oriol at the Falcons game

3- The Walton family (minus Brooke) and Alvaro's family

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go,

Some stay for awhile,

Leave footprints on our hearts,

And we are never, ever the same."

This is one of my favorite quotes, and in the case with our Spain friends, it's more true than EVER! Alvaro, Raquel, Noa and Oriol just left Atlanta, after a short 3 days here, and as soon as I said goodbye, and turned around, the tears started to flow. How can people we've known for just one short year (and only SEEN in person a few times), feel like FAMILY?! But to me, and many of us here in Atlanta, that IS how you feel...like our family.

So here's a recap of what we did with Alvaro and Raquel while they were here:

Friday: They arrived to the Waltons' house in the afternoon, and then went to the Norcross Park near their house for dinner and a concert/picnic on the lawn. Michael Frank, Melanie Amos and Carolyn (me) met them there.

Saturday: Alvaro went flying around Atlanta with Randy ("a dream of mine since I was little" he says). Evidently he took great pictures and had the time of his life! Meanwhile, Crista and Raquel evidently shopped with the kids. That night, we all met back up at the Walton's house for a great cookout and time to catch up with Alvaro and family. Several people from former mission trips to Vilanova stopped by (like Scott and Jen Tanksley with baby Aron, Jenny Strange, Melanie Amos, Michael Frank, David Walker, Heather Maxey, Anne Yoder, Michael Smith, Christy A. and more, as well as NEW team members who are about to go on trips to Vilanova this fall.... like Cynda and Ray Douglas, Cibele Ziobrowski and more!).

Sunday: We took them to the 9 am service at Buckhead Church, where they got to see Steve Fee lead the worship band (he sang "Glorious One", which is Alvaro's favorite!) and Andy Stanley gave another great message about the importance of "pivotal relationships" in our lives. Noa enjoyed playing in "Waumba Land", but Oriol wasn't too sure, so we took him to "big church'" with us. After church, Jenny Strange and Dave Karger took them on a tour of Buckhead Church, and then Dave Walker and I (Carolyn) took Alvaro and Oriol to a Falcons Football Game, and Cibele (who speaks great Spanish and is coming on the trip with David Walker in October) took Raquel and Noa shopping! All of us had a great time (and the Falcons WON!)! After the game, we all met up for dinner at the best pizza place in Atlanta (Mellow Mushroom) and then we went to meet David's team coming to Spain in October, and Alvaro gave an update on how your church is doing there (including the new building, small groups, prayer requests etc.).

Monday (today): I (Carolyn) spent the weekend with Alvaro, Raquel etc. at the Walton's house, so this morning, after a great homemade breakfast by Crista, we said our goodbye's to the Walton's, and I led them to the new World of C0ca-Cola Museum. Then, I went to work (at the Coca-Cola Company down the street), and they came over for lunch after they were done at the Museum. Betsy Nicholson and Rich Richardson met us for lunch too! Finally, around 2 pm, it was time to say our goodbyes!

Alvaro, Raquel, Noa and Oriol...it was a pleasure being with you again, but way too short! Please come back soon. You are so loved here in Atlanta! Safe travels home. Please keep in touch!

For more pictures, click here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cnorton311/AlvaroAndRaquelsVisitToATL02

Mucho Amor!

Carolyn

A new team from Atlanta is coming to Sevilla!

2008-09-04T12:18:00.003-04:00

This is an email from Bethany Miller, the UpStreet Groups Director at Buckhead Church in Atlanta. She and a new team of excited people will leaving for Sevilla this Monday to help them with their childrens' program, that they are calling La Estación. Please pray for their safe travels and that the Lord is glorified through their work and through the committed hearts of the people in East Park Church! Gracias!

(carolyn, for Bethany)

-----------------

What is your earliest memory of church?

The hope for East Park Church in Sevilla is that the earliest memories of the kids who live in Sevilla will be that Worship can be Fun, They can Trust God no matter what, and the Bible is never boring.

That is why God has called a ragtag group from Georgia to leave family and friends for eight days in September and fly to the southern part of Spain to partner with the amazing and courageous founders of East Park Church to create and launch La Estación.

La Estación, literally translated means “The Station”, is the name of the children’s ministry based off of NPM UpStreet program, which will debut in Sevilla at Parque Este on September 14, Lord Willing.

After brainstorming sessions, numerous meetings on both sides of the pond, many translated e-mails and as much pre planning as possible, the departure date is less than two weeks away.

The team in Sevilla understands the children they are trying to reach. The team from Georgia has seen firsthand how both children and adult lives can be transformed by relevant children’s ministries. God has a plan, and will weave the strengths from the collective team to create something beyond what individually we can imagine today.

We can’t wait!!

For His Glory,

The La Estación Team!

In the photo:
Front row- Renee Armistead, Elle Ackland, Beth Chadwick
2nd row- Monique Ellis, Toni Clark, Megan Walter
Back row- Jim Walsh, Brian Miller, Bethany Miller, Brooke Caesar and Robbie Caesar

News from Vilanova!

2008-08-14T16:28:00.002-04:00

This is from an email that Alvaro sent us yesterday, to update us on the progress at their church in Vilanova/Sitges...PRAISE GOD!
(FYI, Alvaro and his family will be in Atlanta September 5-8, and there will be a cookout at the Walton's house on Sat. the 6th. An evite will go out soon, but join us if you can!)

Hi my friends,
I know you are such committed with the church in Vilanova as we are, so I wanted you to know the most important achievements of the first half of the year :
*Name : we changed the name of the church from "Iglesia Protestante de Vilanova" to "Iglesia Cristiana del Garraf" ( ICG ). This is not a non-relevant change because of (a) we are, right now, in Sitges and we are not sure if this situation we'll be long( hope not ) and because (b) we don't want to limit our influence to the people of Vilanova but to the complete Garraf community ( Garraf is the area where Vilanova and Sitges is and is about 100.000 people )
* Legal : December 2007 we approved our new Constitution and in the last months we've been working in developing some aspects of it. The main : the Elders Council, which for the next year is formed by Eugenio, Loles, Carmelo and Sarah Andrews. Again : an important issue if we want to have a well balanced church and a really vision focus strategy.
* Construction : We've been redefining some aspects of the building and right now we have a high vision of what the building means in terms of money and the next steps we need to work on it. Next 2 steps are covered but not the others. We can give you more information and details during our visit to USA next 3 weeks.
* Sunday Service : is one of our strong points right now. Our sunday service is really outsiders focused and "northpointmusic resources" has made the difference in our worship time. We want to go deeper on it and I wonder if we could get additional tracks during my visit in september to Atlanta.
* Web: you can visit our new one at www.iglesiadelgarraf.com .
* Programing : today we have the complete programing series for the next 12 months closed.
* Marketing Plan : we've been working with Miquel Torres important areas regarding which is our difference respect other churches and which is our key benefit and claim. We've organized "outsiders" focus groups to know what our target thinks about church. This is a non closed step but, just for your information, a friends of Raquel and me( outsiders target ) are been in this process and their comments were : "we would really like to go to this kind of church" or "it seems like church is a really important thing for all of you: you are doing things well".
* 5/14 : We have start our volunteer program call 5/14( based in Galatians 5:14 ) in terms of defining our mission statement and starting conversations with the community just to say : "which way can we help you ?". We want 5/14 to be the honest way we show outsiders Christ's love in insiders. Sarah Andrews is leading and we'll have our public first activity in october.
* Conectados ( small groups) :without any kind of doubt, the best decision we took 1 year ago. It has change our "insider's fellowship" and people that has visited us in the last sundays have said : " you all are really close to each other", or "this is not a "cold church", we can feel like in our home". Next september we'll have an additional small group were we'll integrate the new members of the ICG.
* Pastor : as you all know, this was our main deal and my "main headache". We do know that this was our weak point and it's been the center of the all discussions during the last 6 months Executive Team meetings. I can confirm you that we have progress a lot: we've been working in defining the Pastor profile, putting names and surnames to several candidates and finally giving an offer to someone that feel is very qualified (though his family is praying about it so he will go unnamed until he accepts). Just for your information, a little miracle that we lived during that process and a resource we used for approaching :
(1) a few days before offering to be the Pastor of the ICG, a special donation for this purpose arrived, so, right now, we have covered the next 12 months part time Pastor salary...God really rules....
(2) For the ICG was non negotiable a perfect understanding of our vision, so what we did in our first meeting was to give this person (who we hope will be our pastor) a "From the Foyer to the Kitchen " DVD ( an spanish translation made by us) .
The situation now is : the process is not finished ( we don't have the " agreement's picture") but it has gone really ahead. We ask that you continue to pray about this person that we hope will be our new leader.
Concluding : This person fits with our Pastor profile : he's been graduated in a Seminary, he is a really good communicator ( talks simple things in a simple, outsiders minding and engaging way ), he "is like our target is", he has the ability of leading a team of talented people and he understands and beliefs that our vision is a great way of communicating Gospel to the outsiders. God's been with us during the process and sure He will at the end of it
All the guys at the Executive team have made an excellent job, balancing their works, family and God's service through the ICG. Julian has been leading the Construction issue, Isma has been with the Communication area, Danny with Economics and Legals aspects and David with Programing and Production. All of them are passionate about what ICG means and what ICG will be in the future.
Any doubt or more information you need, just say.
Just remembering,
(1) our vision is "to be a relevant community that approach Jesus to the culture of today"
(2) our mission is "to make possible that people know Jesus and follow Him in fidelity".
This is our passion, and that is the only reason because a little Christian Community in a Catholic country called Spain believes that God is rocking with ICG.

We really appreciate your prayers : we know and we feel that we are in your hearts.

Please, send a copy of this mail to everyone who knows our project and is supporting us in praying, specially to everyone who has been involved in mission trips.

See you in a few days,
Alvaro
Iglesia Cristina del Garraf
"Growing Together"

Carolina's picture debut!

2008-08-14T16:02:00.008-04:00

Proud mother, Sarah, just sent me these pictures of Miss Carolina! She didn't want the wine bottle to be the only "image" we had of her (though I can think of worse)! (:

As you can see, she's a DOLL, and her parents seem very proud and happy! Here is more of what Sarah wrote about her:

Thanks for your well wishes with Carolina! It is so much fun getting to know her... we could just look at her all day long and not get bored :)

I've been so busy feeding Carolina (she eats a ton!) and napping when she sleeps ...She changes so much every day! She weighed 7 lbs 7 ounces when she was born.

Keep them in your prayers! More to come....

(the other) Carolina!

Welcome Carolina!

2008-08-11T12:07:00.008-04:00

A NEW BABY GIRL has been born to our growing Spain FAMILY in Vilanova/Sitges! Congratulations to Miguel Torres and Sarah Andrews on the birth of little Carolina last Friday...08-08-08 (the day the Olympics started too)! We are all so grateful for this little miracle, born healthy and whole and "perfect in HIS image"... a new child to further God's Kingdom!

Here is the announcement (email) that came from the proud parents last weekend (in Spanish AND English):

Queridos amigos,
Os queremos anunciar que el 8 de Agosto ya podemos decir que Sarah y yo hemos tenido una cosecha excepcional !

Nuestra hija se llama Carolina y ha pesado 3,4 kg.. La verdad es que no tenía muchas ganas de salir, pero finalmente ya está con nosotros y está sana y contenta. Sarah se encuentra bien y muy muy feliz.

Gracias a todos por vuestro interés durante estos días previos.

Miguel & Sarah
------------------------------------------

Dear friends,
We wanted to let you know that on August 8 Sarah and I can finally
announce that we've had an "exceptional harvest"!

Our daughter is named Carolina (pronounced the Spanish way of course!) and weighs 3,4 kg. She certainly took her time in coming, but she's finally with us and is healthy and happy. Sarah is feeling good and is thrilled to finally have
the baby in her arms!

Thanks to you all for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts!

Miguel & Sarah

Marc's trip to Atlanta

2008-08-01T00:36:00.024-04:00

As most of you know, Marc came to Atlanta for several weeks this summer, and just left us 8 days ago. He stayed with the Waltons, and became part of their family (like everyone does who visits them), but luckily others of us got to spend some quality time with him too. He visited many Atlanta sights like the

Martin Luther King Center, World of Coca-Cola (YAY!), Georgia Aquarium, Six Flags amusement park, a Braves game, went on a trip to Lake Lanier and the Georgia mountains, went to DC and PA and back, and we ended his trip with an incredible plane ride in the air withRandy Walton as our pilot! Here are some pictures. Marc, we miss you already!

Pictures from top to bottom (left to right):

a. Marc, Crista and the kids at the MLK Center

b. Marc, Michael Frank and Carolyn

c. Marc, Crista and the girls at the World of C0ca-Cola Museum

d. Marc flying the plane!

e. A view of Stone Mountain from the sky!

f. The Coca-Cola building (carolyn works on the 7th floor) with GA Tech University behind it

g. Buckhead Church from the sky!

h. Video (Below) of Marc flying the plane!

i. Marc and Randy, very calm after flying!

j. Carolyn before take-off (calm and excited)!

Alvaro, Raquel, Oreol and Noa, we can't wait to see YOU in a month!

MUCHOS BESSOS y ABRAZOS!

Carolyn

Conectados BBQ

2008-07-31T08:13:00.006-04:00

A couple of week ago we had a Conectados BBQ for everyone inolved in our small groups and for some who want to be part of it to spend time together gathering, sharing and talking about what is Conectados contributing to our lives.

As you guys can see in the pictures we really enjoyed the day.

You've changed our mind about how church can be done and we love it!!!

Thanks!

After english camp

2008-07-25T07:58:00.002-04:00

This is funny.

Regards from Sevilla.

Pepe y Mari

During english camp

2008-07-25T07:35:00.003-04:00

Two weeks before english camp in Sevilla

2008-07-25T07:30:00.002-04:00

One of our best services ever

2008-07-21T12:40:00.006-04:00

I just want to let you guys know what happened yesterday in Sitges.

We had the last service until September because our summer vacation break.

The title was "Make the most of your vacation time".

The preacher was Toni Bodego, he's a great communicator and a better guy. He came to preach a couple of months ago and yesterday he came with Chelo, his wife. They're a lovely couple.

Toni preached about how to enjoy the vacation, and make the most with friends, family, thinking about our live and about how we can work for the church, and also charging our batteries because when we'll be back there's a long road to walk, in our lives and in the church as well.

Previously we had an amazing worship time. This guys sound awesome!!!

More than 40 adults came yesterday to our church, around 10 for the first time and some of them told us, "we'll see you in september"...

Keep on praying for us because some of that people have kids and if we are having more kids coming we're gonna have a big issue because of our tiny facilities for them, and until we don't have the new building finished we'll not be able to do a nice program for them.

Thanks!