Viva Espana!

A Recap on the many adventures in Espana!

Well, as most of you know, I just got back from a mission trip to Granada, Spain, and since I have had many questions asking us what we did and how it went, I thought a blog would be a perfect answer. Also, we all know how bad my memory is, so this is also for my memory's purpose. I hope you enjoy and will look forward to your comments! Now, let's get this party started!

As Julie Andrews would say, let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...This story begins before I ever located my passport, signed up for a trip, or even knew where Granada, Spain was. This story starts with a 25 year old, single girl, who happened to have her first summer off in years and didn't know what the Lord wanted to do with this new found free time. At a Singles Retreat, it was confirmed that she needed to go serve on an international mission trip, something she had always wanted to do-but seemingly the timing hadn't ever worked out. If you hadn't figured it out yet, that girl is me.

Let's fast forward to where I find out where I'm going, and it's Granada, which I'm sure your response was similar to mine--what the heck am I going to do in Spain? Isn't Spain in Europe with beautiful Spanish speaking people, beaches, clothes, and gorgeous Cathedrals? Why are we going there? After a few team meetings, things had become a little more clear to me, but I was still not sure what all we would be doing while we were there. What I did know is that we would be working closely with an Evangelical Baptist church, and I had been warned that the Spanish people wouldn't be too excited to see us.

As we know, if you pray for patience, the Lord will allow you to develop and practice this--which is why I usually try to stay away from that word. ha. Our plans were to fly from Houston-Dallas, Dallas-Madrid, and Madrid-Granada--it would be a whirlwind of travels, but it would be as time efficient as possible. I was nervous about my first flight to Europe, but was excited to see what all this trip would entail. Our very first flight was delayed 2 hours due to a flat tire, which just so happen to have us landing in Dallas at the very same time our next plane departed. BUT we talked to our friends in Dallas, who assured us they could hold the plane for us and it wouldn't be a problem to make that connecting flight. However, I'm sure you know where this story is going-that plane didn't wait for anyone...After working with the airlines for over 3 hours in Dallas, we finally had new flights the next day taking us through NYC, then on to Spain. Ok, so one day delay-not the end of the world, however, the icing on the cake may have been that we didn't get our luggage until we got to Spain midday on Saturday (keep in mind we left on a Thursday morning). So, alright, so far-logistics aren't our best friend, but we realize that the Lord has a plan and it's going to be fine, we will just get there a day later than expected.

We finally arrive in Spain, where one of our team members luggage does not show up (she doesn't get it for 6 days), and go to a retreat with the church we would be working with. The landscape where we were was breathtaking. The Sierra Nevada mountain range surrounded us as we drove out to this encampment where we would meet the church leaders that would become our family for the next 10 days. They were fabulous! Greeted with hugs and kisses (the kisses was something I had to adjust to), they were thrilled to see the American Christians (which I was a little bit surprised by). We enjoyed the rest of the weekend with them at their retreat, enjoying sermons, worship and even baptism ( all in Spanish) in the swimming pool-it was fantastic!! Then we head back in to the city to our hotel that would be home for the next week. It was really nice, a great location, clean and tidy, and so far I'm thinking how great this trip is becoming and almost guilty that it's a 'mission' trip. However, the rest of the week would reveal the pain and brokenness of this country.

Now let me give you a little bit of background on Spain. The majority claims they are Catholic, but the Cathedrals are empty. There are many African immigrants who claim they are Muslim, but there is no evidence of the truth in those statements. There is a tiny percentage who are Evangelical Christians, and they are living on the mission field daily. All in all, the country is LOST and needs Jesus to rescue them.

We were in Granada, where there is a large university, which means thousands of college students. We went on campus two different days to pray, walk around, and do our best to immerse ourselves in their environment. As I introduced myself to different groups of kids anxiously studying for finals, I realized that they not only did not know Jesus, but didn't even know OF Jesus. I was informed that they are approximately 1.2 million Evangelical Christians in Spain and of that 800,000 are immigrants. Do the math, that means only 400,000 are native to the country. ONLY 400,000 CHRISTIANS in the entire country. I was beyond shocked. How could a country that looks so pretty and happy on the outside be so broken??

As we did other street evangelism and outreach activities, I was educated on the Spanish culture further. They are a very closed people, only trusting people the have established relationships with. They don't greet you or smile in passing, they don't care about religion, and they definitely aren't going to go out of there way to hear what you have to say. They are currently in a state of economic depression, and even though they may be destitute, they will still be dressed nicely and appear that life is going well. Apparently, this is the same thing they do spiritually as well. I now realized why the church we worked with was so happy to see us. They just needed some encouragement to continue sowing those seeds in their community.

Although I did just say they didn't come off friendly, let me also say that it's vastly different from the way you are treated by 'friends'. The friends we made at the church were affectionate and passionate about getting to know us, spending time with us, and answering our questions. Since I am a very outgoing person, I enjoyed it, but even I was often surprised by the the love that was shown to us.

In Spain, Catholic is King--they use the word Catholic synonymously with the word Spanish. It's about an affiliation to a country not a church. The Cathedrals we visited were breathtaking, some of the most impressive elegant architecture you've ever seen. I couldn't understand why they were treated like a museum and not a house of worship. Well, they are treated the way they are used, and there is little to know worship or even acknowledgement of God. Once again, my heart was sad at their lack of desire to know the One who can deliver them.

I was told by multiple different people and groups that religion, God, Jesus isn't important. They were not ugly or mean, they were not aggressive in their responses, they simply-don't care. If you ask to pray for them, they will gladly accept it, but may follow it by-who are you praying to? They literally don't even know what they are missing. Although America does not actively pursue a life of holiness, most people you talk to are familiar with the idea of God, Jesus, church or some kind of Christian organization--and in Spain that is simply not the case. I had now started to realize why I was here....

I believe God has equipped different people with different sets of talents and skills, and then allows those skills and talents to be used for his glory if we let Him. I had asked the Lord to use me, I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. If you're reading this, then you know me decently well, and would probably agree that I am a people person. I make friends easily, can get along with a diverse group of people, and I enjoy building new relationships--this is why I was brought to Spain.

The Spanish people are woven together with relationships, it is more important than work, more important than a hobby-their friends and family are the priorities in their life. That being said, you must love them, invest in them, and get to know them before they are likely to be interested in something you care about. I made some friends, this is why I was taken to Spain.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I promise we're at the bottom of the 9th, and there are 2 outs...what I mean is I'm almost done....

As I sit here with phrases like "Cuanto cuesta?", "Que es eso?" and "Vale" running through my mind, my heart breaks for the Spanish people. I am grateful that I was allowed the opportunity to go there, to meet them, to love on them, and to hopefully continue relationships with them. I have realized that as humans, our selfish nature is often drawn to what makes us feel better. Even the 'good' Christians go on the mission trip where they feel they can check the most things off their list and are less likely to go somewhere else. I didn't go somewhere where the people were desperate for physical necessities, I didn't help rescue anyone from human trafficking-both of which are incredible and necessary efforts. I went somewhere where the public seems to have life going perfectly, where they don't want God because they don't think they need Him. My selfishness wasn't satisfied, because the daily rejection was Satan's reminder that he is actively pursuing this country. However, I got to serve next to some incredible people who are the hands and feet of Jesus daily in their community. Doing what they can to create lasting friendships, hoping to shine so brightly they make a difference. I got to encourage them, which in, turn blessed me more than I could have asked for.

I have been so blessed by this experience! I look forward to continuing to bathe these people in prayer, praying for the church leadership, and for the hearts of their community/county to be soften. I hope you will join me in this effort, they are thousands of lost people living there, missing out on the very best thing they could ever experience.

Already missing those Spaniards!!

xo,
b