Missions Blog

On day 2 in Spain, we all agreed to meet at 8:30 am for breakfast, prayer, and devotional. So after a good night's sleep, or an uncomfortably warm one for the unfortunate few without A/C, we all got ready and met in the hotel lobby, where we started getting coffee, water, and a Spanish breakfast.               

Shortly after we ended our devotional, a man who was seated behind us showed interest in our conversation. He introduced himself as Christian, both by name and religion, and he shared that he is in the midst of discovering what church he wants to attend: Evangelical, Catholic, Baptist, etc. After talking for a few minutes, Ken was able to get his information so that he can give him Fede and Lucia’s church’s information in hopes he may attend.

After we were done eating and getting ready, we headed out to our respective locations: the men were headed to the new church location to help with demolition, and the women went to Rose and Chris’s home to help remove wallpaper and prepare the wall to be repaired and repainted tomorrow. The men’s group helped remove the old ceiling tiles, vents, speakers, lights, and an accessory wall. After a few hours of hard work, sweat, and dust, we all congregated at Rose and Chris’s house and saw the work they had done.

We then headed back to the hotel for a brief shower before heading back out for lunch with Fede and Lucia shortly after 2 pm. Fede, Lucia, Ken, and Carolyn introduced us to all the local delicacies, which we all enjoyed along the side of wonderful conversation. After taking a group photo, we headed back to the hotel for siesta, a brief midday rest period.

The next thing on the agenda is going to the church during the youth events, where we began to introduce them to American flag football. We had the footballs and the jerseys, but we didn’t have the flags for football, as they were in the lost luggage from the airport. After tossing around a football outside for some time, we all went back inside for an icebreaker game followed by worship. Halfway through the activities at the church, we finally received the phone call saying the luggage was delivered to the hotel, so we immediately sent Ken, Tim, and Tyler back to the hotel to retrieve the much-needed flags! Back at the church, a lesson and discussion were then led by Sarah, the wife of the gentleman who taught yesterday, about Genesis 44. After some group discussions for the students, we packed up some drinks, snacks, and sports equipment and headed to the field to play football!

We knew heading into this that teaching American football wouldn’t be easy due to its many minute details and rules, so we started with playing catch and attempting to run routes. After each student got a few tries, we broke into 4 teams and started 2 separate games. Ken helped translate for the blue and green team, and Chris, helped translate for the red and yellow team. After some much-deserved confusion as to why we play football the way we do, they started to understand it, and the games started! We had some fumbles, a broken earring, some turnovers, interceptions, but even in that, the kids were smiling, laughing, congratulating each other, and keeping it competitive. They played until the field lights went out, still asking for one more play!

After all was said and done, the students got some water, ate some snacks, and put on matching shirts we brought for a group photo. Fede then introduced Steve Magnotti, who shared his testimony of how God used one of the hardest moments of His life to bring him to Christ. He shared how life still has struggles, but he knows that he is no longer fighting that fight alone! Fede spoke to close out the night, and we started to pack up and say hasta mañana!

Back at the hotel, we debriefed and collected ourselves before heading to bed to get rest for another amazing day!