Spain - June 16th-27th, 2005

Updated Monday July 5:

Tommy and Kim Givens lead the church planting team in Pamplona , and Tommy sent the following summary of their time with our team:

“ My initial impression of the trip was that it was a total success!  Quite better than I expected honestly.  The team was superb.  They proved energetic, flexible, eager to learn, and effective in the ministries they came to accomplish.  Our partnering church here simply could not praise them enough, especially the host families.

The English course itself couldn't have gone much better.  I told Hal a couple months ago that a turnout of 30 people would be excellent, and I think we ended up with 33.  In light of the unpredictability and timing of the course, the organization was quite good.  The course's participants seemed to feel genuinely served by the course, believers and unbelievers alike.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of totally new people that were among the students (a third or more I think), several of them linking us to entire families.  So as far as fresh evangelistic contacts, the course really surpassed our expectations.  The way the team encouraged local believers, both personally and by means of attracting new people, was among the greatest fruits of the trip from my perspective.  I had also hoped (as I'm sure you did) that the trip would deeply impact the members of the team itself, and my sense at the end was that it did. This is the fourth outreach English course we have done in Spain (in 10 years) and the first in Pamplona .  This one was by far the most effective and will undoubtedly become the model for future ones.  I would not be surprised if the Pamplona team requests another team next year.

All in all, the hours of the actual course may have seemed few to some (12 total hours, plus the placement testing and final barbecue), but the fruit of the team's investment here was clear and exponential in my mind.  As a missionary, I felt blessed and encouraged by the team, as did my missionary and national partners.  The team also made a substantive contribution to the ministries of the Pamplona missionary team and the national church.

One piece of related encouraging news: this time last summer we contacted an unbelieving family that subsequently began participating in the life of our partnering church and Joshua's homegroup.  Kitty Conant stayed in their home and, I know, spent quite a bit of time with them (especially late nights!).  One daughter, Uxúa, was in Chandrika's class and the other daughter, Leyre, was in Xenia 's class.  Both had an excellent experience.  The parents, Jesús and Marian, expressed their personal commitment to following Christ shortly after the team left, and I expect they will be baptized in the not-too-distant future.  The team's testimony seems to me to have played a part in their conversion.

Updated Tuesday June 28

It's wonderful to hear the perspective of the long-term missionaries with whom our teams serve. Joshua and Naomi Smith, church planters in Pamplona who are supported by Grace, sent the following e-mail to their prayer team today:

"We had an awesome week with the short term team from Grace Baptist Church of Santa Clarita.  Thanks so much for praying. From the English classes, to the three hour cooking class (one of the team members is a gourmet Indian cook), to all the little contacts made throughout the week, God was clearly honored.  Here are some highlights and answered prayers.

·     We had 33 students for the English course.  Out of those, we had 9 unbelieving adults who essentially had no previous relationship with our church, and 4 kids from unbelieving families.

·     2 of those unbelieving adults also took part in the Indian cooking class.

·     Almost all of those unbelieving adult students, as well as the unbelieving families of the kids who participated, attended a bbq at the end of the week in a nearby park with many members of our church.

·     In his evaluation of the course at the end of the week, one Spanish man who had heard about the course through a newspaper announcement wrote that he needed to know God and that his life was useless. He came to our church service on Sunday and will be meeting with one of the church leaders to talk further. His name is Miguel.

·     Almost all of the unbelievers who came will be continuing to get together and talk with members of our church, some to practice their English together, some for simple friendship.

·     The team was able to loving share the gospel both in action and broken Spanish to many – previous contacts, new contacts, neighbors, etc.

The crazy thing is that we didn't use the English course to teach the Bible.  It was simply a service being offered to our community that happened to take place in an Evangelical Church building. These new contacts DID learn some English.  But maybe most important, they got to know some amazing men and women – both Spanish and American – who happen to know an amazing God."

Updated Monday June 27

Updated Friday June 24

Hal Ring called with news.  The English course went great, with a total of 33 attenders, 13 of them having had no previous contact with the local church.  Kids enjoyed the classes so much that they left the community swimming pool voluntarily to come to the course!  On an evaluation form, one student, an adult, wrote that he needed help with his spiritual life and wanted to know God. Tommy Givens has said that the response exceeded their expectations, and provided valuable contacts for the missionaries to follow up on.  The team will leave tomorrow for Madrid , and will fly home early next week.

Bobbie Davidson writes:

“We have just finished the last night of classes!  What a tremendous blessing it has been.  We have made great friends of them and are sad the classes are over.  We will wrap up the week with a barbeque tomorrow evening for the students and the teachers.  We are looking forward to seeing them again one last time.  We have laughed with them and cried when we said our goodbyes.  We do believe the goal of building bridges and beginning relationships with folks has been accomplished.  Tommy told us this morning that the comments he has been hearing have been very encouraging and he feels overall it has been an incredibly positive experience.  This is the first time he has tried to do anything like this.  The missionaries here are contemplating having a longer session beginning sometime in September.    Joshua just told me that 13 people out of 33 people were not related to the church.  Praise God!!!!!  Tommy has said he wants folks to be comfortable here, and to know that they are not a crazy group of people who hang out in this place.

I think we as a team have a greater appreciation for Tommy and Kim and Joshua and Naomi.  It has been good for us to get to know these folks a bit better and to see them in their own environment.  It has been fun getting to spend time with their kids as well.  Pray for the folks in the church here.  Pray for Tommy and Kim and Joshua and Naomi - that they would be encouraged and empowered by the Lord - that they would have the strength and stamina to minister to these dear folks here.

The host homes have been amazing. Even though most of us haven't been able to communicate very well if at all, we have been encouraged by them.  We have gotten to know another culture through them and experienced life in their homes.  We have been blessed unbelievably.”

Updated Wednesday June 22

Hal Ring called with news.  The English classes have proven to be an excellent way to make contact with people in the community, both Christians and non-Christians.  The courses have gone very well, with attendance climbing to around 28 students on Wednesday night.  Many are bringing their friends.  They are expressing much appreciation for the way the classes are being taught, so the team's preparation work is bearing fruit.  Church Planter Tommy Givens has said that the response to the ministry has exceeded his expectations.  The team is getting along great and enjoying serving together.  The English course will culminate on Friday with a barbecue at the home of Joshua and Naomi Smith , as the missionaries seek to build relationships with the students.  Pray for good connections to be made at that event, and for those relationships to bear fruit for God's Kingdom.

Updated Tuesday June 21

Bobbie Davidson writes:

"We have just finished our second day of teaching. Initially we had 25 students - tonight we had a few more.  Most of them returned from last night.  The students are enthusiastic and it makes the teaching time fun and exciting.  Spirits of the students are up and they seem to be enjoying the lessons.  I think the team is bonding well with one another and with the students.    I think by Thursday we will have this down and have a wonderful time.  We are falling in love with our students and certainly enjoying being with them.

Updated Monday June 20

Corey Nathan writes:

" Our ESL (English as a Second Language) classes started earlier this evening.  Overall, I think it was a huge success.  We had a very nice turnout of people from the "locale" (their local church body) as well as people from off the street - both Christians and non-Christians.  It seems that folks were really able to pick up on the lesson including words and full sentences in English.  Their immediate response was great appreciation for a valuable service.  Pray that the rest of the week will sustain our ability with God's grace to serve the students' needs in a very tangible way."

Updated Friday June 17

Team Spain was sent off with prayer from the church parking lot on Thursday.  Their trip to Spain was uneventful, and they have arrived on schedule in Madrid with all of their bags intact.  They will travel today to Pamplona , where they will spend the week working alongside the church planting team made up of Tommy and Kim Givens , Joshua and Naomi Smith , and Sara Essex.

Team Spain

Hal Ring – Team Leader

Joan Ring – Assistant Team Leader

Kitty Conant

Chandrika David

Bobbie Davidson

Lynda Hildebrand

Corey Nathan

Xenia Willett

Ministries: Making contacts in the community for later follow up by church planters, though the use of English teaching, cooking classes, drama, and other means.