I started this blog post a while ago, but forgot to save it. There's
just so much that happened that I've been putting off the re-write!
The
end of June was crazy, trying to finish off all the projects before
heading off to Transform. The conference was amazing! While I was there
helping out with registration and any last minute graphic design stuff, I
was able to enjoy the conference as a participant. I met my outreach
team for Spain, and we spent some time going over what we were going to
be doing.
After the conference it was off to Spain! We were at
the OM base for a day, and went to church there. We had a tasty Spanish
lunch and got to know the church people a little bit. The next day it
was off to Ferrol to begin our hike!
We hiked the Camino Ingles, or the English Way. During pilgramage times,
ships would leave from England and dock in Ferrol or A Coruna, and
pilgrims would get off there and make their way south to Santiago. We
did 74 miles (120 K) in six days!
This was a much greater
challenge for me than Hadrian's wall. For one thing, even though it was
shorter distance-wise, we had many more hills to climb. I also had to
carry a pack, which I was not prepared for. There were some times I felt
like my arms were going to fall off because of the pressure on my
shoulders! There were all fitness levels in our group, so staying
together was sometimes a challenge. I was often at the back of the
group, and felt like I was keeping everyone back. Also had some killer
blisters, way more than I got doing the wall! The weather was not too
hot though, which was a relief. The weather in the north of Spain is
very similar to the weather in England...which meant we did get a little
bit of rain (but not too much!)
Each day we were on the road by
6am (well, tried to be on the road!). We were a large group (18
walking!) so it was difficult to get going on time. We started so early
so that we wouldn't have to walk during the hot part of the day, and so
that when we got to the hostel there would be space for all of us. One
day a large group arrived ahead of us, and they didn't even have mats
for us to sleep on. We ended up sleeping on the floor of the gym...which
I was so tired by this point, I was just thankful we didn't have to
keep walking anymore!
We did meet some people along the way, and
were able to share the Gospel with them, but I think the main reason God
had us on this walk was for team building. There were us from the
Transform conference, but there were also some others who had been in
Spain for two months and had been living and working together all that
time, so it was good to have this time to mesh our two groups together.
The first few days were a little rough, but we began to get to know
eachother, pray and encourage eachother, and carry eachother's burdens
(literally!) while walking to Satniago.
We eventually made it! We got our certificates, spent a little time sight-seeing, and then headed back to the base. We spent two days there, then headed off to Ribadeo, a town an hour and a half east and on the coast.
The goal for the next five days in Ribadeo was to make contacts for a church to be started. This town had been on the hearts of the OM Spain leaders for nearly 30 years, and finally God was moving! We went into town for three days armed with flyers advertizing the kids' program, face paints, and balloons. Lots of flyers were handed out, free hugs given, and conversations had. For two nights we held kids' programs, and they were both well attended. The kids had a blast, and their parents were also listening to the skits and messages. Both evenings after it was finished, some people lingered to chat, and had some really good conversations. Some even gave their lives to Jesus!
The whole trip was very encouraging. I don't speak a lick of Spanish (although I understand a little bit now!) but I was able to help do things with the kids while others could have those conversations with the parents. They got lots of contacts, and they'll be going over a couple times a month to have Bible Studies. I'm so excited to see how God grows the seeds we planted!
