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.
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!
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