Spain: Day 3-4

Day 3 - After a morning devotion time at the local church, we traveled to another city (Ripollet) to visit with a partner church. It was great to spend time with Pastor Marcos and to hear the vision to reach Spain for Christ. There are over 2,000 cities and towns in Spain without an evangelical church!

In The evening, Pastor Vernig presented discipleship training at Inglesia Evangelista Mon Bui, the local church. We were greatly pleased as there were 26 people who came out for the training! It was wonderful to see how the members of this growing church plant were soaking in every word that was being shared by Pastor Vernig.

We believe this small, but growing, new congregation has the opportunity to impact their community in a powerful way for The Lord Jesus!

Day 4 - Again, after morning devotions, we travelled to the city of Terrassa. Here there are two evangelical churches that are doing a wonderful job of reaching the diversity found in this state: the nationalistic Catalonians, the Spanish, the Latin Americans who have moved here, as well as a sizable Muslim population from North Africa.

The President of the Spanish Baptist Convention, Andreu Garcia, serves as pastor of Inglesia Evangelista De Terrassa. We had a wonderful meeting, hearing from the convention perspective, what is believed necessary to reach the people of Spain. Pastor Garcia and this church are doing amazing things to reach the diverse populations in this city and we wanted to see first-hand what has been proven successful in this context.

We also visited an outreach center where a ministry to Muslim women was proving to be very successful as well.  Walls were being broken down so the Good News could be shared and hearts were softening to hearing about Jesus. 

In the evening, Pastor Vernig led the second night of discipleship training. Again there was a group who had braved the rain and cold to be a part of this critical training. There were 24 who joined us for the evening!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spain: Day 1-2

Day 1 -We arrived in the early morning on Tuesday, March 17th, and then traveled about an hour north of Barcelona to Margarita Santa Montbui. This is the town where Inglesia Evangelista La Cruz is located and were we would serve with Pastor Joel.

After coffee and orientation, we were able to get about three hours of rest before time to leave for the evening worship service. It was a wonderful time of celebrating our Lord with brothers and sisters in Christ!

Day 2 - our day started with a time of devotion at the church with the team from the church and our American team. Pastor Joel led a very encouraging lesson on the Prodigal Son with a view on the older brother's perspective.

We then went into the neighborhoods passing out invitations to the church services. One street encounter led to a home visit where four family members made a re-dedication to The Lord! It was certainly a divine appointment as the family was struggling with the father's battle with cancer. Many tears were shed as hearts were broken before God.
 

This family joined us in the evening for the service! For the second night in a row, the church was full. Thankfully they have rented the adjoining space which will allow the church to have a larger sanctuary as the church continues to grow.

Another visit resulted in a woman making a decision to follow Christ for the first time! She had been very angry at God because her husband had died from a heart attack four years earlier. The Holy Spirit moved through the reading of scriptures by the team and she finally agreed to lay her brokenness at the feet of Jesus and surrender her life to the Father.

But God was not through. During the evening service, a young woman came forward to give her life to The Lord! What a joy it was to see this young church plant embrace a new believer and our team was excited to be part of God's plans for this community!

 

 

India 1. Day 6-9

Day 6 - we had the pleasure to spend time with some of our wonderful IMB missionaries as well as our India Baptist Society partners today. These meetings were very informative and encouraging! Missionaries from both organizations are serving in amazing ways to reach the country of India for the Kingdom through great personal sacrifices.  We leave this evening for a 12-hour, overnight bus ride to the north of this state. Then it will be another hour and a half car journey to the village where we will participate in a two-day leadership/family conference. Please pray for safety in travel, health of our team, and an outpouring of God's Spirit on every participant!

Day 7 - plans were in place for approximately 80 people and more than 100 came today! Praise God for allowing so many to join us as we shared a lot on evangelism, family training, and discipleship.
We were privileged to hold the conference on the grounds of a boys' orphanage. What an amazing experience it was to interact with these children, who were obviously exposed to great love and care from the director and his staff. There are 80 boys, through age 16, at this center and how they were loved was so evident in the way they loved God and each other.
We had four sessions today mixed with wonderful times of worship! What a joy it was to see these brothers and sisters-in-Christ worship without any inhibitions to our Lord.
As always seems to be the case, we planned for certain things and God led us in different directions as He guided us in areas that appeared to meet the needs of those in attendance. Two of our sessions were strictly on evangelism and we loved seeing everyone soak in scripture and principles on living the mission.
The other two sessions for the day involved demonstrating Christ-likeness through how we love our families. This is a topic that is huge in this culture as wives are sometimes viewed in less than high standards. It should have been clear how the men of the church, especially the pastors, should love and honor their wives as Christ loves the church.
There was very good feedback during and after the sessions as men and women gathered around to discuss things related to ministry!  We finished the day with a sweet time of corporate worship. It has been a long day since arriving early this morning, conducting four training sessions, and then an evening time of worship but it has been a glorious day of serving and being served!

Day 8 - we had four more sessions today and then prepared for the journey back to our base city. Again we felt God leading and guiding as we continued with evangelism and family training.
It was beautiful to see how God orchestrated everything as our team presented the material and Brother Subba Rao, India Baptist Society (IBS) Director, explained and expanded on things in order to have them relate to the culture. Everything that has been said about this dear brother cannot capture His heart and love for God and those far from God. We are blessed as a church to have such gifted partners here and around the world!
One of the great experiences on the mission field is to see how our guests are willing to sit and soak up every bit of information they can receive to impact lostness. It makes our commitment seem so small in comparison to the blessings we receive as we seek ways to be more effective in reaching the nations for Christ!
The day began when several men joined us on the porch for an impromptu, early morning session. It was a very special time for us as we heard their questions and comments regarding difficulties they were experiencing in reaching their communities for Christ. We discovered that 6-8 of these young men had been led to The Lord by another young man sitting alongside them! They were so enthusiastic about the things of God and how they could use their great sense of urgency to make a difference in their country.
It is always hard to leave such a place where God has brought us to serve. Saying goodbye to pastors, husbands, wives, children, and the orphans was SO difficult. When our car was leaving the compound, the orphan boys lined up on two sides to wave and say goodbye! Our hearts were touched by this beautiful display of respect and love.

Day 9 - much of the day was spent resting from our overnight trip back to the city and preparing to leave early the next day. However, there were two very special events that took place as we looked to our return home.
First, we had the pleasure to spend a little time with Rebecca Naylor. Rebecca came to Bangalore many years earlier and helped build Bangalore Baptist Hospital into a well-known healthcare facility. This facility has served the needs of the community as well as been a beacon of light in a very dark place. Praise God for what He has done through Rebecca to enhance and enlarge the Kingdom!
We finished our day, and this trip, with one last stop at a children's home. This is one of three facilities that Brother Subba Rao and IBS are currently supporting.
In a country where children are generally reluctant to interact quickly to outsiders, we were overwhelmed with the warmth and love exhibited from these children. Many of them are just throw-aways. Not loved or cared for by anyone but God and this wonderful couple who work so hard to provide a home for, "the VERY least of these!"
We sang, played games, and (embarrassing as it was) danced the night away with these beautiful, loving children! We will NEVER forget these faces and pray that God will allow us the opportunity to see and serve them again.

As with every mission journey, we continue to be transformed by God's love for His creation and His plan to allow us the privilege of serving in this journey, for His glory!

 

 

India 1: Day 3-5

Day 3 - we had the pleasure of providing leadership training for pastors and lay leaders today. They were expecting 40 to 45 and there were at least 65 in attendance! It was a wonderful combination of worship and training and of course, Kevin and I were probably far more blessed than the nationals attending. What a joy it has been serving alongside Pastor Subba Rao, our coordinator from the India Baptist Society (IBS).

Day 4 - today we visited two forest villages and met with village leaders as well as shared Bible stories. There was a serious need in the first village for water and it would be a relative low cost to make the connections so we made the commitment to Pastor Subba Rao, through IBS, to provide these funds to provide a continuing means to reach this village in evangelistic efforts.
We finished our day by doing a mini-VBS in a neighboring town. The children were so enthusiastic and interactive and we again were greatly blessed to be a part of Kingdom work with a local pastor.

Day 5 - today, Sunday, we were privileged to participate in a worship service in a local house church. There was such a sweet spirit and God moves in amazing ways! In a room that should seat maybe 20 comfortably, there were perhaps 55 to 60! We have been so convicted to see the brokenness among the Christians here. To see how earnestly they have bowed their hearts and knees before The Lord has been humbling. I had to ask myself how long it had been since I was so broken in my own life.
We finished the day by stopping in to see two additional families where worship took place among families and friends! Thank you Jesus for allowing us the privilege to be part of worship here, where it seems to mean so much more than it does for us at home sometimes.
Please pray for us as we leave tonight for an overnight bus trip to the north of this state, 350+ miles away. Please continue to pray for our health and safety, especially as I struggle to eat the spicy foods that are so common.
Most importantly, be in prayer for the leadership of this country to provide the freedom to serve and to share The Lord, Jesus Christ!

Kevin & Curt

 

India 1. Day 1 & 2

India 1. 

After a long layover in NYC and a couple of long flights, we arrived safely and on time in Bangalore.  We arrived at the guest house around 4:30 a.m. and tried to get some rest before starting our day with our Indian coordinator.

Tomorrow, we leave at 5:30 a.m. to begin a four hour trip to the forest as our coordinator keeps saying, ha.  Not quite sure what this means but we trust completely in the Lord's protection and provision.

Please pray for these next three days of leadership training and evangelistic services.  Pray for the health and safety of our entire team.  But most of all, pray that God will do those things that only He can do to shine His Light in the darkness that is everywhere around us.

We are so thankful for our church family as you stand in the gap on our behalf!  We are praying for you as well.

For HIS Glory & By HIS Grace!
Bangalore, India Team

 

Southeast Asia/East Asia: 2^nd week summary

The team returned to the big city after the two days of medical clinics in the south. The next several days were spent meeting and making contacts with young people who are either still in university studies or recently finished. Each night a coffee house meeting was held, with a presentation and a chance to share the Good News. The team was able to work with small groups, answering questions and sharing our personal stories. It is a joy to report that three young people came to Believe while we were there!  Please pray with us that many more of the seeds planted will bear spiritual fruit in the future.

The team boarded the overnight train to travel to the north of the country and visit the home of an unreached people group. The scenery was breathtaking...as was the drive!  Dodging other cars, motorbikes, people and even the occasional water buffalo has everyone on the edge of their seat!  After arriving in the village, we were invited to attend a church service in a local house. What an amazing blessing it was. The choir was led by the children and their pure voices echoed off the sides of the mountain while we clapped along to keep time. The message was delivered by a field missionary that had traveled with us. He spoke in English and his native language, while the local church leader translated the service into the native tongue of the people in the village. His message, from Matthew, was about the faith of the four friends who were willing to break the roof open and lower the paralytic man down to be able to see Jesus because they knew He had the power to heal whatever ailed the man. We should have that kind of faith; willing to break down any barrier, whether of distance or language, culture or time, or even opposition of the government.

The rest of the day was spent trekking to where we spent the night, in the home of one of the unreached people groups we had come to see. In the morning, the Good News was shared with the matriarch, and words that would be found in the Bible were translated by her so that a Bible can be made for her people.  After a short day and a half, the team began the journey back down the mountain, preparing ourselves for another overnight train ride back to the big city.  We got back into town safely, and a short time later found ourselves at the airport boarding a plane heading to the next country on our mission trip.