A recap from the Impact Team’s trip to Spain…
The team was not able to build the playground because of the change in government, but that did not stop them from making a big impact with the refugees they encountered.
- One of the new Palestinian converts from last year had been doing really well in his faith. His family life was another story. His wife and a local Imam were applying tons of pressure to him and he had been really mature about his reactions to that. However, while we were there he learned that their asylum request got rejected from the Spanish government — a huge blow to him and his family. As we were praying with him he shared his perspective on the situation and it was godly, wise, and a faith-filled response. Very proud of him and how much he has grown over the last year. In two weeks, he will be continuing his journey to find a home in England.
- Katie’s Mom’s in Prayer event went really well! We met a new Lebanese lady that was serving in the church and asked her to translate for the event for the 25 women. In tears, she told us how she started Moms in Prayer in Nigeria after her husband had left her when she became a Christian. It was her first time in ministry and she has been serving full-time since. It was so neat to see Katie encourage these women and for them to form great relationships over their heart to pray for their children.
- On Sunday before church, our team of 40+ sent a request for prayer out to 5 people each. Our goal was to cover our day in prayer and see how the Lord responds. That afternoon at a BBQ we were having for the Sarhawi families (Muslim group from Western Sahara), one of our team members shared the Lord with one of the Sarhawi teenagers and she accepted Him! This was a monumental decision for their people group and for our team that has been working with them for several years. Be praying that this decision will lead to more in the future!
- Last year, we befriended the only All-Refugee Semi-Pro soccer team in the world (Alma de Africa). The team is made up of players from 13 African/Middle Eastern nations and coached by a local Spaniard. We played soccer with them last year, had a BBQ for them, and several participated in other events with us. This year, we had more events with them and several of them accepted the Lord! It’s really a neat relationship that we keep pursuing and seeing fruit from.
- We had a really fun kids camp with games and activities for 50 kids for 2 days. Our team was awesome and jumped in to lead this camp full of all sorts of kids from lots of different countries. Our kids were able to bridge the language gap and help the team out and did a great job. At the end of the two days, we invited all the parents to a special dinner so we could meet them and build relationships with them. At the dinner, one of the Syrian dads invited our family to his apartment for dinner. Muhammed was a very energetic man of peace for whom we are now praying. At our 4-hour dinner, we were able to ask him lots of questions about his family, Syria, and his dreams for his family in Spain. We have friends that will be following up with him during the year to keep sharing our Gospel with him and his family.