Overdue Reflections on the So-Far

I must admit, I've been taking a break from my attempts at photojournalism. The prospect of lugging around a very heavy and expensive camera gets less appealing when the events of the day are basically the same as the day before. So yes, work has settled into the routine of preparing breakfasts and sandwiches in the mornings and distributing food to families in the afternoons. Occasionally during breaks, we'll go out to town, enjoy a coffee, talk to some strangers, or spend time with church friends.

My fellow non-Texan intern, Beth, bagging kiwis to hand out at the mission

Our typical assembly-line formation when we unload the trucks of food at the distribution center

Mission Urbana owns a flat called La Casa de Acogida (The Welcome House) that houses six men--usually immigrants-- for a maximum of six months, while they look for a job and their own housing. While there, the men receive free food, housing, Spanish lessons, and Bible studies--if they so desire. We visited them briefly one morning, listened to their stories, and prayed with them. Here, the team is pictured with Frank, David, and Akim.

One afternoon, Chema (left), a friend from church, invited a few of us to join him for some basketball at the park, where he often goes to meet people and build friendships.

I played a couple games of basketball, but soon got distracted...

*grin*

As promised, I'd also like to share with you all some of my insights and reflections from my time in Spain so far. Be forewarned: the following section is LOTS of text and no pictures.

WHAT WE'VE DONE

"La religión pura y sin mácula delante de Dios el Padre es esta: Vistiar a los huérfanos y a las viudas en sus tribulaciones, y guardarse sin mancha del mundo."

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

As I prepare meals for hungry people; give them clean clothes; watch them file in for showers, shaves, and haircuts; give them a ration of groceries for the month, I often ask myself why we do what we do. How do these small acts of kindness advance the kingdom of God? Are we truly making a lasting impact? Personally, I just like to help other people out. But is it right to do it for the selfish motive of feeling good?

It all came together for me one afternoon as I was preparing an old widow's ration of food. She had walked a good distance on her own to our distribution center, with just a small duffel bag for her food. As I compiled her ration, it soon became clear that there was no way she could carry so much food on her own. So I talked to our manager, packed her duffel with a little of everything and told her to return the next day with some help for the rest of her food. When she returned the next afternoon, she was still alone. I asked her if anyone had come to help her carry the food home. She nearly broke down in tears as she covered her face and said, "Nadie...no hay nadie que puede ayudarme. Estoy sola...estoy sola." (No one...there is no one who can help me. I am alone...I am alone.) It was enough to break my heart, and it was then that I finally realized why the Scriptures mandate aiding widows. She was the embodiment of desolation. But even to lesser degrees, the people we serve are desolate. Most of them are in desperate situations of which we cannot even fathom. So with what the Lord has blessed us, we reach out to them in their affliction; and by our love and example, they will know we are Christ's.

SPIRITUAL MAPPING
Aside from our work at Mission Urbana, we've also attempted to reach out as much as we can to locals. It's difficult because we're not here long term, and it's been emphasized to us over and over again by local believers that evangelism in Spain lies in relationships of trust. Spaniards are friendly people but slow to trust. To enter their inner sanctum of friendship requires lots of time and commitment. This is typical of the postmodern society that Spain is and the United States is quickly becoming. For such a society, incarnational Christianity ("being Jesus") is proving to be the most effective means of communicating the gospel. Other methods of evangelism, such as dramas and street evangelism, serve as good attention-grabbers for the evangelical community, but in the end, it usually comes back to relationships of trust.

Thus, I have spent a good bit of time "people watching" and discussing with local believers the spiritual climate of this country. 1) Because of Franco's dictatorship and his affiliation with the Catholic church, the people of Spain are incredibly bitter toward church and organized religion. Their hearts are cold and hard because the older generation naturally resists change, while the younger generation doubts semblances of the past. 2) This obvious resistance toward faith has actually created in the minority evangelicals (both young and old) a strong sense of urgency in regards to evangelizing their people. This sentiment is yet to be felt by most of the American church, but should be. 3) Being a major immigration portal, a lot of ministry potential actually lies in the immigrants (mostly African), who come to Spain with hopes of a better life, only to have all those dreams blow up in their faces, leaving them with nothing but "Spain is horrible." However, their hearts-- unlike the Spaniards'--are often quite open to the gospel, and though Spain wasn't their avenue to the Forbes 500, it was their avenue to eternal life. Thus, they return to their home countries equipped with the gospel, and the unlikely nation of Spain becomes a "sending nation" of the world's missionaries.

WHAT IS MISSIONS?
Especially here in Spain, it seems to me that "missions" in practice isn't any different from what evangelism-minded Christians in the States do on a day-to-day basis. Being incarnational Christians is how we should always be no matter where we are. Thus, is it just the cross-cultural context that makes one a missionary? Is it living on support? I've said many times since being here that if I were to come back to Spain long term, I don't think I'd call it missions. "Missions" may be my mindset, but I'd just be a Christian living in Spain, doing what any Christian should do. Sure, church-planting is central to the mission of God, but church-planting looks different everywhere.

I'll always be a missions-minded person, viewing every ministry and every relationship through the perspective of God's mission of bringing the nations to himself. However, the most effective means of fulfilling that calling may not be through labeling myself as a "missionary." As a journalist, a teacher, a social worker--whatever vocation God has called me to--I can still focus primarily on advancing the kingdom of God. I'm not saying this applies to every mission field, but this is what Spain has been saying to my heart.

I'd like to close this post by just thanking you once again for reading this blog and supporting me and the team through your prayers. Everyday I am strengthened and encouraged by you. Please pray for a strong finish, as I just have two weeks left, and I want to make the most of the time remaining. Bendiciones y nos vemos. (Blessings and see you!)

~Joanne

Descargando (Unloading) y Repartiendo (Distributing)

The last few days at work have consisted mostly of unloading and distributing food at the latest addition to Mission Urbana's list of locations. Currently, M.U. is in a critical time of expansion and transition. In addition to their main location, they are in the process of purchasing another place for Bible studies and worship services. (This new location is where the guys on our team will be doing construction once the papers all get signed.) The European Union has also been lending M.U. the temporary use of a place for distributing food to families. Then this week, the local government of Valencia (Ayuntamiento de Valencia) decided to jump on the bandwagon and lend M.U. another warehouse to distribute city-donated food to families. Thus, M.U. now has four locations (two for their own services, and two for the distribution of government food). Our job, then, on Wednesday and Thursday was to clean out the warehouse, unload the tons and tons of food from the trucks, and distribute it to the families waiting to receive their monthly rations.

Waiting to unload the food at the new warehouse

Eunice, the secretary (and many other things) at Mission Urbana

Some of the people waiting to receive food at the new locale

And outside M.U.'s main location

[Side note: Many of the people who come through M.U. do not appreciate having their pictures taken, especially in connection with M.U. Because of that--and because it is often difficult to juggle a large camera around on the job--I do not know how easy it will be to take photos of our main work at M.U. I will do my best to share with you all my experiences there, but I cannot promise the inclusion of as many photos as would be preferred.]

In another sense of "unloading," we were able to relax a bit this weekend and enjoy a trip to Valencia's famous science museum and aquarium.

An infrared screen

Hypnotic jellyfish...zzz...

I was in an ecstasy among all the sea creatures--

both unfriendly...

...and friendly!

Then, to "distribute" a bit of that enjoyment, we went out again tonight with Marta and Carlos, our friends from church, to celebrate Marta's 25th birthday.

Nothing like a fun night of expensive ice cream and bad bowling to celebrate a birthday!

The birthday girl--and Alexa's ever-present funny face in the background ;)

I have just about hit the half-way point for my time here in Spain. It really has gone by much more quickly than I expected. Not only that, but many things have turned out differently from my expectations. I'm working on a reflections post, which will discuss many of these thoughts and insights from my time here so far; and hopefully, it will be up in just a couple of days, so check back soon!

In the meantime, I leave you again with just a few praises and prayer requests.

Praises:

• The team is really beginning to come together now, as we're getting to know each other better and working to complement each others' strengths and weaknesses.
• Beth, the final member of our team, arrived safe and sound from Chicago this week.
• We're all getting into the swing of things at Mission Urbana.
• God is giving us many random opportunities (especially on the Metro) to meet people, initiate conversations with them, and build at least an elementary relationship with them, which will hopefully lead to opportunities to share a little bit of our faith with them. For example, today I had the unique chance to converse in Chinese with a 17-year old kid from China. He left us his e-mail and phone number, and the team really hopes to develop a deeper relationship with him. Many of the other times, we end up befriending some English-speaking African immigrants.
  
• I don't believe I have cooked this many meals before in my life (granted, they are very simple), and I am enjoying it immensely. =)
  

Prayer requests:

• One of the reasons the purchase of M.U.'s new location has been held up is because the president of M.U. is being hospitalized for prostate infection, and he cannot sign the papers. Please for his quick recovery, both for his sake and for the sake of M.U. Until these papers are signed and the purchase completed, the guys cannot begin construction work on the building. His name is José María.
• Alexa and I (and I think maybe Levi again) have been fighting a cold for the last few days. It's mostly just congestion for me now, which is not serious, but rather annoying.
• My computer screen has also been acting up for the last couple of days. I'm afraid my electronic friend and I do not have much longer together. Please pray it will last at least until I can get back to the States, so I can complete the assignments that are due while I'm here, and so I can back up my latest files.
• Please pray that I will have enough time to fully engage in our work, fellowship, and activities, while still having enough time to complete my assignments, update this blog regularly, and most importantly, spend personal time with the Lord growing closer to Him.

As always, thank you for your prayers, and don't forget to check back again soon for my reflections update. ¡Que Dios os bendiga y nos vemos muy pronto!

~Joanne

I Speak...Spanglese?

The last couple of days have been a surprising flurry of activity. Though our schedule of events wouldn't seem like much, I think it's safe to say we're all pretty wiped out from a full weekend.

Here's the quick rundown:

FRIDAY

• The girls joined me at Mission Urbana for their first day of work there. We sorted and cut bread and pastries, made sandwiches, and cleaned. Good job, girls! You did an awesome job. =)
• After work, we were able to enjoy a couple hours at the pool. Going to the pool is for fun and relaxation, but I must say that it is exhausting bouncing on one's tippy-toes for two hours straight because you're too short to stand in the "shallow" end of the pool. Haha.

SATURDAY

• We spent all day (from 10:30 am to 1 am) with a few youth from the Anderson's church, walking walking walking around different parts of the city. Although it was a long and full day, we had a great time learning about what is muy típico de Valencia. It was also a wonderful chance just to get to know the youth better and hear their perspectives on their country's spiritual climate.

The bull-fight ring

The post office's breathtaking glass ceiling and interior

The team with our valiant "all-day excursion" guides

Marta, a 24-year old oceanography major, who is quickly becoming a dear friend to me

Walking along the America's Cup Regatta pier

Docked boats

We also stopped by the very interesting gypsy market at the beach.

The main attraction at the beach that evening was a reenactment of the battle of El Cid, the legendary Christian warrior, who fought the Muslim Moors for the Spanish kingdom.

"Moors" leading their horses

Challenging the Christian king to battle

Why not add a few Amazonian warrior princesses to the equation?

El Cid v. el moro

Forgive me for all the horse shots--they were just such beautiful subjects...

...As was this young boy who sat next to me during the reenactment. Although the focus of our work on this trip is not children, I can't help but keep an eye open for kids who cross my path. Who will he be 15 years from now? What is his role in God's plan of glory?

We closed out the night with a late dinner of delicious tapas (small dishes typical of Spain, usually of seafood). Unfortunately, I was too hungry to photographically document our meal. =/

• After almost 14 hours straight of hablando hablando hablando Spanish, my voice was hoarse, my tongue limp, and my mind coagulated into a jumble of Spanish, English, and Chinese. Yes, even Chinese, because apparently my tongue forgets that Spaniards don't speak Chinese just because it's not English! Nonetheless, I do believe Saturday's intense burst of language immersion has done wonders for my comprehension and conversation. I'm still leagues away from fluency, but with God's help, I'm getting there poco a poco (little by little).

SUNDAY

• This morning we attended church with Chris and Anita, where we were able to witness a baptismal service and a truly miraculous response to the gospel invitation. Three people were baptized into the Church body this morning at Agustin d'Aragón, and three stood up during the invitation to receive Christ as their Savior. Given the spiritual condition of Spain, these are truly incredible responses, because usually, people just don't have any interest in God or Christianity. As we've been told over and over by missonaries, pastors, even the youth--evangelism to Spaniards is relational. Capture an audience by winning their trust. It's slow and discouraging, but otherwise the people just turn a deaf ear. Those who responded to the invitation today most likely found themselves in an evangelical church this morning because of a relationship of some kind with one of the baptized individuals.
• The other audience in Spain is immigrants. Ngor is one such immigrant from Senegal, who found Christ through Anita and Chris when he came to Spain by boat three years ago. Through visions and dreams, he had been searching for Christ all his life, but he didn't find Him until he came to Spain. Now, though his situation is difficult, he is the joy of Chris and Anita's week through their weekly Bible study/Spanish lesson. (I have had the privilege of sitting on a couple of these already.) He has had absolutely no education, yet he speaks nine languages (and counting) and is so hungry for spiritual truth.
  

Ngor shares with us some of his experiences.

My supervisor, Anita Anderson

• Later in the evening, we once again returned to the park to see if we could talk to some of the youth.

The guitar we brought along with us as well as this girl's very interesting collection of dolls sparked a good bit of conversation with them.

Well, the "quick" rundown has turned out to be not-so-quick. Nevertheless, I hope it was informative and interesting. Again, I'll close this out with a list of praises and prayer requests, but if there's anything you would specifically like to know more about next time, please leave me a comment or write me an e-mail and let me know! And please, let me know how I can pray for you, too.

Much love and many thanks,
~Joanne

Praises:

• Anita and Levi are both feeling much better! (I have not been able to talk to Lydia yet.)
  
• My Spanish language skills are improving steadily.
• God continues to be generous to us in our experiences and relatioships
  
• We are all still safe.

Prayer requests:

• Rest! Especially with these photos and updates, I'm probably not getting as much sleep as I should.
• Continue to pray for the purchase of the new location for Mission Urbana
• Pray for Ngor's family, who is still in Senegal and not yet saved. (He feels very heavily burdened for them.) Pray also that his papers will be approved by the Spanish government very soon so that he can return to Senegal for a visit and share the gospel with his family.
• Pray for the youth in the park--if it's God's will for us to minister to them, He needs to give us divine inspiration for creative means of reaching them.
• Pray in general for the spiritual desert of Spain. Pray that the older people will see the truth and be willing to change, despite tradition; and pray that the young people will realize that the truth they're so busy seeking is found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

El Paso Comes to España

Ironically enough, the lone star adventures are over for this Jersey girl with the arrival of the eight-person team from El Paso, Texas. The team of three girls and four guys, lead by their youth pastor (also a CIU graduate!), arrived on Tuesday, and they will be my co-workers and flat-mates for the next month.

We are now living right in the center of the Old City, just a block from Misson Urbana. Today, I was finally able to take a decent number of pictures, while I lead the group on a brief tour around the city. (Funny how after just a week and a half, I'm already a tour guide! My supervisor sure is brave, but some quick internet research does a person wonders.) Below are a few pictures from our arduous trek:

Our first stop was the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (City Hall Plaza).

Another building at the Plaza

Spanish mounties

La Lonja de la Seda was the silk exchange center of Valencia's Golden Age. It's an absolutely stunning piece of architecture.

We also visited one of the two remaining gates of the old city wall (everything else was torn down)--Los Torres de Serranos. Like the Tower of London or the Bastille of Paris, these towers were once used to imprison nobility.

The men were enthused about an ice cream break after hours of walking under the hot, hot Valencian sun.

The girls vouched for fans instead.

We also stopped by the Cathedral of Valencia, which claims to house THE Holy Grail (apparently the most likely to be authenticated) as well as the mummified arm of San Vicente, the patron saint of the Valencian Community.

While Spain is still culturally Catholic, the Church is even beginning to lose its grip there with the younger generation. Increasingly atheistic, Europe's spiritual landscape serves as a grim warning to the American church. Without the power and influence of the Holy Spirit, America will be where Europe is now in the blink of an eye.

We also had our first opportunity tonight to do some "spiritual mapping." After dinner a few of us walked over to the park just across the street for some people-watching and praying. Standing in the middle of an obscure park in a land so spiritually desolate, six of us stood in a circle and prayed for the people of Valencia, Spain, Europe, and the world. It was beautiful.

I think we expected to see more bums in the park. Instead, there were a large number of youth just hanging out in groups. One particular group caught my attention, so after we prayed, I decided to walk over and ask them if I could take their picture: 1) I wanted some good up-close pictures of Spain's post-modern youth; 2) I needed a conversation opener. What ensued was just a fun, short time of interaction with the youth--finding out their names, ages, the best places to visit in this part of Valencia, etc.--as well as inspiration for some potential means of outreach right there in that park. There's nothing like some up-close, personal interaction to place a burden on an individual's heart for a certain people group.


After our short walk in the park, we debriefed European style--with some colacao (hot chocolate) and horchata (a sweet, milky beverage made from a nut) from a sidewalk café--under the cool breeze of a lovely Valencian night sky.

Our eccentric Moroccan waiter

Praises:

• The team and our living arrangements all seem like they are going to work out well.
• Our burden and vision for the people of Valencia are beginning to grow and take form.
• The work at Mission Urbana is going well and blessing many.
• We were able to establish initial contact with some of the youth who frequent the park.
• I'm beginning to feel more comfortable with my Spanish language skills.
  

Prayer Requests:

• Health--my supervisor, Anita, has laryngitis and has lost her voice; another member of the team, Levi, is getting the beginning symptoms of a cold; my hostess from the first week, Lydia, has a cold, back problems, and a broken rib
• Mission Urbana is in the process of buying a new location, but the bank keeps delaying the transaction. Pray for the director, Rafa, and that the sale will go through smoothly and we can begin construction there.
• Continued sensitivity to the needs of the people of Valencia and a vision for how we can most effectively do our part of reaching them this month (as well as a more long-term vision of church growth).
• Especially now that I am living with an English-speaking team, I would like to be able to continue developing my Spanish fluency.