April 2004 Update
Hello All!
I hope you all are enjoying new life all around you this spring—God is good! March was quite an eventful month here in Madrid, and plans are already started for the coming autumn. Take a look at what is going on!
11-M
Madrileños mourn at the Atocha train station.
On March 11th, at 7:30 a.m., several bombs in in train cars exploded at key stations around the city of Madrid. On the television (just as
with 9-11 in the states), there were reports of numbers and more numbers of nameless injured and killed. On this side of the Atlantic, my friend Samuel didn’t know if his wife had been on that train until he finally reached her 2 hours later, my friend América would have been on the train if she hadn’t been in Barcelona, and
the stories go on. Being so close this time really made me stop and realize that those people were fathers, mothers, friends, sons, daughters—real people. Please pray for the families that lost loved ones.
Thanks again to the nearly 50 people who emailed me expressing your concern and letting me know you are praying. It was quite an encouragement to me!
Friendly Faces
Speaking of encouragement, I have been quite encouraged this month by my Impact family. Rob and Allie Marmion and their two kids, Alexa and Elijah, came here March 10-16 to pray—what a time to be praying in Spain! At the end of March, I went to Munich for a few days to spend some time with much of the rest of Impact’s European staff. I praise God for the opportunity to pray together, as well as the refreshment, encouragement, and friendship these times provided.
Ministry in Madrid
At home in Madrid, I thank God every day for the family He has provided with the Mountainview International Church. It’s so great to be in an environment where I am learning so much while getting opportunities to serve, as well as making lots of friends! The worship team (led by Kelly Crull—yes, another Kelly!) is such a blessing to be part of, and not afraid to be creative with worship. God made us creative beings, so we should praise Him with all of our creativity—through art, writing, singing, praying, etc. The Monday night group is still a spiritual lifeline for me, and our Tuesday Alpha group is a great discussion every week. Sonya, Alex, and Matilda seem to be really seeking to know God. My prayer is that they will move from knowing about God to knowing God.
On Fridays, I have been attending a Bible study on campus at the university led by my friend Ana, a student at the university leading a small group involved with GBU (in University Bible Groups). I thank God for her friendship (she and I are too alike for our own good!) and for the opportunity to get to know one of the other ministries on campus and work together with Ana.
Dusting off the Backpack
While I was in Munich, a group of us went to see The Passion of the Christ together. If you haven’t seen it, drop what you’re doing and go now. You can finish my letter on the way. It was a clear reminder to me of exactly why I love Him so much. He deserves nothing less than my whole life. One thought that hasn’t left me since this movie is that Jesus didn’t come to earth to “hang out” with the humans, or to “minister” to them. He became a human.
In figuring out how on earth to minister to students on such a big campus and in such a big city, I’m convinced God is leading me to follow His “becoming on of them” by becoming a student myself. Universidad Complutense Madrid offers a program called Hispanic Studies, a 2 semester, 3 hour a day series of classes all about Spain’s language, culture, history, language, literature, etc., and it is specifically directed toward international students. This October, I will dust off the notebooks and the backpack and become an international student for 3 hours a day. I’m excited about the opportunity to meet so many students in a natural way.
Change of Plans
The main challenge that this study program presents is a change in my schedule. I was planning to come back to the states next January to raise more support, but I will now need to wait until the school year ends next June. This means that I will need support for 6 months more than I had originally planned. Please pray for me as I will be doing some support raising from here in the coming months, and praise God that He always provides for His plans! If you are interested in how you can help out, feel free to contact me so we can talk. My contact information as well as donation information is included at the end of this letter.
Here are some things you can pray about….
*Pray that my hope, my trust, and my passion will lie only in Jesus
*Pray for healing and comfort for those grieving after the terrorist attacks here
*Ask God to raise up more staff to come to Madrid to do campus ministry
*Pray that God would bring me into contact with the people He has for me to meet
*Pray that Sonya, Alex, and Matilda would come into real relationships with Jesus Christ
*Ask God to provide the finances needed for me to do the international study program at
the university. This will require more monthly supporters as well as one-time gifts.
Thank you so much for encouragement, prayers, and financial support. God is using you for His kingdom!
“Now to HIM who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to HIS power that is at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”
Praising HIM,
Kelly Wills
Contact info:
kkrenee@yahoo.com
Donoso Cortes 80c, 2-9
28015 Madrid, España home phone: 34 915 436 281 mobile: 34 637 079 740
I hope you all are enjoying new life all around you this spring—God is good! March was quite an eventful month here in Madrid, and plans are already started for the coming autumn. Take a look at what is going on!
11-M
Madrileños mourn at the Atocha train station.
On March 11th, at 7:30 a.m., several bombs in in train cars exploded at key stations around the city of Madrid. On the television (just as
with 9-11 in the states), there were reports of numbers and more numbers of nameless injured and killed. On this side of the Atlantic, my friend Samuel didn’t know if his wife had been on that train until he finally reached her 2 hours later, my friend América would have been on the train if she hadn’t been in Barcelona, and
the stories go on. Being so close this time really made me stop and realize that those people were fathers, mothers, friends, sons, daughters—real people. Please pray for the families that lost loved ones.
Thanks again to the nearly 50 people who emailed me expressing your concern and letting me know you are praying. It was quite an encouragement to me!
Friendly Faces
Speaking of encouragement, I have been quite encouraged this month by my Impact family. Rob and Allie Marmion and their two kids, Alexa and Elijah, came here March 10-16 to pray—what a time to be praying in Spain! At the end of March, I went to Munich for a few days to spend some time with much of the rest of Impact’s European staff. I praise God for the opportunity to pray together, as well as the refreshment, encouragement, and friendship these times provided.
Ministry in Madrid
At home in Madrid, I thank God every day for the family He has provided with the Mountainview International Church. It’s so great to be in an environment where I am learning so much while getting opportunities to serve, as well as making lots of friends! The worship team (led by Kelly Crull—yes, another Kelly!) is such a blessing to be part of, and not afraid to be creative with worship. God made us creative beings, so we should praise Him with all of our creativity—through art, writing, singing, praying, etc. The Monday night group is still a spiritual lifeline for me, and our Tuesday Alpha group is a great discussion every week. Sonya, Alex, and Matilda seem to be really seeking to know God. My prayer is that they will move from knowing about God to knowing God.
On Fridays, I have been attending a Bible study on campus at the university led by my friend Ana, a student at the university leading a small group involved with GBU (in University Bible Groups). I thank God for her friendship (she and I are too alike for our own good!) and for the opportunity to get to know one of the other ministries on campus and work together with Ana.
Dusting off the Backpack
While I was in Munich, a group of us went to see The Passion of the Christ together. If you haven’t seen it, drop what you’re doing and go now. You can finish my letter on the way. It was a clear reminder to me of exactly why I love Him so much. He deserves nothing less than my whole life. One thought that hasn’t left me since this movie is that Jesus didn’t come to earth to “hang out” with the humans, or to “minister” to them. He became a human.
In figuring out how on earth to minister to students on such a big campus and in such a big city, I’m convinced God is leading me to follow His “becoming on of them” by becoming a student myself. Universidad Complutense Madrid offers a program called Hispanic Studies, a 2 semester, 3 hour a day series of classes all about Spain’s language, culture, history, language, literature, etc., and it is specifically directed toward international students. This October, I will dust off the notebooks and the backpack and become an international student for 3 hours a day. I’m excited about the opportunity to meet so many students in a natural way.
Change of Plans
The main challenge that this study program presents is a change in my schedule. I was planning to come back to the states next January to raise more support, but I will now need to wait until the school year ends next June. This means that I will need support for 6 months more than I had originally planned. Please pray for me as I will be doing some support raising from here in the coming months, and praise God that He always provides for His plans! If you are interested in how you can help out, feel free to contact me so we can talk. My contact information as well as donation information is included at the end of this letter.
Here are some things you can pray about….
*Pray that my hope, my trust, and my passion will lie only in Jesus
*Pray for healing and comfort for those grieving after the terrorist attacks here
*Ask God to raise up more staff to come to Madrid to do campus ministry
*Pray that God would bring me into contact with the people He has for me to meet
*Pray that Sonya, Alex, and Matilda would come into real relationships with Jesus Christ
*Ask God to provide the finances needed for me to do the international study program at
the university. This will require more monthly supporters as well as one-time gifts.
Thank you so much for encouragement, prayers, and financial support. God is using you for His kingdom!
“Now to HIM who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to HIS power that is at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”
Praising HIM,
Kelly Wills
Contact info:
kkrenee@yahoo.com
Donoso Cortes 80c, 2-9
28015 Madrid, España home phone: 34 915 436 281 mobile: 34 637 079 740
posted by kelly_w at 10:14 AM
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