November 2006 Update
Hello All,
I hope your Autumn is going well. It has finally decided to cool off here and is now cool and rainy--the kind of rain that makes you want to stay inside with a warm blanket and a hot mug of tea all day. Spain has desperately needed the rain, though, so I'm thankful for it in spite of wet shoes, umbrellas, puddles, etc.
October has disappeared and I have no idea where it went! I feel like I just sent out the last update. Anyway, for this month that has flown by, here are a couple highlights:
Field Orientation: One of the things I love about Christian Associates is their focus on development--in life as well as in ministry. For this reason, they require their staff to go through a "field orientation" process during their first year. (Some of you might be confused here--although I've been in Spain almost 3 years, this is the end of my first year with Christian Associates). So as part of this process, I went to Holland for 2 weeks of intensive training with 15 other people. We looked at everything from cultural adjustment, to dealing with conflict, to evangelism, to missional theology, and lots of things in between--there was a lot of info that I'll be processing for a while! I had a wonderful time making some new friends within CAI and sharing common experiences. I finished being energized and ready to get home and get back to work. Unfortunately, the stomach flu had other plans. I was out of commission for about a week. By then I was REALLY ready to to get back into the swing of things!
Intercambio night: This Autumn I have started going to a language exchange night at a local bookstore/coffee shop/pub. Tons of people come on Wednesday nights to learn English. I had been praying for opportunities to make friends in my neighborhood, so this was a perfect chance. I've been going for long enough now that I'm one of the "regulars" and have started seeing the same people over and over. Usually we speak English for the first while, unless conversation goes beyond the basics, and then we switch to Spanish. Most of the people there are freaked out by the fact that I'm a Christian, but once we get to know each other they get over that pretty quickly. I"m excited for this opportunity to make friendships with people who wouldn't think of coming to a church. I'm praying God will use these relationships to draw people to Him.
The usual: Everything else keeps going on as usual--community groups, sandwiches on friday, worship, etc. I spoke last Saturday about the incarnation at an Oasis Madrid service--if you want to read the talk, click
here. Our community groups are growing and will be multiplying to 5 groups at the end of November. The group taking sandwiches to the homeless is growing as well--hopefully soon part of the group will multiply off so we can take sandwiches out 2 days a week.
Here are some things you can pray about this month:
--Heatlh: Cold and flu season is starting, and last year I was sick half of the time. Pray that I can stay healthy this winter!
--Pray that God will use my new friendships with Spaniards in my neighborhood to draw those people to Him.
--I'm in the process of contacting annual supporters about renewing their support for the next year--pray for God's continued provision here as the cost of living is rising rapidly in Spain.
--Pray that I will make good decisions with my time and take the time needed to rest, work, play, study, pray, etc.
--Praise God that we will be multiplying to 5 community groups at the end of November--pray for more leaders that we can train for the next multiplication.
Thanks so much for your encouragement, prayer, and support. I couldn't be here without you!
I hope your Autumn is going well. It has finally decided to cool off here and is now cool and rainy--the kind of rain that makes you want to stay inside with a warm blanket and a hot mug of tea all day. Spain has desperately needed the rain, though, so I'm thankful for it in spite of wet shoes, umbrellas, puddles, etc.
October has disappeared and I have no idea where it went! I feel like I just sent out the last update. Anyway, for this month that has flown by, here are a couple highlights:
Field Orientation: One of the things I love about Christian Associates is their focus on development--in life as well as in ministry. For this reason, they require their staff to go through a "field orientation" process during their first year. (Some of you might be confused here--although I've been in Spain almost 3 years, this is the end of my first year with Christian Associates). So as part of this process, I went to Holland for 2 weeks of intensive training with 15 other people. We looked at everything from cultural adjustment, to dealing with conflict, to evangelism, to missional theology, and lots of things in between--there was a lot of info that I'll be processing for a while! I had a wonderful time making some new friends within CAI and sharing common experiences. I finished being energized and ready to get home and get back to work. Unfortunately, the stomach flu had other plans. I was out of commission for about a week. By then I was REALLY ready to to get back into the swing of things!
Intercambio night: This Autumn I have started going to a language exchange night at a local bookstore/coffee shop/pub. Tons of people come on Wednesday nights to learn English. I had been praying for opportunities to make friends in my neighborhood, so this was a perfect chance. I've been going for long enough now that I'm one of the "regulars" and have started seeing the same people over and over. Usually we speak English for the first while, unless conversation goes beyond the basics, and then we switch to Spanish. Most of the people there are freaked out by the fact that I'm a Christian, but once we get to know each other they get over that pretty quickly. I"m excited for this opportunity to make friendships with people who wouldn't think of coming to a church. I'm praying God will use these relationships to draw people to Him.
The usual: Everything else keeps going on as usual--community groups, sandwiches on friday, worship, etc. I spoke last Saturday about the incarnation at an Oasis Madrid service--if you want to read the talk, click
here. Our community groups are growing and will be multiplying to 5 groups at the end of November. The group taking sandwiches to the homeless is growing as well--hopefully soon part of the group will multiply off so we can take sandwiches out 2 days a week.
Here are some things you can pray about this month:
--Heatlh: Cold and flu season is starting, and last year I was sick half of the time. Pray that I can stay healthy this winter!
--Pray that God will use my new friendships with Spaniards in my neighborhood to draw those people to Him.
--I'm in the process of contacting annual supporters about renewing their support for the next year--pray for God's continued provision here as the cost of living is rising rapidly in Spain.
--Pray that I will make good decisions with my time and take the time needed to rest, work, play, study, pray, etc.
--Praise God that we will be multiplying to 5 community groups at the end of November--pray for more leaders that we can train for the next multiplication.
Thanks so much for your encouragement, prayer, and support. I couldn't be here without you!
posted by kelly_w at 2:10 AM
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