Vamos a trabajar (Let's work)

Friday night we short-termers helped the long-term missionaries and their national church with a community outreach. The main goal was to capture neighborhood children's attention by doing a craft and playing games, then convincing them to go into the church for a story and refreshments.

Sounds easy, right?

The missionaries told us that the kids would probably want to do the craft, but very few -- only a couple -- would come inside for the lesson. And then God surprised us. Not only did a couple of children stay for the lesson, but 17 children listened as one of the church ladies presented the Gospel in a story about an Indian girl named Shanti. Praise Jesus!

It was interesting to watch the kids' reactions when they came: they'd crane their necks to watch what was happening, then look around surreptitiously when they entered the church. In the past, the Spanish Catholic Church spread lies about the Evangelicals: they ate babies, they would tie children up so they couldn't leave, etc. Although some of these lies are quite old, the stigma remains. So the missionaries and the members of the national church were very encouraged by the turnout.

The Evangelical church of Azuqueca meets in a storefront. It's small, but it's amazing to see how God is working through this effort.

This afternoon the children's Sunday School and some adults went to a park near Azuqueca for a hike and picnic. After hiking with everyone along a trail that wound around some Roman ruins, I had the blessing of sitting and talking with Miriam, who attends the church with her husband, Carlos, and their daughter. Miriam's mother is Spanish and her father is German, and Carlos is Argentinian. She wanted to know all about the big Protestant churches. When I explained that although there are many big churches, most Americans claim to be Christians simply because of the culture, she got a very determined look and said, "Well, it's like Spain." I said that we would continue to work, because even in a hard soil as a Spain, and a hardening soil in America, God is still seeking people to follow Him.
So let us, as Spaniards, Americans, Graystone members, members of other churches, etc., keep working.