Seek God for Alcora!

A little over two weeks ago we held our united worship and prayer service for Alcora.  We had over 60 participants with some 6 congregations and over a dozen nationalities represented, all crying out to God for our town.  It was a beautiful time together, and it was encouraging to hear some of the responses we had from attenders:

• "This has been a dynamic night and has put Alcora on the map for our congregation."  (Daniel, pastor from Castellón)
• "We've never been a part such a powerful time of worship and prayer.  You can count on our congregation in Madrid (over 4 hours away) to help reach Alcora with the Good News."  (Abraham and Vicente from Madrid)
• "When I saw "Prayer Service" on Facebook, I didn't think I could sit and pray for an hour and a half.  But the way the service flowed made our time together fly by...it was great!" (Isaac, teenager from Castellón)
• "When are we going to do this again?"  (Rubén, University Student from Alcora)

We already know that our night was a success, and not necessarily because we’ve seen numerical growth to our group but because we’ve sensed a direct attack from the Enemy against our daughter.  The week leading up to the worship service, Miriam, who's been sleeping well for quite some time, immediately started having anxiety attacks at bedtime.  She was getting so tense and nervous that she would vomit, which she had never done before.  When Rachel's parents came for the weekend, we prayed for her together in her room and she was noticeably less anxious.  The following Wednesday they left, and that night she began to have the same anxiety, causing her to throw up again at bedtime.  This continued off and on until Sunday when we asked the elders of our church to pray for her and for us, specifically that God would protect us against any attack of the enemy.  Miriam hasn't had a problem since, and that's been over a week ago.  We certainly don't mention all of this to sensationalize what we're doing or over-spiritualize our lives; it's simply what we've lived through the past several weeks.  So we, as believers and missionaries living in Alcora, realize that we are where God wants us to be, on enemy territory, Satan is not happy about that, and we are vulnerable...and the enemy knows how to get to us.

So we urge you to continue asking God to protect us from Satan’s subtle and not-so-subtle attacks, and please continue to pray with us for Alcora as we serve the Living God here. 

Seek God for the City

During Lent, as a church (in Onda, our mother church) and as a small group of believers here in Alcora, we're focusing on praying for Alcora in a more direct, intentional and intense way than we have before, using a material called "Seek God for the City" (Clama a Dios por la Ciudad).  It's a daily guide that presents fresh, Biblical prayers for us to use personally, as a group of believers and as a help for interceding for our town. Sorry I haven't mentioned this before to try to involve you, but we've been too busy coordinating things locally that we just haven't had a chance to update you on it yet. If you're interested in jumping into it with us, go to www.waymakers.org to check it out, or you can download a 99¢ app at the App Store (Mac) or Android Marketplace.

In conjunction with this focus of prayer during Lent, we're organizing a joint worship service of praise and prayer for Alcora with our sister congregations here in Castellón, which is something that's never been done here in Alcora before. It will be Saturday, March 24th, at 6 p.m., and we're praying that it will be a powerful time of united prayer and praise as we seek our Lord together on behalf of the 10,000 people here in Alcora who need to come to know Him. Please pray with us as we prepare for this exciting event!

A Visit from Cressona, PA!

Last weekend we had the joy of receiving a visit from a group from one of our supporting churches, Bethany E.C. Christian Fellowship in Cressona, PA.  They had come to Madrid to help Rachel's dad do some remodeling work in the ECMI center there, but since we're just a short(!) 5 hour drive away, they decided that they HAD to see us.  We only had about a day and a half with them, and since the last half a day was the Sunday morning worship service, we crammed everything into Saturday that we could.  So we gave them the tour of Alcora, complete with a visit to a local ceramics shop and a time of prayer in front of the Town Hall, as you can see in the photo below.  In the afternoon we packed our lunches and took them to Peñiscola, a town about an hour from us that has quite a scenic castle right on the Mediterranean.  Miriam had a blast with them, and we were incredibly encouraged by their interest in us and what we're doing and simply by their presence with us.  So let us know when YOU'RE coming for a visit!

Movie Night in Alcora

A few weeks ago our ministry team hosted a free movie night open to the town of Alcora.  We originally had intended to show The Nativity Story (being December and all), but since the movie distributor wanted 300€ ($400!) to do a public screening, we settled on a much more economical movie called The Climb that was put out by the Billy Graham Association some years back.  About 30 people showed up, between the support of our church in the neighboring town and people from our town, and the experience was quite informative for us.  Here are a few observations I have about the night:

• Relationships matter:  The people who came from Alcora were nearly all people we knew and had personally invited.  One random Alcorino saw one of the signs we had put out and came, and then when he asked who we were and why we were putting on a free movie night, thus finding out that we were an evangelical church group, he left and said he'd come back in a few minutes...we're still waiting for him to return.
• The "evangelical" stigma:  We just posted about this with one of our recent conversations, so I won't go into detail.  But people (especially people from a small, predominately Catholic community) still view the evangelical church as a cult...or at least as something very strange and foreign.  At times it even causes us to question how we should refer to ourselves, call our church group, and publicize events.
• People are busy with their own lives:  Thirty years ago, when Rachel's parents first arrived in Spain, doing big outdoor campaigns and showing the Jesus Film really worked because people weren't all that busy and a lot of them didn't have their own TV's.  But now everyone has their own LED TV sets to watch movies, and they're busier than ever, taxiing their kids to soccer, dance, piano and tae-kwon-do lessons after school.  Just finding an ideal day and time to put on a movie was challenging enough.
• We're still learning:  It could be easy to get discouraged with the fact that only 30 people showed up for a free movie, and, in fact, a few of our group did seem a bit down about it.  But a big part of what we're doing at this stage in ministry is testing the waters, experimenting with events and ministries, and seeing what kind of response we have.  This is an extremely important step in the process of evangelism and church planting, but it can be frustrating, as well, because having big numbers would be really nice...they make us feel good and look impressive in prayer letters.  So we could look at it from a very Eeyore-ish point of view and be disappointed about the numbers, or we can take it all in stride, learn from it, and actually have fun with the ministry and events that we do, even if no one outside of our small group shows up.
• God's at work:  Several of the non-Christians who did show up for the movie were quite moved by the plot and the themes presented, true love and sacrifice (especially God's love for us) being central.  Some even cried at the end.  Our neighbors who went continued to mention it (unsolicitedly) in conversations for days after, and we had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them at a deeper level than we ever have been as a result.  They remain interested and even accompanied us to our church's annual Christmas program.  They may not know it yet, but the Holy Spirit is softening their hearts, and the Lover of their souls is wooing them softly towards Himself.

Warrnambool Concert!

We just had our first public event as an evangelical presence here in Alcora, a rock concert with the Swiss band Warrnambool, and we were pretty pleased and excited by the outcome.  The purpose was not to do fast-track evangelism and try to convert people on the spot with an altar call, which doesn't work very well here in Spain, according to people who have lived and worked here a lot longer than we have.  Rather, the goal was to let the community of Alcora know that there is an evangelical presence here in their town, that we want to offer positive influence in the community, and, yes, to provide a testimony to Christ and the way He's changed our lives.  So here were some of the highlights:

• It was a cool, breezy Monday evening, and people came to the show.  We were a bit concerned beforehand because it was a Monday night and a lot of people knew that it was sponsored by the and evangelical group, which often doesn't get the most positive rap here.  But at one point we counted about 75 people, and a lot more neighbors and passers-by surely heard the music.  Several sister churches brought groups, which was greatly encouraging to us, and probably about 25 people who have no connection to any evangelical church came either to check out the band or because they know us and wanted to be supportive.
• The band rocked!  No, the lead singer didn't dive into the crowd, but there were several of us who made a mini-mosh pit during some of the heavier songs (yes, I'm speaking in the first-person).  A few of the comments we heard were, "How did you manage to get this great group to come to our little town?"  "I wish this would've been on a Friday so that more people could have come out to enjoy the show" (which we wish we could've done but the band's tour schedule wouldn't allow it).  One young lady enjoyed the band so much that she had them sign her pink leather jacket.  The band sold out of CDs, and people were impressed by the quality of the show they put on, even if they only understood the brief translations in between songs.
• People didn't leave during the brief testimony that was shared.  We were also nervous about this because people don't want to be preached at at a rock concert...and though the good news of Jesus was clearly presented, we don't think they felt preached at.  Juan, an elder in our mother church and who happens to be from Alcora, shared about 4 minutes worth of how his encounter with Christ has filled and transformed him, and people stayed and listened...in fact, no one left during that part of the show.  Pray thatseeds, small as they may have been, were planted and that the Lord will do His work in His time, bringing them to fruition.

Below are a few photos from the evening.  Praise God with us that He is at work here in Alcora!

The pink jacket that got signed.

Juan sharing how Jesus filled his life.

A good representation of folks from our mother church in Onda.

Christmas Cookies...

"Wise men still seek Him..."

Well, this post is a bit late, now that we're past the Christmas season, but we thought it was worth mentioning.  Given that we had been living in our apartment in Alcora for about 7 months around Christmas time and had yet to meet all of our neighbors, and since Christmas is a great time to mention Christ (though this is getting less and less common all over the Western world), we decided to make Christmas cookies and cards for our neighbors.  The responses were quite positive:

• Many neighbors were very surprised and appreciative:  surprised because it's not common to do thing in Spain (in fact, it never happens) and appreciative because, hey, who doesn't like cookies?
• A couple neighbors went from skeptical (who are you and why are you at my door?) to confused (you want to give me cookies?) to appreciative (I guess this is all right and, by the way, thanks for the cookies).
• One neighbor was clearly high from smoking marijuana...He was quite happy and appreciative (wreaking of pot).  We figured he and his buddies would be appreciative for something to cure the munchies.
• The neighbor directly below us said, "(Expletive!!!) I can't believe that you're doing this.  I mean, I've seen that Americans do this sort of thing in the movies, but I never expected that someone would actually come to my doors to give me cookies and a card!  Thanks so much...Wow, I just can't believe someone would think of others like this!"  Then he and his wife invited us in for coffee, and we spent half an hour or so getting to know them while the wife played with little Miriam.

So apart from giving the Christmas card with a brief but clearly Christ-centered message on it, we didn't "share the Gospel" directly with anyone.  But our neighbors now know who we are, we've formally met, and we can talk with them a little more comfortably when we pass in the hallways or on the elevator.  And this is the foundation for building deeper relationships with them in the future so that we can talk about the deeper things of life and faith.  And, by the way, they probably already know we're the strange evangelical Christian foreigners.

Alcora Prayer Update

Chapel 'El Calvario' that overlooks Alcora

As we start the Alcora Prayer Campaign, we want to give you a basic sketch of the pueblo and why we’re here.  Located just northwest of Castellón de la Plana, the capital city of the province of Castellón, Alcora has a population of about 11,000 (click here for a map).  The driving force of the economy here is the ceramic tile industry, but the industry is going nowhere at the moment due to the economic crisis that Spain continues to face.  We’ll hopefully give you a more detailed look at the economic problems of the area in a future update.

Religious Influences 

Spiritually, Alcora is known as a very traditional Catholic pueblo.  There are three main Catholic churches here, with some smaller chapels and hermitage sites scattered around the nearby countryside.  Even though there seems to be a deep-rooted Catholicism here, the vast majority of Alcorinos are very nominally Catholic, participating in the religious festivals once a year and going to church only to marry and to bury.  We have yet to meet the three priests here, so we can’t say if they know the Lord personally or not.  I went to mass once in December, and the priest’s homily was actually quite Christ-centered.

Aside from the Catholic Church, there is a Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and a Pentecostal Romanian church, whose obvious mission is to reach the 500 or so Romanians who live around here (and Spaniards, if they’re interested in learning Romanian).  The Assemblies of God in Castellón city had Alcora as a mission point until the end of 2010 but decided not to continue here for various reasons.  And, of course, we are here as an extension of Església Bona Nova (the Good News Church) in the neighboring town of Onda.  They’ve had Alcora on their hearts since 2008 or so, and we are working together with them to share Christ with Alcorinos, hopefully resulting in some sort of church plant.  What does that mean?  What will this church plant look like? 

That’s exactly what we’re asking you to pray with us about.  We don’t have it all figured out when it comes to sharing the Good News with Alcorinos or planting a church in this context.  We want God’s direction as we begin ministry here.  We know that only God can touch and change people’s hearts and that He has invited us to be a part of that here in Alcora.

A Few Brief Prayer Points:

• That God will give us guidance as we seek to expand His Kingdom here in Alcora.
• That God will protect us from the enemy as we live and minister here.
• That Alcorinos’ hearts will be softened to Jesus’ Good News.
• That we will have ears to hear and eyes to see the people He’s already working in.

A Visit to Alcora

Here's a little homemade video (about 8 minutes in length) that should give you a taste of our life here in Alcora.  We originally made it for a children's missions event...Hope you enjoy it!

All Saints' Day in Alcora

Last night we were unexpectedly reminded of the season (and the American commercialism) as a group of four boys knocked at our door and greeted us with the traditional "¡Truco o trato!" or "Trick or treat!" as we say in the States.  This imported "holiday" of Halloween is still pretty new to Spain and has yet to oust the traditional holiday of All Saints' Day (El Día de Todos los Santos).  Today is a holiday, so this morning we decided to go on a little field trip to participate in the culture a bit.

So where do you go to celebrate All Saints' Day in Spain?  To the cemetery...which isn't as creepy or weird as it sounds, especially given that we went around 1 p.m. and there were quite a number of people, young and old, paying their respects to their lost loved ones.  It was interesting to overhear people saying things like, "Oh, I remember him.  He was the brother of the butcher where my grandmother would always go to get meat." A vast majority of the graves (they're almost all above ground, so I'm not sure if that's the adequate word) were adorned with flowers from loved ones and a handful had notes of "I love and miss you" or "You won't be forgotten."

The truth is that I kind of like this holiday.  Praying to the dead or for the dead to leave purgatory and get into heaven, of course, is not Biblical, and I'm sure of how many people in Alcora actually do that.  But to a certain degree I find it healthy to revisit the people we've lost, to remember the past.  In remembering those who have gone before us, as followers of Christ, we are reminded of the hope we have for the future and the reality that death in this world does not have the final word.  Just at the entrance of the cemetery is this cross with the inscription in Valenciano that reads, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." May this truth, this hope be evident through our lives, and may Alcorinos come to know and experience Jesus, who is the source of that hope, indeed the Resurrection and the Life.

A Visit from the Director

A few weeks back we had the privilege of hosting ECMI-USA's director, George Brown, for a few days.  Let me brag on him for a couple of sentences.  We were already impressed with George's professional abilities as the director--he has done and is doing a lot to organize ECMI in the U.S. and to mobilize people to re-evangelize the peoples of Europe.

But we discovered that he's not one of these top-down, "I sit in the big chair while you sit in the short chair," sorts of leaders.  He chatted with us for a few hours just after arriving to hear about how our transition to Spain and through Spain has gone.  He participated in the Bible study we host in our house.  He held little baby Miriam when she was fussy and we needed to get lunch on the table.  He washed our dishes after lunch...more than once.  He prayed with us and for us, and he wanted us to pray for him.

One of the more memorable things George and I did together was hike to the top of the hill that overlooks our town, Alcora, so that we could pray together for the town and the people, asking God to soften hearts and minds to the good news of His love and salvation (see the photo above).  If you come to visit us, I hope you're a guest like George was...and I promise to take you to the top of the hill so that you can catch a better glimpse of a town that we hope you're praying for.

¡Fiestas del Pueblo!

Every year during the last week in August and the first week in September, the sleepy little pueblo of Alcora becomes a booming, dare I say "happenin" place.  "Why?" you ask.  It's the town fiestas (formally known as the "Festes del Crist" or the "Party of the Christ," and Alcorinos plan their lives and vacations around these two weeks of the year.  Even people from the surrounding towns and villages come to participate in the grand festivities.

As a newcomer to Alcora, I found it interesting how much the native Alcorinos take pride in their fiestas.  Even the hardware shop owner had to make sure that I knew about it and had a schedule for all of the main events.  Unfortunately, we had to leave about midway through the fiestas because of a speaking engagement in Madrid, but we were still able to get out and enjoy a bit of the local culture.  We made sure to see two key events, one being the toros:  not to worry, the bulls weren't killed, just taunted and teased mostly.  The other event we went out to see was the procession of "The Virgen" and "The Cristo," which started down in the center of town and ended in the chapel just above the town...a pretty good hike uphill if you're the one carrying the statues.  You can see a few more photos by CLICKING HERE.

One word of reflection.  Rachel and I were commenting on how these town fiestas seem to be a contradiction in terms.  The fiestas, as we mentioned above, are officially in honor of Christ.  But when we went to see the bulls, there was a live intermission show with an old obese Santa Claus looking fella dancing to music on top of a car wearing nothing but a red thong.  A friend of ours from here told us that normally it's two well-endowed topless ladies, but this was a demonstration in mockery of the current economic crisis (apparently the ladies cost more).  The very next day, after a lot of people had spent the night getting drunk, was the procession in honor of the Santísimo Cristo (the Most Holy Christ) in which a good number of the same people (quite a crowd) turned out to throw flowers to, light candles to and show their "devotion" to Christ (or the statue of the crucified Christ, I'm still not sure).  I don't have a strict party-pooper version of Jesus or Christianity (see John 2), but let me pose a question that reveals why we're in Alcora:  Do they really understand who this Christ is and what it means to honor Him?