Getting stuck in

Day 8!

Today's post is brought to you by Timmy.

Beunas Dias all from sunny Azuaga!

Today we continued building relationships, both in the English Language Cafe and the kids club, while seeking God's guidance more and more for those we meet and chat with.

Our theme for the English Language Cafe was about old age and caring for the elderly, this was a struggle as a lot of the audience was under 15! Due to the number and age range of people, we split into two groups, the men and the young people. During the morning we spent great times in conversation with the young people about what it is to be scared of something and what things they may be scared of; while our friends Antonio (1 and 2) and Pepe returned faithfully once again to improve their English through chatting about how caring for the elderly is different in Spain compared to England and what challenges they have personally faced. The team was a little 'thin on the ground' today as Josh, Timmy and Isaac were invited to play basketball with a few of local young people; but the team powered through with God's blessing.

At the kids club we had one of our best sessions yet! The kids were learning about body parts through a hilarious sketch were a crayon got stuck up the patients nose. The kids loved this! All in all the morning was very successful and positive as the craft, songs and games went smoothly. A blessing from God was that the kids adapted very well to the change in team with Ben and Silviu taking the place of Anna and Emily.

An opportunity arose through both Anna and Emily being invited to play basketball with some of the local young people. Myself, Josh and Isaac went along to show our support and to try and form relationships with those who we met during the basketball game. Please pray that more opportunities like this continue to arise. 

Monday evening will see the whole team visit the park once again and run various different activities to reach out to those in the park. Please pray that this will be a blessed time with much fun and laughter and that more and more locals will see the happiness and love that God gives through each of us.

Please pray that God will continue to bless the team and those around us with opportunities and Godly conversation.

Philippians 4:19 - "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his Glory in Christ Jesus."

Rest and Spanish Church

Ollie has been making a video of our first week...

Day 6 and 7!

Today's blog is brought to you by Mark!

Hi all! Here is a very brief update on what we have been up to in beautiful Spain over the last couple of days.

On Friday evening we were treated to a guided, dramatized tour around Azuaga informing us about the lives of 3 famous people who were from Azuaga and went on to do amazing things. It was great to mingle amongst the local people in our team shirts and feel like part of the community. After this finished we went up to the castle and watched the red moon, marvelling at the incredibly bright, visible stars and planets which God created. Some time after we wandered around town where people approached us and we spoke to them about why we are here. The kids especially seemed fascinated by us and it was great to share a little about Jesus to them.

Saturday - (Rest day). After a long, hard week we were granted a well-deserved rest day! This was spent mainly at the pool where further friendships were made. The team had a tremendously fun time sunbathing and getting involved with the large water slide! Others wandered around the town exploring and getting to know the surroundings a bit better. In the evening Josh, Levi and I joined a basketball practice having made friends with one of the team during English classes the day before. It was great to witness friendships forming through sport and to see our team and the local people having such fun together! In the evening things got serious during the Ligretto playing, with Rahela and Anna eventually coming out on top!

Sunday - Today was Church! The service was led by the mission team in a mixture of English and Spanish. Each team member had a role and the Spanish believers really enjoyed our presence. It was so lovely to worship together in Spanish and be united in faith with our Spanish brothers and sisters. Praying together in our different languages was a particular highlight for me, it was so beautiful to share these moments. The team has really grown in their language skills and confidence over the last week and this was reflected in the quality of the service! The local community were really welcoming and happy to see us, it was such a lovely reminder that God’s family transcends language and individual culture.

The sermon which Nick delivered so well was on the parable of the Lost Son. A beautiful parable which always seems to touch people whenever and wherever it’s delivered. We were all reminded of how God’s love for us is so overwhelmingly deep that he longs to be in relationship with us no matter what we have done or however far we stray.  

This evening we shall be off the to the park again with plenty of games and a newly acquired football! Please do continue to pray for us, for confidence and wisdom in how best to preach the Gospel while we're here.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers, each day we are growing in faith and fellowship, forming amazing friendships and blessing this community in the name of Jesus and receiving many blessings in return!

Have fun in England, Sorry to hear the heatwave is over, I think it may have dropped a degree or two here today, so we feel your pain... !

Encouragement

Day 5!

Today's post is brought to you by Nick!

Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to all of your for reading, and for praying for us in Azugua.
I have been so encouraged to see the team working together, we looked at Phil 2:1-11 this morning as our quiet time passage, and it has been wonderful to see this being lived out in the team; people looking out for one another, putting others interests ahead of their own.
Ruth is coordinating the service for the church in Penarroya, for this coming Sunday, which as a team, we will be leading - really looking forward to this.

Today sees the end of our first week of programme - I have been in the Libreria Alejandria, with the English conversation classes. I got to talk to two men for the first time this morning, in one of three small groups. One was an Indian business man who lives here in Azugua, and the other is a keen runner (a lot faster than me!).

The other team had great fun making masks this morning:

This trip has been a reminder for me personally too - a reminder of how reassuring and how challenging Jesus' words are to his followers. Peter Knowlson lead us through the story of 'Feeding the 5000' a couple of evenings ago.. and the challenge Jesus gave them, of 'you feed the people', when that challenge to their ears would sound completly impossilbe, and yet, Jesus wasn't setting them up for failure. Jesus doesn't do that. Jesus has sent us here, to Azugua, He wants us to lean on him, to trust that He will achieve things in and through us that to our eyes are impossible, and He is not setting us up to fail. Jesus doesn't do that.

Please pray for our team, that we would lean on Jesus in new ways, in deeper ways during this trip - please pray the same for yourself too!

Thanks for reading,
Nick

Growing Relationships and New Challenges

Day 4!

Today's post is brought to you by Emily.

Continuing our time in Azuaga has brought some new relationships and challenges. However, God is sovereign and reigned through both.

In the English Cafe we had 4 new members joining us which is really encouraging as it has meant even more relationships building throughout the community. The topic of conversations was 'sport', which meant that there were many discussions that crossed the culture boundary. We are encouraged by these new people. But please be praying that we will have even more new members, to spread the love of God even more throughout Azuaga.

In the Kids Club we had a busy morning, with unforeseen circumstances meaning that we had to adapt to the situation. All worked out well, and we had a great morning learning about 'clothing and colours'. The session was followed by a trip to the local swimming pool, which the kids deeply enjoyed, and deeper relationships were built with the kids as well as the monitors from the Red Cross. We are encouraged by this, and pray that this will continue.

The kids decorated paper people to learn colours and clothes in English.

We are so grateful for the gifts God has given Wally, and the help that Ruth has given to provide the whole team with some amazing meals!

We have experienced some challenges today, where some of the team has felt disheartened in this new culture. But God has been gracious and we have been able to support each other through prayer and team morale. Please continue praying for individuals that you know in the team.

Romans 8:28. ' And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose.'

Settling in

Day 3!

Today's post is brought to you by Josh.

As we continue in our missionary adventures here in Azuaga, we are learning more and more about our host families, the people of the area and the beautiful town itself! Another huge thank you for your valuable support in prayer for God's work here!

As mentioned previously, we made our way to a hill with a castle with believers from Peñarroya and Azuaga. We spent time worshipping in Spanish (God understands everything!) as well as praying, which was heard by God and some of the community.

Later that evening as we wandered around the town, we began to build relationships with some of the young people from the town, talking about what we're doing here. It resulted in them inviting us to a temporary water slide in the street, and we're hoping to see them again this evening. Please be praying for God to be working in their lives, as the Holy Spirit works through us.

This morning, we've met many new people again. Next to "La Casa de Rod" we've been woken up both mornings by road works (not too early fortunately). While taking a photo, one of the builders decided he'd love us to take his photo, as they've seen us walking past multiple times. We had a great conversation talking about why we're here. We are praying that further encounters will allow these men to get to know our awesome heavenly Father! Pray with us!

At the English Language Café, we've received answer to prayer, with many more people than yesterday; pray that more would come in the following days! We talked about what life and culture is like for young people in Azuaga, which is very appropriate considering we have many young people on our team. They're very curious about why we'd come to Azuaga, would love to meet up with more of us, and get to know us better. Once again, please be praying, our God is a powerful God and we can't do this without him!

The kids club team has had another successful day focussing on the theme of family. We did a sketch that the kids found highly amusing, representing charachters such as mum, dad, grandma and brother. They picked up the phrases quickly and have got to know them more deeply. We are already seeing relationships grow and have managed to communicate well via basic Spanish and smiles.
Please continue praying for this growth and that these kids would feel God's love via our deep care for them.

Thanks for your support!

'Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!' - Phillipains 4v4

Arrivals

Day 1 and 2!

All 14 of us have arrived successfully in Azuaga after a day of smooth travel! Tuesday involved a time of orientation where we ate together and were introduced to our various host families. We were very excited to settle in and have overall had great rest. Thank you for your prayers!

The whole English team together for the first time, praying in Southampton airport.

Today, we split into our two teams; one team to help the Red Cross lead a group of 20 Spanish Children, and the other spending time in an English Language Cafe.
The kids group focussed today on the basics of introducing themselves in English. We used ball games, songs and crafts to get to know them, despite any language barriers. We are all very excited to further these relationships and have begun to plan lots of activities for the rest of the two weeks. Please be praying for continued energy for us team and for us to become close to these children so they might also be blessed, knowing Gods love that so many of them have been deprived.

The English Cafe has started in a book shop with 4 attendees. This was a great opportunity to get to know locals who have committed to coming back. Our team are already becoming close to these people and have arranged some personal trips together. The team has been invited to visit the remains of a mine in Pennaroya by two ex-mining engineers. Pray that this friendship would bear fruit. Please also be praying that the word would spread about the cafe and that more people would come, so that they may also learn English and experience some of Jesus' love.

In some of our down time, we have been going to coffee shops and visiting the town which has been very exciting. People have been very interested by this group of Brits, wandering about in our bright blue t-shirts and seeking our motivations for coming. One of the houses enjoyed breakfast in a cafe after discovering a lack of coffee supplies! They are now planning on making this a regular
occurrence, to both caffeinate and build relationships with the staff. The owners of this house have also been attending the English language cafe, discussing Spanish attitudes and history. It's safe to say, we are all learning.

Wally has been busy in the kitchen already, with sous-chef Ruth! We have been very fortunate with our delicious meals already, as a great opportunity to share stories of the day and grow community. The smell of meatballs is currently making all our stomachs rumble in eager anticipation.

Tonight, we will be trekking to a castle with some local Christians to have a time of prayer together.

The whole team rocking our snazzy new blue shirts

 Please keep praying for...

• the English language Cafe. That more people would come. That people would come back. That our conversationswould bear fruit with both the workers and students.
• the kids club. That we would be able to get to know the kids and engage their energetic minds. But mostly, that their hearts would be tuned to God by seeing our love for them. 
• the team. That Wally and Ruth would have real joy from serving us and, practically, that they can produce nourishing food on time. Pray that our teamwork would continue to flourish, and we would gel even more, resolving any possible conflict. 

Continue to be encouraged. We are really seeing Gods work already as opportunities come thick and fast. Prayer is being answered.

This morning, we focussed together on Psalm 121.

"The lord watches over you- The Lord is your shade at your right hand, the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night." - Psalm 121 v5-6.

 

Pre-trip prayer requests

Please be praying:

• that we will be able to build good relationships with the people that we meet, specifically the local people who some of the team will be staying with, as well as those we interact with in the various activities we will be involved in
• for strength and perseverance while we are out there, as it will be much hotter than in England, so tiredness and fatigue may quickly become an issue
• that we will quickly become acclimatised to the different culture as we will be staying in a small town and therefore the culture will differ significantly from that of home, so prayer for acceptance and understanding, as the culture shock will be different for each person
• that the Holy Spirit will be working in the lives of all those we meet, as well as the whole team, and that our trip would be beneficial to many

Introductions

Welcome to the home of the Above Bar Church Spain Mission Trip 2018!


From the 23rd of July, a team from Above Bar Church, Southampton, will be spending 2 weeks visiting Azuaga in the province of Cordoba, Spain. This is a very exciting opportunity for 14 people from Above Bar Church to work with mission partners Peter and Kate Knowlson. We will be living with local people in the town, aiming to build relationships, see God's hand at work, and bring some of Jesus' love to the people of Spain.

Meet the team...

Back row: Emily Eldridge, Anna Scott, Rod Rumble, Isaac James, Ollie Watkins, Ruth Berryman; front 

row: Josh Puckett, Mark Povey, Levi James, Katherine Trollope, Nick Berryman; also on the team: 

Pippa Jolley, Tim McClelland, and Mary Wallis (Wally)

This team has a range of gifts (and Spanish speaking ability), but are united in the calling to seek God further in this different environment. Hopefully you will get to know us as we post updates on the trip and can have a taster as to what we are up to! Stay tuned!

'You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit- fruit that will last- and so that whatever you may ask in my name, the Father will give you.' John 15v16