Spring Things

No matter what the calendar says, it isn´t REALLY summer until school is out! And now that school is out, I have time to share some spring highlights. At school, spring is always a flurry of activity, but the biggest event is the annual Rastrillo - an American flea market/carnival event.


The event features typical American foods, carnival type games with prizes for all - mostly candy and recycled stuffed animals, and lots of bargains (with many familiar items from years past!) Spaniards do not have yard sales, so what started as a missionary swap has turned into a huge attraction for the community, and the primary fund-raising event for the upcoming senior class.




Furthermore, it is a way for the school to be a Christian influence in the community. This year, the Camarma Church joined forces with us. They set up a table with Christian literature and helped with parking. It was supposed to rain. There is no rain plan, so prayer was our only recourse. We enjoyed sunny skies all the way to the end. As people cleared out, the sky turned black, and shortly after everything had been carried into the school - it rained and hailed with a vengeance. We were all greatly aware of God´s grace and blessing on our event!

Our church continues to be a fulfilling part of our ministry here as well. It continues to grow, so it is a challenge to keep up with the new names and relationships. We decided to have a paella lunch after church one day while the tent was still up, and invite our non-church friends to join us. (Paella is a typical Spanish rice dish that is seasoned with saffron, and usually all kinds of seafood.) We had quite a few visitors, and there was plenty of food for all. These events help provide opportunities to deepen friendships and bond us together as a group, as well as give us an opportunity to meet new seekers.

European Honors Choir at ECA

This past weekend, ECA had the opportunity to host a select group of musicians from 9 international Christian high schools in Europe who came together to perform 2 concerts in the Madrid area. There were about 45 students; and Emily also got to be a part of this special group of students. They rehearsed about 13 hours in 2 days, and then performed a concert at the Camarma City Hall and at a Cathedral in a suburb of Madrid. One of the highlights for the group was the hour long bus ride home from the second concert, on their final night here. The bus was filled with singing as these kids celebrated their common love for music - singing everything from silly songs from Veggie Tales to well known hymns and contemporary songs. I am pretty sure their bus driver will never forget them. In addition to blessing these communities with their concerts, these kids left a strong impression on many locals who commented on their discipline and mature behavior. Here is the end of the first song that they sang in Camarma. They started out standing around the auditorium, then sang the rest of the concert from the risers in front.

GOOD TIMES

I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord! That is what I was thinking about yesterday/Sunday morning. It has been just 2 1/2 years since a church started meeting in our town of Camarma. Yesterday, we were probably close to 80 people in attendance! The music was inspiring and fun, and the mood felt happy. Then, one of our members, who has been in Saudi Arabia on a work assignment, slipped in with his wife, and God's blessing felt complete. There were many visitors, including a couple who has attended a few outreach events - the husband has a friendly smile and always offers to help - Lord, bring them into the fold, I pray!

I, Carol, taught Sunday School to a group that is finally big enough to be a fun class (age 8-13). We talked about evidences for faith - beginning this week with how the universe reveals God to us. These kids have heard the creation story at home and probably in church, but are bombarded with evolution in every other context. Who is right? Mom and Dad, or everyone else? It is a privilege to help equip them and help them think through their doubts and questions. (Talk about a stretch to my Spanish - we do not have materials for this class, so I had to translate my English resources! It is a growing experience for me, too.)

After that was a church lunch. The room was full. We ran out of plastic plates and forks. It was an oddly fun problem.... Fortunately, we had dishes in the school kitchen we could use. We finally got home at nearly 5PM.

I wish I could say that all these visitors and new attenders were from our town. Some are. But most are not. Quite a few have come from other churches. I do not know why they are leaving their churches. But the thing that encourages me is that there are quite a few new churches that we know of in the past 10 years that have sprung up on this side of Madrid, and they all seem to be growing. When we moved out here, we only knew of 2, I think that later I learned there were 6. Now there are around 20 in that same city of Alcalá (population, about 300,000), and several others in outlying towns, like ours, and many are growing. There is an evident growth in the church here and it is a joy to be a part of it.