Team Sevilla

Wow. I am now just days away from loading my stuff onto a bus and saying farewell to Sevilla as we head up to Madrid to fly home. It is hard to believe that we are meeting the end. In some ways, time has flown and in others its like we have been here forever. Home will feel a bit more like a vacation and I am curious how long it will take me to realize that there will be no more walking through a bustling city that more than quadruples our country in age. No more cobblestone roads, Gothic cathedrals, riverboats, or flamenco bars. There are many mixed emotions running through me as I begin to pack my things. I have barely had time to think about so many elements of this place that I will miss dearly. To say the least this has been a learning and trying year. I feel like God has grown me in a way that could not have been not if I had stayed home. Home. A very relative concept a of late. I can’t tell if I am leaving home or going home. In any case I am looking forward to spending the summer thinking about this past year and letting all that I have experience seep into my identity as it molds me and develops my character for the new roads ahead. I ask that you pray for God’s direction for the next steps in my life and that I will be able to meditate on this year in a way that causes me to redefine who I am in Christ and where I need to be.

I find myself wrapped up in mixed emotions. With a little less than two weeks left I am torn between the excitement of going home and seeing family and friends and finishing my responsibilities here. It has been a learning year, but a rewarding one at that. God has moved in my life in so many ways. Sometimes with a firm hand and difficult conviction and other times with great joy and blessing. I have learned so much about balance and even now I am dealing with such a complicated concept. I have found that the best way to balance each aspect of my life is to make my “present moment” focus on God the epicenter. In doing so, He sifts out the irrelevant areas of thought, presses me to serve Him and gives me the clarity of mind to prepare for the future while completing the task at hand. With a few weeks left, I pray that I can serve God in a way that is well pleasing to Him.

Well, it certainly has been insane around here. The weeks with the short-term teams were great. We made some great contacts and had a lot of fun. It has given me a completely different outlook on short-term trips, and their purpose. I have always been the one going on trips, not waiting at the airport for the teams to arrive. When we go on short-term trips, lets be honest, we plan on changing the world in just a week. Not saying that energy isn’t great, but in reality we such a small part in the plan of what God has for that people group, country, or city. And now that we are down to our last few months here I am realizing that I have only been a drop in the ocean of what God is doing in Sevilla. Before I came, a year seemed like such a long time! I thought we were going to see huge advances in the ministry here; I was going to have the most amazing experience of my life! Now don’t misunderstand me, this has been an amazing time, but in a completely different way than I thought it would be. It has been the most challenging, stretching, incredible, humbling, heartbreaking year my life.
Spain has changed me more than I have changed Spain. But as long as I impact just one person in my time here, it will all be totally worth it. Now as I am planning on going home, getting a job, going back to school, graduating, and all those fun things, I need to keep my heart and my head in Spain. It is so easy for me to look at what is coming and miss what’s going on today. So, I would ask you to pray for our team and out last few months here. That we could stay focused on what we are doing here, and that we would finish well.
Megan

I decided to take a couple of days and get away from the day to day life in Sevilla. So, I just hopped on a bus and went somewhere. I really just wanted to get away from the city and be able to see a little of the majesty of God’s creation. I’m talking about the stars! There are a handful of stars that you can see due to the sevilla city lights and I just wanted to go somewhere I would be able to see them in an overwhelming fashion and remember how small I am and how BIG He is. I arrived at Tarifa last night, found a hostal(first time) and after that went straight to the beach. Tarifa is the bottom tip of Spain, about 35-40 minutes from Africa. I was able to see a greater majority of the stars but the pueblo lights killed the ability to see them in there complete majesty. It was refreshing to get away and have the opportunity to look up toward the sky and to know the one who made the illuminance buring in the firmament. I realized that I have lost the awe and mystery that is in God and in His creation. That awe is the heart beat of love and I must return back to that first love. There is no other to be in awe of, just Him. I have heard it said that “If you can remeber a time in life where you were more in awe of God than right now, you are backslidden”. God’s AWEsomeness did not change you did; so I’m confessing my backslidden heart and I ask that you pray for me in this struggle to find my first love. Thanks MBW

Well, the team from Florida was great. The time in the schools was awesome, and there was a great mix of kids at the VBS. Even 4 boys that the team met from the English classes they were teaching came by the second night of VBS. Now just yesterday another team got here! A team of college students from Mercer college in Georgia are going to be hanging out with us all week. Unfortunately now the Southerners here out number the Northerners, so there is going to be be all kinds of “all ya’lls” flying around!! haha just kidding. We are really excited for the stuff this team is going to be doing, because they will be working a lot more with University students. They will also be teaching English, except they are going into an English class at the University. Also they are doing Spiritual surveys on the campus, and hopefully getting an English club going for Spanish college students, that we are planning on using for ministry from here on out. So we have some great stuff planned, but also some stuff that needs serious prayer. Be praying for the Georgia team, their time here, and their time on the University campus. Also pray for us as this is going to be a crazy month. Another team comes in on Saturday, so we have two teams overlapping. Team are awesome and we love them, they are just a lot of work! So pray for our focus and energy. Alright, thats all for now. Thanks,
Megan

So, now I am back from school in Cadiz and in Sevilla again. It was a great experience in Cadiz, I am really glad that I went. When I got back we heard the bad news that we didn’t get approved for our table on either campus. So we will have to resort to plan B of handing on information and trying to make contacts that way. A short term team got here today to help us out, so this next week is going to be crazy. They are going to be teaching english in the schools, doing some work projects, some VBS, hanging out on the campus and going to a Starbucks mixer we are having on Friday to meet new people and help build new relationships. The new semester is finally started to really start. We had our fist cooking class and went on our first excursion to Granada last week. This Sunday night is our first English worship night, so pray that we have a good turn out. I feel like this semester is much more organized than the last. We are super busy but it’s all with good stuff. But wow! I can’t believe it’s almost March. The time is going so fast, before I know it i’ll be on a plane headed for the states. Every event, every day, every coffee date, and every conversation needs to be both purposeful and strategic. So keep praying!
We’ll keep you updated!
Megan

Well, right now I am in a different city, Cadiz, about an hour and 45 minutes away from Sevilla. I have been here for a week and I go back to Sevilla in another week. I have been staying with a Spanish family and going to an intense language school. This city is a lot diffrent than Sevilla. It is right along the water and there is a beautiful beach here. That is what Sevilla is missing..a beach! So I have spent a lot of time down there as I am here alone. It has been a great time for me to be alone with God and process through some stuff. I have had a great experience with my family. It has been great Spanish practice but also a lot of fun. I at some crazy octopus the other day for lunch, a whole squid…eyes and all…and today I ate some section of a pig, I didn´t really understand what they were saying when they tried to expain it, so I am still not sure what part it was. But I can tell that it has helped with my Spanish, and it has been a great time so far. When I get back to Sevilla the fun really beings with the new semester so I am really excited about that. I think God has some awesome stuff in store for us!
Megan

I decided to get on here finally. Although it is much more enjoyable to read updates from people who are good writers like Eric and Megan I’m sure.

I am very excited about this semester. Although we have not gotten all the details worked out with everything, we are much more organized and ready to hit the ground running. We have a schedule of events and activities set up and are working out the details for all of those. We now need to meet and get to know the students which will make the effort put into these activities worth while. THAT is where the real excitement of this semester begins. If you know me, you know that meeting people would not be a strength that I possess. And then it needs to be done speaking in a different language at times(and now if you know me you’re thinking it couldn’t be worse than in English).

Well, I am extremely excited about the challenge. I am ready for God to move in this place. I am ready to plead with God for even the smallest hint of an interest in spiritual things and eternity and Jesus in the lives of my friends here. I have met a few people through language exchange and I will also be moving in with two Spanish guys starting in February. It is so cool because we are just waiting on God to do something big here. Yes we are waiting, but we are moving forward, meeting people and spending time with them and looking for God to open up that opportunity for us to share this amazing message we have. We are waiting, but as we wait we are begging God to put us in contact with those He has prepared and also that He would convict the people and reveal truth to them. He is faithful and if we ask He will work in this place, whether we get to see it this semester or not.

We have given letters to the university to set up tables on campus, as you have heard. This would be ideal for advertising our activities and being able to meet students. We are also doing intercambios and searching for ways that we can meet students.

God has been laying on our hearts the need for prayer. Reading through Acts as a team, we see time and time again that the early church was praying without ceasing. Please join us in praying for Sevilla. Pray that God would convict the people here, that He would reveal the need of something more in their lives. Pray for the contacts at the university that we would be able to set up tables in the university to meet students. Pray that we would be able to meet those who are already Christians here and that they would be open to the things that we are doing and ready and willing to play a part. Pray that God would put us in contact with those in whom He is at work. Pray for us as we get to know these people, that we would be so different that they will not be able to help but wonder what we have that they want. Please pray for our relationships and the people here. And I almost forgot, please continue to pray for our Spanish also. Thanks for your prayers.

Tim

Hey all,
January is flying by and it’s hard to believe that we are a month into the New Year. Sometimes it feels like the months are going to fast for me to learn Spanish, advance our ministry, and keep up with my other work. However, although time is flying we are making progress and looking to open new doors each day. Right now, a few of us are in the process of moving to new flats in order to live with Spaniards and help our language. Currently I do not have a place yet so pray as I have to kick it into gear and try to find a place within the next week or so. Also, the girls are visiting the campuses today to try to get an answer to the ever mysterious and always changing question of when the new semester starts. Hopefully today will yield more fruit than all previous attempts. In any case, it looks like sometime in mid February. However, most, if not all, of the new American students have arrived and we are looking to connect with them as soon as we can. There is much to be done and our big focus is prayer and being intentional. That’s all for now, just wanted to give a quick update. Talk to you soon. Grace and Peace- Eric

So, here we are STILL waiting for permission to set up a table. The American students have been rolling in and have since started classes. We have asked all sorts of different people, Spanish students, study abroad students, people who work at the university, and no one can give us the exact date that the news semester starts. So we are thinking now that we will have a table (God willing we get permission) one of the last two weeks of February. Please be praying that we get permission to set up these tables. It is essential to getting our name out there. Also, I am planning on going to Cadiz for two weeks to attend an intense language school and live with a family. I need to get myself in a situation where all I am focused on is my Spanish, and there is no one for me to speak English with! However, I am waiting to figure out when I can go because I want to be here for when we set up the tables! Everything is riding on these tables!!
The Blacksteins, a family from Texas, just got here this past week to join our team. They worked with the Actons in Germany and have been in the states these past few months on furlough. They are moving in as the Actons teammates, and have been so much fun to have around. Shawn and Shelley are such a funny couple, they both have a crazy sense of humor. Their kids Shalyn and Shaphan are really good friends with the Acton kids, so it has been fun for them to see each other again. So yeah, that’s what’s going on here. Talk to you soon.
Megan