This blog entry will be the last one that I will make while I’m in Spain. Although for the next several weeks, I will attempt to answer some of your questions regarding the work that is being done in Spain, and process some of my observations. Yesterday I was picked up in Alcala, which is a suburban area west (I think) of Madrid. Eliezer, who is a student at the Seminary, is also the Pastor at a Spanish Baptist Church in Toledo. Toledo is about an hour south of Madrid. It is a very historical significant town and a “must stop and see” place if you ever come to Spain. It is known for making steel. They make swords and armor replications from the Crusade era. It has a Medieval look and feel with its huge gate entry and stone castle looking walls.
Eliezer was born in Valencia. His family moved to Houston, Texas when he was 4 and they resided there for about 10 years, before moving back to Spain. His Dad is a pastor and is currently at a church in the southern island area of Spain. Eliezer met and married his wife, Virginia, who is also a student at the Seminary and they have a sweet little one year old boy named, Pablo. Eliezer and Virginia co-pastor the church in Toledo.
Eliezer and I became fast friends. When we got into the car he showed me an order of service and we talked briefly about that and prayed together. After he started the car, he looked at me and said, “I’ve never been here before.” I waved my hand and said, “Oh great, I do this all of the time in the States, and I have been helping people get around Spain too (see yesterdays blog entry for details) – this will be fun.” We both laughed and I showed him how to get onto the expressway.
After getting set up for my concert at his church, he took me through town to “culture” me and “culture” me he did. I had chestnuts that were roasting on an open fire (stop singing the song!), for real, I had them for the first time and they were good. Of course, Eliezer and I tried to sing the song together. We couldn’t remember all of the words, but we didn’t let that stop us from singing with our mouths full and laughing. He took me to a bar (not the kind in the States). It was small (as they typically are here), and they usually have a few more people in them than they can actually hold, but they serve their meals there too. It was like a really small European Waffle House except it was clean and they don’t call you “Darling.” We had “Tapas” which are little portion dishes with the Toledo cuisines – cheese, ham, olives, sardines, a potato omelet thing, and of course fried squid. It was all very good. We ate with a toothpick! After getting full we walked through town for a while – looking at the sites and then finally ending up back at his church.
I played a concert there around 6:00 pm and we had a wonderful time together. Eliezer interpreted for me. Another very gracious family, Daniel, Lorela, and their 10 year old daughter Greyson Ungunreanu, took me home with them for the evening. Lorela is going to have their second daughter ANY DAY now. They are from Romania and have been here about a year. We had such a wonderful visit and shared an incredible meal together. Daniel and I stayed up until about 2 am, visiting and enjoying fellowship.
This morning (Sunday) we went back to church and had another wonderful time of worship. I played a few songs, we sang, read from the Bible, then Daniel translated for me as people got up and shared something that God has been teaching them, or a prayer request. We closed by partaking of the Lord’s Supper together, and then I actually got the last word and song (I had to come all the way to Spain to get the last word).
It was an extraordinary time for me to relax and reflect as I begin to process this incredible journey. I can already see how much God has changed me in only in only 10 days. When I arrived here all I could see was our different EVERYTHING is here especially the way we “do” church, and the difficulties each of our country’s face in trying to spread the gospel. This morning, as I sat, breaking bread with brother’s and sister’s in a “far away” land, God began opening my eyes and heart in such a way that allowed me to begin to notice all of our similarities. I will continue to ponder those things and blog about them, but this morning I tried to cherish those moments as simply as He revealed them.
Right now, my heart truly aches to look upon the faces of Jennifer and Matthew. My body thirsts to feel their embrace. I have definitely felt the separation on this trip as the time differences and the lack of being able to retrieve my emails have not allowed me to talk to them very often. I do look forward to seeing all of the people that I’m used to seeing in my normal day to day life, but there is also a slight sadness in my spirit. I have made many friends in Spain. The Dixon’s have made me feel at home and I have been in need of nothing while I have been here. I have met so many wonderful people who have invited me into their homes and hearts – knowing I’m from America and we have so little in common. I have friends in Spain now, and I may never have the opportunity to be in the same room with them again on this side of heaven.
When I’m traveling around the United States, particularly when I’m not in the South, I often try to point out in my concerts that even though we have differences, we are still brothers and sisters. As I sat across the table in Toledo, Spain fellowshipping with the Ungureanu’s and as Eliezer and Virginia were driving me back to the Dixon’s and I thought about their stories and felt their passion for God and seeing glimpses of their spiritual journeys, that truth has never been more evident. There is absolutely NOTHING that can make barriers of race, language, and culture, completely disappear OTHER THAN the saving grace and relationship to God through Jesus Christ.
When I stood up to share what would be the last song that I would play in Spain, I thought I had picked it because it was the only one I hadn’t played at this church that was translated into Spanish (real spiritual process – I know). God always works way ahead of me. That song was Doxologia “The Doxology” (Praise God, from whom all blessings flow…” This song became our song of worship and my prayer for the Christians in Spain. I told them to please accept it as my prayer for them – not from my country to theirs, but from my heart to their hearts as brother’s and sister’s. It was a good day and has been a good trip!
Whether we look upon one another’s faces in Spain or in America – we can know for sure that we WILL see one another again – we will sing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow in unity again.”
I’m not sure how many more blogs I will get to post while I’m in Spain beause I will be spending Saturday evening and Sunday morning in Toledo, which is about an hour from Madrid. I will be with a couple who are Seminary students and have a new church plant there. I will be brought back to Alcala Sunday afternoon. Keep checking my blog page you never know when a new entry will pop up OR if you haven’t already, you can subscribe to the RSS feed and it will let you know when a new entry has been posted.
Yesterday was another relaxing day for me and another opportunity to get into the culture a little more. David and Susie went to the Seminary to teach their classes, Michael went to school and they were all gone when I woke up. Dixie, of course, could hardly wait until I got up. I went down for my coffee and she came over to let me know that she was ready for her walk whenever I became ready. She and I went out to check the weather, although I was pretty sure she had already been out once. When we got back I did a little work and then got ready to catch the bus into downtown to meet Tim again.
On my way to downtown, I had another one of those “Cliff” experiences. While I was waiting on my bus (the green one – not the red one) another bus came by and dropped some people off. This Spanish speaking older gentleman came off of that bus and was talking to a lady who was also coming off. They were talking about the bus schedules and pointing, and he was clearly trying to find out which bus he needed to take in order to get wherever it was that he was wanting to go. He walked across the street to the other bus stop, and another bus came by. It must not have been the one he needed because when that bus departed he was still on the curb. He came over to me and started talking. I was about to do the “No habla Espano” thing but from his gestures and a word or two, I knew what he was asking. I had read the stops that my bus was going to be making, and I heard him say the name of one of those stops, so I gestured and said, “Si – Si,” letting him know that this bus would get him there. He thanked me and I felt proud of myself, but then he kept talking to me as if I spoke Spanish. I nodded along and became a very active listener. I saw our bus coming so I stepped back a little and pointed to the bus. When I got onto the bus I handed the bus driver my money and said, “Avenida de America,” with my best Spanish accent (I had been practicing while I was waiting on the bus).
I took my seat and even though there were plenty of other seats my new friend came over and sat next to me so that we could continue our conversation. Have you ever been in a situation where someone comes up to you and starts talking, and they think you know them, and you are probably suppose to, but you can’t place them? You know how you think if you keep talking with them it will come back to you, but it doesn’t. In all of the time that you spent trying to remember, you missed that little window where it is okay to ask them their name. Well, I kind of felt like that. He thought I spoke Spanish because I sort of acted like I could, but I missed the window where I felt comfortable telling him that I don’t speak Spanish. He was really enjoying talking to me, so I just continued on with my charade. I knew that he was telling me what a difficult time he was having getting to where he needed to go, so I nodded a lot with a, “Ci, Ci” and “no” and a “hmmm” as empathically as I could for a good while. After one of the stops I knew we had one more stop and then we would be at his. I was in too deep now so I said, “Uno mas parada” (“one more stop”). He nodded and continued talking, and then sure enough as we approach he spotted a building that he was looking for, and knew he was where he wanted to go. He thanked me and we exchanged departure phrases and he exited. I took a deep breath and prayed no one else on the bus wanted to talk to me. It felt good to help someone find their way in this country for a change.
Tim and I hopped another bus and went to the church to disciple a young man. Then we caught another bus that took us to the subway (called the metro), and we ended up in his favorite part of Madrid, “Plaza de Mayor.” During the Spanish Inquisition, it was believed that “The Church – Catholic Church was the means to salvation. So they would gather up Christians and take them to the Plaza de Mayor and torture them unto belief and repentance. If they didn’t repent - they died. It was beautiful plaza, very ornate much like all of Madrid. We ate supper there and hopped onto the metro again and went to an apartment for a cell group Bible study. Raul and Nadine hosted the group in their apartment. It was a wonderful evening of Bible study and prayer.
Tim got me back to the train station and I caught a train that would take me back to Alcala. Then I enjoyed a nice walk back to the Dixon’s where Dixie was happy to greet me.
Yesterday (Wednesday), I had the opportunity to play a concert during chapel at the Spanish Baptist Theological Seminary in Madrid. David had to leave early to teach his classes, so Susie and I drove to the Seminary around 10. I was very impressed with the Seminary and especially the students. There was a class meeting in the chapel we arrived, so Susie took me on a quick tour of the campus. The campus consists of a very large 3 or 4 story building. Every inch (centimeter in these parts), was utilized to his full potential. The basement level was where most of the classrooms were located. The next level were the offices and I think a couple of more classrooms. The next floor or two above that was student housing. I use the word “housing” loosely. A very nice lady who was a student’s wife offered to show me her apartment. It was no bigger than 10’ X 15’. In that space was a bathroom, closet, kitchen, desk, and a sofa that also acted as THE bed. A student, his wife, and a cute little girl about 4 years old lived in that room. I believe they said 45 students lived on campus.
At the beginning of Chapel we read scripture together, prayed, and sang, all of course, in Spanish. It was moving to hear the passion with which those 50 or so believer’s presented their offering of worship to God. David introduced me and translated for me. David is a great translator (I assume), and I’m learning more about how to speak in a such a way that I can be translated. It is a little scary when you say something and the translator looks at you and asks you to try it another way – Yikes! The rhythm isn’t a big deal – you just pause where you normally would, but you can’t use a lot of slang unless the translator is also familiar with the slang. David knows the slang so that makes it easy. I didn’t realize until this week exactly how much slang I use and how much I depend on it. Another “rule” is that you don’t look at the translator, but at the people to which you are talking.
The people at the Seminary received me graciously. They all eagerly participated by singing along. Before I came to Spain, I translated the words that appear on my DVDs into Spanish. They were able to sing along in their language. As I looked across that room and saw the hunger for Christ in the those students’ faces, I knew in my heart the Spain is going to be okay - the gospel will definitely continue to go forth in Spain. I felt tremendously humbled and honored to get to worship God with my Spanish brother’s and sister’s.
Spain is often referred to as the “Kingdom of Spain” – while we were singing “Luz del Mundo” (“Light of the World” or as we know it “Here I Am to Worship.”) The second verse really spoke to me as it says, “King of all days, Oh, so highly exalted, Glorious in heave above, Humbly You came to the earth You created, All for love’s sake became poor.” While I played and their singing grew stronger as we began the chorus, I thought in my heart, “Forever, live the KING!”
Today (Thursday) I will be going to downtown Madrid again via the bus. I will meet up with Tim again and he will show me his favorite part of the city, and then I will join one of his cell groups for a Bible Study. Tomorrow morning (Friday), I will be playing a concert at Michael’s school.
Continue to keep me in your prayers – please, and I will keep you updated as I can.
Yesterday was a day for me to sort of relax and catch up with myself. I have had a difficult time adjusting to the time difference. My “normal” sleep/rest schedule is so erratic that I didn’t think adjusting to the time change here would be that big of a deal. I don’t know how long jet-lag is supposed to last, but I’m still not quite adjusted. I’m pretty used to limited sleep time in the States on the long weekends and trips that I take with this ministry. I figured after flying through the night to get here I could stay up the rest of the day and then I would be ready for bed. I thought that would put me on the Spain schedule, but my body knows it is American. I can’t seem to get to sleep until around 4 or 5. I do get to sleep later as things here get started later than they do in the States. Though I haven’t adjusted to time change, I haven’t felt tired, worn out, or sleepy either.
It was quite easy not sleeping on the flight over her – there was so much to do on the plane. They have individual TV screens right in front of you. You can pick out a movie or TV show to watch, you can play games, and you can even watch your flight – complete with maps and a little airplane to show where you are, where you are going, altitude, temperature… lots of buttons – I lost a lot of time with that.
The day gets going here a little later than the in the States. Lunch and Siesta is around 2 or 3 – most all the stores close for this (except McDonalds), and then they open back up around 4 or 5 and they stay open until around 11:00 pm. Supper is anywhere between 9:00 and 11:00 pm. If you interpret the later times to mean things are slower here you are sadly mistaken.
So far I typically get in my room around midnight. It is the only thing on the third floor – I call it “the loft” soon to be renamed “The Cliff Hackler Memorial Suite When He is in Spain.” David was teaching his Seminary class yesterday and Susie was cooking and baking – per usual. She also teaches several Bible studies as well as a class at the Seminary, so she was working on some of those things. Michael was in school and Dixie had already taken me for a walk, so I decided to explore for a while.
Alcala is a city of about 100,000 people. Cities here are very compact, meaning, every inch of land has something on it and it is usually at least 3 stories tall – shops on the bottom and living quarters above. Trains, buses, and very small cars are modes of getting around, but the most popular is method is walking. Susie gave me a map and pointed me in the direction of the city and I took off. Enjoying the sound of my feet hitting the ground, a cool breeze on my face, sporting a borrowed scarf around my neck (feeling all European again), I passed a University, the trains, and enter the edge of downtown. I didn’t want to have to pull the map out (that would make me look like a tourist or maybe a target) so I kept walking.
The more deeply I descended into the heart of the city, the more people were walking around me. I decided to just go along and see where they were all going. Before long I was walking at a pretty fast clip with a lot of other people (with my scarf and fast walk, I was blending right in). I am sure that I was the only one in the crowd that had no place to be, but I sure acted like I did. I learned some rules about walking when I was with Tim the other night in Madrid. For example, if a crosswalk has a “walk/don’t walk” light then the light rules. If there no such light the pedestrians rule. Yesterday I learned it really doesn’t matter. If you just step out – most of the time cars generally stop. My crowd and I walked through some plaza areas with huge Cathedrals and lots of shops, and somewhere along the way – I lost my crowd. I figured that I had led them to wherever they needed to go. I kept walking. By this time, I was on a mission – my mission now was to gather another crowd and I did. I kept walking and again people joined me and apparently I led them to their destinations as well or maybe I was walking too fast for them. I had taken notice of statues, intersections, and particular buildings so I was never lost – really, I wasn’t. The more I walked, the more comfortable I got with being out there on my own. Oh sure, I had the occasional panhandler approach me, but I would just kept walking (slightly faster) and tell them, in Spanish, that I didn’t understand or speak Spanish. I still feel weird about speaking their language to tell them I don’t speak their language. It was a very nice afternoon of exploring and experiencing life in Spain at least a little and yes, I did make it home just fine.
We had an early supper with two of Michael’s friend from his high school. Corbin’s Dad has been a missionary her about 15 years. They came from Sherman, Texas. Joshua is from Korea. His parents were here for a little while and went back to Korea. Joshua is trying to finish school here. The Dixon’s have had guests every day that I have been with them so far. They are truly international folks. We had a lot fun with Joshua. He is trying to learn the names of the States from Madden football. Think about it – it would be hard because some the of the States have more than one football team and others don’t have any. And then there’s the Redskin’s, from D.C. – not a State. Plus, he was getting baseball and basketball teams in the mix. He has most of the animal ones down pretty good – dolphins, lions, eagles, and of course THE DALLAS COWBOYS!
I witnessed what would have been THE perfect “you tube” moment. The guys were hanging out in Michaels room. Michael had something in there they looked sort of like a plunger. Joshua was fiddling with it as they chatted. Eventually, Joshua, did the inevitable. He had positioned the plunger around his chin and mouth and then he suck the air out of the empty space and it created enough suction for him to let go of the handle. After feeling like he had invented the light bulb he looked at Michael and Corbin as if to say, “Hey, look!” At this point he sort of looked like a Korean anteater. I saw it coming… Corbin and Michael looked at him as if to say, “Good for you.” Then they looked at each other again and you could see what was about to happen register with Joshua because his eyes stated getting big when finally in one quick swipe, Corbin reach up grabbed the hand and YANKED on it. Sure enough the release of suction created the desired “POP!” Joshua bent over holding his mouth with a hearty, “ahhhhhhhhh!” And we all had a great laugh. I can’t even begin to do justice in describing it, but I assure you that I will NEVER look at a plunger without thinking about that and laughing.
We had a great supper and then Susie asked me to play something for the boys before they went home. It was the only playing gig I had yesterday, but for the entertainment that they brought me – I felt I owed them that much. They all go to the school that I will be playing at on Friday.
Prior to coming to Spain, David and I had exchanged several emails pertaining to itinerary, weather, sound needs... Jennifer, Matthew, and I were in the living room and I had printed some of the emails and was going through them trying to synergize all of the information. Jennifer and I were discussing the content of the emails. She was thinking in terms of the clothes she would need to pack for me, while I was trying to determine repertoire. Then I read a line from David\'s email that said, "Looking over your schedule, I think most of the places you will be playing will have what you need except for when you are playing on the streets of Madrid (emphasis mine) and in that case it will be just you and your saxophone..." Matthew was lying on the couch watching TV and half listening to Jennifer and my discussion. When I read that line I slowed down trying to remember when/if I had seen "streets of Madrid" on my itinerary. While I was looking back over the itinerary for that "gig," Matthew still looking at the TV began to chuckle, and the more he thought about it and pictured it, the more funny it became to him, until finally he had broken into an all-out, bend over giggle. It was one of those great memorable family moments for us.
Last night was that event on my itinerary; it was called "Puerta del Sol." It was an incredible experience. All I knew was that this "gig" was completely separate from the Baptist work and my understanding was that it was an independent ministry. I have to confess that I was prepared for anything. I knew that it was in the center of a high traffic area and I was ready to go down there, take my horn out, and stand there and play as Spanish speaking Christians walked around talking to people or whatever they do. It was nothing like that - although that would have been fine, what really happened was waaaaay more effective.
David was meeting with a cell group from his church last night, so Tim Melton was my guide/translator/baby sitter for the evening. Tim is from the States and has been here for almost one year as the associate pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church (the one I play at Sunday). He is a great guy and is still transitioning into this culture. This was going to be Tim\'s first experience with this evangelistic team as well, so that made both of us "newbies." David and I rode the bus to meet Tim downtown and then I walked real fast with Tim and hopped from subway to subway carrying my tenor saxophone (the big one). We were all walking fast and I had no idea why. I even asked Tim why everyone was in hurry he said they were just catching trains trying to get home. If you miss your train you have to wait for the next one. On the escalators, if you are just gonna ride it you stand to the right so that people can run up or down beside you. It was invigorating - could make a guy with ADD a little hyper.
There is a Missionary group who has been in Spain for over 20 years and they have this incredible street evangelistic ministry that has been going on for 6 years. We meet up with one of the leaders, Kevin Prevost, and a team of participants above the McDonald\'s (they really are everywhere) in Puerta del Sol. Every night participants meet around 7 for prayer and then go down to the streets around 8. We all walked down to the plaza with a red box that is about two feet long, one and a half feet wide, and about one and a half feet tall - with wheels and a handle. We set the little box in the middle of the plaza near a statue, and formed a semi circle around the box to create a small crowd while people - lots of people walked around shopping, visiting, roaming the streets for a stroll. It was organized into sets. Someone would stand on the box and play music to draw a crowd. There was a lady there that played a lively guitar and sang. Then someone would preach real loud for about 5 minutes while someone else stood by the box and translated. If the speaking was in Spanish it was tranlated into English and vice versa. Then someone would share their testimony (and have it translated). Then the speaker would announce that there was a free booklet with more information and at that point people from our team would raise the booklet up in the air so that people could come get one and talk to someone if they wanted. We would thing mingle and get ready for another set. It was very organized and very effective and a great spot. Not all of the people roaming those streets are Spaniards. There are also tourist there from all over the world.
Yes, I had my turn on "the box." It was quite cold so as soon as I got it out of the case I stood on the little box and played as loudly as I could (brought back memories from high school band marching days). Then when a crowd formed I stopped playing and began to yell my testimony. As loudly as I could I told them that I came to Madrid from Dallas, Texas, in the United States of America to tell them about the most important relationship in my life... I told them (real loud) my testimony and how Christ changed my life forever. I think there were 4 sets in all, and I got to play twice on "the box."
Tim had his turn too. This was a little out of the norm for him too, but he was awesome! There was also a young lady there who gave her testimony saying that 2 years before she was feeling empty and alone and was walking through that very spot when she learned about Jesus from "the box." She went on to tell the difference He has made in her life and that is no longer empty nor alone. Afterwards, we went back to the room and had coffee and cookies with some of the team.
I strongly encourage you to take a moment and go check out the website for that ministry www.kilometrocero.net You can read how it started - great story and you can see the results and pictures. It is a ministry worthy of your prayers. They are doing a lot of good for God in Madrid.
Tim and I hopped on a couple of more subways and then he helped me get a train ticket to get back to Alcala, where the Dixon\'s live. I enjoyed the train ride thinking about the Kilometro Cero. I also couldn\'t resist sending Jennifer a text message telling her to tell Matthew that I had played on "the streets of Madrid" and it was awesome!
After stuffing myself with the usual Thanksgiving turkey and 'fixins' on Thursday, I made it to the airport Friday morning for my departure. I had a quick up and down flight to Atlanta. It was more like an elaborate elevator ride than a flight. I then caught my connecting flight to Spain, and had a rather uneventful flight to Madrid. I like "uneventful" when it comes to flying. I was flying Delta, but there was an American Airline pilot sitting next to me on the Dallas to Atlanta flight. He and I made small talk and talked about our destinations - he was "dead heading" to his home Atlanta, me to Madrid. He was interested in Spain, but had never been. When they were doing the "oxygen mask" speech, I said, "I get the l 'life vest/flotation device'" speech on my flight to Spain but tell me truth though... if we go down in the ocean those things really won't come into play will they?" He just sort of grinned/grimaced and shook his head "no" as if I had discovered some sort of top-secret information.
After going through customs and baggage, I met up with Bro. David Dixon - my pastor, guide, translator, and host for the week. David and Susie have three sons - two grown and one in high school. They also have a precious little dog named, Dixie. Yes her name is Dixie Dixon and we have become great friends. The Dixons have lived and worked in the mission field in Spain for 20 years. They are a wonderful family and gracious hosts.
Yesterday (Sunday) was a day filled with incredible adventures and many firsts. David is the Pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church, an International Church. They hold two services each Sunday one at around 10:30 and the other around 1:00, with Bible Studies, choir practice and such in between.
I have never seen anything like this! We all dream of a day when people from every nation will gather to worship our incredible God. We did that yesterday! There were around 350 people in attendance and some 35 to 40 different NATIONS represented. The services were in English, and it was great having everyone speak English and even better that everyone spoke it with a different accent - not just me.
We came back home for lunch between 3:30 and 4:00 and then Bro. David took me to First Baptist Madrid - a Spanish speaking body of believers in downtown Madrid. We sang "Ring the Bells of Heaven" straight out of the Spanish Baptist Hymnal. I told David later that it was interesting to me that except for the language, that First Baptist Church looked and felt like any First Baptist Church in anywhere county seat Bible Belt USA! I played some songs, shared briefly with them (David translated), and then made a quick exit. David stayed behind and finished the service there while a gracious couple (I'm guessing Carlos and Maria) transported me back to Immanuel Baptist Church with the car ride of my life.
Until yesterday, I was pretty sure that two objects could NOT occupy the same space. All I know is we needed some other occupied space from time to time and as we began to edge over, I would put my hands over my eyes and wait to hear glass breaking. After a few seconds, I would peek through my fingers and sure enough apparently we were sharing a space - there is no other explanation for it. Everyone was doing it. You could tell who the foreigners were - they were the ones using their blinkers. I made one other interesting observation during the ride. "Carlos" and "Maria" don't speak any English and I don't speak Spanish, but we still managed to communicate in a disjunctive conversation using single words and pointing or motioning in some manner (really I guess it was more like charades), but it worked for us. I noticed that they chatted nicely back and forth, as a Bob Dylan song played on the radio in Spanish, seriously. Apparently, "Maria" was questioning the route "Carlos" had chosen. He would respond with a nonchalant tone and a simple wave of the arm (probably pointing out his options). Trust me, language was no barrier - I understood exactly what he was saying. I also noticed that at several intersections she would say something and point to the right - Carlos would go left. She would point at the under ground tunnel - Carlos would turn to stay on the street. Some things truly are universal.
We made it back to Immanuel Baptist Church where there was a concert in progress by a Spanish speaking choir that sang black south gospel music. I recognized several of the songs they sang - "Just a Closer Walk With Thee, I Must Tell Jesus" and "My God is Real." They worked hard to mimic the black gospel choirs of the South, and did it incredibly well. I played a mini-concert and had great time with them as well.
Yesterday (Sunday) was a great day of worship in Madrid! I know this blog entry is lengthy, but it was a full day and one of the busiest that I will have while I'm here. I will try to keep you posted as I can the rest of the week. From what I understand, today (Monday) I will be joining an Evangelistic team on the streets of downtown, Madrid to play and draw a crowd while people share Christ with gatherers. Keep me in your prayers. Look for my blog tomorrow. Remember, we are 7 hours ahead of Dallas, time.
The time has arrived and as we always say, "Ready or not..." We have had a few months to see this coming I have made every possible preparation that I can make. David Dixon, the IMB missionary that has been putting this together and I have been communicating more frequently about details as the date approaches. I am truly excited about this adventure and the tremendous opportunity to be used as an instrument in the hands of our Creator. And I feel incredibly honored to have the opportunity to serve along side one of our own missionaries in the Kingdom of Spain.
I will be leaving Friday afternoon from DFW and arriving in Madrid, Saturday morning. I have updated my calendar page with the "tentative" itinerary of my tirp. There have already been a couple of changes to the itinerary and I'm fairly certain there will be more as we go. I am going with a desire to share in whatever arena the Lord opens up to us while I'm there. I will do my best to update this as I can while there and communicate any changes to John say that you can keep tabs on the trip.
My website will serve as a central way for anyone who wishes to be able to see where I will be going and what my ministry will be each day. Many of you have said that you would pray for this trip - I have to tell you that I am counting on that. I will try to blog while I'm there (more than I do when I'm in the States). The plan is that I or John will be putting something up on the site daily and you have to remember that I will be about 7 hours ahead of Texas time while I'm in Spain. I love this because you all know how long and how hard I have worked to "get ahead." (Sorry!)
