In my previous blog, I wrote about the plan to reach the white villages of Spain with the gospel. We went with a team along the way to about nine places to take the gospel there. This is now behind us! And very nice things happened again!
Rodrigo and I said to each other at the beginning of the trip that we wanted to stick to the itinerary tightly. So every week to a new place. That turned out to be quite a challenge. There were all kinds of problems with the vehicles we used. One car overheated and damaged the engine so badly that we had to leave it behind. It is now at a garage somewhere near the Portuguese border. My car had serious gearbox problems and at one point it was difficult for me to visit the group. The idea was that I would visit regularly for a few days, but that became a lot less than expected. The type of gearbox appeared to be unavailable in Spain and had to come from the Netherlands. That took a lot of time! Also, the dynamo of a camper broke down, so that it would not start anymore. The battery of the other camper broke down and we had the same problem. We also had leaks in both campers… does it always have to be so difficult! But God is faithful and the group persevered and over the period of 9 weeks they experienced many beautiful things. Special and guided encounters, people who were healed of various ailments, new contacts with churches and perhaps the most beautiful story: a family (father, mother and child) who were baptized!
Are they refugees from Ukraine?
This was done in a special way. The group of 6 was almost daily taking the gospel to the streets of the city they were visiting that week. In the morning, Rodrigo and Sophie had the habit of taking a walk together and then reading the Bible somewhere. A man from Venezuela looked out his window in the morning and saw a couple sitting on a bench outside in the early morning. Sophie had brought a sleeping bag from the camper because it is quite cold in the morning. The man thought: would these people be homeless? Maybe they are refugees from Ukraine sitting out here in the cold. He also noticed that they were reading a Bible. He was searching for God himself and this intrigued him. He resolved that if he saw them again he would invite them into his home.
Two days later they were again sitting in the square in front of his house early in the morning. He went out and spoke to them and invited them for a cup of coffee. Once inside, Rodrigo and Sophie told us why they were in town and that they had come to tell people about Jesus. The man himself appears to have been searching for the truth for some time and is very interested. He had heard something of the gospel before and had asked God if He would send someone to help him further.
Shortly thereafter, he was baptized, along with his wife and daughter. It was a wonderful moment.
What I find especially special is that God has done this work. Sophie and Rodrigo “happened” to be in the right place at the right time to answer this man’s prayer! Also, this man turned out to be a “person of peace,” someone who wanted to do good to refugees – and God used that for their own salvation!
New Plans
We would like to organize more of these trips. To reach more of Spain, but also to train people to step out of their comfort zone and trust God for guidance and provision as they travel. Therefore, we are organizing 2 trips of about 2 months each for the coming time.
In addition, we have another PT School scheduled from June 12 to July 7. It’s going to be another busy time! With a lot of moving and movement. We look forward to what God will do next in Spain.
