Hi everybody! I’ll send you an update from a small town Ribadavia near Ourense. After 18 nights in the camper we have now 2 Booked an AirBnb for our family for nights. The others sleep with a host family (Caleb, Katherine and Andre) and Abraham and Annemarie in their camper. Ruben didn’t feel well yesterday, he was nauseous and had to vomit a few times. We also had a lot of laundry and no electricity for the camper where we were standing. So we are very happy that we now have a little more comfort.
#bilbao #mission pic.twitter.com/RRJDG5EpDc
— Robbert Dam (@robbertdam) April 19, 2021
Oops, the camper won’t start anymore!
Last night we decided this and booked the AirBnb. We had to pick up the key at a hotel (5 minutes drive from the place to stay). When we had the key and we wanted to continue driving, our camper wouldn’t start! It was already quite late, half past nine in the evening. So then prayed briefly and then Evelyn approached about 3 people for jumper cables. The problem is that very few people speak English but the 3rd person she spoke to turned out to speak good English and… he turned out to be a car mechanic! His garage was at 3 minutes away so he promised to get a device to start the car. He soon came back, but it turned out the battery wasn’t the problem. It seemed that the starter was not functioning properly and by giving a few taps in the right place on the starter motor (the relay) we were able to start the camper again. Today he helped us to make an appointment with a garage who will visit our B&B tomorrow to further solve the problem. That is so special: we pray and God immediately arranges a great solution. What are the chances that you will run into a good English speaking auto mechanic within a few minutes? This happens again and again! That’s God. He is close and involved in our lives. Not just with our lives, but with yours too – in the same way.
The Guidance of the Holy Spirit
That guidance from God was also very clear when we arrived here in Ourense. Before we started the journey we didn’t know that we would end up here. And we find that we are in exactly the right place. I’ll try to explain how this all works.
We started the trip to Spain with one contact person. That’s how it came. About 2 months ago we were in Poland. We then spoke with Abraham and Annemarie about the plans to travel through Europe. Abraham said: somehow I have Spain on my heart. I think God wants us to go to Spain. We were like: okay, we’re going to pray for it and we have to start somewhere, so we’ll just go to Spain, unless God makes something else clear. I did during that trip too a live stream and at the very end I told that we were planning to go to Spain and if there is someone there who wants to receive us then he or she should contact us.
Then I received a message from a woman from Cáceres via the TLR Map. That is in the middle of Spain fairly close to Portugal:
Hi Robert and family! I have just watched the latest video in YouTube, and I’m thrilled. I am a missionary kid from Finland and lived most of my life in Spain. Two years ago the Lord spoke to me in a dream it was time to come back to Spain and we did. I live in a city called Cáceres with my three daughters, close to the border of Portugal. The Lord has taken good care of us through very difficult times. I would be so happy to be able to meet you. I have prayed and seen some people get healed, but not living the full life yet. I’m praying for your trip, may God bless you abundantly. 🙂 Susanna.
Evelyn then contacted her and also kept in touch with her. In any case, we decided to visit Cáceres on our trip, so that was certain.
The first stop was Bilbao. That was chosen a bit randomly and we were not able to do much in the area. It was, however, a very good time as a group to get to know each other better and also to remove some tensions that were there. So that was really important, to have that time together before we can help others.
Then the plan was to go to Santiago de Compostela, a well-known pilgrimage in Spain. When we mentioned this to our contact Susanna, she said, “Hey, my sister lives nearby. Maybe you can visit her.”
And so we came into contact with Johanna, Susanna’s sister. She opened up her house to us and we could park the RVs in front of her door and the others could stay overnight. She told us that as soon as she invited us in, she had a big battle that lasted for days. She really had the impression that God was going to do something and that it was being strongly opposed!
Her sister turned out to be very open to what we were bringing. The gospel in its fullness, which leads to freedom, and the way of discipleship as we proclaim and live it. But she also realized that it would cause quite a stir in the Church. She herself is one of the speakers in the church and God had shown her lately that things have to change and she has already preached that. But this would go one step further. She told this with tears, it really touched her. But she’s all set for that and it’s very rare to meet someone like that! So that’s how we see God’s leading. The ‘idea’ of going to Santiago de Compostela was not just an idea, but part of God’s plan. For every believer has a plan ( Eph 2:10 ), and it is a matter of prayerfully finding out what that is. That’s how God guides you.
The first meeting
During the first meeting in the church I was also allowed to share something about the difference between a ‘Christian’ and a ‘disciple’. I made it clear that following Jesus is very practical and that you mainly grow through practical experience (and hardly by hearing sermons). Then Abraham spoke more about its practice and was also shown what goes into healing the sick. Not that you have to have a special gift for that, but that it is mainly just doing it. The small group attending this specially scheduled church service was asked who was in pain. There was a man there who had serious problems with his back and knees and was also in visible pain. He struggled to stand for long. Then Abraham had someone pray for him who had no experience with it to show how simple it is. And after a few very short prayers, all the pain disappeared from the man’s body. His wife stood by and broke down in tears when she saw her husband running across the room! Wow, it’s so special every time to experience this! It is really just a ‘demonstration’ where you show how healing of the sick works in practice and not a special healing meeting or anything. And then another great miracle happens!
The next day someone knocked at the door of our camper and the man and woman with a huge pumpkin stood at the door that they wanted to give as a thank you. Just the fact that the man can carry this colossus without any problems is a great miracle. He felt great.
While demonstrating ‘how to heal the sick’ in the church, this man recovered from back problems. He suffered from upper back and knees and was visibly in a lot of pain. During the prayer, he healed and ran through the church! A day later he brought this pumpkin from his own country. pic.twitter.com/wkLcuxMdU6
— Robbert Dam (@robbertdam) April 26, 2021
In the evening the gospel was preached to a larger group. And a call was made to the people to repent. Really get the crap out of their lives. After that time, several people came forward for prayer. Someone came up and talked about how he is stuck with porn and nobody knew about it. He wanted to stop doing this and he wanted to follow Jesus. I was allowed to pray with him and for him. Via a translator, because he could not speak English. I wanted to baptize him, and suggested this, but the translator started talking to him about a baptismal course. He did not yet fully understand what the new birth means, how it really is a break with the old life and how baptism is inextricably linked to it. Difficult again, because then you first have to talk to the translator. But hey, everything in due time.
That was it for now. I hope you are a little bit up to date. As I write this, most others are now having conversations with people from the Church who are open to more. We’re really hoping for a lasting breakthrough here. A few people who are set on fire and who then continue to work. Then we can move on and maybe come back later to see how things are going.
