This sunday in Vilanova...

Hi everyone,

The speaker is Nelson, an amazing comunicator and a better guy.
He's going to talk about being humble and trusting in God instead of in ourselves.

This is the graphic line.


The worship band are working so hard to lead us in an amazing worship time.

We're going to have an amazing sunday service.

Please, pray with us for new people to come.

El proceso del nacimiento de la estación

¡HA NACIDO LA ESTACION!

Ha sido muy deseado y ya ha llegado.  Se llama La Estación.

Es nuestro ministerio de niños en Parque Este.  En La Estación ayudaremos a los niños, cada domingo, a confiar en Dios, tomar decisiones sabias y establecer amistades sanas y duraderas en una manera pertinente y divertida.  Estamos muy contentos y muy agradecidos a todos aquellos que han tenido que ver con este nacimiento: Bethany, Toni, Brian, Robbie, Brooke, Elle, Renee, Beth, Monique, Megan, Jim  de  North Point, Buckhead,  Browns Bridge, a la iglesia y al equipo de Parque Este y al Señor por esta semana fantástica.

Pepe y Mari

Saturday

Less than 10 hours ago our team was painting, building and priming and now we are back at work early this morning. Things are really starting to take shape in La Estacion as we anxiously await Sunday morning. The final projects to be done include detailing the murals, assembling the stage and cleaning up the sanctuary and Waumba Land. We’ve used every inch of this place to get the job done and it needs some TLC before the morning ☺. It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago, we walked into a room primed with white paint. By the end of the day today there will be a completed La Estacion!

As we have been working throughout the week, we have had many people looking in and wondering what’s going on. It is so encouraging to think of the potential of this church. In fact, the man who came to install the air conditioning could not believe this was a church and mentioned that he would love to come back!

This community is bursting with kids. As we were painting the ticket booth, one of them stopped to ask us what we were doing. In response to all of the questions and curiosity, we are excited to help them with a fun event this evening for the kids in the area. There will be a bubble machine, bean bag toss, face painting and in true UpStreet style….candy! Some of the teens and kids have agreed to take this project on as their own.

As we were leaving the church last night at 11:45pm, we were amazed at how many people were hanging out at the café around the corner and that the kids were still playing on the playground! Spain is a fun place to be!

Here are a few pictures of Elle(our awesome tranlsator) and Bethany (our fearless leader). Also pictured are our fantastic construction crew (Jim, Renee, Brian). Marcos one of the leaders here is also pictured with the construction crew.

La Estaction on Friday!

It’s Friday and we are moving along with our project to create La Estacion which is Spain's version of UpStreet!! Many trips have been made to numerous stores and countless hours of painting, staining, building a stage, building a barrier to help with the sound, and laying bricks have made up hours of good relational time to get to know and love the families in Sevilla! :-)
We have broken our team into several groups with Robbie, Beth and Megan working hard on the entrance to the children’s space and it looks amazing. Brian, Jim and Renee are our builders and they have spent countless hours sound proofing the room and building the stage and roof for the “station." Monique, Toni, and Brooke are our painters and are working hard to paint the murals on the walls and create the “station”. Elle is our constant interpreter and has shown amazing patience and endurance as she is constantly called away from working on translating curriculum to go to the store or help with a conversation. I (Bethany) am doing a little of everything and loving it! I’ve spent the last several days going to seven stores and buying more material and décor for the room along with groceries for lunches here at the church. I’ve also gotten to paint a little and help with odds and ends but I'm grateful to just be with amazing people in a beautiful country!
Our schedule has been much the same every day. On Wednesday, we got to the church at 9:15am and began worked on our projects until 8:00pm when we drove back to the hotel to change and go to Mari and Pepe’s house for dinner at 9:30pm. They were wonderful hosts and dinner was amazing! We got back to the hotel about midnight having accomplished a lot with the help of our friends here in Sevilla!
Thursday we worked from 9:15am to 8:30pm and then went back to the hotel to change and and go to Toni and Marco's home where we enjoyed a delicious dinner around 10pm! The days seem to fly by!
A special moment happened for us yesterday as Jim had a brilliant idea. When we were building Buckhead Church, the members came and wrote names of their friends and neighbors who they were praying for on the unfinished walls. That way, they were reminded to pray for these people every time they saw the wall. Some of the members of East Park Church wrote the names of the kids in the neighborhood on the wall before we began working and it was a meaningful moment!
So, that is where we are! We have made some great progress and can't wait to unveil the finished product! God is good!

PS- We've attached a few photos from today. Bibiana and Maria, two teen volunteers, are pictured in the frame. We've also pictured our painting team and front entry team.

Tuesday: 

We made it! About 16 hours after meeting at Hartsfield airport the Sevilla UpStreet team was greeted by Pepe, Mari and Nono and escorted back to our hotel. One of our first opportunities to serve happened right after we got off the plane. Nono encountered his friend, Antonio, who ironically enough had been on our flight from Madrid. Antonio, his wife and two adorable daughters were stranded with a car that would not start. Nono had jumper cables to start their car, which in turn jumpstarted our trip of serving others in Sevilla. 

After dropping off luggage and freshening up at the hotel, it was off to visit the church for the first time. Amazing! So much has been added since Bethany and Toni's trip in April. They now have a loft space and the main area of the church has a new look and feel. 

When the brainstorming was done, our team felt great about the work that was ahead of us. At that point, we did a brief walking tour in Sevilla and had an early dinner (9pm). Pepe and Mari took us to a place with a variety of delicious tapas, then we headed back to hotel. Everyone was looking forward to getting some well needed sleep after 36 hours of being up.

Wednesday: Most of  today has been spent making trips to the wood store, the paint store and the insulation store. Every construction item has its own store. We are starting to make a little dent in the work, but we anticipate some long nights ahead. Overall, we are enjoying time with our wonderful hosts in Spain and are so excited to be a part of what God's doing here in Spain.  

Alvaro, Raquel, Noa and Oriol visit Atlanta!

picture captions:

1- David Walker's team coming to Vilanova in October

2- David, Carolyn, Alvaro and Oriol at the Falcons game

3- The Walton family (minus Brooke) and Alvaro's family

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go,

Some stay for awhile,

Leave footprints on our hearts,

And we are never, ever the same."

This is one of my favorite quotes, and in the case with our Spain friends, it's more true than EVER! Alvaro, Raquel, Noa and Oriol just left Atlanta, after a short 3 days here, and as soon as I said goodbye, and turned around, the tears started to flow. How can people we've known for just one short year (and only SEEN in person a few times), feel like FAMILY?! But to me, and many of us here in Atlanta, that IS how you feel...like our family.

So here's a recap of what we did with Alvaro and Raquel while they were here:

Friday: They arrived to the Waltons' house in the afternoon, and then went to the Norcross Park near their house for dinner and a concert/picnic on the lawn. Michael Frank, Melanie Amos and Carolyn (me) met them there.

Saturday: Alvaro went flying around Atlanta with Randy ("a dream of mine since I was little" he says). Evidently he took great pictures and had the time of his life! Meanwhile, Crista and Raquel evidently shopped with the kids. That night, we all met back up at the Walton's house for a great cookout and time to catch up with Alvaro and family. Several people from former mission trips to Vilanova stopped by (like Scott and Jen Tanksley with baby Aron, Jenny Strange, Melanie Amos, Michael Frank, David Walker, Heather Maxey, Anne Yoder, Michael Smith, Christy A. and more, as well as NEW team members who are about to go on trips to Vilanova this fall.... like Cynda and Ray Douglas, Cibele Ziobrowski and more!).

Sunday: We took them to the 9 am service at Buckhead Church, where they got to see Steve Fee lead the worship band (he sang "Glorious One", which is Alvaro's favorite!) and Andy Stanley gave another great message about the importance of "pivotal relationships" in our lives. Noa enjoyed playing in "Waumba Land", but Oriol wasn't too sure, so we took him to "big church'" with us. After church, Jenny Strange and Dave Karger took them on a tour of Buckhead Church, and then Dave Walker and I (Carolyn) took Alvaro and Oriol to a Falcons Football Game, and Cibele (who speaks great Spanish and is coming on the trip with David Walker in October) took Raquel and Noa shopping! All of us had a great time (and the Falcons WON!)! After the game, we all met up for dinner at the best pizza place in Atlanta (Mellow Mushroom) and then we went to meet David's team coming to Spain in October, and Alvaro gave an update on how your church is doing there (including the new building, small groups, prayer requests etc.).

Monday (today): I (Carolyn) spent the weekend with Alvaro, Raquel etc. at the Walton's house, so this morning, after a great homemade breakfast by Crista, we said our goodbye's to the Walton's, and I led them to the new World of C0ca-Cola Museum. Then, I went to work (at the Coca-Cola Company down the street), and they came over for lunch after they were done at the Museum. Betsy Nicholson and Rich Richardson met us for lunch too! Finally, around 2 pm, it was time to say our goodbyes!

Alvaro, Raquel, Noa and Oriol...it was a pleasure being with you again, but way too short! Please come back soon. You are so loved here in Atlanta! Safe travels home. Please keep in touch!

For more pictures, click here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cnorton311/AlvaroAndRaquelsVisitToATL02

Mucho Amor!

Carolyn

A new team from Atlanta is coming to Sevilla!

This is an email from Bethany Miller, the UpStreet Groups Director at Buckhead Church in Atlanta. She and a new team of excited people will leaving for Sevilla this Monday to help them with their childrens' program, that they are calling La Estación. Please pray for their safe travels and that the Lord is glorified through their work and through the committed hearts of the people in East Park Church! Gracias!

(carolyn, for Bethany)

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What is your earliest memory of church?

The hope for East Park Church in Sevilla is that the earliest memories of the kids who live in Sevilla will be that Worship can be Fun, They can Trust God no matter what, and the Bible is never boring.

That is why God has called a ragtag group from Georgia to leave family and friends for eight days in September and fly to the southern part of Spain to partner with the amazing and courageous founders of East Park Church to create and launch La Estación.

La Estación, literally translated means “The Station”, is the name of the children’s ministry based off of NPM UpStreet program, which will debut in Sevilla at Parque Este on September 14, Lord Willing.

After brainstorming sessions, numerous meetings on both sides of the pond, many translated e-mails and as much pre planning as possible, the departure date is less than two weeks away.

The team in Sevilla understands the children they are trying to reach. The team from Georgia has seen firsthand how both children and adult lives can be transformed by relevant children’s ministries. God has a plan, and will weave the strengths from the collective team to create something beyond what individually we can imagine today.

We can’t wait!!

For His Glory,

The La Estación Team!

In the photo:
Front row- Renee Armistead, Elle Ackland, Beth Chadwick
2nd row- Monique Ellis, Toni Clark, Megan Walter
Back row- Jim Walsh, Brian Miller, Bethany Miller, Brooke Caesar and Robbie Caesar