We're Back!

Well, we're back and doing our best to recover from jet lag and colds! Since we didn't get as much time or internet access as we hoped while we were in Spain, the rest of our team will take time to update all of you in the next few days. Here are my personal favorite moments from our trip....

1. Mozelle's talk to the church the Sunday we got there (see picture above). Though uncomfortable in many ways (due to how open and honest she was about tough times in her life), God really used her to touch several people's lives in their church who also had been through hard things in their lives and never shared that with anyone.

2. The pregnancies and babies all around us! Brandi (on our team) is pregnant, and so is Eva (from their church in Spain), as you can tell by the picture above, but also there were some little ones who really touched all of us and made us smile and laugh all week (Julia, Carolina, Llibert, Noa, Oriol, Isaac, David and more!).

3. "Family Style Dinners" at their homes.... always brought great food and fun conversations, and it's a way of eating that we all should practice at home too!

4. Our debrief in Montserrat.... we were above the clouds, surrounded by God's beauty high in the mountains, as we had our final debrief as a team, with Samuel, Sandra and Julia with us most of the time (and Eugenio and Laura later in the day), and it was very special to hear the team's favorite moments, challenges, successes etc. from the week.

5. Starting Point and Small Group training (Tues. and Thurs. nights)...both went very well and we got good feedback from them as well. It seems that they learned a lot of new ideas that they didn't know before (esp. with SG that they never had before).

6. The retreat with their church (in Pineda del Mar).... our team was honored to get to accompany ICG on their first church retreat! The weekend centered around "praying" (specifically breaking up the "Lord's Prayer"), and our team was in charge of games/ activities, which included a fun "Amazing Race" game. My favorite moment was Saturday night, when we had "open mic" night. Several people from our team (me included) and a lot from their church in Spain, got up and really poured their hearts out on the microphone that night, and it was amazing! That was the night I cried a LOT bc/ of everything said. The weekend ended with Jamey (on our team) giving a great concluding talk on "The Lord's Prayer"!

7. Visiting Tarragona with Carmello, Loli and Merce.... I had never been before, and it was one of the prettiest cities I'd ever seen! Carmello grew up there, so he was very proud to show it off to us and give us a tour. My favorite site was the memorial/ amphitheatre area where many Christians were killed years ago, and now, that part is shaped like a cross (see picture above). We all stopped to reflect on what that must have been like for those who were killed for what they believed in. The day there ended with an amazing lunch at La Grotta (inside a stone cave).

8. Conversations that I had with people like Sara Ais, Tamar, David, Samuel/Sandra etc.... There were also new folks I had never met before, like Patricia, Lee and others, who I loved meeting this time too.

9. Our service project on Tuesday (in Sitges)...where we successfully collected tons of food and perishables for the Food Bank there that feeds 120 families! We were all amazed at how many people in the community participated, and we made it in the local paper too!

10. Overall, the week was amazing and just seeing how much their church (ICG) has grown in the past 3 years, is proof that God is using everyone there to be His hands and feet in Spain! It was so encouraging to hear how their small groups are growing and learning, and also to walk into their church that first Sunday morning that we were there, and see many new faces!

I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve these people in Sitges/Vilanova who have become like a 2nd family to me...for a 3rd time! I want to thank all of our friends/family for supporting us through prayer and finances; my incredible team for pulling together and working so hard all week to serve them too; and all of you at ICG for your hospitality, generosity, opening your homes to us, loving us and spending so much time with us! You have blessed us more than you can ever know!

Muchos Bessos!

Carolyn