Agape Spain News

Thank You Josepa

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Fri, 31 May 2013 08:10:00 +0000

Today is a sad day for all of us: Agape staff, supporters, friends and followers of Jesus. Last night the life of Josepa, Josep Monells' wife, came to an end. She was a sweet, endearing woman who fought for her family, for the gospel and for the ministry, together with her husband.

Since their youth as followers of Jesus, they shared the good news with those around them that God loved them. During a period when their country was experiencing a dictatorship, they were faced with many problems in their evangelistic effots, but it didn´t stop them. In 1960 they were even arrested, and their home, which housed the evangelistic materials they distributed, was searched.

In addition to accompanying, supporting and participating shoulder-to-shoulder with their seven children and her husband in the pastoral work and the launching of the Barcelona Evangelistic School, they went to Mexico and the United States in 1969 to be trained by Campus Crusade for Christ.

In 1970 they started Agape Spain. Thanks to Josep Monells and his dear wife Josepa, we now continue on the path that they started in our country.

She was....a follower and servant with a faithful heart in love with Jesus.

She was....a supportive wife who helped her husband in all aspects of the ministry, including the church and our organization.

She was....a devoted mother and loved by her children.

Josepa was loved by all.

We grieve because good-byes are always painful, especially when the impact made by the departed was so deep, impossible to forget and so significant that it is worthy of imitation.

Thank you for your devotion, for your example, for your sacrifice, for your legacy, for your story and for being who you were.

We will always love you and remember you!

Archivo Cero on TVE (Spanish Television)

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:03:00 +0000

Televisión Española´s Channel 2 aired a report on their "Buenas Noticas" (Good News) program about Archivo Cero. During the report, they interview our fellow staff Eva Aldea, Marc Fuentes and Mariona Mirón who explained the how´s, when, and why´s of Archivo Cero´s inception. They shared Archivo Cero´s purpose as a tool to share with teenagers and young people about Jesus´ life through comic animation. They also discussed the creation process as each episode rolls of the production line and future projects in mind for this series.

"Buenas Noticias" highlighted the creativity of this tool, the importance of bringing the message of Jesus to our society in a modern, relevant and up-to-date way, especially for young people.

Click below to see the interview.

Ver vídeo

Buenas noticias TV - Archivo cero

A Special Q-Valencia Gathering

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:40:00 +0000

On February 8th, Q Valencia invited friends, university alumni and current students involved with Q, ministry partners and other key individuals to learn more about what Q is.

A total of 32 people came to the cocktail event designed to present the ministry of Q, why Q is needed at the university and in our society. It was also a great chance to connect with each other as followers of Jesus and key people that they did not face-to-face until the event.

The gathering was relaxed and informal. Nacho Marques began the presentation by talking about Q: what it is, who they are, why Q is helpful and necessary for university students.

Following Nacho was National Director Edi Souto who traveled from Barcelona to share about Agape and Agape´s vision for our country and our society.

Rounding out the evening was special guest Gotzone Mora, a national politician who worked with different political parties and, as a result of his fight for human rights and against terrorism, now lives a life of protection accompanied by bodyguards. The police actually discovered documents from ETA where she was listed as an assassination target.

Gotzone calls herself a follower of Jesus and continues to fight for equality and justice. During the gathering, she shared her testimony, how she had to leave her home and is unable to return to the Basque Country due to death threats, and how she sees the current situation in Spain and how groups like Q are very necessary among university students for our society.

Clean Drinking Water for the Children at Ça-Ira

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:25:00 +0000

In spite of the difficulties that were experienced at customs in the Haiti Port, the water purification system that Agape sent to the Ça-Ira Children´s Home is now up and working for the children and for the community. Thanks to this new arrival, now the 100 orphans and the 220 other students that attend the primary school in the center of town are directly benefiting from the tremendous contribution that the purification system is making toward good health.

In addition, it seems that the news of this system has spread to the nearby towns and many people are coming for the fresh, clean water, something still quite new in the area, in spite of the fact that it´s already been three years since the 2010 earthquake.

Until now, the water that the children´s home used came from a well that GAiN built shortly after the earthquake, but there wasn´t 100% confidence of its potability. Now, thanks to the purification system, which filters the water from that same well, the water comes out completely clean.

We want and hope that many more people come to know and have access to this water, knowing how important it is for the Haitian community, especially for the children, to have access to clean, quality water.

The sending of the portable purification system, H2Optima, was a joint effort by GAiN Spain and Optima Renovables, the creators of the purification system. The copmany donated the machine without cost so that those with such great need, like those in Haiti, could benefit from its numerous advantages, for example, the system is solar-powered, something very important in Haiti, given that the cost and the inconvenience of other types of energy.

Good-bye Arsenio

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:10:00 +0000

Yesterday morning we said "good-bye" to Arsenio, one of the most beloved neighbors in Ligonde, Lugo, the little town where the Fuente del Peregrino (Pilgrim´s Fountain refuge house) is located. Arsenio suffered a strong heart attack that ended his life. Natán de Souza had the opportunity to be present with his son and family yesterday afternoon as they said good-bye and he sent them all of our love and care.

All of us who have served at the Fuente remember Arsenio with his cane, his careful, slow-moving gait and the smile that he always carried. Without a doubt, he was an endearing man. Although he was always sharing old "war" stories that made you laugh, he also offered deep conversations and wise words. He was a man who had lived many years, and his life and its suffering had taught him many things.

Not long ago, through one of these conversations filled with sense and meaning with one of our fellow staff, he himself recognized that he was not good enough to go to heaven; but as the conversation continued, he also spoke of Jesus, his sacrifice and of salvation, and how John O´Neal had explained this to him many years ago and that he understood.

Sometimes, when the "Fuente" volunteers finished their volunteer week of work and were leaving, they would tell him, "Arsenio, we´ll see you next year," and he would answer, "We´ll see. When next year comes I might not be here..."

Without a doubt, we will miss Arsenio the next time we go back to visit and work in Ligonde. Although we will not find him sitting by the road where the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) passes by, we will see him again one day, because, in the end, we have found the same way, the same truth and the same life in Jesus.

Joining the Team

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:41:00 +0000

This winter´s new staff training for Agape staff was held on January 11th and 12th in Terrassa and Barcelona. Miqui Forster, Mía Gutierrez and Dan Fernández have decided to link arms with us. Specifically, Miqui and Mía will work with the GAiN ministry and Dan will work with Athletes in Action.

Edi Souto, Marc Fuentes, Loida Martín and Gema Alvarez were with them, delivering principles and laying the foundation for these new staff. This training will be followed up by Ministry Partner Development (MPD) Training with María Juan which will begin January 28.

We are happy that our team continues to grow because we have many bridges yet to build so as to change many lives. Miqui, Mía and Dan are very eager to begin and have a deep conviction to dedicate their lives to serving others. Without a doubt, God continues to raise up young people who repond to the call to be "agents of restoration."

Intense Surprise That Will Rock Your World

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:57:00 +0000

"Now I understand why EJE is an event that you cannot explain: it´s because you have to experience it. It leaves you literally speechless. It´s a weekend full of surprises, laughter, discovery in which each person that attends takes away something special and unique. It´s a time where you feel very cared for, protected, special, challenged, surprised, expectant....In order for the EJE to be an authentic experience, you´ve gotta give it 100%."

"An intense surprise that will rock your world and will leave filled with happiness and wanting more."

These are the just a few comments from a couple of the participants in the November 17-18 EJE in Madrid. This was the 10th edition of the activity in Madrid and it was totally student-led (university and high school students.) More than two hundred people participated in this weekend event. As we hear, the EJE continues to impact those that live it. It continues to be a special weekend that is anything but normal!!!

Training Leaders in Orlando

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:47:00 +0000

This past October, Félix Ortíz and Sara Bonet travelled to Orlando, Fl to particpate in the Convención International de Liderazgo Juvenil (Youth Leadership International Conference) organized by Especialidades Juveniles (Youth Specialties), an organzation whose mission is to train and equip leaders to be effective youth leaders.

Close to a thousand leaders from the United States and Latin American countries met together for an intense time of vision, motivation, training as well as opportunities to gather resources and make connections with other youth leaders.

Félix was responsible to lead several training sessions for more than four hundred youth leaders: How to share your faith in a post-modern culture and How to facilitate cooperation between families and youth leaders were among the topics that he spoke on.

However, Félix was especially pleased to have the opportunity to give three workshops on How to Integrate the Basic Tools of Coaching Using Your Own Leadership Style. About three hundred youth leaders participated. Both Félix and Sara think that Coaching will be one of the key topics and tools in the development of future leaders. By integrating these tools, the effectiveness of leaders will increase and the impact that they can have in developing mature and stable followers of Jesus will also increase, as well as their commitment to be agents of restoration in a broken world.

Both Félix and Sara are adding to their own training and certification, not only to become experts in this tool of Coaching and use it in their own ministries, but also to be able to develop others.

Violet Ngo, the Spanish Roegner!

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:39:00 +0000

Violet Ngo Roegner was born November 23rd at 3:34am in Granada, Spain. Violet es the youngest member of the Roegner family. Our fellow staff Garrick and Dziu, national directors of the Student Ministry in Spain, just became parents for the third time, but it´s their first time to be parents of a daughter born in Spain.

Both mommy and daughter Violet are doing very well. They arrived home on Saturday. The delivery and recuperation have gone well; and, as they explained to us, their experience in the hospital was a very positive one. They are very happy.

Garrick told us that her older brother and sister are very happy with Violet´s arrival as well. Evelyn thinks she has received a doll as an early Christmas gift and wants to hold her in her arms all the time. Mathis tells her jokes and makes funny faces whenever she cries to help cheer her up.

We are so happy for all of them. Many congratulations!

GAiN Spanish Course 2012-2013

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:38:00 +0000

The Spanish classes for Moroccan women in the Can Anglada district in Terrassa is in its fifth year, helping these immigrant women to learn our language and, with that, to give them the ability to communicate in our country and the opportunity to go beyond merely their own social circles and to meet other women who follow Jesus.

The school offers 5 learning levels: Pre-Writing, Literacy I, Literacy II, Reading and Writing and Advanced. This year, 100 women signed up and there were at least 50 more who were not able to enter since the school cannot accomodate such a great number of students. In spite of this, our fellow staff felt obligated to allow more students than originally decided into their classes because of the great demand. Even still, there are women who show up every week at the GAiN office requesting a place in these classes, but unfortunately there is no more room.

On the team of staff and volunteers for this project there are social workers, educational psychologists, teachers, and even a Moroccan volunteer as well.

The classes take place form 9:30-11:45 Tuesday through Friday.

One of our fellow staff shares the following story about this project:

"We continue to discover amazing stories of the influence that we have had on the lives of these women. During this school year there are many new women and it´s wonderful to be able to see how the "veterans" describe us to them. Some of them literally say that we are "angels," good people that take an interest in their lives and not just to teach them a language.

For women who really have no Spanish context and who, on many occasions, live life trapped in their apartments and their families, these language classes are offering them the opportunity to express themselves, to learn, to relate, to see people that live differently because they follow the person of Jesus. Truly, the Moroccan women with whom we are working see how we are different and in this way we are communicating the love of God and Jesus to them.

Through this Spanish course we are building significant bridges to influence lives, lives that are totally isolated and that have many physical, emotional and spiritual needs. If we could actually put ourselves in the place of these women, we would realize why they are so appreciative for a simply Spanish class: It is the only path for them to leave their ghetto, in every sense of the world: cultural, family, religious, etc."

In addition to these Spanish classes, GAiN is offering "Attention for the Moroccan Woman" where assistance is offered in connecting with Social Services in the district. Our social worker dedicates an entire morning to meeting with them, detecting their needs and trying to find resources to aid them. It´s a great opportunity to develop greater contact with them on a personal level and influence their lives.

GAiN´s Winter Campaign for the Homeless

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:15:00 +0000

The statistics and the most recent headcount tell us that there are, at the moment, a total of 3,175 people living on the streets of Barcelona due to a lack of resources and/or personal struggles. This reality becomes even more complicated with winter´s arrival since the cold is one of the factors that makes living on the street so difficult for the homeless.

Most recently, GAiN has designed a winter campaign that consists of collecting and delivering items that, in one way or other, help to soothe the suffering of those who are homeless in Barcelona. The campaign is focusing its efforts on the collection and delivery of the following items which help combat the cold:

-fleece pullovers
-gloves and wool hats
-sleeping bags

The goal is to collect items for a minimum of 200 people.

The collection of these items will take place, free of charge, thanks to the business, RGT Mensajeros (Delivery) which has partnered in solidarity for this cause.

You too can partner with this campaign individually by donating some or all of these items. Another way to partner is to promote this campaign in your neighborhood, church, among your circle of friends, at your university or high school so that others also have the chance to participate.

For more information, please contact Ruben River, the campaign direcotr, by email: ruben.rivera@gain.org.es. He will get you all the information you need including brochures and posters for the campaign.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me....The King will reply, ´I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.´" --Matthew 25:35-36, 40

"Q" Meet Up

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:36:00 +0000

The "Q" Team from Valencia and the "Q" Team from Granada met together from October 5-7 in Murcia. As previously mentioned, "Q" is the name of the campus ministry groups in Valencia and Granada whose goal is to make Jesus Christ known on campus.

The purpose of this gathering in Murica was to plan activities and projects at the universities of both cities for this 2012-2013 school year.

In addition to thinking, planning and dreaming together about how to make Jesus known among the university students in these cities, they also discussed the launching of "Q" in a new city.

"Q" is casting its net to reach new campuses across the nation.

Using Sports as a Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:24:00 +0000

On Saturday, September 29th, the Barcelona Athletes in Action team offered some training to 4 churches in the city. A total of 17 people attended with the desire to serve with their churches through the medium of sports in their surrounding neighborhoods.

This past summer Athletes in Action received a group from Holland who came to help develop a project where sports was used to connect adn serve the neighbors and people on the street. This project, called Heartbeat, is the model that several churches would like to develop in their own communities, using soccer, basketball adn other sports that can be played in the street and the nearby parks to build bridges and, in the long run, to change lives.

Ellen Quarles and Jessie led this first training meeting in which they cast the greater, long-term vision, discussed the planning and the steps necessary as of now to make this dream a reality. During this training Ellen and Jessie, together with their team, offer helpful tools and mentoring to the leaders of this sports ministry in each church.

On November 11, there will be a second training meeting to begin the training series with additional churches that would like to use sports in their neighborhoods to build relationships and to offer a service to the community. If you live in Barcelona and your church might be interested in using sports to build bridges for the gospel, don´t miss this training opportunity on November 11. Write us here at the blog and we´ll put you in contact with Ellen or Jessie to get you more information.

Heartbeat Tallin: A European Mission

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:46:00 +0000

Every 4 to 6 years, all the Agape staff, together with their most committed volunteers come together in a European city to renew their vision, share their achievments in the mission and to celebrate together the love of Christ. When the European gathering for 2012 was still in the planning stages, it was decided that in order to carry out our mission as Christians in the city that hosted us and to give a good testimony of what it is to be a Christian, the conference should be designed with this mindset of bringing the Kingdom of God there where we would be. That is how Heartbeat Tallinn was born.

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, was chosen to receive more than 1500 Christians to participate in this event, something that was surprising and completely unusual for this city.

Heartbeat Tallinn was not merely a European conference. It was a European mission. In the mornings, we gathered at Tallin´s Nokia Hall where we listened to testimonies and became familiar with new materials that were being developed and heard about plans for the future. In the afternoons, however, were dedicated to the city of Tallinn. There were groups that went to hospitals, others that went to homes in need, others that met with businessmen in the area, others that drank coffee with a group of Estonian young people...It wasn´t about big signs or grand events. It was about the small things, face-to-face, the one-on-one, in small groups scattered all over the city there were barely detectable but we were there everywhere.

The teenagers at the conference took over the main city square and created a fun space for all of the youth who were just hanging around with nowhere to be and nothing to do. They could come and spend time there. Concerts, games, activities, including a live version of Angry Birds.

The littlest ones were involved in a variety of activities all day long.

During the evenings there was no lack of concerts and other large events offered to everyone in the city. During the week we offered a great variety of high-quality events with a Christian influence.

In addition, the university students and Campus staff had the opportunity to gather and give testimonies of all that God was doing on the university campuses around Europe.

The week culminated in a large event that Estonians could only have dreamt of 25 years ago under Soviet domination: "Jesus Day," a gathering at Tallinn´s football stadium with all the different Christian denominations who came together to proclaim and praise God.

One of the best things about Heartbeat Tallin is that all the events that were created were a response to the needs of Christians in Tallinn. Agape just helped facilitate the process.

To read more about Heartbeat Tallin, please visit Heartbeat Tallinn´s website.

The Story of One House

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:00:00 +0000

The Pilgrim´s Fountain or Fuente del Peregrino opened its doors in June, allowing an endless flow of stories to flood in. Stories of pilgrims, of workers, of neighbors, of reunions, of memories, of hospitality...

A total of 160 volunteers have cleaned, cooked, prepared and accomodated in this house each day. These volunteers have received, welcomed and served each person that passed by the door and entered therein with dedication and love. These work teams arrived from all over the country to use their vacatino time and serve with nothing in return. Thanks to all of those that have made it possible for the Fuente del Peregrino to be an authentic refuge for the bodies and for the souls of many people. A very sincere thanks to them because so many of them dedicated their vacation time to be working in the house.

While the number of volunteers we can count, it is almost impossible to say the hundreds and hundreds of pilgrims that have had some coffee, filled their water bottles, stopped to chat, to rest, to have lunch, to have dinner, to sleep and to share their Camino stories with us. Thanks to these as well because they have given meaning to all the effort, the work and the dedication. The guest book is full of thanks through written words that show the impact that the Fuente del Peregrino is having. The kindness they have received during their time with us has affected their lives.

In these fotos to the left, one can read two notes that were left this summer by two different pilgrims.

Without a doubt, all that pass through the doors of the Fuente del Peregrino remember her. At the beginning of August a German woman who was walking the Camino for the second time in her life arrived at the pilgrim house. The first time she walked was four years ago and she slept at the pilgrim house. This year she said she just "had to stay" and also slept in the pilgrim house when she passed by. When she arrived and started talking with the work teams she told them, "I had to stop in Ligonde and stay at Jesus´hostal." She herself named the pilgrim house this way because she said that it was the only place that she had visited where she was truly treated as Jesus would treat her.

In addition to receiving work teams and pilgrims, the Fuente del Peregrino also hosted a group of 25 people for the "Encaminar" Training from August 12-26. "Encaminar" (to guide or to orient) is a training that Agape offers each year to its staff, partners and volunteers who want to grow in their relationship with God and in their commitment to help others.

We could say that all good things must come to an end, but that is not always true. This year, the Fuente del Peregrino will close its doors in September, but as of now, the house will continue to receive visitors this winter. Natán de Souza and Tere Alvarez, together with their family, have just moved to Lugo to be close to the refuge and to be able to continue working on its maintenance, and in some way, continue to serve the pilgrims even though the house will not be open all year long.

You can follow the stories from the Fuente del Peregrino here.

Welcome Radvile

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:06:00 +0000

Radvile is the newest addition to the student team in Málaga. She arrived this past Saturday to the city and she´s happy to be here. Here she introduces herself so that we can get to know her….

“Hello! My name is Radvile Aleknaite. I´m 27-years-old and I come from Lithuania. I came to know Jesus 6 years ago through Agape during my second year of college. Since then, God has invited me on this new journey with Him where He continuously surprises me with the plans He has for me.

I have been working with Agape´s student ministry for 4 years in Lithuania and now God has brought me to serve with the student ministry in Málaga. I love Spain and I am really happy to be in this country. I am looking forward to starting my new adventure with students here.”

Heartbeat Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:36:00 +0000

What would your neighborhood be like if it resembled God´s idea for your neighborhood?

This is exactly what the Athletes in Action-Holland ministry asked itself and they created the initiative Heartbeat Europe, a project dedicated to getting to know one´s neighborhood, discovering the needs, and, through sports, helping the neighborhood become the neighborhood that God longs for it to be.

The truth is that sports is important to everyone: the adults get excited watching it, the young have fun participating and the little ones imitate their idols with their brightly-colored shirts worn on and off the field. Sports is a great context to share values as well.

Half of the 48 young people who came to Barcelona

Heartbeat Europe´s goal is to help established churches in 16 different European cities to start a sports initiative in their neighborhoods with the idea of establishing relationships, promoting values, sharing Jesus´ message and helping the neighborhood to reflect what God has in mind for it.

This program has been working with 6 different churches in Barcelona since January. In July and August, 48 young people from different countries were welcomed to make a big splash in these neighborhoods and to develop and advance the preliminary work done over the last 6-7 months.

These 48 young people spread out into 5 teams and created an additional team dedicated to the street cultura to collaborate with fellow Agape staff from UrbanConsortium.

Those who have been involved in the Barcelona project tell us that the neighborhood reaction has been very positive toward this initiative. The residents of these neighborhoods witnessed a group of people who gave of their time, their money and their summer, without asking for anything in return, to make their neighborhoods a better place.

As of now, the churches will do the follow-up work that these teams helped to start. In September they will begin new training sessions for the churches, with the hope to start other sports projects in their spheres of influence. If you are interested, please contact Ellen Quarles (Ellen.quarles@agape.org).

Heartbeat Barcelona is one way to show Jesus´love by giving ourselves away to others. This is just what Jesus did. Isn´t this what Jesus taught us to do when he told us to love our neighbors and to pray for His kingdom to come and for His will to be done?

The Fuente del Peregrino

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 09:34:00 +0000

The Fuente del Peregrino Pilgrim house continues to welcome pilgrims and serving all the walkers on the Camino. This week Miguel Castillo has been serving as team leader for the work team at the refuge.

Heartbeat Tallin

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:31:00 +0000

Heartbeat Tallin started this past Tuesday with more than 2000 staff, volunteers and associate staff of Agape from all over Europe. The objective during this time was to celebrate the Agape Europe´s Staff Conference and to take the gospel to the capital of Estonia. Today, Heartbeat Tallin come to a close with the Jesus Celebration, attended not only by the 2000+ conference members, but also by all the churches in the city.

Alexander Samuel Pérez Hiney

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:25:00 +0000

The Agape family continues to grow. The latest one to join our family was Alexander, the son of fellow staff members Samuel Pérez and Rebekah Hiney. Alexander came into the world on July 8^th in Granada at 12:35pm. He weighed 3,64kg (8lbs.) and measured 54cm (21.25 inches) in length. He is blonde like his mommy and they are both at home and doing very well. We send congratulations to the family.

Leah Joy Iglesias Resa

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:18:00 +0000

Leah Joy, daughter of fellow staff member Mar Resa and her husband Ismael Iglesias, arrived yesterday at 2am. Mommy and baby are doing well. Leah weighed 3,4kg (7 ½ pounds) and was 52 cm (20 ½ inches) in length. This little girl took quite a while to arrive since the contractions had started early in the morning on the previous day. We are so happy for this very precious girl and for her happy parents. The Agape Family continues to grow.

Filling the Void

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:11:00 +0000

“In search of something with which to fill my empty heart, I find in my path people like you that manage to occupy a great part of the vacuum. I will arrive to Santiago with something to give. Thank you for being here today and for being who you are. You are doing an incredible job.”

These were the words of one young pilgrim woman that were written in the guestbook of the Pilgrim House. She, like many others, have been surprised and touched after their stay at the house. Last week there were a total of 37 pilgrims from 15 different countries who stayed at the refuge.

Some of them arrived with real burdens in their hearts, as was the case for a Japanese man who was able to share his heart and find comfort after talking with Mariano, one of the work team members. That same man asked to speak at dinner to give thanks for the help that so many people from different countries gave to his country after the earthquake that they suffered in 2010. He highlighted the work that the Christians did to help them.

Stories like this man´s story make an impact. And there´s the story of another young woman who asked with great curiosity if the work team members were very religious. After our fellow staff explained how she could have a relationship with God she wanted them to tell her more about how to read and understand the Bible and grow in her faith.

As you can see, the pilgrim house continues to be a place of refuge and a place where people´s stories can change thanks to Him who called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Light.

Last week´s work team included Mariano Pineda and Fanny Benitez as team leaders, Don and Joana Heck, Taylor O´Neal and three more volunteers. According to Mariano and Fanny, it was a special treat to have Taylor O´Neal with them. Taylor is the oldest child of John and Carrie O´Neal, the founders of the Fuente del Peregrino pilgrim house. From what we´ve been told, the neighbors of the house were amazed when they saw her and overwhelmed as they remembered her parents and the work that they started some twelve years ago to make the opening of this refuge possible.

The “Fuente del Peregrino” has once again opened its doors

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 08:54:00 +0000

The first work team, called “hospitaleros” (or greeters), led by Betsy, was made up of 2 from Cáceres and 7 from the United States. During their time at the refuge, they met an Italian who had walked the camino several times. He shared with one of the team members how he had felt hurt by institutional religion. Several days later, some of the work team were in Santiago and they asked God to give them an opportunity to see the Italian again.

When the work team arrived and the main square in Santiago, they heard a familiar voice that said, “Hello!” After greeting him, they told this Italian pilgrim how they had asked God to allow them to see him again. They also shared that they prayed even more that they would see him in heaven once he places his trust in God. He hugged them and thanked them.

They also met an Irishman who arrived at the pilgrim house, but when he heard that it belonged to a Christian organization he decided he didn´t want to stay at first. But in the end, he did stay. Later the man told them that, although he had only slept 2 hours the previous night, he was very interested in watching the Jesus film. One of the work team members shared many things with him, especially God´s love, and he was deeply touched.

Piercing Interview in INFINITAS: Claudia Matos Tells Her Story

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:09:00 +0000

"Removing masks, healing wounds" is the latest interview that Infinitas has published on its website. In the article, a difficult story is shared about years of abuse that was suffered; but it is also a story of healing, restoration and hope. Without a doubt it´s a story that everyone should hear to bring understanding, to know how to help and to know how to prevent something so cruel and destructive as sexual abuse.

We want to recognize and appreciate such great generosity on the part of Claudia Matos for sharing such a painful part of her life with Infinitas.

La Fuente del Peregrino Opens for a New Season

noreply@blogger.com (Jill in Spain) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:09:00 +0000

This past weekend, part of the Fuente del Peregrino Team was in Ligonde making the final preparations for the Project 2012 kick-off of the Fuente del Peregrino. Yesterday the first team of volunteers arrived.

As of today, the "Fuente" has opened its doors to receive pilgrims for this season. We are so grateful to God because all the upcoming weeks are full with work teams from different places. These volunteers will dedicate a week to serve those who walk the "Camino de Santiago" (Way of Saint James). It is our desires that the "Fuente" would continue to open its doors, gathering beneath its roof the special people who walk the "camino." We pray that these special ones will be changed by the service and love they receive from the volunteers that care for them.

Pictured above-The start-up team for the 2012 season: Natán de Souza, Enric Andreu, Fanny Benítez, Rex Winn and 2 additional volunteers from Lugo.