OCTOBER 31 LA PUEBLA DE ALFINDEN

This was the third time that we have gone to this town, and once again the Lord greatly blessed our time there. Not only were Ana and her sister-in-law, Anita there, but her mother-in-law, Soledad, also came. Soledad said she had been reading her Bible the night before, and the Lord told her that she needed to come and evangelize with us. She also shared with us that as she prepared lunch for her recently saved son, he asked where she was going. When she told him that she was going to evangelize in the town, his response was, “That’s good, we need to go out to the poor and needy, and not always stay in the comfort of the church building.” It appears that this young man has a better understanding of things than many Christians who have been saved for a long time. He sees these people as the Lord does, being poor and needy in the spiritual sense. There were seven of us in all, and all three groups had excellent visits, people willing to listen and hear about the Lord.

OCTOBER 30 LECIÑENA and FUENTES DE EBRO

Today was another day of following up contacts that were made at the Expo, one in each of the towns. While Juan and I delivered the materials to a young woman in Lecinena, Margarita and David went to visit a widow who they had met there on one of our previous visits to the town. She was very open to talk, as was Nadia, a Romanian young woman who visited with Juan and I after our visit. While we were “watering,” Eduardo was sowing seed in the market there, passing out tracts and talking to several of the vendors who were also very open. We also had an excellent Bible study before the visit, resolving some of the issues that arose in the car on the way to Tauste the day before. I was very glad to see the spirit of unity that is prevailing in our team, overcoming the differences that arise because of our humanness. Juan also showed once again his pastor’s heart, being the person who initiated the resolution.

OCTOBER 29 TAUSTE

Today we saw the mercy of God in action. On the way out tonO the town, there was a heated argument about the economy and immigrants. Despite the fact that we were strongly in disagreement, God blessed out visits in Tauste greatly. I had two particularly good visits, both of them related to my English students. First Eduardo and I had a good visit with Pilar Frances, who is in a theater group with Miguel Angel. Later I went alone to try to follow up on Carlos’ father. Instead, I met his mother who shared with me her belief in Jesus as the only way, her admission that the Catholic church has created many stumbling blocks to the faith of the Spaniards, and her disappointment in her in-laws when they converted to Seventh Day Advents several decades ago. Because of the seed that was sown by these same in-laws, I believe the Lord will allow us to enter into their labors.

SUE'S VISIT TO GHENT, BELGIUM














At the end of last month, Sue had the opportunity to visit Belgium. As you can see, bicycles are a VERY popular mode of transportation there. Belgium, being one of the "Low Countries," has lots of canals like Holland. It also has many ornate church buildings, much like the rest of Europe.

OCTOBER 28 CARIÑENA

Sue and I had some good visits after the Bible study today. While we were walking from one house to the center, we met Gloria, and had a good visit with her. Afterwards, we went to see Ana, who owns a paper supply store in town. She is the woman who gave us sandwiches to pass out the day we gave out food to the migrant workers. She told us that she is related to Jose Manuel, and spent almost an hour telling us about her life philosophies. Many of the things she believes are Biblical principles, but she never once mentioned God. It reminded me of some books that I have read that promote God’s principles without naming Him. Since she likes to read, we hope to give her a book that teaches the same thing and also teaches that God is the source of that wisdom.

OCTOBER 28 EJEA DE LOS CABALLEROS

We had an excellent class today. Spent the first half of the class talking about the banking crisis, Miguel and Carlos had opposing opinions about what should have been done. Carlos believes it had to be done in order to avoid a worse crisis, while Miguel believes it is very unfair that the same banks who profited so much in the good times are expecting that the government (thus, the same people!) bail them out of their trouble in bad times. I was able to direct them to the latest chapter in our leadership book, which talks about generosity as a leadership principle. We spoke about the law of sowing and reaping, and the Lord gave me the opportunity to share a couple testimonies of how the Lord provided for us after we had been generous in other moments. Carlos only had to read the first paragraph to realize that he was in agreement with what was being taught, almost every time we get together, he is more and more teachable.

OCTOBER 24 CARIÑENA

Just Eduardo and I went today, everyone else was resting from our long day the previous day. We spent a lot of extra time with Belen and her mom today, and then returned directly to Zaragoza. I sense in Eduardo a desire to teach the word, so I need to pray that the Lord will show me when and if to allow him to do that. My experience with the way the Lord works is that he might surprise us with what this man can do.

Here are several pictures from the food distribution day we had several weeks ago in Carinena. You can see Belen, her mother Adoracion, and Margarita preparing the sandwiches. Below, you can see both Romanian and African migrant workers who were very happy to receive the food.

Here are a couple of the towns that we visited. To the right is La Canadillo, where Juan spoke to all (2) of the residents in the town!!







We had to endure the rain the entire day, you can see the clouds covering the mountains. Of course the rain helps lots of grass to grow, great place for growing beef cows!!












Despite the rain, the many miles in the car, and the general lack of acceptance from the townspeople, there are always blessings. Here are a couple pictures of the beautiful scenery we encountered on the trip.

OCTOBER 23 PUEBLOS in TERUEL

When we left Zaragoza today, it was sunny and warm, but by the time we got to the first town in Teruel, it was drizzling. We managed to pass out tracts in 7 different towns, trying to dodge the rain without much success. After we finished the seventh and largest, Aliaga, I decided it was time for us to go home before anyone got sick. We still wound up driving over 400 kilometers, to reach the 777 people in the towns of Ejulve, La Zoma, La Cañadilla, Cirugeda, Adehuela, Campos, and Aliaga. In the town of La Cañadilla, there were only two people currently living in the town, and Juan had the chance to witness to them both!!

OCTOBER 22 TAUSTE

Simona joined us today, she had the week off, so I decided to try and make some visits with the Romanian contacts that we have made over the last couple of months. We had a good visit with a young woman who works in the bread store that Yolanda works in. She told us that she believes in God, and would definitely like to learn more about him. Later, we went to see Fani (Stephania) whom we have talked with a couple times. The first time, she told us she reads her Bible, and is very interested in the things of God. The second time, she was much less open. This third time was a strange visit. When she saw me, she recognized me, but seemed pretty reserved. However, when Simona spoke to her in Romanian, she opened up some, then invited us into her apartment, and spent the next 45 minutes talking with us about the Lord. We believe she is going through some trials, and the Lord is using that to draw her to Him. We definitely need to go back when Simona has another week off (in November).

OCTOBER 11-13 YOUTH RETREAT IN ANENTO

This weekend, Sue and I accompanied the youth group to a little town about an hour from Zaragoza for a retreat. Unlike other years, I did not speak, but was instead asked to be one of the leaders of the small group workshops. Our job was to try to help the young people take the messages that were preached and find ways to put them into practice in their lives. Once again, most of the young people were encouraged and challenged by the messages that talked about ministering in your family among other things; by the worship time; and by the fact that one of their group, a young man named Luis Antonio, made a profession of faith!! I was encouraged by the fact that there were three young people attending from the towns we minister in: Vanessa from Tauste, and Laura and Miriam from Cariñena.