NOVEMBER 14, 2005

(2 for 1 this week, see also The People God Uses)

POSTCARD FROM SPAIN
by Pastor Connie Larson DeVaughn

I´ve come home.

I´ve been in Barcelona two days, and it feels like home to me. There are so many ways that Spain seems like my native country of Argentina:

• The kiss on the cheek in greeting (Here they kiss twice, once on each cheek.)
• The buildings perched immediately on the narrow sidewalks, wall to wall with no space in between (Barcelona is a very densely populated city of 4 million--because of the high rise apartment buildings, one block can contain 10,000 people)
• The familiar sound of Spanish fills the air. I´ve begun to think in Spanish again. (Although sometimes people will launch into Catalan, the primary language of the people in this area of Spain, and then I´m lost.)
• The daily schedule includes a main meal mid-afternoon as commerce closes down for a few hours, then life speeds up at 5 PM with a late dinner at 9 or 10 PM, and an even later bedtime.
• The crusty bread that is a staple at all meals including breakfast.

It´s been a whirlwind time of shadowing our missionaries, Mark and Stephanie Dodrill, in their ministry with Youth for Christ.

On Saturday afternoon I hopped off my plane, and was sped immediately to a youth conference, Jovenevan, hosted in part by Youth for Christ. I was excited to see hundreds of evangelical Christian youth come together for this yearly gathering. Most evangelical churches are very small, and Christians often feel very isolated, so these celebratory gatherings are important times of encouragement and refreshment. I had missed the morning sessions, but was able to worship with a youth praise band, hear the keynote speaker, plus an excellent comic, and absorb the great original music in the concert. This was presented by two equally gifted groups of musicians, one creatively accompanied by mime, the other with powerful lyrics that have been fruit for my own personal worship time since.

Sunday was all church all day. I was blessed to pray with a group of women, who gather before the morning service to pray each Sunday. The special speaker was a quadriplegic, Ron Haegy, an American who spoke through an interpreter. And the best piece of the morning service was the response to the message. The whole church stood together, heads bowed, as people in the congregation prayed out loud–every prayer a thanksgiving, often in tears. That time meant a lot to me, shared with my Spanish brothers and sisters.

We stuck around after the service for the afternoon meal. The Catalan people are known as being food connoisseurs, and they well deserve that reputation. Out of the very small kitchen in the back of the church flowed the most wonderful meal, enough for over 100 people who stayed. The three course meal lasted over two hours, plenty of time for conversation and friendship to flourish.

We sped from that church to the evening service of another one across town. Again, excellent music (complete with saxophone, flute, keyboard, drums, bass), good message, and plenty of time for conversation afterwards.

Please remember to pray for the Dodrills this week. They are challenged by a culture in which religion is dismissed and materialism reigns. The youth here are extremely fashion conscious in clothes and hair styles. They have all the new gadgets that American youth have. A new mall opened less than a block from the Dodrills´ home, breaking new ground in Barcelona by staying open on Sunday (traditionally a day when businesses close down). As Stephanie says, now as they drive to church on Sundays, they see people from their area stream to this new “church” to worship the god of materialism.

Spain is well within my comfort zone, and I´ve enjoyed every minute of it. Tomorrow I´m off to Africa, where I expect the culture shock to be much greater.