The Reign in Spain

God is on the Move!

  It's been a busy week indeed!  Since tomorrow begins a 4 day holiday weekend here in Spain, and we'll be leaving on Saturday for the first ever European Missionary Retreat, (and the fact that we took a few days off last week to attend "Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos" in Alcoy) has meant long hours of preparing for our absence, and catching up on what we missed out on last week.  We are certainly trying our best, but things are happening here so fast that we wonder how we'll ever keep up.  God is on the move!  And we couldn't be more delighted.

     Let me briefly tell you the story of Rosa.  She and her family lived in a part of town in which illegal houses have been built on public property.  After 30 years of the problem getting increasingly out of hand, the government decided to finally do something about it.  Their plan of action: bulldoze the houses.  Although the owners were informed 30 days in advance, this family rents and had no idea that all of their belongings would soon be a pile of rubble.  What about the landlord you ask?  He spent the week in Punta Cana (after collecting May's rent a week early) while his renters lost everything... personal belongings, documents, passports, photos, and the roof over their heads.

   Praise the Lord that the bulldozer that had knocked down half of Rosa's apartment building got tired and left her side of the building standing.  But we knew they could return at any moment to finish the job.  The hunt for a new home began, but since Rosa and her partner have been unemployed since February, the $2,600 deposit was going to be a huge problem.  Not to mention that apartments to rent are few and very far between, and run around $1,300 a month.  For an unemployed family, this is impossible.  But not with God!

   Days later Rosa and her family moved into their new apartment that they will be sharing with another couple from the church who were also in dire straits. The landlord waived the deposit, and gave them the keys the same day!   As they are all new converts, together they can encourage one another, be accountable to one another, and grow together in the faith.  Our prayer for this new home is that it be like the early church in Acts, living in community, praying together and sharing with one another.  Please thank the Lord that they were able to move out before the bulldozer finished off the job, and that the new apartment in the the same plaza as the church!  Rejoice also that the same day they moved into their new place, Rosa started a new job!  God is so faithful!

  God has also blessed our Tuesday night prayer meetings, as last night another neighborhood child (Roxana) came to Christ as a result of the testimony and witness of Alina, the girl I shared about in our last blog.  Pray for the children's program as there is now a large gap between those kids who have been raised in Christian homes and those who have recently come to the Lord.  It's hard to teach them all at the same time without overwhelming one group or having the other bored to tears.  Please pray for God's wisdom and guidance, and most importantly, for more workers willing to serve in the area of children's ministry.  Who would have ever thought this would have become such a problem back in September when we only had 3 kids, 2 being the Fajardo girls (fellow missionaries and teammates)? 

   Once again, thanks for all your prayers and encouragement, and remember God's promise to provide for every one of our needs, like He has for these two families from our church.  Rejoice in the Lord, for He is good!  May there be no doubt about it--God is on the move!

                                                                            Rich Blessings,

                                                                       Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley

"Soup? Sandwich? Healing? Eternal Life?"

   Several times a month, members of our church hit the inner-city streets of Madrid to share food, clothes and supplies with the homeless, and to minister to them any way they will allow us.  The goal is to see those struggling with addiction to be freed from Satan's bondage, those who are ill to be healed, and those who need Christ, to realize it and bow before His throne.  However, it is a very long process, and can at times be very discouraging.  The amount of time and money spent on these "street people" can seem like a waste when day after day, week after week, you see the same people, steeped in sin, and uninterested in the fact that we have the answer to their problems!

   On March 29, we hit the streets again with a thermos full of hot soup, a cart full of sandwiches, a backpack full of toiletries, and hearts full of compassion for the lost and needy of Madrid.  We came upon a group of 3 homeless African men who readily accepted our food, but didn't seem very interested in our message.  So we went on our way.  An hour later, we found these same three men in a plaza we had come to, to pass out food.  We decided to say hello, and to our surprise, one of them was ready to talk!  He wanted to know more about the source of our joy and peace and what kind of God we served.  We spent the next 45 minutes sharing with him the plan of salvation, and he listened intently, but said that he needed some time to think things over before he made a decision.  Respecting that, we turned to his friend who had been half-listening and noticed that something was not right with his body.  After some prodding on our part, he finally shared with us that he used to be a construction worker, and he had fallen from a building several months ago, leaving his right side partially paralyzed.  He could no longer work, and being an immigrant, he wasn't entitled to any social security.

   At that moment I (Carrie) could hear the Lord speak to my heart, "Are you in the mood for a miracle?"  I am not one to go around telling people that the Lord wants to heal them, but this day, I boldly proclaimed that God wanted to touch his body and heal it, if he would only allow us to pray for him.  He wanted to show these three that He is real, and able to do anything that we ask of Him.  After some deliberation, he agreed to allow us to pray for him.  When we were done, he dared not move a muscle.  I told him to stay put until he had enough faith to believe that God had healed him.  As we walked away, I turned to the team and said, "He'll probably be there all day, but if he can just believe, he'll be healed."

   Two weeks later Josh Fajardo received a phone call.  It was Jorji, the Liberian man (whose native tongue is English) we had shared the plan of salvation with.  He had gotten the number from a tract we had given him. He had questions...lots of questions, and needed to talk.  He came to the church last Saturday and spent several hours asking Josh some tough, well thought-out questions.  At the end of their time together, he gave his heart to the Lord!  On Sunday, Jorji came to church literally glowing.   When I asked him about his friend, he said very calmly, "Oh, well, ever since he was healed, we don't see him very much.  He's out looking for a job."  Praise the Lord!  God used a miracle to restore one man's body, and other man's soul!  And hopefully this is just the beginning for these 3 men!

   Last night during Tuesday prayer meeting, Alina, a latch-key neighborhood girl who we've been sharing with for a while now, accidently locked herself out of the house.  She came to the church and asked if she could stay with me and hear the lesson, which happened to be "Jesus needs helpers."  By the end of the hour, Alina was ready to follow Jesus, and asked Him into her heart!  Her eyes were filled with tears, and she said that she felt like a burden had been lifted from her, and that she felt peace like she had never known!  Imagine this coming from a 10 year old!

   This week, please keep Jorji and his friends in prayer, as well as Alina and her family in your prayers.  Please also pray for Spain country shares, as we are still lacking $28,000 for 2008, and without which we can't function as a mission in Spain.  We praise the Lord that most of our personal support has been committed for this year, and thank each of you who help make moments like the ones we just shared possible! 

                     God's grace be upon you,

                     Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley

Terrific Tuesdays

Dear Friends,

It's Tuesday (or will be by the time you receive this), so that means it's time for our church's second-ever weekly Tuesday night prayer meeting.  After several months of trying to combine bible study/discipleship along with prayer in the same meeting, church leadership concluded we were trying to do too much at the same time.  So beginning last week, we'll be having prayer meetings on Tuesday nights at the church, and Bible study/discipleship meetings on Thursday nights in folks' homes.  Because of how much our church has grown in the last few months, we'll actually be having multiple Bible studies in different homes, so more people are able to attend, and many won't have to go as far to get there.

This is an exciting change for us at the Light and Life Christian Community, as our community life is growing more dynamic by the week.  In last week's prayer meeting, we had devotions by Pastor (and fellow Free Methodist missionary) Josh Fajardo, who reminded us how God's perspective differs from our own, with illustrations from astronomy.  Afterward we sung a few songs and entered into a time of intense prayer, focusing on both felt and spiritual needs, and particularly edifying a young man who had given his life to Christ during the Sunday service two days before.

And the children of the church are able to attend as well: they have a period of homework help followed by Bible stories.  We are praying for folks to take turns helping out with both so that all the adults are able to participate in this time of building up the body of Christ here in Madrid.

In the next few weeks church leadership will be taking turns leading the devotional and modeling this ministry for others in the congregation who are led to speak from their hearts what God is showing or teaching them.  Please pray for us as we lead devotions during this exciting time: Michael on April 15, and Carrie on the 29th.

A few other requests we would like for you to keep before the Lord in prayer:

--Our visa situation.  We'll need to renew shortly and we ask God for a quick, relatively painless process.

--That leaders would emerge for the Thursday night Bible study/discipleship groups, and that these would be well-attended.

--Praise the Lord that Michael's first full-length sermon in Spanish went fairly well.

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Praise God for the Storm!

   Last week was "Semana Santa" (Holy Week) here in Spain, where most people have the week off to go to their summer homes and get them ready for the upcoming summer!  Those not fortunate enough to own a beach apartment usually take advantage of the time off to participate in the world famous Easter processions in the south of Spain, or to travel abroad.  Unfortunately all this fun comes at a high price.  Each year roughly 100 Spaniards lose their lives on the highways during Holy Week due to heavy traffic, careless drivers, and drunk driving.

   This year, on the way to vacation, just as many people died as last year.  Things weren't looking too hopeful for the return trip, either.  A snow storm hit the north and the mountains (for only the second time this winter), slowing down traffic considerably, and making drivers pay careful attention at all times.  The result?  The total death rate for the week was down 45% from last year!  Though many drivers were annoyed at the delays and slow traffic, they made it home alive!  This inconvenience saved an estimated 45 lives!  Praise the Lord for the storm!  It was God's way of protecting the people of Spain from themselves!

   How many times in our lives do we grumble and groan when storms come our way?  We get mad at God because he is slowing us down, or interrupting our seemingly perfect, well-intentioned plans.  How many times have we stopped to think what might have happened if God didn't intervene...that call from a friend in need just as you were running out the door that saved you from a potentially fatal car crash, a death in the family that results in many coming to Christ, the lost job that leads to an employment opportunity that is better than you could have ever imagined?  Flowers can't grow without a little rain.  Sometimes God places storms in our lives not to drown us out, but to shower His blessings upon us.  Next time you find yourself in the eye of a storm...rejoice!  God's in control!

   This week please be in prayer for our Tuesday night prayer meeting that's starting at the church, and for the children's Bible study which will also take place.  We hope to find a volunteer to take it over so that Carrie can participate in the adult prayer time, and more importantly, to get future Sunday School teachers trained.  We hope we're going to need them soon!

   As always, thanks for your constant prayers and support.

                                                     Happy Spring!

                                             Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley 

Hunting Easter Eggs, Spanish Style

    This past week, Carrie set out on what was a seemingly simple task--buy white eggs to dye with her English classes.  No problem...they sell eggs everywhere, right?  Of course.  This should only take a minute.

    To my shock and horror, the only eggs I could find were in fact brown.  Just last week I bought a dozen white eggs, but apparently the "white" chickens decided to go on strike (like half the services in the country including sanitation workers, doctors, metro workers, buses...the list goes on and on...) leaving the entire country void of white eggs.

   After desperately searching all eight supermarkets in town, I finally gave up.  Determined to share Easter eggs anyway (they don't have them in Spain) and not wanting the two Paas egg dying kits my mother-in-law brought to go to waste, I doubled the vinegar and used half the water to try and make it work.  And much to my suprise, it did!  The kids had a wonderful time dying and decorating eggs, as they listened to the Easter story and learned why American Christians hold this sacred symbol so dear.  I was even able to use it as a logical explaination (at least from an 8-year-old's perspecive) of how the trinity works. 

   The entire experience made me think about how lucky I am to be able to buy eggs on any given day.  Sure they're brown, and maybe they cost $3.21 a dozen, but at least I know where I can buy them when I need them!  How many people around the world, including fellow missionaries, aren't able to find eggs on a daily basis.  I think of the folks serving in Haiti or in some parts of Africa, and I am once again grateful for the simple things in life that we take for granted on a daily basis. 

   This week please pray for the church meeting that will take place to make some important decisions about our ever-growing congregation.  Pray as Carrie presents a plan for this summer's children's program for approval.  Pray for traveling mercies for all who are traveling on Spanish highways this weekend.  Since the "Holy Week" began four days ago 31 have been killed due to heavy volumes of traffic, careless drivers, and people driving under the influence.

    We are grateful that we serve a risen Savior, and we can proclaim his resurrection openly and unashamedly!  Our hearts are with all those who are living in countries in which that is not the case, and look forward to the day in which "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!"

                                                                               Happy Easter,

                                                                         Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley   

The (Mostly) Good Retreat

Dear Friends,

Spring sprung in Spain while we were in Tunisia, and we were blessed to return to the sight of the plum trees blossoming in and around Madrid.  With warmer temperatures prevailing (most of the time; the weather has been a bit unpredictable--it IS spring, after all), I (Michael) took my daily trips to language school in downtown Madrid on the bus and then walking, rather than on the subway.  (Also, in advance of elections this past weekend, buses make a less desirable target for terrorist activity; a subway train carries hundreds of people at any one time; a bus, only 50 or so.  The elections went off mostly very peacefully.)

The walk from the near side of Madrid to downtown takes about 40 minutes, and the best route takes one through El Parque del Buen Retiro, "The Park of the Good Retreat."  A landscaped city park the size of 30 blocks or so, it contains gardens, forests, a good many statues, and a manmade lake where one can rent and paddle rowboats.  The park is an island of green amid Madrid's many apartment and government buildings.  The land was given by one of Spain's kings some centuries back, a gift Madrid's residents (and many tourists) continue to enjoy today, particularly on Sunday afternoons and evenings.

However, walking through the near end of the park almost invariably takes one within sight of one of the park's several fountains.  Most are beautiful works of art, but the one in question here...well, I'll just describe it.  It's called "The Fountain of the Fallen Angel."  On top is a carved angel in the act of falling from heaven.  Around its base are sculptures of what are either demons, dragons, or dogs you would never in your life want to meet.

You read that right: In the midst of its most notable city park, Madrid has a monument to Satan.

If you're looking for a reason for it being there, I don't have one.  It's creepy.  The area around it is a gathering place for Madrid's contingent of witches, Satan worshippers and the like.  I don't like going by it, but it's in such an open location that it's hard to avoid seeing it entirely, even from hundreds of feet away.

Maybe the reason is to remind us that Spain is a mission field.  In case there weren't enough other reminders.

Some praises and prayer requests this week:

--Carrie is feeling better from her illness after the Tunisia trip.  Thank you for your prayers for her.

--Michael's Mom is visiting this week.  We hope this will be a good time of fellowship and give her the chance to learn what we do and why we are here up close and personal.

--The children (and adults) of Carrie's English classes had an Easter party yesterday, complete with dyeing Easter eggs and hearing the Easter story.

--Our church's team is back safe from their trip to northern Africa, but they had to leave a few days early and without accomplishing what they hoped to do because of government restrictions.

Thank you, as always, for your prayers.

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Back in the "Office"

Dear Friends,

If it seems like you haven't heard from us for a while, it's because you probably haven't.  We're happy to be back in touch, however, following our anniversary trip to Tunisia.  On February 29th, we celebrated our "second" anniversary after eight years of marriage.  I guess we can't claim to be newlyweds anymore, so we'll just have to settle for acting like it.

It was an interesting trip.  We got a fairly extensive lesson on Mediterranean history and cultures, which has a lot of application to missions in Spain.  Tunisia, home to historical Carthage and not far from Sicily, is a fascinating mix of Mediterranean and Arab cultures.  It helps us to understand a bit more the historical Muslim influence in Spain, and geographically, the countries really aren't much different, at least in the north of Tunisia.  The saying here has it that "Africa begins at the Pyrenees," and in many ways it's true that Spain is more culturally African than European.  I think this has been one of the reasons adjustment here isn't always easy.

Some of the highlights from the trip included: visiting the Sahara desert and camping in a Bedouin tent; swimming in an oasis/hot spring; visiting the city of Matmata, where many "houses" are built underground; and the picturesque town of Sidi Bou Said, overlooking the Mediterranean.  We also got to meet some new friends from around Spain and elsewhere.  All in all, it was a fruitful and interesting trip.

However, shortly after we got back, Carrie started suffering from a fever, and she's been feeling bad off and on since.  Please pray for her.  We hope this is just a short-run flu and not anything too exotic.

As you are praying this week, please keep the elections in Spain before the Lord.  The presidential election is next Sunday, March 9.  Some of you may remember the terrorist attacks on the commuter trains around Madrid shortly before the last election, in 2004.  Please pray for the safety of all of Spain's people, as well as for wisdom in choosing the country's leaders.

We praise God for the life of Sergio, a man in our church here who recently completed his discipleship classes and today was presented a study Bible.  He is in the adult English class Carrie teaches, and his two children are in one of the kids' classes.  He started coming to church less than five months ago, and it is a great privilege to see him growing in his relationship with God.

Despite Carrie's feeling under the weather, we were able to talk with the congregation at Greensburg (PA) FMC during their morning worship.  It was great to be able to share about our ministry with them (you, for the GFMC folks), and we sense the eagerness of the church in their partnership with us.  We have a few more phone meetings in the next few weeks.  If you'd like to have us "visit" your church in this way, get in touch with us!

Finally, Michael had the chance recently to go hiking with the neighborhood hiking club to a couple of places around Madrid.  It's been a great opportunity to get to know the country better, while at the same time building relationships with some of our neighbors, few of whom go to church.  Please pray that these relationships would grow and bear fruit for the kingdom.

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

The Lost Are Found

Dear Friends,

A few (fairly) brief notes as you are praying for us this week:

Praise: We got the lights back on at church!  No more shivering in the dark while listening to the sermon.  And while having English classes in our apartment out of necessity wasn't ideal, it turned out to be a good experience and helpful in having some of the neighborhood teens open up a bit more spiritually.  We'll probably have classes here again, at least from time to time.

Big Praise: Carlos, the ten-year-old boy from the congregation whom some of you might remember from "Practice for Parenting" last September (check the "archives" of the blog if you don't), gave the church a scare Friday night.  His mother came home after work at midnight and found he was missing.  After a lengthy search and calling the police to help, he was found the next morning.  It turned out he was staying at a friend's house, and hadn't talked to his mother about it.  With kidnappings on the rise in Spain, it was a long night, but we're thankful he is safe, and we hope some good will come out of it.  His mother quit her job as a waitress to find something that will allow her to be home more with Carlos, and we want to initiate a "safe house" program with the kids of the church, so that they know where they can go if they need help.

Praise: Jesus met Jesus this week!  As Carrie and other members of the El Faro (Lighthouse) ministry were ministering to the homeless of Madrid this past week, an elderly man out for a stroll randomly stopped and egaged in conversation with them.  They were able to share the message of salvation with him, and tears began to flow as he admitted his need for forgiveness and salvation.  Since he thought that the street wasn't ideal for such a life-changing experience, he said he was going home to fall on his knees and pray to accept the Lord.  Please pray for him as he begins his spiritual journey.  (For the record, "Jesus" is a fairly common name in Spain.)

Prayer Request: Pray for Alecia, a young woman from our church, who this week is trying to finish up her graduation project for the university.  She's illustrating and computer-animating an allegorical children's story of God's love written by our good friend Alanna Underwood.  We pray that this will be an opening for God's love to shine into the lives of many young people here in Spain, and that many will come to the Lord as a result.

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Lights Out!

  It's been quite a week for our fasting church!  Upon our return from Budapest, we learned that the electricity at the church had been cut off by the electric company due to a large debt owed to them by the previous renters (the grocery store).  When the building's contact was signed (according to the utilities company) it needed to have been notarized and taken in person to their central office as to certify that we are the new renters and have no connection to the previous occupants, nor their debt.  Well, this was news to us, especially since the one who initially rented us the building was a Spaniard, not a newly arrived, clueless foreign missionary.

    The result as been a 10+ day long stint without electricity...lights, heat, musical instruments.  It has presented new challenges for both Sunday morning services and English classes.  However, in spite of all these obstacles, God has been good, and through the cold and the darkness, another life came to Christ on Sunday!  We were a sight to see...all wrapped in coats and blankets, playing rice-filled, homemade instruments we created the night before because all our instruments (including the drums) are electric.  The youth class had to meet in the bar next door because their classroom doesn't have so much as a window to allow a ray of light!  (Before you are too appalled, you should know that this "bar" is also a cafe and restaurant).  Either way, we are grateful it could be redeemed for God's glory!

   English classes have been especially challenging, the children's group in particular, as most of them live in the same plaza as the church, and their families don't attend church (yet!).  Whereas with the other groups I was able to have class in my living room, I don't have the freedom to take these children to an "unknown" location.  And to make matters worse, we meet as the sun is going down, so we only have about 20 minutes of daylight! 

   Now I know that most of you are probably not Simpson's fans (the cartoon, that is), but I (Carrie) must report that this fictional cartoon family has saved my week!  As I have children from all over the world in my class (Romania, Uruguay, and Paraguay) I needed to come up with a family we were all familiar with, with both sons and daughters, so that I could effectively teach the lesson.  I was able to get Simpson's cookies with the face of each family member on one.  I taught a lesson and played a cookie game on the family unit, sitting on the sidewalk in front of the church, crowed under a street lamp!  I am so grateful the lesson (which I later used with the adults) was so effective.  And the best part was when we were done, we got to eat them!   

   Pray that the electric situation is resolved soon, as we have a special service planned in Sunday with a church plant in a neighboring community that will join us for Sunday worship and pot-luck.  If we still don't have electricity, plan B is to try and get a generator.  Pray that this might be possible, and that our neighbors will let us use it without calling the police (again)!

    Thank you for you prayers and support.  God is listening and answering!

                                                                     Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley

Not so Hungry in Hungary!

  We just returned from a six-day trip to Budapest, Hungary, where we were joined by all the European missionaries who have arrived in the past year: Al and Diane Mellinger (Bulgaria), Todd and Deann Miller (Belgium), and Kris Mahnke (Lanzarote, Spain).  The motive was to train and orient us on things like how missions works in Europe, the leadership infrastructure, procedures and protocols, etc., as well as find out how each of us is coming along personally in cultural adjustment and language acquisition.

  It was a challenge to maintain the morning-hours fast our church is doing (two weeks to go!), but once we were able to eat again in the afternoon, we were spoiled by delicious Hungarian dishes such as Paprikash, Goulash, and the world's best hot chocolate!   We really enjoyed our time getting to know each other better, appreciated the chance to explore the beautiful city of Budapest (since in November when we were there for the leadership conference we barely had the chance to leave the hotel). 

  We want to thank Larry and Katie Winckles for hosting the event, and making an extra effort to ensure that we had a great time.  They really went the extra mile!  One of Carrie's favorite parts of the trip was getting to play strategy games in the Winckles' livingroom, as it's one of her favorite activities, and she rarely has a chance to engage in it. (Spaniards, by and large, are not big strategists!)

     Please continue to pray for Michael as he continues to learn Spanish and adapts to life in Spain.  Pray that we are able to make friends outside the church (and later bring them into fellowship!). Pray for our financial support which is trickling in, and we "only" have about $9,000 more to raise.  Praise the Lord!

     Please remember Michael Long (Greece) in your prayers as he underwent surgery a few days ago, and as a result of strong medication, his kidneys aren't working properly and he is on dialysis.

    As always, your prayers are so important to us.  Thank you!

                           Blessings,

                          Carrie (Caty) and Michael