The Reign in Spain

Gearing Up for VBS

  It's been a while since you've heard from us, as we were hiding out in the Swiss Alps, but we have been back in Madrid for the past week, and we hit the ground running!  First, we helped host a VISA team from Mexico.  We took them around to evangelize and to help feed the homeless.  They spent evenings in the parks building relationships with local teams and sharing their faith one-on-one.

  Now we are gearing up to receive another VISA team, this time from England, who will be here July 14-26.  They will be participating in many activities, among which is the VBS program the church will host next week.  This is in lieu of the summer program we did last year.  The theme is "Avalanche Ranch," and the kids in the neighborhood couldn't be more excited!  Please pray for this event, that it will be well staffed, well attended, and well received in our community.  Also pray as we are getting ready to return to the US in two weeks for a time of partnership building and to obtain visas.

  Please pray for us this week as we prepare for the VBS...decorating, coming up with crafts and activities, and inviting children to attend.  Also pray for Carrie as she more than likely has to sell her large aquarium which a friend has been caring for since Jan. but can't past this month as they are also heading back to the US for home assignment.  She has put a large amount of time, money, and energy into it and is very sad to see it go.  Pray that someone would step up and volunteer to keep it for us until we return, or that we will find a buyer soon.

   As always, thanks for your prayers and support!  We hope to see you in person soon!

                   Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Getting Refreshed in Switzerland

Dear Friends,

Greetings from among the Alps!  We are spending ten days at an event called "Refresh," a time for cross-cultural Christian workers to set themselves apart and seek God's wisdom and counsel for their lives, and often recover from particularly stressful periods of ministry.  Here we are enjoying daily devotions, workshops, worship, and seeking wise counsel, as well as the occasional game or hike.

While we are enjoying this especially beautiful portion of God's creation, and the fellowship of many co-laborers in the Gospel from around the world, we are trying to make some important decisions regarding our future.  We ask for your prayers in this vital time!  We hope to emerge from this event renewed, refreshed, and ready to tackle our upcoming home assignment (partnership building), which will begin in July.  Hope to see you then!

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Keeping Busy

Dear Friends,

It has been a busy last few weeks!  It's hard to know where to begin.

First of all, Caty's health is almost 100% back in order.  She was able to get the rest she needed to recover, and during her time of limited mobility, took advantage and got Cindi Angelo's book translated.  We're glad she's doing better, and just in time for some big changes.

The last two Saturdays we've helped to organize children's events in recognition of International Children's Day (June 1), first at the Charneca church, and yesterday at Santa Marta.  These events have involved games, food, and arts and crafts, as well as sharing the Gospel with children in ways they can understand and appreciate a bit more God's love for each of them.

 

(Daniel, age two, makes a personalized t-shirt.  It will look like a butterfly when it's done.)

 

(Nadia decorates a butterfly.)

This week, we'll be packing up and moving back to Spain, as our temporary reassignment to Portugal draws to a close.  We'll be spending much of the time from now until the end of July exploring what could be our next ministry project, the makings of a holistic ministry center in central Madrid.  Please pray for us as we seek God's guidance for how we fit into this important project.

For those who haven't heard yet, we'll be in the U.S. for partnership building ministry later this summer and part of the fall.  We hope to see you soon and share more about what God is doing in this part of the world.

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty)

God Sends a Raven

   These past several weeks have been the hardest we've endured on the mission field and quite probably in our lives.  With the recent loss of our second baby, physical pain and illness, and with our visas expiring in just a few weeks, we have had our share of grief and decisions to proccess.  Carrie has been on bedrest for over a week now and still technically has another week to go.  Sitting around all day is not her idea of fun, and although she has been dedicating much of that time towards Cindi Angelo's book translation (Being Part of a Prophetic Generation), it has been hard for the both of us to keep our sanity!

   Missionary friends of ours offered to let us stay with them for a few days so that they could care for us as we heal physically and emotionally.  While staying with them we received more bad news, and struggled a great deal.  They had to leave on a trip for several days but encouraged us to stay and take advantage of the peaceful countryside to seek the Lord, grieve, and talk about the difficult decisions we would soon need to make.  With the permission of our boss, we took advantage of this generous offer.

   As we "hide out" in the north of Lisbon, we are reminded of when Elijah got discouraged and hid out in a cave.  He was tired, discouraged, and in need of a rest.  God saw his need and sent a raven to feed him while he recovered from his pysical and emotional trauma (he had just run for his life for 40 days!)  God has also sent many "ravens" to us, bringing both tangible and spiritual food our way.  We are especially moved that our friends' Portuguese landlords heard of our situation and even though we had never met before, they have been dropping by with food and a smile so that Michael doesn't have to cook in an unfamiliar kitchen.  Our friends also left several days of pre-cooked meals for us so that we wouldn't go hungry in their absence.

   We are amazed at how God has once again come through for us in our great time of need.  Some of you have dropped pieces of scripture for us to feed on, some have sent e-mails of encouragement, some have called us via Skype, and many have simply prayed.  Thank you for helping to shelter us through your prayers and giving through our most recent life storm.  We love you, appreciate you, and can't wait to see many of you in person in a few short months!  Continue to pray...we still have a lot on our minds!

                                               Blessings,

                                       Carrie (Caty) and Michael 

Good News! (At Last!)

Dear Friends,

We finally got some good news at Caty's doctor appointment earlier today.  She will not need surgery!  Praise God!  She will, however, need to take it as easy as possible for the next two weeks.

If there is a bright side to this, it's that she will be able to devote quite a bit of time to translating Cindi Angelo's book "Being Part of a Prophetic Generation" into English.  (Cindi is a Brazilian missionary, pastor, country director of FM missions in Portugal, and thus our "boss.")  Plans are that this book will be available through Light and Life Publishing later this year or early next year.

Although this has been a very difficult time for us, we can still see God's provision in many ways.  We have been blessed with a very kind, understanding and proficient doctor; Cindi and Pastor Cida have been very understanding these last weeks with work and schedules; and our friends Tom and Vicky have helped us out in so many ways.  They have invited us to their place for the next few days to take it easy and rest up after a very demanding few weeks, both physically and emotionally.

Thank you once again for keeping us in your prayers during this time.  We know that God has upheld us through these difficulties, and we can remain in trusting Him.

In Christ,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

A Quick Update

Dear Friends,

A few updates from last week's blog:

Carrie does not have the feared virus, for which we are thankful.

However, a reexamination last evening confirmed that there is no living embryo; hence, there will be no baby for us in the immediate future.  In the meantime, please pray that her system will resolve itself and get back to normal safely and soon.  She is still in considerable discomfort, and we will probably not be able to see a doctor until Monday at least (it being a holiday weekend here).

On top of this, Michael is now sick too.  Just a cold, apparently, but it makes caring for Carrie all the more difficult.

On the bright side, our car is now fixed, and through contacts at church, we got a mechanic who gave us a much better price than the original quote we received.

Thank you for your prayers for us.

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

A Big Day/Prayers Needed

It was two years ago today that we left home for the mission field.  While we've definitely faced our share of challenges, we have also experienced many joys and great support from so many people.  God has also blessed our work here, and we are as sure as ever that we were called to this work.  We only hope that our efforts bring the light of God's love to many, and glory to God.  And as always, we are grateful for your prayers and support.

We certainly need prayer at this time.  We had hoped to be able to make a trip back to Spain, albeit temporary, beginning next week.  Carrie had hoped to work on coordinating the summer children's program in Rivas, and Michael would have been driving a support vehicle for a bike tour across Spain's northern tier.  Twelve riders will be experiencing Spain's beauty while following a historic pilgrimage route, all the while raising support funds for Spain's Country Shares Account with FM World Missions.

However, for health reasons, we will need to stay in Portugal at this time.  Carrie has been experiencing apparent allergic symptoms for almost a month and a half (without knowing what, if anything, she is allergic to), and the symptoms of a bad cold for nearly two weeks.  A pregnancy test came back positive, but the doctor was unable to find any evidence of an embryo, which should be apparent by this time.  So, it does not look good, and barring a miracle, this will mean another unsuccessful attempt at having a (long-awaited) baby.

We will go back on April 30 for a reexamination.  In the meantime, please pray for a miracle, as well as the stength and endurance to go through this difficult time.  Carrie is feeling weak and tired and still sick, all of which she would gladly endure for a baby, but the doctors have told us not to get our hopes up.

She was also tested this morning for a virus, which may explain some of the symptoms.  We should find out the results on Friday, but are strongly hoping for a negative, as this particular virus can persist for several months.

Perhaps God has a great plan behind all of this, but we have yet to see what it is.  In the meantime, please keep us in your prayers.

In Christ,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

P.S.  On another note, our car is also not doing so well.  We may have to have nearly $1,000 worth of repairs, and are trying to decide if it's worth it.  Please pray for wisdom on this matter as well.

Won't You Be Our Gecko?

Like many places where it's warm much of the year, Portugal has its share of lizards.  It's not unusual to see one or more sitting on or scurrying around any wall or other surface out in the sun.  We see them in the church yard all the time.  (And now that we've moved to the apartment above the church, I guess that makes it our front yard as well.)  Most of these are skinks or other small lizards.  They're pretty cute--although less so when they get bigger.

We were a bit surprised, on a recent Tuesday evening, when we opened the door to the Santa Marta church and found, staring at us before quickly disappearing, a gecko.  Geckos are also small lizards, also fairly cute and harmless.  We've seen them before, but not in Portugal.

When we served a year in Honduras, teaching at a Christian bilingual school, we learned about geckos and their value.  In Honduras, when a person or family moves into a house or apartment, it is an altogether welcome and appropriate housewarming gift to bring them a pair of geckos.  You see, geckos eat termites and their eggs, and termites are impossible to avoid in Honduras.

As we've learned, there are also termites in Portugal, particularly in the haphazardly built area of Santa Marta.  We've started to see the damage from them in the wood beams along the ceiling of the sanctuary.  And each time we move the wooden pulpit to clean under it, there's less pulpit to move.  So our gecko is most definitely a welcome guest at the church.

The battle against termites is a lot like the spiritual battle we undertake here on the mission field.  Termites are destructive agents, and like the devil's principalities and powers, once they're in place, they are hard to remove.  And they reproduce: generation upon generation of destruction, whether of buildings or of people's souls.

But we don't fight this battle alone, of course.  God is on our side, or rather, we are on His.  We also count our supporters and prayer partners among our contingent.  The prayers of those who lift up missionaries before the Lord are among the greatest weapons in this spiritual battle.  While it is easy to see and know the problems that are before us, we know even more surely that, because of your prayers, countless other pitfalls and problems have been avoided--taken out of our way before we encounter them, through your efforts and God's grace.

We hope that you don't mind our thinking of you as our "spiritual geckos."

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

No Wonder I'm so Confused!

   Learning a second (or in our case, third, fourth, or fifth) language is never easy.  Everyone assumes that since Spanish and Portuguese are both Latin-based, then learning Portuguese must be a breeze.  We wish!

   Here are just a sampling of words that exist in both Spanish and Portuguese, but hold (sometimes very) different meanings:

             Spanish                               Portuguese

latir:  to beat (like a heart)             to bark

pegar: to hit or stick                       to grab, to pick up

luego:  later                                   (logo) now

es:  is                                            you are

nos:  ourselves, us                          we

vaga:   lazy                                    spot, opening

prenda : piece of clothing                a gift

acordar: to agree on                      to wake up

quedar: to stay                              to fall

tirar:  to throw away, to shoot       to take out, to take away

mala: bad                                      suitcase, purse (Brazil)

rosa:   rose                                  farm (Brazil)

azeite: oil (any kind)                      olive oil

esquisito*: exquisite, delicious      awful

*This one got us into some trouble before we figured out what it meant in Portuguese!

    Pray this week as we continue to adjust to the language and culture, and as we pack up and prepare to move at the end of the month (into the apartment above the church).

    Please keep the Santa Marta community in your prayers as we are engaging in some real spiritual warfare as the church continues to grow and the enemy retaliates. 

    Thanks for your constant prayers and support!

       Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

The Power of Persistent Prayer

   For those of you who have been following our journey from the start, you probably read our very first newsletter "from the field" telling of a young, pregnant African woman we met while wondering through the shanty town of Santa Marta do Pinhal (where we now have a growing church).  She invited us into her home and shared with us for a while before we had to be on our way.  In that newsletter we asked you all to pray for Zuleica, as she did not know the Lord, and she had a great deal of sadness about her.

    Since that day, the Lord has brought her to mind many, many times, and we have prayed for her much over the past 18 months.  When we first moved back to Portugal, we had hoped to find her attending the church, but to our dismay, no one had ever seen her there.

    Last month, during a special service for youth, a familiar face came through the door, carrying a small child in her arms.  It didn't take long for us to recoginize that it was Zuleica!  After the message, she made her way up front, and asked us pray with her so that she could accept Jesus into her heart.  It was a touching moment for us, as we saw the Lord's faithfulness in answering our persisent prayer that she would become our sister in Christ.

    Now it is such a joy to sit beside Zuleica and worship our God together.  She loves when we share our Bible with her so that she can see God's Word for herself, and her tears of sorrow are being transformed into tears of joy.  Praise His name!  He is FAITHFUL!

     Please continue to pray for Zuleica and those living in Santa Marta, that the Lord's presence would envelop them and that they would become new creations in Him.  Especially pray for those new believers struggling to overcome drug, alcohol, and tobacco adictions.  Also pray for the MANY unmarried couples living together and raising families without officially making a commitment to one another (but who have recently made a commitment to Jesus).  We would like to see many strong marriages come about which honor Christ.

   Also pray that we make a wise decision about our housing situation.  We will more than likely be moving at the end of the month since none of the problems with our apartment have been resolved.

   Thanks again for your prayers and support.  We couldn't be here without you!

                                                                Carrie (Caty) and Michael Hamley