Safely Home

Sorry for the week-long blog silence! The town we were in did not have any internet access, so we were totally 'offline'.

We arrived safely home this afternoon on schedule. The mission went great - it looked a bit different than we expected going in. After we recover a bit from the travel we'll post some additional info.

Thanks for praying for us this week! We could use some more prayer in the near term, however - 4 of the 5 members of our team came down with a stomach bug on our trip home!

Stay tuned, more details to follow...

Pilgrim's Fountain

The hostel at which we are serving is named La Fuente del Peregrino, which translates to The Pilgrims Fountain. The hostel gets its name from an actual fountain outside of the building where the pilgrims can stop to fill their water bottles for the journey ahead.

As I think of these pilgrims, tired and thirsty, coming to The Pilgrims Fountain to be refreshed, I realize that the pilgrims who drink this water will be getting thirsty again just a short ways down the Camino. It makes me hope that during their encounters at the Pilgrims Fountain, these wanderers will also find water that will forever quench the thirst of their souls. As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well:

John 4:13-14 - Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

I pray that these pilgrims drink the water offered by Jesus Christ - the TRUE Pilgrims Fountain.

Spain Team Covenant

As we prepared for this mission, our team put together a list of the things we wanted to be true of our time in Spain. This Team Covenant is something we are praying through as we prepare for our time at the hostel. We'd love you all to join with us in praying for these things - thank you so much for supporting us!

Here are the things we are asking God to be true of our team:

• Team work – “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Phil. 2:4
• Believing the best in each other – “Do nothing from selfishness of empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” Phil 2:3
• Honesty and communication – “all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.” 1 Peter 3:8-9
• Servant attitude: to Christ, to Winns, to Pilgrims, to each other – “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12
• Conflict Resolution (24 Hour Rule) – “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13
• Not Complaining – “Be hospitable to one another without complaint.” 1 Peter 4:8
• Low expectations, High flexibility; But expect God to do something wonderful – “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” Ephesians 3:20
• Loving – “…through love, serve one another.” Galatians 5:13
• Dependence on the Lord – “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
• Sharing the love of Jesus – “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Where we'll be and When we'll be there

Here is a top level overview of our Camino Team's schedule for the week.

Thursday, June 2nd
5:35pm – Depart DFW for Madrid

Friday, June 3rd
9:55am – Arrive in Madrid
11:45am – Depart Madrid for Santiago
12:55pm – Arrive in Santiago

Saturday, June 4th
Adjust to new time zone
Team prayer and preparation for our time at La Fuente del Peregrino
Visit the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostel - the official destination of the Camino

Sunday, June 5th
Travel by bus and car to Ligonde, Spain
Meet up with Rex and Gema, as well as Rafael David and Mariló, two Spaniards who will be serving with us
Begin work at La Fuente del Peregrino

Monday, June 6th through Saturday, June 11th
Serve pilgrims at La Fuente del Peregrino

Sunday, June 12th
Depart by taxi for Santiago airport
9:40am – Depart Santiago for Madrid
10:45am – Arrive in Madrid
1:15pm – Depart Madrid for DFW
5:15pm – Arrive at DFW airport
Return home!

Team Prayer Requests

Thanks for partnering with our team in prayer! Here are some ways you can be praying for us during the mission:

• Team unity and communication
• That we would rely on the Lord while we are there
  
• That we would be an encouragement for our missionary partners Rex and Gema Winn
• For us be humble and to love and serve others with a Christ-like love (Philippians 2)
• That our faith be shown active in serving the walkers with genuine love and concern
• That God will work in the lives, hearts, and faith of each walker that comes through the house
• That we will not miss what God is doing amidst all the tasks we will be doing
  

Special Bonus Prayer Request!

• Rex and Gema's daughter Evelyn will be having surgery in June, shortly after our team returns to Texas. Evelyn is only 1 1/2 years old, so pray for her and her parents!

Camino Info

Our team departs tomorrow afternoon for Spain, to work with Rex and Gema Winn – McKinney mission partners who work with Campus Crusade for Christ. Joining with them, we will serve in a hostel owned by Crusade that ministers to pilgrims on El Camino de Santiago – the Way of Saint James. Our mission will be to run this hostel in the small town of Ligonde for a week with Rex and Gema – cleaning rooms, hosting, preparing and cleaning up meals, etc. We also will have the chance to talk with the travelers as they pass through and after we serve the evening meal. Due to the nature of the walk most of the pilgrims are spiritually interested which gives us an exciting opportunity to share with them what Christ has done in our lives and what he wants to do for them.

It thought I would post a couple of links to give you all some background on the Camino. The pilgrims walk for hundreds of miles from all across Europe to reach a cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, where legend has it the remains of St. James are buried. For more of the history, check out this wikipedia page.

The hostel we will be serving at is called La Fuente del Peregrino - The Pilgrims Fountain. Camino pilgrims can stay at this hostel for one night without charge, but donations are accepted. Dinner and breakfast are included. The hostel was converted from an old farm house about 10 years ago with the purpose of ministering to pilgrims. This short video gives tells the history and vision of La Fuente del Peregrino - the audio is in Spanish but there are English subtitles. For those of you who can read Spanish, the website for the hostel can be found here.

Thanks for following us on this mission! We'll be posting prayer requests and more soon.

We're getting really excited about leaving for Spain and seeing what God does there! Can't believe it's only one week away. .