Aura's Pennies

The heavy package arrived at our bottle and can drop-off table while I was inside the church attending second service.  It was wrapped in a small, folded over yellow manila style envelope held closed with a rubber band.

Today (April 28th) was the date of our first bottle and can drive for the Spain Summer Mission Outreach of 2013, and we were taking turns manning the drop off station near the baseball field, and going into service.  Kathy and Art were working the table when it arrived and Kathy mentioned it to me when I got back.  She said a young man had dropped this weighty bundle of pennies and some other coins off as a donation and that they had come from his grandmother.

Kathy was immediately intrigued, and suggested we look through them in case there were any old pennies in the bunch.  I opened the packet, but quickly decided it was too big a project to tackle at that moment and set the whole thing aside.

Carla arrived about that time, and so she and I took our turn manning the table to allow Art and Kathy the opportunity to go in to the Third Service.  Bottle drop off was pretty slow by that point, so after chatting for a while, I mentioned that I was going to count the donation money we had received this morning.  Counting the bills, and silver change went very quickly, and Carla willingly double checked my totals.  We moved on to open the envelope and count out the weighty change.  I am a little "Adrian Monk-ish" with counting pennies -- I create piles of ten pennies, and line them up in rows with ten piles in each, so I can figure out how many dollars in copper pieces  I have before I roll, or package them again -- and Carla joined me.  There were ninety piles, a few extra Canadian pennies, and a few stray wheat pennies, all totaling up to nine dollars and about ten cents.   We wrote our totals down on paper and began cleaning up the whole things shortly thereafter.

It was also the day of the Spanish Ministry Luncheon, and Carla, Art, Kathy, and I went in for that.  Once inside I was chatting with the Nunez family, and learned that the pennies were delivered by their son, Daniel, and had come from his grandmother, Aura, who passed away last July.  Those pennies took on a whole new meaning for me as I remembered a godly woman, who tirelessly served others, and poured herself out for her family.  One who, though she spoke no more than a couple of words of English, insisted that I come out for the Spanish Ministry luncheons the past two years and when I arrived, made sure that I did not leave without getting more than enough to eat.  She was strong as an ox, walking miles each day and surviving stage 4 cancer for years before the Lord called her home last July.  She was a lady who also saved pennies and bottles for her church.  When she passed away, she left a pile of pennies and other coins on her dresser for her family and some deposit bottles in their shed.  They decided to donate the bottles and pennies toward the Spain outreach.  It touches me so much to think that Aura is still giving to the Lord's work through the pennies and bottles she left behind, and of her heritage, demonstrated in the generosity of her family.

All About Redemption

9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Colossians 1:9-14

From July 28 through August 11th, we are going to Spain.  With Andy ministering more intensely to unreached peoples, I find myself in the role of team leader this year, and coordinating our first fundraiser of collecting and cashing in bottles and cans for deposit money.  Team members need to raise $1,800 each, which means trusting God in a big way, and collecting as many bottles and cans as possible! 

As I walked past the bottle redemption center at Target, I was struck by the word "redemption" and it's biblical meaning.  I can't stop thinking about that word and am glad that our fundraising project will keep it at the forefront of my mind in these next few months, as I remember the people of Madrid who need to come to know Christ, redemption through His blood, and the forgiveness of sins.

The work continues, as we partner with Pastor Antonio Amigo and our brothers and sisters in the Iglesia Evangelica at Las Aguilas once again for a special two week campaign to bring the gospel to the people of Madrid.  I am praying that we would be blessed to see fruit from last year's outreach, and continue to plant more seeds that there would be a great harvest of souls into the Kingdom of God.  Please pray with me that God would prepare souls to receive the message of the Gospel, and for divine appointments when we get there.  As team leader, I need wisdom in handling what comes my way.  I appreciate the great example provided last year in Andy Schmalfuss in that very area, as I observed him praying for God's direction, even in the small decisions.  Pray too, for all stages of planning and preparation, as we expect once again to minister in music, through sharing our testimonies, and with puppets and drama.  

If you have any deposit bottles or cans, or care to make a donation in support of our team, you can drop   bags of bottles and cans off at the backstop near the SGT/SCS baseball field on any of these dates:  May 19th, June 30th, or July 14th.  Checks can be made payable to Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle, with a note enclosed or attached indicating a designation for "Spain Summer Outreach 2013".  If you wish to designate it for support for one of our team members, be sure to include that person's name on the note.  Donations can also be mailed to us at:

Spain Summer Outreach 2013
Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle
1 Higbie Drive
Smithtown, NY  11787

Thank you in advance for standing with us in reaching the people of Madrid for Christ.

Blessings, Tricia

Giving Thanks

I think this post will continue to be edited as I keep thinking of things to add because as I sit in reflection of what God did on our trip, there is no escaping the fact that there is much to be thankful for.  We made it home safely and saw God make a team out of a bunch of unique individuals with a variety of giftings.  We experienced God's healing with sickness making its way through some of our ranks.  We had wonderful opportunities to share a gospel presentation, in parks, town squares, on on the Plaza at Puerta del Sol, even under an overpass by the shore of a lake!  There were numerous opportunities to share one on one, and to pray with individuals and small groups, even in the day to day.  One of these included a stop on the way through a small park on the way to do some food shopping.  Andy, Luis, and Georgina shared Christ and prayed with a young man sitting on a bench as he prayed to receive Christ as his Savior.  When we were tired from long days and little rest, God allowed that some siesta time could be built into our schedule each day of the second week.  When keeping up with cooking, shopping, and outreach became too much, God provided a cook for our lunches (Pilar) taking a huge burden off our shoulders.  We were able to enjoy seeing some villages outside of Madrid as we went to swim in a couple of lakes, and traveled to do outreach in those communities.  We got many opportunities to learn and practice speaking Spanish, but God blessed us with hosts, many of whom had at least a little English language skills.  We all had opportunity to share our personal salvation testimonies in outreach.  We bonded really well with the church people in Spain, so well, in fact, that we didn't really want to leave.  Even now, a week later, my teammates and I keep commenting on how much we miss each other and miss our brothers and sisters from Las Aguilas.  I had the joy of doing music nearly every night, working with Pedro, and later others, learning to sing more and more songs in Spanish, and to share my testimony in Spanish a few times.  God allowed Georgina, Luis, and Mabel from NY, and Pedro from Spain to be there to help us all communicate with one another when limitations of Spanish-English and English-Spanish vocabularies of our native speakers on both sides were challenged.  We were blessed with a team leader, Andy, who was committed to seeking God for all decision-making with regard to the team, and managing things.  We had a blessed time with the folks at the On the Red Box ministry, and were encouraged to see that powerful evangelistic outreach going on each day in the city of Madrid.

Donde es el banyo (Where is the bathroom?)

I was wandering through the local mall by myself, doing some souvenir shopping, when nature called.  Uh oh...I look around for signs that will help me figure out on my own where the bathroom is.  Unsuccessful, I look for someone who appears to know the store.  She doesn't know.  Breathing a prayer for God to direct me to what I need, I wander up to the next level of the mall looking for a store employee.  I got a lengthy reply in Spanish to my question, most of which I didn't understand, but the hand gestures clue me in that what I am looking for is at the front of the store somewhere.  Once at the front of the store, unable to find what I need, but with that sense of urgency increasing I find another employee, who in response to my question uses a lot of Espanol I don't know, but also points out into the mall itself.  I wander out into the main mall, where a little more walking around reveals the sign for "Aseos" and a universal symbol for what I am looking for.  Encouraged that I was able to manage on my own without a translator nearby.  Thankful for the little Spanish I know, and for God's help in getting my need met.

Caffeine and Las Aguilas

It is after 3am and I am awake.  Jet lag?  Caffeine I drank with the late night meal I ate?  Just wound up because of the things that are going on here?  Maybe it Is a combination of all of the above. 

Anyway, since I am up, I figured I would take time to post about a place nearby where we have been going to share Christ.  It is at a park right off the Las Aguilas metro stop.  We went here the second night after our arrival in Madrid, and have subsequently gone there a total of four times. 

Let me tell you a little about the park.  It is surrounded by apt. buildings and seems to be a social hub in this neighborhood., In the cool of the evening, people gather at the tiny park nightly.  At 8pm or so, when we have arrived each time, we find older people sitting on park benches, enjoying the breeze, chatting with another person, or just sitting quietly alone.  We see younger people sitting and chatting with their friends or waiting for people to meet.  In the fenced in concrete area that in the US might surround either a handball, tennis, or basketball court, one finds a mini soccer “field” with plenty of older boys playing.  We also see parents pushing their toddlers on swings, or letting them scoot around on the paving stones on their toy scooters.  Though most of the activity and many of the faces have remained the same each time we have gone, each visit we have made has been completely different.  Our first time our gospel presentation was done, with only guitar and flute on music, a couple of testimonies, a street drama, and a gospel message by the Pastor.  Conversations were had with people around and many kept a distance and did not seem receptive.  As we have come back each time, adding something new (puppets, little gifts for the kids, a worship dance, wordless books, different testimonies, etc. we have found more receptivity. 

It must have been the 3^rd night when the puppets were introduced that it seemed like people who had before really kept their distance were moving in, especially during the puppet presentation.  They seemed drawn to the paved area where we were presenting, and welcomed our showing kindness and Christ’s love to the kids.  So many good conversations were had, people were prayed for and prayed with, and some came to pray a prayer for salvation.  Good things were happening as it seemed people were accepting our outreach as part of what was going on in the park each night. 

I really appreciated that approach – going back to the same place for evangelism four times in a week.  It allowed those who came to hear the gospel message multiple times and allowed us to build relationship with some of those who were there, including a homeless man.  It allowed us to see some fruit, and to see the hearts of people change as we became part of that little social space for a while. 

Tonight we were in a new community – Navas del Rey.  While enroute, we spent a few hours siesta-ing by the shore of a lake.   While there, a few of our team began conversation with people who were swimming and sunbathing nearby.  Our drama team presented the drama they had prepared, right there under a highway bridge, just a few feet from the water.  I really marveled at the sensitivity of our team to be willing to take any opportunity to share Christ with others – even to spontaneously do a drama by the side of a graffiti covered underpass while swimmers sat on concrete blocks and a float watching the whole thing.  Some of us prayed while others shared Christ with those who watched the drama and were receptive to listen.  From there we went to the town “square” (really a fountain that was nearly dry) of this very charming little village and presented the gospel through song, puppets, dance, testimony, and preaching as well as in personal conversations.  We had a visit from the police checking to make sure we wouldn't be causing trouble, or violating the law, but the gospel was shared, and seeds were planted. 

http://youtu.be/XkRw2ZdU7zI

Sin Palabras (without words)

Keeping up on blog posts is a challenge when one has a shortage of time to write.  Since Day 1 it has been "Go! Go! Go!" for us here, but God has blessed us with a day of rest on this our seventh day.  


Processing the whole experience personally, I have to say, it has been neat to see our development as a team and our growing cohesiveness as we go along.  Watching team members minister to each other in time of need -- like when fatigue and frustration with things outside of our control puts one of us to tears or close to blowing up, or when one of us is dealing with insomnia, migraines, stomach issues, or news of sudden emergencies on the home front -- has been such an awe inspiring thing.


There are so many experiences I would want to write about, (and I will get to them later)  but will stick with one for now.  One day I sensed God moving particularly strongly in the area of my ministry (I have been doing more music on the streets)  I remember the 3rd night, when we were going to Las Aguilas park for the second time, and I was going to be sharing the invitation in Spanish (with it all written out on paper to read from)  and to play flute and sing worship with Pedro, a guitarist and one of the teens from the church here.  I had one of my bad migraines coming on, and that usually means that I need to lay down immediately and sleep for the night with a heat wrap on my head but I was not going to get that.  I had visions of getting to the park and puking on the side of the newsstand, or not being able to go at all.  My teammates prayed for me, and gradually the headache began to subside.  The time in the park was blessed, but a neat thing happened at the end.  We went and did our group gospel presentation with testimonies, music, and As the others were walking around stopping to share Jesus with others, Pedro felt impressed of the Holy Spirit to walk around with the guitar and just play a repeated chord progression and asked if I wanted to join him on flute improv.  It was a no brainer for me, as the prompting of the Holy Spirit was strong.  The anointing seemed so strong to me, as we walked around just declaring praise and doing what I can only call instrumental intercession to the Lord in that place through our instrumental.  I was playing and a new tune came on my heart which I played to fit the chord progression, a tune of intercession.  As I was playing the words that came to me matching the tune going through my head were "Rain (Reign) down". Maybe it sounds odd, but I had a sense of interceding in instrumental praise that night as with my flute I was impressed to ask God to come with intensity and move upon the hearts of those present.  It flowed so smoothly with everything else that was going on.   I have found that there is something so powerful about declaring praise through instruments.  Not sure if I can articulate it well, but I am reminded so often of  Psalm 150:4 "...praise him with the strings and flute", and I  had such a sense of how powerful praising Him with instruments is.  Even without words, God, in His word, has ordained that we can praise Him through instruments, and I feel so convicted that God uses the instrumental praise to work in hearts in ways that words cannot.  He called us to do it in Psalm 150 and has ordained that it might lead hearts to be open to Him, that "everything that has breath praise the LORD." (v.6)  Leading worship with a heart to draw all who have breath to praise of the LORD is indubitably evangelism at the core.  So amazed at God's ways.