Once upon a time, there was a valiant young man who ventured to the far ends of the earth to help work in a church in Spain. This is that tale and it is filled with many great stories which will make you want more.
The beginning of my placement starts in a small rural town called Los Nietos, which is five minutes from the city of Cartagena. I am staying with a lovely couple called Miguel and Vivian. Miguel is a Spanish pastor with many years experience who works with his wife, who is English. Hopefully I will be able to draw upon their experiences and learn how to cope with the many cultural differences Irene and I face.
I arrived on the 6th of Jan, and we had a guided tour of the church which is being built in Miguel's back garden. He has faced great opposition in building the church from a neighbour, as he complains he is contravening Spanish building regs. He is not and Miguel has many fascinating stories to tell about it all.
He also wants me to wire up the electrics, which look terribly dodgy I might add. Spain has a funny idea of what is deemed safe.
Miguel and Vivian are responsible for three churches, an Englsih speaking church, a Spanish speaking church and a gyspy church. This will be a great oppotunity to compare the cultures, the style and how they each 'do' church. I have only been here for one day, and yet I feel that I will be very busy.
Los Nietos is located on the Spanish coast and it is a hunny pot for retired English couples. That is me enjoying the beautiful scenary and the 'El Sol'. The sea behind me is called the mar menor which means 'minor sea' and it is a large cove with several islands in it. Los Nietis when translated into English means 'the grandson'.
When I had said my goodbyes to Irene and her family, unpacked my bags and tested my new bed, Miguel, Vivi and I headed off to visit a Gypsy family. Miguel is disciplining a man called Juan to co-pastor his church and lead the gypsy church I presume.
I had heard many things about the gypsy people, but I did not fully understand what the deal was. There seems to be a little animosity between the 'Spanish' and the 'Gypsy'. To be honest, they are all the same to me, they are all tanned, sleep in the afternoon and are really fiery.
That is Juan standing up, and we are in his house. The man in the background is Louse and he is a profssional flamenco performer. He is amazing and he writes his own worship music which has to be heard. I will record something by him and stick it on here.
At first I was really scared to meet these people, and I did not dare to make eye contact from what I was told. They are a great family and extremely friendly. I have also been asked to preach at their church, which is a massive privilage and very rare for a non-gyspy.
I have had many chances to preach while I am over here, in many different churches ranging from all shapes and sizes. This is Miguels church which he is building in his back garden. My highlight however would have to be in a Gypsy church. I say church but I really mean a garage in an abundant factory. It was amazing to preach there with my translator because it just shows that you do not need to have a big or fancy church to worship God. You do not need tradition or to wear a suit to preach. All you need is a bunch of people with a genuine, humble heart to praise and worship God. This has to be the highlight of the trip so far.
Spain is known for many things but I am not sure it is known for its killer caterpillars. These little bruts build many nests in any pine tree they can find. These nests, once hatched produce dozens of caterpillars that will follow each other in a long procession. It is amazing to see, but if one was to touch one of these creatures then one may erupt in a gigantic rash. It has also been known for people to die from them.
This is a picture of a nest beginning to hatch. This picture represents death on a stick.
Miguel and I after this then headed out to meet the Pastors in the area. Miguel is the presedent of the Evangelical pastor alliance and generally only the senior pastors attend the meetings. However, since I do not speak a word of this intorroable language, I was allowed to stay in. It was also quite a good day since Jesus showed up to the meeting. This is what Jesus looks like and he is a Baptist minister in Cartegena.
Apparently, the only way to kill these pesky critters is to stick them in a hot furnace. This is really not a good idea since their hairs become airborne and irritate everybody. It was so hot doing this but I was the one who was left laughing when I was the only one who was not covered in a red rash.
I decided to explore the surrounding area and see what Los Neitos had to offer. I then came across this house and found that the owners had mistakenly used the kitchen tiles to decorate the outside of the house. I wounder what they used inside?
That is Miguel in his office. Miguel is the president of the neighbourhood association. This is a fantastic way to reach out to a Spanish community which is very isolated toward outsiders or non-Catholic. The previous priest made the town's children burn the bibles which Miguel had given them.
I arrived on the 6th of Jan, and we had a guided tour of the church which is being built in Miguel's back garden. He has faced great opposition in building the church from a neighbour, as he complains he is contravening Spanish building regs. He is not and Miguel has many fascinating stories to tell about it all.
