Campaign!!

These past few weeks have been...well, how can I put it. Insane? We've been preparing for and now are engaging in what OM calls the summer campaign. People from all over the world met in Rome last week, doing evangelism workshops and practicing some evangelism in the city. During that week, we also had a local campaign here in Ferrol. Since EVERYTHING slows down in Spain during the summer, the evangelical Christians do their evangelizing during that time. So we've been preparing for the hordes of people who would be living in our house and yard. Yes, I said yard. Haha.

We got a team in from Zaragoza and the Canary Islands (both in Spain) a week and a half ago. They all crammed in our house and our yard in tents (girls inside, boys outside)....and did I mention we only have one bathroom in the house? Showers are a fun challenge...haha. :) Although life in Galicia has gotten a whole lot crazier since they arrived, I've honestly REALLY enjoyed their presence here. They're a very happy, goofy group...which was something I needed. Even though I don't understand them all the time, it's been nice to just laugh and be a little silly with them. They even put fake poop in my shower one time! :) We've been doing evangelism here in Ferrol this week, through many different venues. Mostly through children's events in one of the town plazas. We've had puppets, crafts, balloon animals, clowns, dances...and the kids have actually come! I had the chance to talk to some people, and it's funny, but they're not so opposed to the evangelical church when we're doing something for the kids.

We also walked around Ferrol in pairs, passing out information about the church (the flyers laid out the gospel simply as well), and invitations to a free movie night at the church. We handed out thousands of flyers, and had only one non-church member show up. That can be discouraging, but that's how ministry is here in Spain. Visible fruit of your ministry is very slow and you have to be patient and faithful regardless.

We got another team in on Saturday as well...in addition to the team we already had. The new team had been in Rome with the international OM conference, and had spent a week in Madrid with the missionaries there (the people that Lydia and I were with in June). This team is all international. We have people from Chicago to Hong Kong to Holland to Germany. All over. Our house is even more crowded, and communication is even more fun than normal...haha. This morning, I found myself translating Spanish into English for a Dutch guy. And I'm not even that great in Spanish. I missed a lot, I know..haha. Poor guy.

The team that is here will be helping churches in other towns, rather than Ferrol. I haven't had a chance to minister with them when they go out, because I have had to do intern stuff in Naron, as well as prepare to leave tomorrow. :( But I'll post more debriefing thoughts later.