Worldly Holiness

Last Sunday (now 2 Sundays ago) I had the wonderful opportunity of being part of the first ordination service in Spain for the Covenant church. The Sunday service of ordination was the culmination of three intense days of interviewing, praying and discussing issues of leadership, ordination and ministry in this context of my new home—Spain! A curious piece, very curious I might add, was the fact that all but two of our seven candidates were from Latin America. This is a trend that I had read about but only began to grasp as I listened to the stories and got to know our new church leaders in Spain. I had the privilege of being with this group as invited guest to an add-hoc ordination committee. Wow, what a blessing. I got goose bumps as I listened to our youngest candidate share of her vision to serve in medical missions in India. Her story of faith and obedience put me to shame. Her father and mother, also involved in separate interviews, had established an agency to support Latin American missionaries and were already supporting in part twelve missionary couples serving in different places around the world. Another candidate who had served in Brazil, as well as Argentina, Italy, and Spain, gave me a shirt from Brazil for the ordination service. I had not planned well in my packing for the trip. A fellow missionary loaned me a tie he had purchased in Africa. There I stood in the ordination service, reading scripture in Spanish, wearing a shirt from Brazil, a tie from Kenya, and underwear from the United States. Maybe I should just say I had an American passport.

All of this struck me. This is the work God has called me to at this time. He has called servants from many cultures to serve him in proclaiming the Gospel to many places. What a privilege. It is an exciting time to be alive. Let me paint a picture of what God seems to be up to. Think of my wardrobe last Sunday as a metaphor. Latin Americans [my shirt from Brazil, the candidates in the interviewing] are being called to serve in places like Africa and India [my tie from Kenya and story of Laura], spending time in Spain for further training and experience alongside missionaries, in the context of the local church in Spain. I am not the lone American missionary in an important mission with the Mosaics Project [see Mosaics Bio], but rather part of a larger thing that God is doing in the world. I am in partnership with others. I really, really thank God for that. It is such a privilege and honor. It is also very fascinating and freeing to know that I step in to the larger picture of what God is doing, to play a part and depend on Him—and you! I am here because of people´s faithful prayer and financial support. This seems to be the pattern God uses when he is doing mission in the world. Read Romans 15:22-29 today. It is not exactly my story but it is very similar. Pray for us, that we may fulfill what God has called us to in these days. Pray that God will give us an open door with our focus groups here in Barcelona.

Mil Gracias!

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