Here is a summary of my trip to Spain and Morocco.
First of all our flight to Spain went pretty well. On the Wednesday of June 15, 2005, we flew from Portland to Cincinnati, then from Cincinnati to Paris, and then to Malaga from there.
We were really worn out from the flight and jet lag so our hosts let us nap for just a bit and then had us stay up the rest of the day in order to be able to sleep better at night.
Nothing was on the agenda except to stay up that evening. So they brought us to an old Moorish fortress, which was really cool. Had walls, towers, and a dungeon. Afterwards we went back to the home and had glorious meal prepared by people from the church.
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| Me when I had hair. |
We spent the weekend there, putting on a seminar with worship and services in the evening and workshops in the afternoon. Travis and I ended up teaching a workshop on the role of the worship team where we discussed issues such as unity, resolving conflict, submitting to the team leaders, etc.
That evening's service was powerful and had a couple major words for the church. One was the reconciliation of generations where there was some hurt between the old and the young. The other was on bringing the arts of Andalusia into the church and redeeming them. Things like dance, flamenco and that sort of thing.
Sunday morning we did that church's service and ministered to people. Then me and Zara and Zarahi ended up going to speak to the youth which was pretty cool. We gave testimonies and then talked to them a bit. The kids there are so much like American kids.
That afternoon I and a couple others from the team spent the afternoon with a couple that was involved in the worship. There was a language barrier, so the others had to interpret. It was really great being able to have a conversation, because before I mostly made smalltalk, since my Espanol is so bad.
They were really great and I felt very refreshed there especially in the artistic atmosphere. The view of town, his pictures over the wall, and his CD playing, which he gave to the members of the team.
That evening we did a final service at the church in Malaga. I was amazed at how much the people there loved us and gave gifts. I really didn't understand all the royal treatment as I felt like I was mainly just doing ministry work as usual. But apparently the seminar and ministry at the church was successful, and I'm really glad that they were blessed.
The morning afterwards we said our goodbyes and met our guide who then took us into Morocco. Morocco was quite an experience to say the least.
The ferry ride was really nice and we could see the Rock of Gibraltar. Then when we got to the border crossing, it went as smooth as ever. We were praying of course and so were intercessors back home. Hardly any hassles or searches or anything. It was a great start.
After getting in we went up to a high hill and worshipped where a worker said it was okay. We got out our guitars and had a powerful time worshiping and interceding for Morocco.
The hill had a great view of the city. Garbage was strewn around and the sun beat overhead. One person described it aptly as being like a Muslim Mexico. Years ago I went on a missions trip to Mexico and I remember it being quite a bit like that even at the border crossing.
We started near the border at Tanger. The hotel wasn't exactly the Hilton, but we made due. That evening we saw the town and beach. Our guide wanted us to relax and realize this was a pretty safe area with really nice people.
We went up to an old lookout point with a great view of the ocean. We ended up going to a restaurant and having tangine I think. I got very sick for a few minutes. I had gone a while without drinking water and then once water was served I downed a whole cup of cold water at once. Not a good idea, but I felt better after a little while.
Throughout the trip we went on long drives to various cites and met workers who shared their faith through relationships and community service where public testimony and conversion weren't allowed.
We heard inspiring stories, worshiped in their homes, and ministered to and prayed for the workers and Moroccan Christians. These were powerful meetings where the Holy Spirit really ministered to and refreshed these people. They were very thankful for what we were doing, and we were glad to do whatever we could to help and strengthen these people who were doing the real work.
Prayers back home were definitely felt as various potential mishaps were avoided. One incident was when our guide's hotel room was broken into. His camera was looked through, but there wasn't really much that was suspicious. No pics of workers or anything was on the camera and the backpack with an important bulletin with info on workers was left with someone else.
Other than that were no major incidents, though we might not know everything that was going on and the various ways God was protecting us (especially with a crazy Spanish driver who talked his way out of a ticket ☺ ). This was really due to the grace of God.
As we travelled to different cities, the hotel we stayed at got gradually nicer. We wanted the full experience from the poor lifestyle to the more upper class. Sleeping was rather difficult for me in that climate, but a couple of hotels had a/c which was really nice.
Calls to prayer would go on five times a day and sometimes I'd hear it around 4 am. It was a very surreal feeling when being woken out of a dream to the middle of the night with a call to prayer.
We also did some touring and site seeing. We saw the King's Tomb near Rabat which was very extravagant and beautiful. We also saw the medina in Marrakech which was quite an experience in itself.
The crowded town square was quite a site where there were all kinds of shows and sales people. It was very stereotypical Arab like something from a movie. Storytellers, snakes, Arabic drums and pipes playing exotic music, and food stands.
The medina was a huge maze of small shops with all kind of wares and aggressive salespeople. Mopeds, donkeys, and even a van force
their way through making us have to get out of the way. It was easy to get lost there if you're not careful so we made special effort to stick together.
We learned how to bargain at least to a more reasonable price. I ended up getting a strange twin pipe type of instrument that I never did really learn how to play. It was like a another world and time. I loved it, even though the spiritual atmosphere had much to be desired.
We ended up eating outside there where the waiters were so funny, and the food was pretty good. The night before I believe it was (I would lose track of days throughout the trip especially in Morocco), we ate at a Syrian restaurant, with hookah pipe smoking, dim lights, and live music.
I thought it looked like something from a spy movie. It was a cool place for young people to hang out at and date, and apparently was pretty controversial at first to fundamentalist Muslims, but Morocco tends to get less and less conservative as time goes by.
The music had a couple singers accompanied by a synthesizer playing electronic ethnic sounding music. From what I heard these keyboards were especially adapted for non-western type scales which sometimes go between our usual 12-tones.
The food was excellent and the main plate had something similar to a fajita, with very good spiced meat.
Moroccan food in general was good although I was often rather sick especially in the heat. Vegetables are fresh, and meats are stewed with spices. What I really loved was the nus-nus (Moroccan coffee), and the mint tea, which was the general social drink of Morocco.
Toward the end we also saw Roman ruins which had been there from the 3rd century. You could still see designs on the floor, and where the royal rooms were and something like a senate hall.
We wandered about a bit and got good pics there, but the sun was beating like crazy overhead, so we needed to be careful of how long we were out there.
The highlight of the trip was where we had a dinner and social gathering at a Muslim home. The worker had established a relationship with the family and we were invited to share in the gathering and sing our music.
We sang worship songs, but in a way that wouldn’t be offensive to them. It was more like we would have a great time singing, and then the worker would be able to explain things about what the songs were saying. They were very open-minded about it, and when we did "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord" in French some were singing along!
Unfortunately I was feeling very sick from the crowded, stuffy room, not having enough water, and the whole vertigo feeling of being in a very different setting than normal.
Despite this I was so glad to have been a part of this experience that I can remember and tell others about, as well as being able to pray for the family in the future. And by having us there it really helped the workers in their relationship to the family.
As the week ended we crossed the border into Ceuta, still in Africa on the south side of the Med, but part of Spain. Worlds entirely changed as we said our goodbyes to the guides, and met our new hosts at Betel, a ministry that reaches out to drug addicts in Spain and other European countries.
We rode in a van on a rode climbing a great hill. On one of the turns was a fantastic view of the town and beach which made us gasp in awe.
When we arrived at the center, we were given refreshments where a breeze flowed and there were such beautiful trees. It was so different from the desert type climate we were in before. As I looked out at the gorgeous view of the sea I felt like crying after everything we had been through in Morocco.
Now we were in a place of rest and refreshing. We had a meeting for our team the day afterwards where we prayed for one another and were refreshed.
During those three days we did some meetings at Betel and a church in the city where a couple churches joined together. During the morning devotion service at Betel I was able teach a message on using the Word to help overcome addictions.
This was good for me, since I normally have a hard time making presentations. There were words spoken over me regarding teaching before we left, and this was a time of being released in a different area of ministry along with the workshop in Malaga.
The last day in Ceuta we spent the afternoon at some sites and prayed for Spain regarding its history and bad experiences with things done in the name of Christianity.
First we toured an old fort where soldiers gave us a lot of historical information. Then we came to the statue Generalissimo Franco had put up for himself. Then we came to a high place where we could see Spain, Ceuta, Morocco, and Gibraltar. Franco had cast his footprints here as well.
We sang worship songs and interceded in English and Spanish for a while, praying for Spain and Morocco and the spiritual situations they were in
. We sang Eugene's song especially written for the trip, "El Gozo del Señor" (The joy of the Lord is our strength).
After jamming on the song for a while, the manager of the site came and invited us to sing in the Catholic chapel which had great acoustics. This was significant to sing this in this chapel where possibly Franco himself had prayed. Here we were singing about the joy of the Lord being our strength after years of fighting and bloodshed.
After spending our last night in Ceuta we took the ferry back to Europe and drove to a little beach town called Barbate. Here we a great couple who arranged for a flat for us.
We spent the next day at the beach and a couple of restaurants. The next day we travelled to an old town on a hill, where you could see the white houses from afar. Here there were a lot of old influences from Arabic culture, flamenco art and old Catholic décor.
The town was very resistant to the Gospel and the one church building we saw had the religious decorations and symbols taken out and was used as an auditorium.
When we entered we saw a bunch of tarot cards lying on the ground. What a welcome. I started feeling rather queasy around the occultic stuff. We ended up singing a praise song then and there and then went on.
The architecture was beautiful and really preserved the feeling of an old culture. White houses, small roads not built originally for cars, a castle and various pictures and saints and that type of thing. Now this felt like Spain and was less modernized like the other towns and cities.
We went to the town courtyard and sang praise songs in Spanish and English. Basically our team believed in worship as an act of intercession, so much of our ministry involved worship and taking it to the nations. This was significant to praise God aloud in a difficult area of the Gospel. The townspeople around were rather indifferent to it, but spiritually I believe it was effective.
We then spent some time visiting the Arabic community and castle. We also got to see dancers practicing, and then did some shopping in the various little flamenco shops. I ended up absolutely loving this place, as I enjoy the little towns that preserve European culture. I truly felt this was a good representation of Andalusia and its heritage.
We came back to Barbate, and that evening we did an open-air meeting at the beach that was supported by a couple of churches in the area. We basically went through our Spanish songs and gave words and testimonies, while the local Christians talked to people or handed out tracks.
For a little while all was right with the world as I played my guitar on a beach of Spain, feeling the warm breeze blowing in late at night. People around town would come and hang out, checking out the music and everything.
Music and worship is such a great way of spreading the Gospel, as people love music and tend to be receptive to it especially when it's done in love. The idea here was that it would be a good way of supporting the local church here who would have a door for outreach and to tell about the three churches that were there.
It helped to unify those churches as well which was a major part of our ministry. These local ministers and Christians out in these regions are doing the real work of the Gospel. Our attitude was to do whatever we could do to help and strengthen these churches which would in turn be a part of the harvest.
After this we went to a port town called Algeciras. Here we did a meeting at a hotel where several churches in the area gathered. Here Eugene preached and we did more ministry to unify the churches and leaders as we worshiped with them and prayed for them.
That night the guys stayed at an apartment while the girls stayed at the Betel rehab center where they had a center for women. They ended up having a great time with those women previously on drugs and that sort of thing and were able to minister to them.
Those women had a heart for the lost and would continually sing in the night, calling in the broken from the streets. It ended up being one of the most powerful nights of the trip for some of the team.
That morning we did a Sunday morning meeting at the Betel center, and then headed off back to Malaga.
When we arrived with our original hosts Malaga, it had the feeling of our trip being done and we were back home. We told stories with our friends there, but then of course we had to say our goodbyes. We spent a brief night there then had to catch an early flight to Paris.
Our flight back home ended up being a series of mishaps as weather kept delaying our flights. After 26 hours we came back exhausted, but relieved to have gotten home that day on July 4, 2005.
I am very glad to have gone on this trip as I believe good works were accomplished to strengthen the churches of Spain and Morocco and in our lives as well. I now know how to pray effectively for Morocco and Spain, and my eyes were opened to many things.
God also released in me a gift of teaching which though hard for me I can learn as I go, and am going to be used in this area at my church to help raise up musicians and worship leaders. I also have a heart for the nations abroad as well as my own local church.
I also feel a need to learn the Spanish language even though it is difficult for me and is coming slowly. The past few years I've been placed in various ministry situations with Spanish speaking people, whether in Spain, Mexico years back, or back home in Oregon. I want to get my eyes off myself and I feel it's time to work on it. I believe if I learn the language God will use this one day.
This trip will be something to remember my whole life, and I think won't be a passing thing. I love Spain and wish to go back someday, but ministry and God's call on my life will continue whether or not I ever go back.
Not the end...
Nota: Es interesante que desde el año que escribí esto he enseñado muchas músicos en la iglesia. También he aprendido español a un nivel intermedio. Continuo tener un corazón hacía la iglesia local y los naciones mientres sirvo en Truelife en servicios inglés y español.
Nota: Es interesante que desde el año que escribí esto he enseñado muchas músicos en la iglesia. También he aprendido español a un nivel intermedio. Continuo tener un corazón hacía la iglesia local y los naciones mientres sirvo en Truelife en servicios inglés y español.
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