Instead, here we are.

Tomorrow should have marked our first week in Spain.

I have wanted to write about the past few weeks for well, the past few weeks. It started with wanting to share about our last few days here, with family and friends. I wanted to talk about our commissioning service. I wanted to talk about being a little nervous but mostly excited for this big move.

But instead, here we are- at home- in North Carolina.

The truth is, I knew for weeks that we were not leaving on November 5^th. It never seemed real because we didn’t have our VISAs. I knew without them, we couldn’t leave. So, driving to D.C. Monday morning, I wasn’t worried about getting home to get packed or saying final goodbyes. I knew that we were not leaving the next day. Still, when the man at the desk said that our VISAs had not yet been approved, my heart dropped. I cried all the way to the post office several blocks away. We turned over our passports and an overnight shipping envelope and headed out of D.C. almost as quickly as we arrived.

As frustrating as the situation is, it isn’t the situation that has me most upset. What is most frustrating is that I don’t really want to talk about it. I don’t mean to be rude, I promise, but it IS frustrating. Even though I had that gut feeling, I was still day dreaming about seeing Spain again, but this time as our new home. But, now we are waiting in anticipation for an email to appear in our inboxes one morning with the much desired news. And really, the anticipation kills me sometimes.

But then there are times when I hear the most simple and encouraging words. The seventh grader who says he is praying for us. The friend who says that while she is praying for the process, she is glad that we will be around for a few more weeks. Or the one who says nothing but just hugs the life out of me.

In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a huge deal. We don’t have a pressing deadline to be in Spain. We have somewhere to stay and money in our accounts. It isn’t as if our applications have been denied- they just haven’t been reached yet. We are still in the one to three month time frame so I’m really not too anxious.

I want to be in Spain. I want to meet the rest of our team. I want to find our place in the team. I want to be in language school so we can communicate with the people around us. I want to be where the Lord has led us.

But, here we are. Still waiting and all is well. The Lord is still good. He is still faithful. He still hears our prayers and knows our hearts. We know His timing is just right. We know His intentions for us are good. We know He has spoken to our hearts and His word will not return void.

We know these things and in faith we are living in His truth. He has led us this far and He will not leave us. Right now, I believe, wholeheartedly, that He is growing our patience. This inconvenience is minor in comparison to the suffering in places around the world. But, it breaks my heart to not be in Spain.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:4

I know that as I wait at the feet of our Father, the Holy Spirit will give a new confidence in in this time. 

...I go to Spain.

Learning and growing in our calling has been a process. It has been a process of learning to sacrifice, learning to trust God and each other, and learning to stop and listen. It has also been a process of growing as a couple, growing as students, and growing in Christ. 

As we reached the point where we knew God had called us into overseas missionary service, that was where the real seeking began. We had to wait for God to present the place. We looked at Great Britain, Colombia, and Ireland, but the doors continued to close. God laid a burden on our heart for Spain, but, as we have learned, we have been burdened for the lost in other places as well, so we could not take this as confirmation, but as another avenue to seek an opening.

Through the next couple of months, we received confirming moments and began to set our hearts on this place. The confirmation that I truly needed came through a desire to read God's Word while I was at work on September 14, 2012. I was flipping through the Bible, not really sure what I was seeking, but just knowing that God had prepared something for me. In my turning, I stopped and began to read.


"But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain." Romans 15:23-24 


There it was, simply laid before me. I have read through the Bible cover to cover several times, and generally a passage like this would be one I would read and move on. I know this little bit of Scripture doesn't seem like much, but it was to me. I have been involved in some form of ministry for a few years now (although as Christians, we are all in ministry). For a few years, I was a youth pastor. Since then, I have served as an Admissions Director for a Christian University, giving me more opportunities to reach out to people than I could have asked for. 

I have loved the time I have served in ministry here, and I have met so many amazing people who have been of great encouragement in this calling pursuit. Now, God has called my wife and I to a new ministry - a ministry to a population that is starving for, while also resisting, the Gospel. Check out this article to see just how resistant Spain truly is. A population where most consider themselves Catholic, yet only 10% regularly attend a worship service. As I've mentioned before, 47 million people live in Spain, yet less than 1% claim to be evangelical Christians. Spain has some tough soil to plant on.

Anyways, back to the passage. While there is much work left to do here, God is revealing that this is not where He wants us to stay. So here we go, we're moving on to Spain. 

Sadly, I know that we have not seen many of you who read this blog in some time. We hope to do that as we continue through the process. We want to visit you, we want to talk with you, we want your prayers and support, and we want to build our relationships here. I am learning, as I speak with veteran missionaries, that our relationships with you will be more and more important while we are on the field.

If you have not already, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. We'll start sending out regular newsletters soon, and we want to make sure we are sending information to the right address and email. Also, our OMS profile page is now live, so check that out. 

As always, thank you for your prayers and support. Mel and I are trying to open ourselves up as much as possible for God to use us freely. We'll both be finishing school a semester early, so that is requiring more work in a shorter amount of time. We'll be starting Spanish language training soon and scheduling appointments to develop partners for ministry. It's going to be a busy year as we hope to be on the field early fall 2013, but God is faithful. 

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of a small baptism service that just happened Tuesday where a lady named Veronika wanted to profess her faith through baptism after a Sunday morning invitation. This happened as a result of one of the house churches that were planted by the team in Spain. As Mel said in her last post, it is great knowing our assignment (Vision Sierra Oeste church planting team), and knowing that efforts already established are working.

Our Purpose and Our Passion

“I set myself on fire, and people come to see me burn.” – John Wesley

This quote has come to my mind a lot recently. When I think about it, my immediate mental interpretation is that I would certainly run to the person on fire, but I would probably bring a hose. It’s not a statement that you generally hear someone say, but this was Wesley’s response to a question about why such large crowds of people would travel for miles to hear him preach.

Wesley had lived much of his life clinging to an outward Christianity - the Christianity where the works you did were the focus. He said that he hoped to be considered a good Christian by following three basic principles: “(1) Not being so bad as other people, (2) Having still a kindness for religion, and (3) Reading the Bible, going to church, and saying my prayers.” To have an enthusiastic passion for Christ was a distant concept, because salvation came largely from the works you did.

Mel and I came together with two separate thoughts of how our lives would go, but through the process of becoming one flesh, we have spent time with God trying to find our combined purpose. This quote comes to mind because at times it has been difficult for me to find the burning passion of following Christ. I have been in ministry for a few years, and in that time, I have had highs and lows, but I don’t feel that anyone ever rushed to watch me burn. Until recently, I still had this feeling that the spark was missing from my relationship with God.

On a recent trip to Medellin, Colombia, I found my passion. In an individual prayer time, I had to break away from my wife so that God could speak to me individually. As many of you know, Mel has had a passion for missionary work since she was 15 years old, and our marriage had left both of us confused about the calling on our lives. I was resisting the combining of our gifts and abilities and Mel had times where she wondered if her calling was lost or misunderstood.

I realized during this prayer time that I need to quit being resistant and just be open to His leading, so I asked – “God, what do you want for us to do?” And then the answer came – “Go.” I’ll be the first to say that God doesn't speak audibly much, but I think sometimes it takes a life changing moment for Him to clear His throat. In that moment, I found my passion. In that moment, I found the burning desire to follow Christ with all that I have. In that moment, I found hope and a purpose.

After much prayer and conversation, Mel and I took this message and redirected our path. Questions began to surface – Where? When? What organization should we go with? How long? What about our friends and family? – but these questions seemed minor in light of God’s plan. If He has told us to go, then he’ll reveal the path to get there.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

A couple of weeks ago, Mel and I went to Indiana to interview with One Mission Society. We had been working through the application process for several months and had finally reached this pivotal point. We spent a day getting to know the inner workings of OMS and the expectations placed on us as missionaries. We met people from different offices and learned more about the philosophy of ministry that One Mission Society has had for over 100 years. Today, we received a phone call notifying us that we were approved as Missionaries with One Mission Society!

Over the last few months, God has laid Spain upon our hearts. This is the country where we feel that God is calling us to serve. 1% of the population of Spain consider themselves Evangelical Christians. 1% of 46 million people… and this is where faith comes into play. How exactly does around 500 thousand people reach out to over 45 million others with the Gospel of Christ? “I set myself on fire, and people come to see me burn.” The Gospel of Christ is attractive if there are followers that are serving Him passionately. I want to be one of those followers, and I believe that passion comes from purpose. With Christ, we all have a purpose, and I’m excited that Mel and I have reached the point of understanding that purpose.

More updates will follow, and I believe Mel will be posting something really soon. If you have any questions about the process or any questions for us, feel free to post a comment or to email me at reese.jdr@gmail.com.