Pilgrimage—Welcome to the Mission Field

(In front of the Malaga train station at 5:30 am with “Tony” our new friend and Uber driver)

We woke up at 3:45 am to Uber to the train station and board the train to Madrid.

It was the first day living out of our backpacks .….the first day of no make-up, hair dryer or curling iron. Instead of a groan and an “ugh!” I endeavored to embrace a gleeful cry of “Simplicity!”

We learned our first rules of pilgrimage:

Be open to different ways of doing things. First of all, how we do coffee. No, “to go” sipping it all morning. No, “Venti”. In Europe you order your coffee and stand and drink it, espresso strength and size, and then move on to the rest of your day.

Stay curious - as you’ll have to stretch and learn at every turn! From train stations (for these country folk from little Allegan, MI) to new cities, “Hello, Madrid!”, to not knowing the language and all the shops closing for hours in the middle of the day for siesta.

And so began our first day on the foreign mission field!

Did you know that when Bryan and I married we planned to go to Jimmy Swaggert’s Bible College (you middle agers will remember him:) and onto the mission field? But that was not to be as that was the year his sexual scandal imploded taking the Bible college with it!

Over the next 4 weeks, our prayer is that God will work deeply in us and open doors with other pilgrims/travelers from all over the world to talk about Jesus. Can you imagine the conversations that are possible when you have hours walking on a trail through the Spanish countryside, sharing “pilgrim dinners”, and sleeping dormitory style in albergues with other pilgrims from all over the world?

Speaking of being a missionary, I’m listening to Bryan talk with our Uber driver right now. He’s so good at talking to new people. This going to be fun!

From the backseat I’m praying for “Tony” our driver, whether the name of Jesus comes up or not, that the Spirit will work in his heart.

We’re always saying we want opportunities to talk to others about Jesus. Well, instead of waiting for people from all over the world to come to Allegan, Michigan, the Lord has given us an opportunity for us to go to them!

Speak to each of us today, Lord, and open our eyes to those you place along our paths whether in our hometowns or thousands of miles away.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus,

Lori

If you’re looking for other resources to grow in your intimacy with God and others, you can visit our website, thesanctuaryatbearcreek.com.