Spain iTeam - Truly Wonderful

WOW! What an experience this awesome, God ordained mission was.
For any of you who are not sure what Spain iTeam is let me begin by telling you. One of our great STM coordinators had a burden to see those individuals who were not able to be a part of a team mission trip to have an opportunity to still experience the value, benefit and joy of a short term mission. So what he came up with was iTeams.

These are short term mission teams that would be made up of individuals from different churches, cities and even countries. So from May 1-12 I had the privilege of leading the first ever NLI iTeam into the great country of Spain.

14 gifted, talented and uniquely wired individuals who mostly did not know each other were brought together by a common desire to serve the church in Spain and see lives changed by the love of Jesus. This was a truly unique and memorable experience for myself and the others involved.

We spent 12 days in Spain working with and ministering to the church in 4 different cities in Spain. God really put together a great team of individuals who all had their hearts and attitude aligned with their heavenly Father. Two of those guys (Shawn Chapman & Chris Prees) are good friends of mine, and contributed so much to the team, so that made it extra special for me. It was great to have you guys out there serving the kingdom together.

Some of the highlights for me in the 12 days we were there were:

Ministering to around 150 women in a prison outside Madrid. They were so blessed by us being there and moved by what God had to say to them. 38 ladies responded to the message and many tears where captured by God that evening.

Spending an evening with some young couples who are leaders in the church in Toledo. We had a chance to share some wisdom with them & equip them with some practical tools for their marriages. However the best part was praying for each couple individually, God really spoke to them through us and encouraged and edified them with His words of love.

Being able to preach in the church in Cordoba on the last Sunday morning. God really showed up, challenging the people to step out in faith and allow Him to equip and enable them to reach the many who are without Jesus in Spain. Calling them to share His love, mercy, reconciliation and the truth of living an abundant life in relationship with Him.

So we had a lot of fun and I felt really blessed to have this opportunity, joining with all these amazing individuals from Canada, England and Spain to share all that we had to offer.

I hope this inspires you. Maybe this is something for you to consider? If so please let me know as I would love to see any or all of you have an experience like this, it truly is wonderful!

Blessings

Ronnie +

Happy 30th Birthday Ronnie!!!!!

I would just like to take the opportunity to say a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my fabulous husband! In honor and celebration of his 30 years of life I would like to thank him for being the man that he is! Thank you for being such an amazing husband and awesome father! You have led our family with great faith, strength and love. You bring soo much laughter and fun into our home and lives and we are so blessed to have a man like you to lead us through and together in life! May God richly bless this next year of life and the many to follow! We love you! Happy 30th you old man!!!(haha) In light of Ronnie being a big kid at heart and being born in the 70s, I planned a 70's birthday bash for him this past Tuesday. We played lots of goofy games (space hoppers races, hoola hoop contest, pin-the-afro-on-Ronnie, Twister, etc), ate lots of cake and partied in good old 70s style (clothes that is...). Here are some snapsfrom the celebration.

A Trip Down Memory Lane!

Trip Down Memory Lane

(Click on Photo to take a trip down memory lane!)

More from the party...

Ronnie's 30 Party

(Click on this photo to view more groovy photos of Ronnie's 70's bash!)

Cycling Expedition

Mom's been going on about wanting to take me on a bike ride, something about waiting for her bike, fixing her bike after it fell off the car onto the highway on the way home from the shop and then hitching my trailer up to her bike...So I guess we had finally heard the end of this whole saga and were finally ready to roll (literally!) So it was Monday last, a bank holiday and mom had arranged a bike trip with Judith and we were all to go cycling to Coombe Abbey and stop for a tea or something I figured (I've learned that this is what ladies like to do with their spare time!) So we were off, cycling to the lovely land of lush green fields, stream of swans and gardens of glory! However all of a sudden I feel this rattle tat tat, and suddenly the stability I once felt beneath me was gone! Mom came to a screeching halt and began muttering " oh dear, oh no!" Well the nut on her back spoke bearing had come loose and my trailer hitch had followed suit! (fortunately my trailer had a double safety, or so mom says!) We were not impressed to say the least! Anyway Judith had to cycle all the way back home to get the car, and that was that. The cycling trip as we knew it was over! But while Judith cycled home, I got to enjoy my snack and drink, so life wasn't all that bad for me. Then I just got a ride home with Judith while mom cycled uphill all the way home without even getting to Coombe Abbey for tea! I'm not sure why, but as soon as we got home, mom packaged up the trailer back into its box, and now I sit in a bucket seat right behind mom...at least we still get to go biking, I think I could get used to this cycling thing, after all, mom says I'd better!