Pray with Us

All those celebrations (see previous blog post) make it sound like life is all hunky dory, huh? Well, I don't want you to think that everything is coming up roses. Yes, we are extremely grateful for many things in our life and work right now and we want to give praise for those. But we also have situations and circumstances that are hard and that we are struggling through. Please join us in praying through these:

• Our team continues to struggle with the loss of two of our teammates as they have moved to Atlanta to serve in a different capacity. While we are happy for their new season, it has been a dramatic blow to us in Spain. Every day, we realize just how deep this wound is for us, both emotionally and for our work. Add to that the fact that we also suffered the loss of 3 volunteers and we are down significantly in our capacity to schedule events and serve people in the community center. Because of this loss in workforce coupled with several pandemic-related changes outside our control, our team is now forced to reassess what La Mesa can and cannot do and how to move forward. It also forces us to reassess and reformulate budgets and schedules, goals and strategic plans. While we remain true to our vision and mission here in Antequera, we are struggling to figure out our options and how to scale back until we can rebuild our team and our volunteer base. We are also trying to think outside the box... what else can we do within our current situation? What other ideas should be on the table? What other ways can we stay true to our values and our vision and mission and serve our population and community? How do we navigate this as a team and remain strong and committed and not get discouraged? Please pray in to this situation with us!
• We are entering a busy season of projects and travel. Now that we are able to travel a little more freely, many of the doors that were closed to us in the past couple of years are reopening. Billy will FINALLY be able to lead a 10-day men's retreat for CCW men and ministry workers on the Camino de Santiago at the end of October. This retreat has been cancelled and rescheduled at least three times, so it is exciting that it is finally going to happen! He is also going to need to travel in November to Athens, Greece for a leadership meeting and to visit several leaders and workers who are working in active refugee camps in the area. Please pray for safe travels for Billy. Pray for the retreat that he is leading and for the men it will impact. Pray for the leadership team and for the CCWs who will be impacted by his care and visits to their refugee work. Pray for me (Laurie) as I stay behind to continue my work here as well as doing 4 runs each day taking Sarah to and from work for her crazy work hours. ​