Contract
Signed on Apartment 3.15.08
We have signed the contract on our new apartment. It is
located in our neighborhood near most of our teammates, and will save
us 250 euros a month in rent, which helps us keep our costs down. Pictures
of our new apartment are online. Here are some cute
ones of Alleke in her new bedroom.
Residency Trip Slated for April 3.15.08
We have all of Kelly's paperwork now, so the next step is to
make a trip to Chicago to present his paperwork in person to the
Spanish Consulate. We're still looking at ticket prices, but planning
the trip for the end of April.
Lunch
with Abas 3.11.08
One
of our dreams since starting Oasis Madrid's Social Justice Team was to
build solid enough friendships with the homeless people we work with
each week that we would be able to share a meal with them in our home.
Well, this week we invited our friend Abas to eat lunch with us. He is
an elderly man from Sierra Leone. He has been living in Spain for over
20 years, and just recently through the help of a Catholic priest was
able to get his residency card and begin training for a job the
Catholic Church is willing to offer him.
April
writes about the Prophets 3.8.08
April has been studying the Old Testament prophets with
Shani and decided to share some of what she has learned with the larger
church community. You can read what she wrote here: The Prophets.
Next
Morocco Trip in June 3.5.08
We've penciled in a weekend in June for our next trip to
Morocco. This time members of our Social Justice Team will be focusing
on meeting and praying with leaders of a few initiatives we would like
to get involved with and finding out what practical things we can
contribute as we plan to bring two teams next year.
Deposit
on New Apartment 3.2.08
We saw an apartment on Friday. Praise God the landlord
selected us out of five potential tenants. We've given the landlord our
deposit and are securing more finances before we sign the contract.
Moving Day will be March 29th if everything continues to go well.
Linus
Morris visits 2.25.08
Linus is the President of Christian Associates, and after
CA's recent Leadership Summit in Portugal, he came for a visit. We
spent time catching up and also talking about the exciting things to
come in Christian Associates. It's also inspiring to hear where we're
headed as a church-planting movement in Europe.
April starts Parenting Group 2.25.08
April
and a Spanish friend who share a passion for baby wearing (wraps,
slings, carriers, etc.) have started Madrid's first Baby Wearing Group.
We're hoping this will give us an opportunity to meet more parents in
the neighborhood and meet a practical need.
New
Apartment by Next Week 2.25.08
Our
landlords emailed today to say that they have decided not to sell our
apartment. They want to rent it for more than we can pay, however, and
are asking us to move out as soon as possible. Our current contract
ends with them in three days, Feb. 28th.
Leadership Community focuses on
Discipleship 2.24.08
Oasis
Madrid's Leadership Community meets monthly and is focusing on
discipleship. Our pastor Troy Cady has developed a discipleship
curriculum (borrowed in part from Robert
E. Webber), and each of our leaders have committed to personally
discipling at least one another person this coming year.
New
Apartment by August 2.20.08
Our
landlords have decided to sell the
apartment we are living in. We can
stay living in the apartment until it sells, or until August, but are
actively looking for a new apartment in our neighborhood.
Vanessa
prepares for baptism 2.16.08
In preparation for baptism Vanessa professes her faith
before at our weekend church service. Listen to her story
online and continue to pray for her baptism at our Easter Retreat.
More
Local Partnerships 2.9.08
Thanks
to more volunteers to help with our sandwich route to
the homeless, our
Social Justice Team is shifting its focus towards meeting with local
non-profit organizations to build more partnerships in the city center.
We hope to gain a reputation as a starting point for English-speakers
looking for
opportunities to volunteer in the city center.
Only
$200 a month 2.19.08
Thanks
to God's provision and your help, we've raised $1000 in monthly support
since last Spring. That's incredible! We've survived the sinking
exchange rate and only have $200 of monthly support
left to raise. Praise God!
Ash
Wednesday 2.6.08
Wednesday
night we observed the beginning of Lent in our friends' flat across the
street. We had a time of confession and receiving God's forgiveness.
Many in our community are fasting from one thing or another until our Easter
Retreat in the mountains.
1st
Budget Meeting 2.2.08
This
week we took one more important step towards becoming a sustainable
church. We had our first congregational meeting to approve the budget
for 2008. In the past, our budget was approved by our church planting
team, but this time we were able to do this as an official religious
entity in the eyes of the Spanish government and with the vote of
our church congregation. Thanks to Amy who oversees our
finances for
such a great accomplishment!
Six
Small Groups 1.18.08
We have two new small groups. One is studying The
Ragamuffin Gospel, and other is a Christian
History class.
International
Adoption on Hold 1.18.08
We took the
next step in our adoption process by attending a
government sponsored informational meeting. We learned that we cannot
file our paperwork until Kelly has his new residency card. So, the
adoption is on hold for at least six months.
More
Volunteers to Help Homeless 1.18.08
Local businesses like J&J's bookstore
have shown interest in our work with the homeless. As a result, we've
had more visibility, and more volunteers asking if they can help us.
Praise God for one more way to work side by side with others in the
community who want to make our city a healthier place to live!
Kelly's
Paperwork Submitted 1.16.08
Kelly is in the process of gathering all the documents he
needs to apply
again for Spanish residency. For now, all we can do is
wait until all the paperwork is together. Then, we'll need to fly to
Chicago to submit the paperwork in person.
Victoria
Stembokas 1.16.08
Victoria
has been living in Madrid for the last four years as a student and a
leader at Oasis Madrid. She
is currently in the US raising support with
the intention of returning to Madrid this summer to join us as
full-time staff.
Research
in Morocco 1.7.08
Our Social Justice Team visited the cities of Casablanca and
Rabat in Morocco to research our possible involvement in these cities.
We plan to take another trip later this Spring or next Fall to continue
building the relationships we began there. More details to come.
Apartment
Search 11.22.07
Our landlords are raising our rent by 100€ a month in March,
which is considerably more than we expected. We're currently
praying and looking for a cheaper apartment in the same neighborhood
(so we can stay living by our teammates, who live across the street).
Orphanage
in Marrakech 11.21.07
Our friend Victoria Stembokas visited an orphanage in
Marrakech, Morocco over a long weekend to see if our church can get
involved helping the children there.
Happy
Thanksgiving 11.20.07
Download our latest
newsletter to read three things we're thankful for about our
church. See photos
of the 50+ people that celebrated Thanksgiving at Troy and Heather's
house this year.
Now
Give Online 11.19.07
In addition to our support page, Christian
Associates now accepts donations
online by credit card.
Considering
Adoption 11.10.07
Please pray with us as we consider
adopting internationally. If you have experience with
international adoption, specifically adoption grants, send us an email.
Immigrant
Boys in Santander 11.1.07
Our friend Laura has been visiting a center in Santander
that provides a home for immigrant boys stranded in Spain. Most
have arrived in Spain by boat from Africa. Our church took our
first trip to Santander to meet the boys at the beginning of November.
Kelly
loses Spanish residency 10.29.07
Kelly has lost his Spanish residency due to a
miscommunication with a government agency. Pray for wisdom as we
choose which kind of residency to apply for as we begin the process
again. Read the whole story
on Kelly's blog.
April
Renews Her Residency 10.25.07
We took a quick trip to Castellón, so April could
submit her paperwork and meet with her thesis advisor.
Leadership
Community 10.19.07
Troy, our pastor, has started a Leadership Community to
provide support and community for the leaders in our church who are
leading small groups, working with the poor, and planning services and
social events.
Morocco
Research Trip 10.6.07
Our friend Victoria is planning two research trips to
Morocco in the next six months to find out how we can get involved in
Northern Africa. Kelly will be going along on the second trip in
January.
Alleke
Turns One 10.3.07
April turns one year old. We celebrated with friends
in the park, and Alleke's friends from the local bakery made her a
cake. Take a
look or watch
the video.
Homeless,
Prostitutes and Orphans 9.24.07
Read our latest
newsletter about how Oasis Madrid Church is trying to reach the
homeless, the prostitutes, and the orphans.<>
Madrid
Serve the City 2007 9.22.07
Oasis Madrid was part of a city-wide week of service in
Madrid. Visit the Serve
the City website or look
at photos of the volunteers helping us bring sandwiches to the
homeless in our neighborhood.
New
Prayer Group 9.18.07
As part of our church's commitment to pray more, our friend
Jonathan has started a weekly
prayer group where anyone can stop by to experiment with new forms
of prayer or pray for specific requests.
Social
Justice Retreat 9.6.07
Eight young leaders from our church took the weekend to pray
and talk about how our church can get involved in helping the city of
Madrid in tangible ways. We will be focusing on immigrants with
the greatest needs in the city center.
Kelly
leads worship for fall 9.1.07
Kelly Wills, our worship leader, will be in the US raising
support this fall. Kelly (Crull) will be subbing in for her to
lead worship at weekend services and begin training two new worship
leaders.
New
Oasis Madrid video 8.7.07
Watch Oasis Madrid's newest
promotional video, which highlights three areas of growth from this
past year: Shani's baptism, discipleship and our weekly sandwich
route. Click here to
watch the video.
April
finishes draft thesis 8.4.07
April finishes the first draft of her Masters thesis, which
she will be submitting to her advisor for edits.
Kelly
Wills visits Betel 7.27.07
Our teammate Kelly Wills visited Betel, a well-known Christian rehab
center in Spain for people struggling with drug addictions. We
look forward as a church to supporting Betel's work as well as learning
from them about addiction, which is the main challenge we see in the
lives of our homeless friends in Madrid.
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