Worldly Holiness

4 Guys in Fez, originally uploaded by papalars.

What you have before you are the stars, at least some of them, of the existing and future Mosaics project team. These are the ones that traveled together for about 10 days in Morocco recently. Pardon the self aggrandizement. If you can guess who belongs to each category, "existing" and "future," you win a prize. By the way, we all got a touch of the bug that affected our digestive systems. It hit me the hardest and the fastest perhaps but hey, what can I say. That is the way the parasite….works it's way into the system sometimes.

This picture was taken inside the medina in Fez, close to where the horse taxi picture was taken in one of the previous posts. We left Nate the day before in language school inside the walled section of the city and he is probably doing well at this point in his Arabic. He was so eager to plunge in head first when we saw him last. Pray for him during these weeks. He is immersed at this point with the language and culture all around him, living with a Moroccan family. He may need a little assistance from upstairs at this stage of the game.

Let's do a little who, what, where on the picture and see if you can match the description to the person above.

One of these guys is a current student at North Park Seminary and will soon be doing an internship at a church in Washington. He traveled with us to see if maybe God was calling to this kind of work. Another lives in France currently but will be doing language study in Tunisia this summer before returning to the States for a six month period of itineration, speaking in churches about the Mosaics project. Another one of these guys is currently studying in Fez, but will return to Texas this summer for about a month before he comes back to Spain to complete a second year of short-term mission work, but this time in our city of choice, Barcelona. He will work with a Latino cell group that we have been supporting this year and also engage our focus group with the Mosaics project. Lastly, the fourth guy in this picture currently lives in Barcelona where he is beginning to make plans for a year of ministry with the Mosaics project and the Covenant Department of World mission based in Seattle. He has three wonderful children and Carol is his wife. She was back in Barcelona during this trip volunteering for the Red Cross and keeping track of their last son at home. Each person loves what they are doing and feels called by God to serve others–mostly focus people.

If you care to comment or make any guesses, drop me an email or post a comment. I just thought you'd like to know a little bit about who God is calling into this exciting and strategic ministry. Do you know anyone else we should be talking to?

The Medina or Walled City of Fez, originally uploaded by papalars.

I finally returned from Morocco yesterday. Tired and a little sick. I plan to post a few stories over the next few days, explaining a bit about this fascinating country, and some of the places and people we met in our travels. First off, I want to tell you about Fez. Take out your map and locate this important city in North Africa. My history classes in the expansion of Western civilization jumped over this rather important town on the continent of Africa, that had important ties into Southern Spain as well as Europe. Let me tell you a little more, with the help of Wikipedia and some other research I did.

This picture features the walled city that sits in the center of old town Fez. The population of this medina is 300,000 inhabitants and is the world's largest traffic-free zone. No motor vehicles of any kind are allowed in this section of the city behind the wall. Although demoted from the position of Morocco’s capital city, there is little doubt that Morocco’s former capital, the city of Fez, remains one of the most important cities in the entire country. Fez was the capital of Morocco for over four centuries, and it still remains the cultural center of the country, as well as one of the most important religious centers. The city was founded in the late 8th century, and a large part of Fez remains a medieval city in design, a visual proof of the city’s history and culture.

Fez is intriguing; with its old buildings reflecting architecture most of the world forgot centuries ago, with winding narrow streets that do not allow for common automobiles. This means you will see throngs of people on foot, and the streets are full of donkeys and mules, just as they were hundreds of years ago. The city is the cutting edge of Moroccan art and culture, and was a hub of human civilization long before the Europeans knew anything about the Enlightenment.

A large part of the charm of Fez is that sense of a different time. While you will see all the evidence of modern cultural influence from blue jeans to boom boxes and satellite dishes, one cannot shake the sense of stepping into the past—from the narrow streets, to the buildings of old stone and wood, palaces and Islamic schools with elaborate entrances, to all the various sites that remind one of other times—ramparts, balconies, and courtyards all contained behind the walls that were once used for defense.

Many of the streets are virtual mazes of alleys and tunnels, and streets are made of cobblestone. The voices of people—from old men, to merchants, to children—envelope the city, and it’s not far off description to describe Fez as a giant human beehive. Fez is a city where the modern culture lives among buildings and streets that speak about a century’s worth of experience and history never forgotten.

The city was founded on opposite banks of the Fez River by Idris I in 789. Did you get that? That was nearly 1200 years ago. My ancestros were roaming the northern tundra of scandanavia and raiding the shores of Europe and the British Isles in those days. How about yours? During Yahya ibn Muhammad's rule the Kairouyine mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Africa, was built, and the associated University of Karueein was founded in 859. Arab emigration to Fes, mostly from al-Andalus in Southern Spain after a rebellion which took place in Cordoba in 818 and from Tunisia after another rebellion that took place in 824, gave the city a definite Arab character. The city was populated by Muslims from elsewhere in North Africa, the Middle East, Moriscos, as well as many Jews, who had their own quarter, or Mellah, in the city. It is believed that Fes was the largest city in the world from 1170 to 1180. It was the center of the Kingdom of Fez. Fes became the scientific and religious center, where both Muslims and Christians from Europe came to study. Many Muslim refugees came to Fes after the re-conquest of Spain in 1492. Fes became part of the Moroccan Empire in 1548. In 1579 the capture of Fez completed Ottoman conquests in Morocco that had begun under Süleyman the Magnificent. Despite the traditional character of most of the city, there is also a modern section, the Ville Nouvelle, or "New City", which is a bustling commercial center. The popularity of the city has increased since the King of Morocco took a Fassi computer engineer, Salma Bennani, as his wife.

Today in Fez you can find many of our focus friends, a McDonald's that servers Halal meat and many who give witness to Jesus in their everyday lives.

  Downtown Office Building. Can you find me in the picture above? How many times?

One of our friends is actually going to study Arabic so this will be a chance to support him in that venture and get him kind of set-up. I mentioned Nate in my last post. He will be returning to Barcelona after his busy summer which includes–language learning in Morocco, then back in the states to be with family and friends for a short break, then back to Barcelona to support the Latino cell group we have been working with this year. Nate also wants to learn more about the Mosaics project we are working on. So God is supplying more personnel as we transition back to the Seattle for a year. Pray for Nate, for his language and culture learning. He is excited but this will be a big venture none-the-less. We are excited for him. Before I sign off to go finish packing, I wanted to share this photo with you as a way of saying essentially. "I will be out of the office" for awhile. I may be able to post some stuff from Morocco but don't know yet for sure.

We had about 20 in our cell group last night night. A lot of energy and interest is growing with this group. This is the Esparcidos project that I mentioned several months ago. After our study and short time of worship I visited with some of our new people. One guy shared that he is agnostic but open and inquiring. I had a wonderful time sharing with him about the Mosaics project and my desire to build bridges of friendship with our focus friends. This guy was visiting from Holland where they also have many immigrants from our focus areas, similar to Spain. Anyway, he was intrigued with what we are doing and seemed challenged to reach out in friendship to focus people that he knows back home.

After our study I went to hang out with our colleague from La Coruña, Rob Reed, who was visiting Barcelona and this cell group. We both had a great dish of patatas bravas [spicy potatoes] starting around 10:45 at night, out in the open air of the evening at a sidewalk cafe. After a great time of visiting I looked at my watch and said, "hey, I got to catch the last train home!" I madly rushed and got the first two trains but the 3rd one was already out of service for the night. No problem. I popped my head out of the subway at a different place, got my bearings and headed up the hill to our apartment, about a 25 minute walk. Rolled into the house from the office, I guess you could say, about 1 am. But don't get me wrong. That sounds like I am addicted to work. I am not. I just love what I do and what God has called us to. It is a wonderful journey and the adventure is really, really fun.

By the way, keep our little travel team in prayer as we poke around Morocco. It is a fascinating country with many, many focus friends. Pray also for my Pakistani friends as they have their first event while I am gone. They have had a glitch with the logistics so pray that will be ironed out. Pray also for Carol and the kids in their places of life and activity, that God would show his love and grace to us all as we seek to follow. Thanks. 

Pakistani Friends, originally uploaded by papalars.

Dear Praying Friends,

It has been too long since I last wrote with my regular prayer requests. Previously, I had hit a good monthly rhythm until last month, just before the reflection about the Lord “bending but not breaking” us. That post was kind of ironic because since then we have experienced some good bending. Maybe God was preparing us for some challenges. And He remains faithful. In recent days, God has directed me to Psalm 25:1-4. “To Thee O Lord, I lift up my soul, O my God, in Thee I trust. Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none of those who wait for Thee will be ashamed. Make me know Thy ways, O Lord; Teach my Thy paths.”

I have some big news for you and then I will give my prayer list. After much prayer and consideration with our Covenant member care team, including the director of Covenant Missions, Curt Peterson, it has been decided that we will change our venue this coming year for ministry. We will be returning to Seattle for the next school year. Without going into extensive detail, you can know that we have to attend to family needs. No scandal, just needs of a normal family that cannot be addressed adequately in Spain. I will continue to focus on the Mosaics Project, conducting research, networking and engaging in direct ministry with our focus friends. I will also visit churches to share the vision of what God is doing and recruit shamelessly.

At first, this was a significant adjustment in my mind but I see the wisdom in this decision. From this vantage point I also see how God is opening up some doors to expand the reach of the Mosaics project in North America as well as other parts of the world. As I speak with younger people [more and more are younger than me each year…how did that happen?] I am beginning to see that God has placed our focus friends on their heart. The end of this month I will be in Morocco with two of these younger crowd [both in their 20’s]. One will be starting to study Arabic for 6 weeks this summer [Our friend Nate Finch: see his blog here: Nate]. The other is a North Park Seminary student who wants to explore potential ministry in this region. So God is clearly calling and I sense that we are to help mobilize, train and lay the ground work for those coming behind us. I will unpack more of this new direction in forthcoming posts on my blog and further prayer lists. So keep posted.

• As I write this, I am about to leave to go have lunch with Miguel and my Pakistani friends. You have been praying for them the last several months. They continue to have a vision to reach their immigrant community here in the Barcelona. Today, we will be meeting to discuss how we can best support their vision and put feet and hands to some practical ministry initiatives. Pray that we can discern ways to best help. I do praise God for building trust with these guys from Pakistan, and for making connections with Miguel.

• Guess what. God is already moving. We had a wonderful lunch together, the 4 of us in the picture above along with Miguel, my friend from Argentina. These guys have a Pakistani, Urdu speaking pastor friend coming to visit from Rotterdam in two weeks. Did you get all that? They want to have a worship service for their extended network of more than 50 Pakistani families in the region. Miguel is networked with the local churches, having served here for 10 years. He immediately knew of a church that might work, called them, and secured the place. So, pray for the first worship service in Barcelona for the Urdu speaking Pakistani community. Miguel says this would be the first in recent history, maybe ever. This is an immigrant community that are resident aliens, needing support, encouragement and Christian nurture. They also want to reach their co-patriots. In fact today I met several of our focus friends where we ate. The owner is Pakistani, so they feel comfortable eating there. I have an open invitation from the owner to come and chat with his clients whenever I have time.
• So where am I in all this? I was simply the guy who was in the right place at the right time, trusting God to lead and then introducing friends that I had made in the Pakistani community to Miguel, the resource and logistics guy here on the ground. Crazy thing about all this is I will be in Morocco when they have their first worship service. God is amazing.

So pray for us as we trust God for our move back to Seattle this coming school year. Pray that we find housing, that Carol finds appropriate work and that re-adjustments go well for all of us. Pray also for my focus friends here in Barcelona. Pray for the pastor from Rotterdam who is coming to preach and begin to shepherd the Pakistani community here in Barcelona. Pray also for continued development of relationships that I have with other focus friends, that God would build bridges of trust over which an encounter with Christ can be experienced.

Thanks for praying. God is good, sometimes mysterious, but always faithful. It is good to be in his company.

  1. Europe staff 2. The Wall 3. Curt Peterson & Ansgar Horsting in Berlin Conference 4.Brandernberg Gates

April was a full month of making connections with our colleagues and ministry partners throughout Europe, as well as friends and family visiting from the U.S. The month started with our Euro Retreat at the monastery in Santander that I mentioned in my previous post. It finished last week at the International Federation of Free Church assembly in Berlin. I will mention more about that later. In between these important events, we hosted family and friends here in Barcelona over Holy Week, and began conversations with Nate Finch, a short-term missionary now serving in La Coruña, about his possible move to Barcelona to help with the Latino Cell group [remember our friend Fabio?] and also help with the Mosaics project where possible.

This month is almost over and I can hardly believe it. The pictures in this mosaic tell a bit of the story. However, even though a picture is worth a thousand words, it would be hard for you to get the significance of the happenings they are capturing without a little commentary. Last week’s conference in Berlin may characterize in some measure the importance, in part because of where the event was hosted, and secondly because of the people included in the event. Our conference was held in a youth hostel about a kilometer from where the iron curtain divided East from West Berlin for about 46 years, ending in 1989. That wall symbolically, ideologically and physically divided nations, families and most of the parents of the participants at this conference from each other.

The theme of the conference was “Joining Hands for Mission in Europe,” and brought together people from many European International Federation of Free Churches plus several mission organizations from the U.S., including the Covenant Church. There were folks from Germany, France, Norway, Finland, England, Sweden, Ecuador, the Czech Republic, Spain, Russia, and the United States, among others. We shared in worship, Bible study, workshops, case studies, prayer and church visits. Afternoon walks, meals times and late evening ice cream runs provided more time to develop friendships and share about ministry and life. We talked about ministries in our respective places of service, challenges we face and ways to collaborate more in the future.

It was very encouraging to add to my list of contacts those that I can call on for help, encouragement and shared ministry. Names like Bertil, Lars, Fidel, Timo, Krister and Johannes to name just a few. It is so important to be part of the Body of Christ, to connect with other colleagues and the national church where we serve.

The Berlin wall was once a strong reminder of the depths of human suspicion, depravity and enmity that can develop between people, nations and even colleagues in ministry. The conference was a fresh reminder that in Christ, things can be different. “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity…that in Himself he might make the two into one new human, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” Ephesians 2:14-16.