Southwestern students spend part of holiday break spreading the Gospel in Spain

Some Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College students started their Christmas break by spreading the Gospel in a country whose people generally are not open to the Gospel.

The 12 students traveled to Madrid, Spain, on Dec. 6 for a week of evangelism activities. The trip was a sort of homecoming for team leader Amanda Williams, a Master of Arts in biblical counseling student who was born and grew up in Spain as the child of International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries. The team worked with her parents, Dwight and Mara Williams, and other missionaries during the trip. Williams also is the staff photographer at Southwestern Seminary and was able to document the trip in photos.

Williams said she grew up “seeing my parents involved in ministry and church planting. They have received many teams throughout the years, and I have seen God use that not only in the lives of the people in Spain, but also in the lives of students.”

When the opportunity to help with the trip came up, she said, “there was no way I could turn it down.” Her goal for the trip, she said, was that God would open hearts to the message the mission team was bringing.

“In a place like Spain,  I have seen my parents measure success differently,” she explained. “If we adopted the same measurements other workers use around the world, ministry here could be considered a failure. That sounds intense, but that is what also makes the work here so beautiful.”

“Although God is able,” she added, “we cannot walk in expecting salvations left and right, but really have to ask ourselves, ‘Am I in it for the long run? Am I able to offer friendship for years, sometimes decades, before somebody becomes spiritually interested and, Lord willing, receives Christ?’”

Nelly Juarez, a San Jose, Costa Rica, native who is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in church music and worship at Southwestern, said this was her first mission trip with the seminary, but not her first time in Spain.

“I lived in Barcelona many years ago and know first-hand the great need there is for the Gospel,” she said. “I also wanted to learn more about the church planted there by IMB missionaries and the ways we would be able to learn from them and help them.”

Juarez said she learned a lot from the trip.

“I was able to see God’s faithfulness in the way the church perseveres despite people’s hardness toward the Gospel,” she said. “Although sometimes the fruit is slow to reap, believers keep sowing and trusting God to bring His Kingdom to Spain. I also learned the importance of building long-lasting relationships in order to reach Spanish people and gained a deeper understanding of God’s love for the lost.”

The students conducted evangelism activities in area parks and assisted in events for the local church including a Christmas party for students who were learning English. They also helped with the women’s ministry Christmas party.

Savannah Cheatham, an Abilene, Texas, native pursuing a certificate in biblical counseling, said one particular outreach activity stood out to her.

She said another member of the team struck up a conversation with a young man named Noah, who was having a tough time and needed encouragement. The teammate shared the Gospel with Noah, shared part of his story, and invited Noah to the group’s Christmas party at the local church. Noah was encouraged by all that had been shared, she said, adding, “He even came to the Christmas party and enjoyed spending time with us.”

The women’s Christmas party stood out to mission team member Ashele Vero, a Doctor of Philosophy student from Nagaland, India, majoring in family and generational studies. Vero said the women decorated cookies, sang carols, then had a panel discussion.

“Only the women on our team participated in the panel,” she said. “The goal was to talk about how to bring Christ into our homes during the holidays, despite the challenges that make it difficult.”

Questions included what stressors come with the holiday season, and what Christmas traditions have blessed the panelists.

“Some of the Spanish women were deeply moved by the testimonies shared by the women in our team,” Vero said. “We truly felt the presence of God working in their hearts, and it was amazing to witness.”

Meeting with the missionaries had the greatest impact on Vero, however. Despite facing rejection to their efforts to share the Gospel, she said, “their commitment to serving remains strong, and their steadfast faith in such challenging circumstances is incredibly inspiring. I learned so much from them about being patient and staying faithful, regardless of people’s openness or resistance to the Gospel. We truly felt the power of God in the midst of all the activities we participated in during our time in Spain.”

It was Alyssa Espinoza’s second mission trip to Spain, though her first with Southwestern Seminary. The Midland, Texas, native, who is pursuing a Master of Arts in biblical counseling, said her first trip to Spain and other European countries with her home church stirred a desire to serve in missions. After speaking with IMB missionaries during that trip, Espinoza became interested in the Journeyman program and began the application process.

Her plan has not changed, she said, though the original timeline shifted when she met her fiancé, Toby Dingler, at Southwestern Seminary. Dingler, from Allen Texas, who also was part of the mission team to Spain, is in his senior year at Texas Baptist College and is pursuing a Christian studies degree.

“Together, we hope and pray to serve as a married couple through the Journeyman program, and we’re trusting the Lord to show us where He wants to place us,” Espinoza said.

An opportunity to serve together in Madrid showed up in an unexpected place. She and Dingler were exploring the city one night and wandered into a store where she began shopping.

“Toby and I were speaking in English, so the cashier heard us and took it as an opportunity to practice his English,” she said. As the two men began talking, Dingler shared his faith and they exchanged numbers to hopefully meet up later in the week, she added.

“Toby met with him for coffee a few days later, then the day before we left, I was able to join Toby and the cashier and the cashier’s wife as we had intentional time with them,” Espinoza said. “Toby was able to share the Gospel and challenge the cashier’s beliefs and they developed a sweet friendship in such a short time!”

Dingler, who also joined the trip to “discern next steps of where God may be leading me, as I got to come alongside faithful brothers and sisters in Madrid,” said one aspect of the culture surprised him.

“I was blown away by how much the people of Spain valued being with others,” he said. “Everywhere I went I saw people together, talking and having a good time. I couldn’t help but see this piece of Spanish culture as a way for God to reach Spain with His good news.”

Bryce Blackwell of Haltom City, Texas, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian studies at TBC, said he realized that God can use anything to spark spiritual conversations.

“My appearance of looking Spanish led a person to approach me in search of directions, which led to connecting them with the ministry we partnered with,” he said. He also had a spiritual conversation with a college-aged Spaniard on the plane to Madrid.

“He told me that he hoped and was excited to sit with me because I’m around his age and he thought I was Spanish,” Blackwell recalled. “So, with that said, God can apparently use appearance to open people up.”

Williams said God did open the hearts of the people they met, “And time and time again, He brought people that seemed to need a friend right at that very moment. The team was able to form connections and friendships that I’m not sure would have happened otherwise. I know I speak for my parents in saying that we are incredibly grateful for the team, the joy they brought and the encouragement they left to long-term workers [in Spain].”

Dwight and Mara Williams both expressed gratitude for the Southwestern students and the hard work they put in while working alongside them.

“I don’t know when we’ve had such a very qualified group,” Dwight said, while Mara said she was impressed by their attitude of service. “Everyone was extremely gifted. Many were Spanish speakers, but even those who weren’t Spanish speakers made a really strong intention to communicate and to learn, so they were really awesome.”