The Reign in Spain

Officially Licensed

Dear Friends,

We are excited to report that this morning, after over four months of waiting, we finally were able to receive our Portuguese driver's licenses!

This may not sound all that exciting, but it represents for us, not just the full, legal privilege of driving in Europe (we had been driving on U.S. licenses with an International Driving Permit, which is kind of a stopgap measure), but the potential to save ourselves, the mission, and our supporters a great deal of money.

It's a long story, but as U.S. citizens, we would ordinarily need to attend driving school in Spain in order to get our licenses there.  It's a lengthy (four months at least) and expensive (a minimum of 3,000 Euros, or about $4,000 as of this writing) process.  In Portugal (where our visas are from and, for the time being, where we are), however, U.S. citizens can essentially trade in their U.S. licenses for Portuguese ones, much as one would in moving between states.  It's not expensive at all, but the lengthy part does come into play once one applies--delays, bureaucracy, slow mail, etc.  But that's finally over!  Praise God!

In other news, the Santa Marta church had six people (four adults, two children) give their lives to Christ this past Tuesday.  The week before, there were another four adults who did so.  We are seeing significant opposition, but also great results for the kingdom of God!

Please keep us in your prayers as tomorrow we and other church members will be participating in an evangelism outreach in the Santa Marta neighborhood, and then in the evening a special youth event.  We're praying for a big turnout!

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Discipling in Portuguese (We Hope)

Dear Friends,

We are back in Portugal after a weekend back in Spain, and things are moving along so quickly it's hard to keep up.  It was great to visit with the Light and Life Christian Community as they celebrated their second anniversary as a church this past weekend with a dinner (featuring flamenco and other Spanish dances) and special service (with Europe area director Jerry Coleman preaching).  It was good to visit with these friends among whom we've worked for the past year and a half.  We even topped off the weekend by watching the Steelers beat the Ravens on TV (we were staying at a friend's house who has cable).

But soon we were off to the airport, and after a difficult airline experience (we can understand those who aren't big on flying a bit better now), we were back in our new "home."  On Tuesday night we went to the weekly service at Santa Marta do Pinhal FMC, one of the two churches we're working with primarily here.  (The other, a short walk from our apartment, is Charneca da Caparica FMC.)  Santa Marta is in the midst of an improvised community of immigrants, mainly Africans.  To call the area a shanty-town would be pretty close.

After a little bit of a late start, we got down to the business of praising God with rousing choruses, and following the offering, the children were dismissed to their lesson, taught by Caty.  I (Michael) listened to Pastor Cida, a Brazilian national missionary and pastor, give the evening's sermon.  So did the other twenty or so people in attendance.  At the end of the sermon, four came up to accept Christ!  It was a blessing to see these persons, in the midst of difficult circumstances and the depths of winter, come forward to be reborn.

What we want to ask prayer for today, in addition to God's blessing on each of these new children of God, is God's great help in our work starting tonight: teaching a discipleship class for them and other new believers.  That we'll be doing this with Caty's somewhat limited, and my very limited, Portuguese may seem like a handicap, but many of them don't speak Portuguese as a first language either!  This could be an adventure--or a disaster!  Please pray for God's help in making it all work.

We'll also be starting English classes tomorrow night at Charneca, as well as helping out with the food bank ministry there tomorrow as well.  God is keeping us busy!  Please pray that He also helps us to be fruitful for His kingdom.

In Christ,

Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Marked

  We moved into our new apartment on Mon. Jan. 5.  We didn't bring much with us, so it didn't take long to carry in our meager possesions and begin settling into our new place.  Moving into a home that had never had anyone living there before, we wondered if anyone would even notice our presence. 

   We soon learned that word travels fast, and that our apartment had already been marked (our second night there) for a robbery.  Our doorbell on the outside of the building had been spray-painted with a bright yellow paint to indicate a new arrival and target.  We immediately notified the police who confirmed our suspicion.  We had been marked for a robbery.

    Fortunately we think we got to the mark in time and removed it after using a bottle of fingernail polish remover and a whole lot of elbow grease!  The police promised to keep a close eye on it especially as we travel back to Spain this weeknd for the celebration of the Madrid church's second anniversary.

    Our only hope is that our lives are marked with Jesus as vividly as our doorbell.  Our prayer is that as people meet us, they don't even have to ask if we are Christian.  May our love for them reflect Christ's love for them, and when they look at us, may the see Jesus.  We pray that we are marked with the Holy Spirit, and that the mark is clearly displayed for all to see.

    Please pray as we continue to learn about and begin to plan and shape the ministries we will be involved with.  Pray that God's will protect us and our home, that we will be kept safe during our travels to Madrid and back this weekend, and that God will graciously enable us to learn and speak Portuguese well enough to lead a discipleship group starting next week!  Pray as we adjust to a new community, neighborhood, two new churches, new foods, schedules, language, and as we miss our friends and co-workers back in Spain.  There are another dozen unspoken requests that we ask you to bring before the Lord, as well, as it would take far too long to explain them all!

   Many blessings as we embark upon a new year for ministry, lighting a dark continent with the Light of the Word.  Blessings,

   Michael and Carrie (Caty) Hamley  

On the Move Again

Dear Friends,

The day has finally arrived.  On Monday, January 5, we'll be moving from Rivas-Vaciamadrid, on the outskirts of Madrid, to Charneca de Caparica, Portugal, across the Tejo River from Lisbon.  Please pray for us as we make this approximately seven-hour trip by car and get settled into what will be our new home for at least the next six months.

It's been difficult to say goodbye (or at least, "hasta luego") to many of the friends we've made here over the last nearly two years.  We've also been about the process of finding and training volunteers to take over many of the ministries in which we've been working.  Please pray for these folks as well, and the Comunidad Cristiana Luz y Vida as they continue to bring the light of Christ's love to one of the most challenging communities in the already challenging nation of Spain.

As for us, we will be helping out however we can with the three Free Methodist churches in the Lisbon area, particularly the church plant in Santa Marta do Pinhal, an immigrant community of mostly Africans and Haitians.  Please keep us in your prayers as we learn what our roles will be during our assignment in Portugal.

Thank you to all who have supported us so much in prayer, financial support and in encouraging us over these past few years.  As we look forward to new roles, challenges and blessings, please keep supporting us, especially in prayer.

   Lastly, please keep our financial support in your prayers.  We need to raise an additional $11,000 to meet our 2009 budget (which does not include relocation expenses) and due to the logistics of the move, we have not been able to contact our supporting churches to see if any of them plan to increase their 2009 commitment.  So far we have not received word any of the new commitments we were supposed to have raised by Jan. 1. 

For those who would like to write, our new address will be:

Michael e Carrie (Caty) Hamley

Rua Pedro Costa n^o 1210 R/C Esquerdo

2825-000 Charneca de Caparica

PORTUGAL

 

Blessings,

Michael and Carrie (Caty)