Greetings from Minnesota :)

Hola Everyone,

Thanks so much for your support while I have been in Pamplona. I am now back in the States! It was an incredible trip and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to serve with La Roca Pamplona.

A lot happened these past few weeks! Our team went on two retreats, Christine and I said goodbye to the friends we made in Pamplona and we had two opening ceremonies for La Roca!

Madrid Retreat

The retreats were incredible. The first was a gathering of the Great Commission-Spain churches in Madrid. It was a very encouraging time and I was grateful to meet the men and women in the other Spanish churches. Pastor Felix (Pastor Dom’s father-in-law) spoke each night about walking in the Spirit. Daniel Goering, the pastor of the Great Commission church in Cologne, Germany was there and spoke Easter morning. The highlight for me was the third evening when we shared testimonies and stories of how God has been moving in our lives. There were so many incredible stories of God transforming lives and doing the impossible. Sometimes I forget how BIG God is. The same God who is working in my life is working on the hearts of men and women across the world. It’s hard to comprehend but beautiful to see!

From Madrid, we flew to Thessaloniki, Greece for a Great Commission Europe staff retreat. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to attend!! There were about 40 people at the retreat – all pastors, wives and missionaries from Great Commission churches in Europe. They represented churches in the Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Amsterdam and Germany. Meeting and talking with the different missionaries was such a blessing!! They all had incredible stories of how they came to know the Lord, how God called them into missions and how God has provided for them where they are located. I was very thankful to meet such humble and faithful men and women.

Goodbye Fiesta

The week we returned from the retreats was my last week in Pamplona! I spent most of the time saying goodbye to the girls I had been meeting with. It was hard to say goodbye but I know we will stay in touch!! One highlight was a going away party one of our friends from English Club (Luciana) had for us. Another English Club friend from Mexico (Dalia) made us a traditional Mexican dinner and a large group of people came. It was wonderful to see everyone together. I am very thankful that God allowed me to meet all of these amazing people from across the world. I pray we will continue to stay connected and that they can help form the community at La Roca!

La Roca Dedication Ceremony

This past Saturday, we officially opened the student center! We had two separate ceremonies. The first was for people who helped open the center. I was surprised at how many people had been involved! There were about 20 people at the ceremony and they had helped with things like cleaning, painting, construction, etc. The event went really well! We had a worship time, Pastor Dom spoke, Pastor Felix shared a message, we prayed and then had time for brownies and cake.

La Roca Opening Ceremony

The second ceremony was in the evening and open to everyone! It was great to see a lot of our friends from English Club as well as girls Christine and I had been meeting with. Pastor Dom introduced the center and the rest of the time was an informal night with games, music and snacks. We had a great turnout and it was encouraging to see the center being used by so many people.

What’s next for me? I am going back to school to be a teacher!! I was accepted into the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at Bethel University and will be starting at the end of this month. In Spain, I was praying over what’s next and felt a lot of peace about going back to school. I have been considering teaching for a while and serving in Spain helped clarify the decision. It was helpful making lesson plans for English Club and teaching English to see that I really enjoy teaching!

Thanks again to everyone who prayed and supported me while I was overseas. It was an incredible time and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to see God’s work in Spain, help open La Roca and build wonderful new friendships.

To my friends in Pamplona – I will miss you!!! You will be in my prayers and I hope to see you again.

To my family and friends back home – I love you and can’t wait to see all of you!! :)

God Bless!!

Katie