The answers you are looking for are in the Bible

You can study the Bible for yourself

Our new project wants to communicate this to hurting people here in Spain. Many people have no use for religion, but many are hurting. Depression is a huge problem. Teens and parents have no respect for each other. Abuse, addictions.... the list goes on.

Our strategy is to draw hurting people into a study of God’s Word by connecting to their point of need, and showing that the Bible has answers. But more than that, the Bible addresses their deepest problem - alienation from God.

A video highlighting people telling their experience in a problem area and how God met that need will lead into an inductive Bible study.We don’t provide the answers, but we help them look into Scripture for themselves.

This project is sort of an extension of People Like You, our series of dramatized testimonies. We were looking for a way to help Christians mature in their faith, but there aren’t that many believers here, so something evangelistic seemed more necessary. In this project we try do to both. People with spiritual interest can learn to study the Bible for themselves even before coming to faith in Christ.

We are trying to make this a very useful tool. To help with this we’ve looked for input from some local pastors. We’ll also do some testing in small groups with a pilot segment before going into full production. I will be producing the video portion and Cesar Quiroz, an Avant colleague, will be coming up with the inductive study part. Tim Becker, who will join us in late summer, will be doing the layout and design.

A meeting at a weekend church conference in northern Spain was only supposed to include one of the testimonies off our “People Like You” DVD. But after the first one the people in the congregation asked to see the rest. The preacher had to postpone his sermon until the next session.

Beate works as a missionary in several small towns near Málaga. She has used the audio from our testimony DVDs on her radio program, but now was looking for some evangelistic material to give away. She stopped by the other day to pick up the DVDs.

A church in Madrid is using our ¿Ahora Qué? youth discipleship books as their Sunday school curriculum.

We are really encouraged to hear these stories, knowing that God is using what he have produced to bring people to Himself, and to maturity in Christ.

Here’s what I have going:

1. Learn how to manage the ¿Ahora Qué? youth discipleship web site. Eber the friend God sent to create the site while we were gone has moved back to Brazil, so it is in my hands now. I am praying that we can hand off this ministry to another organization.

2. Distribute our People Like You DVDs. I just got off the phone with a man in the city of Soria who wants to buy a quantity to give away through his church. He said they showed one of the testimonies in church, and that the people wanted to see all the stories, not just one, so the service went long and they didn’t have a sermon.

3. Work on new projects. What does God have ahead for us? I don’t want to rush into this, but spend time in prayer, and talking to others about how we can best reach people through media. I have a discipleship booklet for adults to complete yet, though.

On July 17 church leaders, missionaries and anyone who wants to will attend a kick-off event for the ¿Ahora Qué? youth discipleship project at the Malaga Media Center. Eber Duarte will be showcasing the booklet, DVD and web site, as well as all the other material produced by the Spanish Ministries department. Pray that the material will be distributed and used widely.

I've finished editing the ¿Ahora Qué? youth discipleship project videos. It will be sent off for duplication real soon. The web site is looking really good too, and should be ready to go live before too long.
Lesson 7 is about our mission as Christians - to tell others about Jesus. It also recaps a few other lessons. No subtitles, so enjoy the Spanish.

We hand music. We had flamenco dancing. We had paella. We had fun. Last Saturday our home church had a missions banquet and we were the featured missionaries. We showed the culture of Spain with an authentic meal and flamenco dancers. I also showed an 11 minute video on the history, culture and spiritual state of Spain titled "God's Heart for Spain."

This past Saturday we presented God's heart for Spain at our church's Missions Fest. The place was full. Everyone enjoyed authentic Spanish Paella (thanks, Bruce) but we didin't have enough flan to go around. A big highlight was the Flamenco dancers. They performed three numbers, and then asked volunteers to come up and learn some steps.

We are trusting that the people who attended will be burdened for the people in Spain.

The Gente Como Tu DVDs are in distribution. Eber Duarte is getting the word out to churches and Christian workers. He's putting up a website to showcase all the MMC Spanish Ministries videos. I am excited to see these get into the hands of more people in Spain.

This Saturday Eber Duarte is hosting another brainstorming meeting for the ¿Ahora Qué? project. You can see some more info about the project here, but it is in Spanish. There is some video so at least you can watch that. This time they will be coming up with fantastic, creative, relevant and innovative ideas for the ¿Ahora Qué? (hereafter referred to as AQ) website.

Unfortunately I can't be there, as we will be in Goltry, Oklahoma. This is the church my grandfather J.W. Bergen pastored from 1936 to around 1963. Don't hold me to those years. Some people there still remember him.

We are feeling pulled in several directions - finishing up video editing for the AQ project (hereafter referred to as AQ), visiting churches, meeting with our supporters, and trying to find new places and people to visit. The AQ project has a dealine of the end of the year, and that include the DVD that will contain the videos. The support raising and supporter visiting has a deadline of the summer of 2008, so that tends to get put off. I wish it were different, but that is what I get for starting a big project, and then leaving Spain.

Tomorrow we hit the road - at least for the weekend. We will be in Colorado Springs, and the following weekend in Siloam Springs (AR). This must be the springs tour.

You might be wondering if we ever made it out of Spain alive, all I write in my last post. Amazingly enough, every happened, and it all got down. How? Only with God's help.

AHORA QUE? Discipleship series.
We had a hectic and intense month of June and July. First we had to get the content done. I shortened the lessons Jerrih Silva wrote, then I sent them off to Zeke and Elisabet in Madrid, who re-wrote them into something a teenager would like to read.

Two weeks later Zeke and Elisabet came to Malaga, and the real fun began. We spent four packed days filming some of the video for the DVD. The bike segment included 8 bikes and riders, three cameras, a couple of support cars, and lots of photographers. The students from John Brown University were a huge help

Our projects are getting down to the wire, and it seems we are running out of time before our July 31 departure to the States. Here's where we are:

Ahora Que discipleship project:
BOOKLET
-Two lessons written, need 5 more
-None of the lessons have been adapted to "youth language" yet.
-A student group from John Brown University is coming June 20th to do the layout and design, and we need the material ready by then.

VIDEO
- We are still waiting for word from the couple we asked to be presenters
- A preliminary script is written
- We need to tape the first week of July

People Like You testiomony series
- Rosa: done
- José story - needs a few graphics and all the music
- Elisa - the drama will be taped in a week, and then needs editing and music.

I am so grateful for the help Eber Duarte has given.He will finish here in 3 weeks.

On the hand, God has really been blessing. Many extra gifts have come in. We are enjoying our new child. Robyn's mom was here for six weeks. God is good.

Another encouraging note - the short cycle church planting team here in Malaga asked for 1,000 copies of our first "People LIke You" testimony DVD with to hand out.

Beni Moreno is the host for an evangelical program that airs nationwide here in Spain. She came to Malaga from Madrid for the morning to tape the introductions and concluding challenges for each of the stories in our "People Like You" testimony series.

She is a pro. It sure is nice working with someone with a lot of experience. You couldn't tell she was reading a teleprompter. She moved her head, her hands and smiled. It really made the taping go smoothly. I am so grateful she was willing to take the time to help out.

I still have to finish editing a couple of stories, then all this will go onto a DVD.

We interrupt this blog to announce the birth of Anne Renae Walter. Check out the details on our family page.

Rosa's testimony is pretty harsh - she was sexually abused by her father, and got pregnant when she was 12. She agreed to tell her story because she knows there are many other women who suffered the same abuse, and need the emotional healing Jesus brings.

It's been tricky telling this story visually without being graphic and offensive, but still showing her pain. I guess my answer has been not to show what happened to her, but how she felt about it.

For actors we grab local believers or people passing through from the US. We were fortunate to have a teenage girl here visiting when we were taping. I thought she would be too embarrassed to pretend she was giving birth so I have to make it appear that she did. I think she did a real good job of staring hopelessly out of a window with a pillow under her shirt. A mother and daughter from a local church were Rosa as a child and as an adult. A waitress at a a nearby cafe acted the part of Rosa's adult daughter who pointed her to a church.

I"ll post the finished video when I'm done so you can judge for yourself how it turned out.

Now what? Thats what someone might say after putting their trust in Christ. And that is what our new project hopes to answer. What is this new relationship with God like? How do I live this new life?

We received a lot of input at our brainstorm meeting. Everyone was very enthusiastic. God brought the right people, even some we didn't expect. We heard loud and clear that we need to communicate visually and via the web. There has to be a way for people to respond and interact.

We identified 7 basics steps that applying biblical truth in a practical way. Next we will have it fleshed out it for print, and scripts written for video. This will end up in a booklet, a DVD, and on a website.

The project now goes into the fund-raising and writing stage, but we hope to start production early summer.

It has to be upbeat, attention grabbing, doctrinally solid, practical, accessible and of course, relevant to Spanish teens. These are the kinds of comments I expect to hear at our February 12 brainstorming meeting.


To get a solid start to our new project, a discipleship course for Spanish youth, we are gathering Christian workers together to discuss what it should contain, and what it should look like. Some of the people coming work full time with youth, and represent a variety of organizations.

I am getting a real sense that God is bringing this project together. Everyone I've talked to said they have tried to find something like this but couldn't, and that they see and urgent need for growth in Christian maturity.

We sure could use your prayers as we discuss content, and the best way to present it in a booklet, a DVD and on the web. Pray also we we start to look for funding for this project.

Seven hours of teaching, and I still left some things out Read More...

Rosa and Elisa are soul mates, and each has a powerful story of God's work in their lives. Rosa suffered sexual abuse while Elisa's husband abandoned her for another woman. Both put their trust in Christ, and found healing and strength.

Rosa told of a life of pain and anger. Just reviewing what she wanted to say brought back nightmares. She was willing to tell her story on camera, though, because she knows that many other women need the healing she has found.

Elisa had life under control, but it all fell apart when her husband said he was leaving. When he had an accident and was in a coma, Elisa cared for him daily until his death, and was able to forgive and love him.


On November 2 and 3 we taped these stories near Bilbao in northern Spain, for our series of testimonies showing the how God is real in the lives of normal people.

The trip north was great! I was able to talk to three people about their stories of how Jesus totally changed their lives. In between I was able to see some sights.


The Museo del Prado in Madrid was fantastic! And on Sunday's you get in free. It houses mainly art from the 1500's through the 1800's. Goya, Velazquez, and Rubens are some of the better know artists.

The Guggenheim Bilbao Museum is a fantastic building. I overheard a lady demanding her money back because there was no art, so I didn't go in. You can see more of my touristy pictures here.


Bilbao is in the Basque Country, and nationalist and separatist symbols were everywhere. The Basque language is interesting to hear.

Back to the stories - we'll probably head back up and tape the stories in November. Rosa's story was very strong, as was Elisa's. We'll do those first. You can read part of Rosa's story in my prayer update

This weekend I'm taking a trip to Madrid and Bilbao. I expect that at some point I will cry. One of the people I will talking to about sharing her testimony on camera didn't want to tell her story on the phone - the memories were so painful. Rosa wants to share her story so others will know what Jesus did for her, but not just yet. I did learn that hers was a life of abuse and pain, and that she is the only Christian in her family.


I'll also talk to two young people - Nina, a dancer, and Miguel. We'll meet at their church in downtown Madrid. Next week I'll write about the trip.

We spent a week in Switzerland at Avant's Europe conference (photos here), and now I'm back at work on the Miguel Angel Oyarbide story. This is the first documentary story I've done and José Muñoz helped me with the script. I thought the music ought to be mellow and peaceful - to fit the art.

Miguel Angel (In Italian it would be Michelangelo) said it is absurd to believe there is no God - He is evident all around us.

I also like his take on Christian artists "the artist can express himself in all kinds of theme, and reflect clearly his artistry, and his Christianity. The artist doesn't need to justify his art. He is an artist, and that's it. If he is a Christian, it will be apparent in his work." I think Christ is very apparent in his art. Check out his amazing talent on the photo page.

I'll post the video when it is finished.

Hot off the hard drive! Just recently finished. It is our first story with a love scene, but then, that is what marriages are about, aren't they? It has English subtitles and you will need Quicktime to view it. Click here to view.

If you prefer you can download the file to save to your computer.

You can now download the Maria story to view. It requires Quicktime but you can download that for free.

I work better with visuals than with words. Give me a page of words and my mind goes numb. After going nowhere with the Victoria and Orlando story I decided to try putting the script into another format and drop in pictures and drawings I sketched on my PDA. Read More...

What is the real story here? How do we tell it in a powerful way. What isn't part of the story? Read More...

Today we took Lucy to the doctor to get her two month vaccination. Read More...

Today I spent much of my time helping Jamie, a photographer here for a couple of months, recover (we hope) a bunch of pictures she lost from her computer drive. Read More...

The purpose of this site is to give donors, prayer partners, and other interested people information on our work here in Spanish Ministries at the Malaga Media Center. Read More...