Posted: 12/17/04
Shared holiday meal fills El Paso
Baptists with renewed passion for missions
By John Hall
Texas Baptist Communications
EL PASO–A holiday meal filled several Texas Baptists from El Paso with a renewed desire to see and meet needs around them.
Four members of First Baptist Church celebrated Thanksgiving at the Alfa & Omega School in Denia, Spain, where they taught children about why Americans celebrate the holiday. The Texas Baptists served turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce to more than 100 people.
The Texas Partnerships Resource Center of the Baptist General Convention of Texas has a relationship with Spanish Baptists.
| More than 100 faculty and staff members of the Alfa & Omega School in Denia, Spain, line up for a Thanksgiving meal provided by volunteers from First Baptist Church in El Paso. |
The volunteers explained to the school's students, staff workers and their families why Christians thank God for blessing them, said Debra Collins, First Baptist Church's minister of missions, community ministries and women's ministry.
“It was a lot of work,” said Gay Brown, a member of First Baptist Church. “It was a lot of fun. And it was an enormous blessing.”
The experience invigorated the travelers, who shared details of their trip with their church one Wednesday, Collins said. They also are telling stories about their journey to different segments of the congregation through Sunday school classes and personal relationships, she added.
Brown emphasized to her class that God calls each person to be involved in mission work.
The trip to Spain gave volunteers a broader view of how God is expanding his kingdom, Collins said.
El Paso Baptists saw ministry can take many different forms, she noted. They took that information home with them and are looking to apply it in their community.
“It gives us an extra focus that there are things we can do outside receiving support for Juarez and El Paso,” Collins said.
“Whether we go to Spain or we go across the river or are serving right here in El Paso, we are to be sharing the gospel,” she said.
Brown said she more clearly sees the needs in El Paso and its surrounding communities. She particularly mentioned ministering to people who live in a valley north of the West Texas city.
"We don't have to go to Mexico," she said. "We don't have to go to Spain. We have (needs) all around here."
For information on partnering with Spain and other countries, contact the Texas Partnerships Resource Center at (214) 828-5181 or via e-mail at texas_partnerships@bgct.org.
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