Island People Hear the Good News

wp-images4“We thought we might begin feel a bit claustrophobic on such a little island” says Alliance international worker Gordon Munro, who, along with his wife, Kathie, has served in Spain since 1985. “After all, it only measures 28 miles long by 17 miles wide.” That, however, has not been the case. Since the Munros followed God’s call to La Palma, with a population of 86,000, they have enjoyed the mountain view from their balcony and the sunset off of the western shores of the island. “In the 10 months we have lived here,” Gordon says, “we’ve come to love the island and its people.” 

Upon their arrival in August 2010 to La Palma—nicknamed “La Isla Bonita” or beautiful island—southwest of Casablanca, Morocco, in the Atlantic chain of Canary Islands, the Munros wasted no time in initiating contact with the few believers that live there. One of the first events was a Christmas program. “Most of them are fairly new believers and had never been involved in anything like this before,” Gordon says.

Community Involvement

To reach the general population, the Munros offer English classes, which are slowly gaining momentum. “Most of the students are from the community and are responding to ads that were placed in a local newspaper,” Gordon says. “Recently, Kathie began teaching four Chinese children, opening the door for me to talk with the father of two of the children about Jesus.” Kathie also teaches English to two children from Bolivia.

Most of the people who attend church are immigrants from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, and Dominican Republic. Several people have shown an interest in learning more about Jesus, but one woman in particular “shows great promise,” says Gordon. Angustia prayed to receive Christ after a service a few months ago. One of the few people in the church who was born and raised in La Palma, the divorced single mother of an eight-year-old son, “is such a fun-loving person,” Gordon says. “She keeps us all laughing.

“When asked if she wanted to consider getting baptized this spring, Angustia candidly admitted she wasn’t ready and is too new in her Christian life. However, she faithfully attends church and is growing steadily little by little,” says Gordon, who has won the affections of Angustia’s son, Marco. “He is very mischievous and doesn’t sit still for a minute. 

“Marco loves Gordon,” Kathie says, “and often wants to hang around with him at church and sit beside him when he gets a chance.”

Saturday afternoons, the Munros host Kangu Children’s Hour—a time of games and a Bible story. Until recently, only children from the church had been attending. “We want this activity to make an impact in the community as well,” Gordon says. “This past Saturday, the four Chinese kids who are studying English attended Kangu Hour. After listening to the Bible story of how Jesus gave His life for us, one of the little girls commented, ‘I don’t know much about God.’ The way she said it indicated to me that the Holy Spirit was stirring up an interest in her heart.”

Changed Lives

God is touching the lives of various people; some have seen healing miracles in their lives. Others are attending discipleship classes. “In some cases,” Gordon says, “we’ve been disappointed by people who seemingly have been touched by God in incredible ways and yet soon lose interest. But when we do see spiritual growth and commitment to Christ, it brings joy to our hearts!”

One woman, Jaquelin, shared with everyone how in the past, she had been captivated with buying expensive clothing and whatever would make her look beautiful outwardly, but she has learned through four years as a follower of Christ that only Jesus satisfies. “Jaquelin still struggles in many areas, but she presses on,” says Gordon. “She spends her breaks at work reading her Bible, which is worn and marked, but she says she doesn’t want a new one because she will have to start all over with the underlining and marking. She’s planning to be baptized soon.”

wp-images3Gordon and Kathie also visit a small church periodically on the neighboring island of Tenerife, offering believers encouragement and practical help. During their last visit, a woman, Sodili, approached them and said that she’s “waiting for God to do a ‘miraculous sign’ to prove Himself to her.”

“Pray that she will recognize that the love Christ has for her and the way He cares for her is the miraculous sign she’s been looking for,” requests Gordon.

“God has allowed us to work here, thanks to the commitment of many people who regularly give to the Alliance Great Commission Fund,” says Gordon. “Thank you for partnering with us, so people like Jacquelin and Marco, as well as the four Chinese children and Sodili, can hear about the great love that Jesus has for them.”

What You Can Do

Pray for Gordon and Kathy as they build relationships within the La Palma community and on Tenerife. Also, pray that Angustia will follow the Lord in baptism and that Sodili will recognize God’s hand in her life

One More Thing You Can Do

Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries—partner with international Alliance workers to ensure that Jesus’ physical and spiritual healing continues reaching “to the ends of the earth.”  legacy.cmalliance.org/give

Learn More

Read about our work in Spain.

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