ClO

r^ac^es Shain
"AS THE FATHER HATH SENT ME. SO SEND I YOU" JOHN 20:21
USL^
Jan. -- March. 1978
"All power la given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye
therefore, amd teaich all nations baptising them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
... and lo, I an trith you always, even unto the end of the
world. (Matt. 28i18-20),
Jan naJum sa
Vhat a wonderful promise in these words of our Lord and
Savior,and with the promise a task for all of His children.
It heis now been four years since we first left our homeland
to spread the Good News in Spain. These ^ years have been
many things the biggest has been a tine of learningi
learning to minister in a foreign culture and language, to
be eei>arated from family,to make new friends, and above all
learning to trust more fully in our Lord.
Me have learned more about His power and His constant
presence as we settled in Madrid, made the move to Mieres
and began the work here, left for furlough and then return
ed to resume the work in Hieres, Since our last newsletter
our Lord revealed even more of His power and presence >dien
Kathy had to spend a number of weeks in bed due to Hepati -
tis. The Lord gave her a speedy recovery and blessed us
abundantly thru the time. We praise Him for His power and
presence. We preiise Him for the opportunity to serve Him,
SOWING
THE
SEED
fl ^ SoKlng the Word of
I ^ in the hearts of
ff y/ the people In Spain
I J ' la a big Job, one
r ^Ich deaands tine
^d dedication. Varl-
ous aeans can be
iKused,
Juan, a Joyful, Serving Christian
Juan has been extrenely active in the Lord's work the
last few months. He has been distributing literature
by himself and with Dan, He has also been accompanying Dan
in hie calling on contacts.
A new method of teaching contacts has been the use of a
series of slides with tape recorded narrations, Ihe series
covers Bible history giving the people a basic Idea of the
Gospel, Thus far about 15 non~bellevers have viewed one
or more of the presentations.
In Mark if126-29 Jesus uses a parable to tell how that
when the Vord of God Is planted, we don't know how It
grows but at the proper time it will grow and be ready for
harvesting. We are busy planting the seed and trusting
God for ihe results. The apostle Paul saldi "I planted,
Apolos watered but God gave the Increase,"
"Rut" Stamping Itacts
Ru^, Juan's youngest daugh
ter who Is 8 years old, was
excited about being able to
help in the work by prepar
ing literature for dlstrlbu-
tlod.
! run,
^Nl
"Hlqul'
Nlqul is the brother of
Trlqul Spanish T.V.'b
Cookie Monster. Nlqul who
Is always hungry for God's
Word visits our church ser
vice each Sunday to help
plant the Word In the hearts
of the children.
Another way that we Christian Movies
have begun to use In I f. ' '
planting the Word la t " " .
the use of Christian w
files. Ihus far we
have shown two. ach
movie has been shown
twice, once for the
adiats and the other
time for the young
people.
Besides the be
lievers, two men and
3 ladles were pres
ent for the second movie, and one of the ladles brought
her 8 year old daughter. Her husbautd, idio has been seeing
the slide series, would have cone but was sick.
We are also using these movies as a neans to begin a
desperately needed work among young people. Our hopes are
to encourage the two young believers in Mleres and to
reach other young people In an atmosphere geared to then.
We were very excited the first night when 13 young people
came, 9 of which had never before heard the Gospel. Ihe
movie did an excellent job of presenting God's message of
Love to the young people. Most of them stayed for over an
hour afterwards to discuss the film idille having light re
freshments that Kathy had made. Eight young people came
to the second movie and again stayed to discuss the mes
sage and one asked to take a New Testament home. Three of
these had not come to the first movie. Next month we plan
to show a third one,Pray with us that this seed will fall
on "good soil and bring forth fruit,"
ft
PRAYBR CLOSET
"Ihou art the God that doest wonders: Thou hast declared
Itay strenght aaong the people." Psalias 77tl4
Praise God for His loving care to us during Kath/s illness
and for her speedy recovery.
Praise God for Nathan's happy, SBlllng face as he boards
the school bus each day now.
Praise God for the opportunities to plant the seed in
Hieres and for the contacts made.
Pray for the new contacts and the work begun with the teen
agers (we need lots of wisdoa and guidance for
this new work).
Pray for the Rolands and for their support to cone in so
that they may soon Join us in Spain.
Pray that the goal set for the "local" (storefront builds
ing) downpc^ent will be reached soon and ^at
the Lord will provide Just the right "local,"
Pray for these prospects by naaet Anado, Manuel and his
wife, Roberto, Raljiundo,hi8 wife and daughters.
Pray for our Forwarding Agents, Tom and Sue Mole, and the
Glen Sllyn Elders as they continue to provide
vital services for the work here. Also pray
for all of our supporters.
Sfa/n
% First Christian Church
25 W. 171 Geneva Road
Glen Ellyn, 111. 60137
Dan and Kathy Crosley
Missionaries to Spain
lilSSIOJl SBIIVICRS
177
BISiSTON, i:iD. 45CA9
Non-frofil Orf.
U, S POSTAGE
Paid
Gln Siyn. Ill
Ptrrtul No. 160
OCT 5 1978
/^eades Sjtm'd]^
"/IS THE FATHER HATH SENT ME. SO SEND / YOU" JOHN 20:21
No. 2*3 April - Juni 197Q
FIR3T PUBLIC MKBTING
300 In Attendance
May 13 was an exciting day for the worh in Mieres. It
was the day we held our first public gathering. The turn
out was treaendously encouraging.
In February we began showing Christian novies in our
apartaent. Altogether in three nonths 30 some different
visitors attended, some saw two or three different movies.
That was encouraging to us especially when you remember
that we cannot publicly invite people to our home and also
considering the reluctance of many Spanish people to go to
another person's apartment. Thus, when we became aware of
the possibility of using the auditorium of a savings and
loan bank, free of charge, arrangements were made for its
use idiich included a permit from the governor's office to
hold a public meeting, tfe decided to show the movie "A
Tine to Run" which is the best Christian movie that is
available to us. We advertised the showing in two reglonai
newspapers and passed out more than 1500 invitations.
It turned out that the date we selected was a poor one
first of all because it vaa a Saturday. I later learned
fr( the manager of the auditorium that Saturday is tradi
tionally the poorest night of the week for any such func
tion, Secondly, that same evening was the date chosen by
two opposing political parties to hold mass campaign meet-
ings In Mieres. But Praise the Lord even with all of that
going against the possibilities of people coning, 300 per
sons came out to see the movie. I was permitted to say a
few words afterwards, I had taken a stack of New Testa
ments and Gospels according to John which were offered to
those that would ask for them. Twice as many could have
been given out if I would have had enough faith to have
taken than. Young and old alike were anxious to have one.
Each person seeing the movie was given two stimulating
tracts as they left the auditorium. I wish that I could
have invited all of these people to our services, but be
cause we do not have a building, I could not do that.
No public decisions were made that evening. We would
not have been permitted to offer such an invitation in
that auditorium anyway. The use of movies and distribu
tion of Christian literature is very useful in exposing
people to the Good News of Jesus Christ but usually more
cultivation is needed before one is ready to give his life
to the Lord. Pray with us that the Lord will enable us to
water the seed that was planted that evening through the
movie in the hearts of these 300 people, and pray that Ho
will give the increase.
A UNIQUE OPPOR'nJNITY
days after the public meeting when I was able to show the
same movie to a much smaller but very unique group. The
day before the public showing of the movie, I had hesitat
ingly invited the teachers and workers at Nathan's nursery
school, who are Roman Catholic Nuns. They did not come to
the public showing for idiich one of then apologized saying
that they had been imable to, I quickly asked if they
would be interested in seeing the movie right there at the
school which also serves as their home, Biey agreed to
this,so later that week I found myself showing a Christian
movie to a small group of Roman Catholic Nuns, They were
all deeply impressed. Afterwards they invited me to stay
for coffee and to talk. This nay lead to further contacts
with them and the possibility of entering a Catholic hic^
school with the movie. Pray for this unique opportunity.
Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom and boldness,
PRAISE THE LORD! We believe we have found a suitable
building for the church in Mieres, The Glen Ellyn Elders
have given approval. The legal details are being worked on
now. Pray for the remainder of the $10,000 downpaynent to
be supplied quickly. More details in next newsletter.
Josef and Barbara
Winter
SWISS INTERNS
In April we made a trip to Zara^oza to Interview a
young couple from Switzerland interested In working with
us on an Internship basis, Ihey are Josef and Barbara
Winter, Ihey were baptized by our missionary In Switzer
land, David Stltt, Ihey are Interested In working as
missionaries In a Spanish speaking country, Ihey studied
Spanish In Madrid during May and June, and arrived In
Mleres on June 30 to live and work with us for three
months. At times the language barrier Is a problem as
the Winters are still working on their Spanish and "Joe"
-epeaks very little English (his wife,Barbara speaks Eng
lish fluently). But praise God that He can help us over
come all obstacles. The Winters are limited In their
ministry here due to the language but they have already
b^iui to make some contributions, Barbara helps Kathy
with the housework and will be taking care of all of the
children during Bible Study on Thursday evenings. The
assistance that Barbara gives with the housework Is real
ly needed especially now that summer Is here and Kathy Is
teaching Nathan his U, S, Kindergarten correspondence
course so that he will learn to read and write English.
Joe la helping Dan out In the office and accOTipanles him
on his cadllng. The Winters traveled from Madrid up to
Mleres In May In order to help pass out literature etc,
for our first public meeting.
We were sadened to re
ceive word from the Harold
Hicks family that they
have felt led to return to
America. Ihey have lived
in Zaragoza since coming
to Spain four years ago.
They hope to work among
Spanish speaking people
In the U.S. We pray God's
blessings upon them and
their new work.
PRAYER CLOSET
Pralae God for the turn out of 300 people for the first
public meeting*
Pray for the Word to take root in the hearts of those ex
posed to the Gospel through the Christian mov
ies.
Praise God for Josef and Barbara Vlnter and their willing
ness to serve the Lord,
Pray for the Harold Hicks family as they return to the U.
S, to work there*
Praise God that the Paul Roland family will soon be arriv-
vlng in Spain*
Pray for the prospects in Mleres as well as the edifica
tion of the Christians,
Pray for the details to be worked out quickly concerning
the buying of the building in Mleres. Also
pray that the remainder of the downpayment
will be forthcaaing,
WwwwwwwwwiMrwiTlrwlMrlMrirIMr
LAST MINUTE NEWS
Paul and Helen Roland along with their children Jon Paul
and Amy plan to arrive In Madrid, Spain July 20, Ban and
Kathy plan ^o meet then at the airport, .Kathy,. Helen and
the children will take the train back to Mleres and Dem
will help Paul hunt for an apartment in Madrid where the
Rolands will be spending at least 9 months in language
study. Pray for the Rolands as they get settled.
Sjiain
%First Christian Church Non-Profit Org.
25 W. 171 Geneva Road POSiACiE PAID
Glen Eiiyn, III. 60137 Glen Ellyn, III,
Dan and Kathy Crosley Periiiit No. 16J
Missionaries to Spain
SDITOaiAL omcH
Mission SSRVXCSS
BOX l?7
c,/ftSit" 7
(T^i^afie /^endes rrj~
"^5 THE FATHER HATH SENT ME. SO SEND /. YOU" JOHN 20:21
Jiilv - September. 1978
H_E J (LI G B WJE T H (LSI
Amado Prada being baptized in the river
Jesus saidi "There is joy in the presence of the angels of
(5od over one sinner that repenteth," There was not only
joy in heaven but also among the Christians in Mieres when
Araado confessed his faith in the Saviour, Invited Him into
his heart and then submitted his life to the Lord in Chris
tian baptism
Ama^o is the very first convert during our ministry in
Mieres, Dan started calling on Amado in the Fall of 1976,
After our furlough last year Dan continued to visit Amado
who then started attending worship services but only spo
radically, Praise the Lord with us that this summer Amado
became a Christian, Pray with us for his spiritual growth.
September 23rd, Second Public Meeting
EVARCELISTin MAMA
Drama is a seldom used method of presenting the gospel
message to non-christians. Nevertheless, we decided to
sponsor a Christian theatrical group from Madrid which has
been perfoxming in various parts of Spain. We were again
able to obtain the public auditorium of the savings and
loan bank where we had our first public meeting a few
months ago. We advertised the event in the regional news<*
paper and passed out 3,000 invitations. Praise the Lord;
More than 300 non-christians attended the program.
The drama entitled "The Six Who Died" is about six dis
tinct personalities that die on the same day. They find
themselves thrust into eternity awaiting admittance thru
one of two doors. Mr. Capitalist is sure that his hard
work, his money and his influential contacts will permit
him to pass through the door to the celestial city. Miss
Happiness, a hjrpochondriac, counts on her miserable physi
cal life to be recompensed by passing ttox the celestial
door. Another is confident because of her good works and
a young skydiver is betting on his persuasive abilities.
One is Miss Hippy who does not" believe"^~an"afte2ilfe and
is sure that they are all Just experiencing a momentary
phenomenon at the time of death. The last of the six is
the only one who is finally allowed to enter the heavenly
city and that because of her faith in Jesus Christ. The
play ends when the other 5 open the second door, see a
blazing fire and Miss Hippy screams as she realizes that
this is all really happening.
After the perfozmance the director introduced each of
the actors and then explained from the Bible tdiy the char
acter they represented was refused uimittance to heaven
with exception of the Christian. In this way a very ex
plicit presentation of the gospel was made to these 300
souls. An invitation was not presented but those that
were interested in discussing the message were invited to
stay to talk with the cast. About 40 young people stayed
As a direct result three young i)eople have started a cor
respondence course. Pray with us that the seed planted
thru this drama will be allowed to spring forth and that
Gk>d will bring about an increase.
Alisa really enjoys her
nursery school which is
named "Disneylandia,"
This will help her to
learn enough Spanish so
that she will be ready
to attend regular pub
lic school.
PICNIC WITO ROLANDS
IN MADRID
The Paul Roland family
arrived in Spain on
July 20th, They are
studying the language
in Madrid,
\k/
Kathy works with Nathan
on his American Kinder
garten course after he
arrives home from his
Spanish school. He must
do this to learn to
read and write English.
PRAYER CLOSET
praise God for the conversion of Aaado.
Pray for Amado's continual spiritual growth*
Praise God that 3OO souls were able to hear the gospel
thru the Evangelistic drama*
Pray for Monica, Nontserrat and Javier who have started a
Bible correspondence course.
Praise God that Paul and Helen Roland are now in Spain*
Pray for the Rolands as they continue to adjust to their
adopted country, especially pray for &eir language
study*
Praise God that Nathan and Alisa are happy in school.
Pray that God will direct us to the right "Local" (store
front building) for the church in Mieres*
Praise God that He supplies our every need*
***
ATTENTION* Tom and Sue Mole, our Forwarding Agents, issue
income tax deductible receipts on a quarterly basis to <^11
regular contributors and ioaedlate receipts for all one
time gifts,If-you have not received-a receipt for a gift-
sent to the mission, please contact the Moles in care
of the church (address below). Be sure to remember tomaJce
checks payable to 1st Christian Church, M^oi Agape*
/^acLs S/iain
% First Christian Church
25 W. 171 Geneva Road
Glen Ellyn, III. 60137
Dan and Kathy Crosley
Missionaries to Spain
Non-froTit Org.
U. S POSTAGE
Paid
Gln Slyn, III.
Parmit No. 160
ABOmiD THE ECm
What a joy: What a Blessing.' ...two smiling, happy chil
dren bouncing off to school each day. School began here
the middle of September, and indeed, it is a blessing to
have the tears of last year replaced with smiles and con
tentment. Last year Nathan cried every morning for months
before going to nursery school. The language barrier was
the reason.
Nathan is in kindergarten, attending a national school.
He goes from 9 a*m. to 12 and 2 in the afternoon until
five days a week. His biggest joy is carrying a satchel
filled with his books, pencils and paper just like his
big friend Andres.Nathan also has English classes at home.
Alisa attenifcnursery school three hours each morning
of the school week. It is a new school called ''Disney-
landia." How excited she gets each morning as we approach
her school and she sees the sign with the pictures of
Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Donald and Daisy Duck:
Priase God for this victory. We ask i^at you continue
to pray for Nathan and Alisa to have a good year in school
and to pray for their hecdth.
* * *
God always knows best: When we first moved into our
apartment a year ago, I asked Dan, myself and God, "Why so
big?" Although the apartment is not so big as compared to
American homes, still it is bigger than the average Span
ish apartment. During this past year, God answered over
and over again ray question, "Why so Big?"
The visits started with Dan's folks last January.
Throughout the Spring, our home continued to be blessed
with many visits from different friends, including the
visits of the Harold Hicks family, Pepe Jurdao and family
and the visit of Jack Fisher, Elder from Glen EUyn.
In July the Winters began their three month st^ with
us working out an internship. Later in July the Paul
Rolands arrived in Spain and spent almost two weeks with
us. Ihen in September we had five young people from the
theatrical group spend the night with us.
Needless to say, our home has been rich in Christian
Fellowship. We thank God for so many friends and the
blessing they are to us. Thank God too that He supplied
our need for a large apartment even before we knew we
needed one.
Praise God that even though the value of the U.S. Dollar
has fallen by more than 13^ in Spain since last Septeraber
and that the inflation rate is over 20^, He has supplied
our every need through loving, concerned Christians. His
Love is truly great:
A WORD FROM THE GLEN ELLYN ELDERSHIP:
It was a thrill for me, when I discovered last spring
that company business would require me to travel to
England^ The trip would make it possible for me to go
to Spain and visit the Crosleys and the work in Mieres,
I arrived in Mieres on Friday, May 26, and stayed until
Thursday, June 1, That was enough time for me to meet
the people, visit them in their homes, preach on Sun
day, lead mid-week Bible study, take a lot of pictures
and leam to love each person there,
Christian friends, our brothers and sisters in Mieres
are very much like we are, though their needs may be
different. They live in a climate of rapid social and
political change. The congregation is small but devout.
They pray regularly for the supporting churches in the
U.S. We would do well to do the same for them!
Due to Spanish laws, assembly of any group, without a
specific, dated, permit, is limited to 20 in number.
This means that a Church meeting in the Crosley apart
ment,^ with 21 present, would be illegal. In spite
of this, and many other obstacles, the Church in
Mieres is growing. You and I can have the blessed priv-
iledge of helping that growth with our contributions to
the Agape Building Fund, Please consider your special
gift as a fellow worker with the Lord in this way.
While in Spain, I recorded greetings from several of the
brothers and sisters there. These voices are a part of
a tape-slide presentation I am making available to you.
To borrow the presentation for a committee meeting or a
missions program, just contact Tom and Sue Mole, the
forwarding agents, or me, at First Christian Church in
Glen Ellyn.
In Christian Love,,En el amor de Jesus,
Jack L, Fisher, Elder
/^acLs Sfirn'O^'-j
-AS THE FATHER HATH SENT ME, SO SEND /. YOW JOHN 20:21
I
'^z[Lz czAfautdaJ.
Even though not all of the brethren in Mieres axe pictured
here, we all wish our brothers in Aneriea and around the
world a very JOYOUS CHRISTMAS.
first impressions
written by Paul Roland
How do I describe the rushing torrent of sights,sounds,
feelings, tastes and smells that go together to form my
first impressions in this new country. Ihis torrent is
almost like a swollen river engulfing me with every kind
of sensation. Some of these are old and familiar to me,
while others are c<^pletely new and unfamiliar. Of course
the new is often a surprise because I didn't know what to
expect, but Just as often the old is equally surprising
when it appears unexpectedly right alongside the unfamil
iar.
Many examples could be cited. We still cannot get used
to the customers throwing the paper napkins and other
scraps on the floor in the cafes. But though this is a
real surprise to us, it is an accepted practice here. Yet
it was almost as much of a surprise to see the familiar
micro-wave oven being used behind the counters in the same
cafes. We weren't ready for all the sights and sounds and
smellsespecially the smells of the central market the
first time we went. But we were almost equailly surprised
tb^see^so~raany~larg0 super markets like the ones-back homei-
There are many other things that come to mind as I
think of my first impressionss the magnificent buildings}
the awful filth; the beautiful gardens and fountains(the
crowded streets and the constant noise. The list could go
on and on. But it is the people that we came to minister
to and it is they who have made the biggest impressions on
me. My first impressions of the people of Spain are two
fold as I think of different incidents in the last two and
a half months.
I am impressed with the people's love and concern for
children and their parents. This praiseworthy virtue has
been demonstrated to us countless times when people on the
subway have given up their seats so we could sit. But it
is also on the subway that we have had impressed upon our
minds a bad side of the Spanish character. We have seen
a great deal of selfish greed. I almost had to laugh the
time I saw a man and a woman literaly running from differ
ent directions to get the lust remaining seat. In their
haste they ran into each other thereby giving a third per
son time to get the seat they were fighting over. I am
impressed by the goodness of the woman who had her daught
er move and then "fought off" other people so Helen could
sit dorni with Jon Paul and Any. But another tine four or
five w<Maen graciously remained standing so Helen could
sit with the kids only to have a man push his way past
all the women and grab the seat before Helen could get to
it. Among my first impressions of the people of Spain is
the goodness of several of our neighbors when we forgot
and. locked our keys in the house. Our next door neighbor
not only let me climb from his balcony to ours, but kept
hold of me while I did so I would be sure not- to fall.
On the other hand the unknown individusd who stole Helen's
glasses out of her purse while on the subway will also
forever form part of my first impressions of the people.
In short,my first impressions of the people are a mix
ture, I am impressed on the one hand by the extreme good
ness, politeness and helpfulness of the people in so many
circumstances, idiile on the other hand I am impressed by
the selfishness, greed and rudeness in so many other cir
cumstances, The good is there right next to the bad, the
bad is always there with the good. When I think about it,
though, isn't that how people are everywhere? Goodness
should be expected in even the least of mankind, for man
was created in the iii^e of God, But also we should ex
pect evil in even the greatest, for "all have sinned,"
There is the spark of goodness reflecting the image of
God, but that image is marred by the scar of sin. As
Christians not only should we expect this mlKture of good
and evil, but in fact it should be a motivating factor in
our lives. The image of God in man speaks of man's worth,
no matter how badly -that image has been scarred. Because
we have the gospel we should be motivated to proclaim it
to every maneven if in our eyes he is the highest humaoi.
The best human still has need, the worst human still has
worth, 80 whether we look at the goodness or the wicked
ness of man, we Christians should be motivated to preach
the gospel. Because of man's worth and man's need we are
here in Spain proclaiming God's remedyi and it is because
of the need and the worth of men in every part of the
world that Jesus c<imi8sioned us Christians to "Go and
make disciples of jail nations," Praise God for the good
ness of man and also for providing the remedy for the
wickedness of man2
a,
WWW wwwww
As repor-ted in our last Newsletter, Paul and Helen fioland
and their two children,arrived on the field in late July,
They are studying the language in Madrid in preparation
for working with us in Nieres,
BRAYSR CLOSBT
Praise God that Jayler one of the contacts from the draaa
presented in Sept^her, has c<aipleted one Bible
Study correspondence course and is anxious to
do another.
Pg*y that Javier will give his life to the Lord, Also pray
that his faaily will be brou^t to the Lord in
cluding an Aunt that lives in Argentina. Javier
has interested her in studying the correspond
ence course.
Praise God for the ei^^t visitors.teenagers and adults, we
have had in our services this Fall.
Pray for Abel and his faaily and Jose Luis and his wife.
This week they will see the last of the five-
part Bible Study series in slides.
Praise God for the progress the Rolands are Baking in
adapting to the language and culture.
Pray for Aaado who was baptized this suaaer. He is having
a very hard trial as he has had alaost no work
in his small tailor shop for several Bonths.
Pray that his faith will be strengthened in
thistiae of"testing.
Praise God for His great Love in sending His Son to be
bom in a lowly manger and later to give His
life for you and me.
/^ac/ies Sjiam
% First Christian Church
25 W. 171 Geneva Road
Glen Ellyn,
Dan and Kat^ Crosley/
Missionarie^o-Spain
Non^roTtt Org.
U. S POSTAGE
Paid
Glen eilyn. Hi.
Permit No. 160