Dear Pastor and Church family and praying friends,

35 year Church Anniversary.
Our hearts are full of thanksgiving to the Lord for allowing the Iglesia Bautista Bíblica de Villa Rosa to celebrate their 35th anniversary. Bro. John and Rhonda Reilly (pastor of Beacon Baptist Church in Taylor, MI) were our special guest for this celebration. They were such a blessing to our people and an encouragement to us personally. On Saturday we held a teen meeting with 5 other churches in the area and had 57 in attendance and bro. John preached a great sermon. One of the highlights of the meeting was when we all paired off and had a time of prayer for the people of Ukraine.On Sunday Bro. John again preached in the morning and evening services, and we were able to have a meal together for lunch. We rejoiced to see all that God has done in the past, and are excited to see His work continue as we look forward.

Praise the Lord for what He is doing in the church’s neighborhood as well as through the church members and their individual witness. Marcos (one of our men) was able to lead Sergio to the Lord at the factory where they work. Although he lives almost 2 hours away, Marcos has already connected him to a Baptist church in his city. Please pray that God would bless our witness as we share the Gospel and allow us to see souls saved.

Ukraine help. During the month of March, retired missionary and dear friend, Larry Malone, contacted us to see if we could be a channel of help to the Ukrainians arriving in Spain for relocation. Most of the Baptist churches we’ve been in contact with are reaching out and helping in their own cities. God has blessed and we have been able to put a family in touch with a Baptist Church near Valencia (on the coast). Please pray that as the funds come in, we will be able to help more families as there are now over 31,000 Ukrainian citizens that have arrived in Spain as they flee from the war.

Our men’s breakfast and ladies Bible study are going well. We’ve had several new visitors during February and March. Summer camps are 3 months away, so we’ve begun to distribute the work and make preparations for the 5 weeks of summer camps.Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support for us and the work in Madrid. We are so blessed that you are a part of the ministry.

In Him,
Jack and Joy Loveday

Dear Pastor and Church family,

Noise problems / new opportunity: The building next door to the church was zoned for living quarters last year and an apartment was built. Although they promised to soundproof it, the building company did the ceiling, floor and 3 of the 4 walls and yes, you guessed right…the wall they left out is the one we share with Carlos, the new owner of the apartment. Over the past 6 months Carlos began to pound on the wall during the services. We talked with him many times but to no avail. One Sunday morning the knock at the door turned out to be the local police! They had come in response to his complaint of the “constant” noise of piano and singing. Upon our return from the US, we started a “Sweet ministry”. Each week one of our ladies baked something sweet and we would leave it at Carlos’ front door with a note. I was able to visit Carlos after the 2nd delivery. After a very intense beginning (with threats of taking the noise problem to court), he backed down and I’m sure God is using the “sweets” to change his heart. Pray with us that Carlos might come to the Christmas program on Dec. 19 and that we can find a good solution to the sound problem as well as win Carlos to Christ!


Ordination. On Saturday, November 6th, I traveled down with 2 other pastors from the Madrid area to the ordination of Omar Ossa, (a brother from Colombia whom I’ve known for many years), to the Gospel ministry. He is a member of a fellow missionary, Bro. Scooter Belasco’s church in Torrent, Valencia. It was a blessing and encouragement to see God’s work in Omar’s life and to participate in this special occasion. Meetings reopened. Upon our return, we’ve started up our men’s breakfast as well as our monthly Ladies Bible study, and are encouraged by the participation of our people. God has given me several good opportunities to speak with Javier, the owner of the Restaurant next door to the church.

Christmas program. On Sunday, Dec. 19, we will be celebrating our Christmas program which is one of our largest evangelistic meetings of the year. Please pray for God to work in hearts. Family news. Less than a week after our return to Spain, Joy tripped at night on some raised sidewalk tiles outside of her parent’s apartment and broke a bone in her left hand. Doing things with one hand has been a challenge. Please pray that she will be able to recover the full use of her hand.

We would also ask you to pray for our son-in-law and daughter, Eric and Amanda Shadle, as they have left Ethiopia because of the very unstable situation there. Pray for the church family they leave behind and for God to encourage their hearts and bring an end to the fighting.
With grateful hearts, we thank the Lord for allowing us to serve Him in Madrid, for HIS work in each heart, and for you, our faithful prayer warriors and supporters.
Thank you!

Jack and Joy Loveday

Field Address: Apartado 2.488 • 28080 Madrid, Spain • e-mail address: loveday.spain@gmail.com • www.iglesiabautistavr.com • http://www.mccbautista.com

Standing beside and behind the BBFI missionaries are a group of people who serve the Lord and serve us at the Missions Office.

We encourage you to take some time and read about all the different facets of their work and how it benefits us personally as well as all the different works around the world. Just click on the link below Global2018.

If you don’t support the Missions office monthly (we do!), pray about the possibility of joining their effort to make the missionaries’ lives and ministries more effective as we reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Global2018

Amazing facts about SPAIN (in spite of the current crisis):
*Taken principally from “Una gran nación con capacidad de liderazgo” in La Razón, Aug. 8, 2012, pp. 14-15 (.pdf attached).

Per capita, Spain has the highest consumption of cocaine & marijuana in the world http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-most-cocaine-users-2012-6
Spain is the single country in the world with the most AVE kilometers of rail-lines–220 kms./hr. (High-Speed Train lines)
Seven of every ten young people 20-30 yrs. still, live at home with their parents.
The greatest amount of solar energy derived from solar installations in the world comes from Spain.
Spain is the largest producer and exporter of table olives in the world; the greatest producer of piñon nuts; the greatest exporter of citric fruits; the second greatest producer of artichokes; and the highest producer in Europe of all kinds of fruit.
Currently, Spain has the highest unemployment in Europe, 26%.
30% of all the grape vineyards in the European Union are in Spain, representing 13.8% of all the land dedicated to wine culture in the world.
Spain is the second greatest exporter of wine in the world, behind Italy; is the 1st highest producer of honey and is the 1st highest producer in Europe of fish from hatcheries.
More than 459 million people in the world speak Spanish; there are 18 million registered students of Spanish; 81 million web pages in Spanish
Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world, per number of speakers, and is the 2nd language of international communication
40.5 million people speak Spanish in countries where it is NOT the official language.
Spain is the fourth most popular tourist destination in the world and has the third-largest number of hotel rooms.
Spain leads Europe in the amount of water recovered from desalination plants.
Spain is the 2nd highest manufacturer of vehicles in Europe; is the first in Europe for the installed capacity for the production of stainless-steel.
Telefonica is the the first integrated-European telephone operation in Europe, and the first in the world for the number of customers.
The second-largest telescope in the world is in Spain (in La Palma, Canarias).
Spain holds first place in Europe and the third in the world in agro-biotechnology; and is fifth in biochemistry and molecular biology.
Three of every five airline flights in the world are controlled by Spanish-designed systems of air navigation.
The electronic DNI (National Identity Document) and electronic passport are pioneer efforts in personal electronic identification
Seven of the ten largest companies in the world in the administration of infrastructures are Spanish.
The third wealthiest man in the world is a Spaniard (Amancio Ortega), after Bill Gates; and is worth 47 billion dollars; who increased his wealth by 32% in the last year. Spanish – http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/08/07/economia/1344304904.html, English – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/amancio-ortega-third-richest-man_n_1756048.html
A total of 100% of Spaniards and residents of Spain are sinners and without hope of Heaven, without Christ (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).
Spain is the least evangelized Spanish-Speaking country in the world.

This past Easter Sunday was a first for all of us around the world as we celebrated the resurrection of our Saviour online! We truly thank the Lord for the technology that has allowed us to stay connected with the church family as well as celebrate our weekly services.

On Easter Sunday, some of our Sunday school children who thankfully live in a house with a yard, presented their easter skit. It is in Spanish, but we are so proud of them for making the effort to present this to us.

Today is “holy” Friday in Spain, and many faithful Catholics will go participate in the carrying of their favorite idol of Jesus or of Mary. 

Our hearts are always saddened as we see how this religion has enslaved the hearts and minds of so many.  Because it is raining and dangerous for those carrying the idol, many will not be able to take their saints out for the walk around the city. 

Please continue to pray for Spain, that many souls would have their eyes opened to the truth that Jesus lives on this Easter Sunday. 

When Jack and I arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 5th, 2017 to begin our furlough, we saw an ad on TV with the slogan “Let’s go places”.  We had just decided that our old motto, “on the road again” was outdated, so we chose this catchy phrase as we began our travels.

Once out on the highways to visit our churches, we have experienced some nervous and tense moments as we continually have to be watchful to adjust our speed. Sometimes we can travel at 65, or 70 or even 75 miles per hour (depending on what State we are passing through).  When we are on secondary roads or in a place of road construction, the variations are many in how fast or how slow we need to go. The constant adjustment to the speed limit can be exasperating, but certainly keeps us both alert!

This is very similar to our lives as we must constantly adjust to troubles, difficult situations outside of our control, or trials that come our way.  What a blessing to know that our Heavenly Father by way of His Spirit is constantly guiding us through each change of speed that comes into our lives.  Through His word, He encourages and guides us so that we need not fear nor get tense trying to adjust. Sometimes we have to speed up and sometimes it seems we are just crawling along, but we can trust Him who ever cares for us. His peace can be our constant companion as we adjust our speed.  Yes, “let’s go places” in our daily lives and in our spiritual walk with the sure knowledge that no matter what the “speed”, He is in control and we can rest in His love!

In the month of July 2017, we will begin our first week of the summer camps at Mount Calvary Baptist Youth Camp. This summer is going to be pretty special as we celebrate our 40th summer!
We’ve had many setbacks due to the weather as well as many changes, which have not allowed us to get as many projects done as we had planned.  Back in January, we had decided to finish putting tile floors in the remaining cabins, but only one side of one cabin has been done. This is in part due to something good as Spain’s economy seems to be bouncing back and people are finding jobs! As the men in our churches get jobs, their time to go and work at the camp property is no more, and therefore we have fewer pairs of hands to do the work. With God’s help, we will have all things ready by the first week of July.
Please join us in praying for the camp ministry and for the many campers that will come this summer. Pray for salvation as well as for growth and encouragement in the lives of those who will come.
Jack and Joy Loveday

One of the blessings of being in a ministry/church for many years, are the children that grow up in the church. God has allowed me the privilege of being Roger and Leti’s pastor for many years. Joy has taught them both piano for over 10 years and she has also been their Sunday school teacher. We have seen them come to Christ, be baptized, and begin to serve several years ago in different areas in the church ministry. They both graduated with good grades this month and will both be going on to college.

Roger and his family are from Ecuador, so they will return there in July and he will study there. Leti and her family are from Perú, but they are staying in Madrid, and she will at attending the university here.

Graduations in Spain are not a big deal…certainly nothing compared to what we do in the U.S. So we decided today to honor our 2 graduates for completing their course well, and for staying faithful to the Lord in the process.  Thank you for your prayers which allow us to be missionaries in Spain for a LONG time, and these 2 precious lives are fruit to your account. We pray they will go on and serve the Lord faithfully in the years to come!