Short-Term Solution May 25th, 2007
At Málaga Media Center (MMC), ministry opportunities abound in areas which might not be considered missionary work. People serve in these areas for weeks, months or much longer. Living in Spain and working with people from various cultures and backgrounds toward a single goal is exciting. Being part of MMC while seeing God at work, hearing stories of North Africans and Spaniards turning to Christ is what makes MMC ministry worthwhile.
Just ask Joan Webb: “Working at MMC provides the opportunity to see that there are passionate young people doing missions work. It gives you hope that missions and God’s Word will continue to be spread among the nations.” She and her husband John, retired farmers from Alberta, Canada, have been to MMC three times since 2001. They have served in maintenance, hospitality, grounds and various other areas. They have experienced the daily life of missionaries, and their eyes have been opened to different ways God works. The people serving at MMC are no longer just names to John and Joan. They have become people with faces; they have become friends.
Gabriel Chang, a computer programmer from Toronto, Canada, spent a week at MMC followed by a week touring North Africa. He had been looking for information on Islamic countries when friends introduced him to the work of Avant Ministries in North Africa. This led to his time at MMC. Although only there for a short while, Gabe could see God’s hand at work. “While travelling through Morocco, I realized that people were aware of Christian programming channels. I couldn’t help but wonder if random folks I met might have seen some programs originating from MMC.”
Rosie Davis travelled to MMC on recommendation from BMS World Mission in England. Having worked in Christian radio in the past, she believes in the power of media to reach the lost. Rosie spent four months updating the database system for the Bible Correspondence and Follow-up ministries, using past experience as a computer programmer and lots of prayer to get the job done. “I saw God at work in me, in the people I worked with, and in the mission,” Rosie says. “I saw God’s provision for the work and his enabling to meet deadlines that seemed humanly impossible.”
Brandon Tauszik, a former Avant MK in England, arrived on referral by former MMC Director Gordon McRostie. Brandon spent his time editing video in Arabic (which he doesn’t speak or read), setting up lighting and cameras for video shoots, and helping out in other areas. “I saw God at work at MMC through the kindness radiated from everyone who works there,” says Brandon.
“MMC is, for me, a chance to use media in missions,” says Kirsten McMillan of Orange County, California. “I’ve learned to put aside expectations and make myself available for however God wants to work through me.” Both she Jamie Fehr of northern Alberta, Canada returned to MMC after working here with teams in the past. Kirsten and Jamie have been great additions in Arabic video, Web and IT. “I see God at work through the success stories told at morning prayer time,” Jamie says. “Those stories are my affirmation that this ministry is willed by God. They’re nothing short of miraculous.”
Mike South sums it up when he says, “MMC is different than a lot of other places you could go short-term. They have a lot of different things going on and a broad scope of people working there. It is fun and challenging to be able to work in so many different areas and with so many different people all in one place.” A construction worker from Warsaw, Indiana, Mike has returned to MMC several times after his original three-month stint. “There is never a lack of work at MMC,” declares Mike. And he’s absolutely right.
Over the past year, MMC has been blessed with the help of many short-term assistants: from as short as one week to as long as a few years.
Thank you John and Joan, Jaime, Rosie, Beth, Jamie, Gabe and Jason, John and Joanne, Ripley and Briana, Brandon, Mike, the REACH team, and the many others who have left their mark on the Málaga Media Center.