A microscopic little thing like a virus came upon the earth. It stopped us in our tracks. It paralyzed whole industries like travel, restaurants and the world of entertainment to name but a few. In parts of the world it crashed healthcare systems and overwhelmed the business of burying the dead. It caused us to doubt our livelihoods, our security, and the span of our lives.
In this one respect, COVID-19 did us a favor. It forced us to take stock of our lives, to consider what moves us, and most importantly, where we place our hope.
“It is only by facing and accepting the reality of my coming death that I can become authentically alive.”
Bishop Kallistos Ware
It is often only the death of a close loved one that can tear away the blissful ignorance we prefer concerning the meaning and purpose of our short lives. It was the death of our 17-year-old son in a car accident that forced Gerda and me to reassess how we wanted to live our lives. Our exuberance about life was tempered by the stark realization that this life will end. But it also refocused us on the life to come because we have a son on the other side of death, resting in the arms of Christ.
Given this eternal hope, we are less given to fear and more driven by what needs to be crammed in before we lay down our own heads someday – sooner or later.
Released from the “burdens” of life, we became privileged participants in and observers of the eternal work of God – the work that is not stopped by the curse of death. On the contrary, on this timeline, death becomes a great mercy releasing us from the temporal world and its cursed distractions and welcomes us into God’s eternal presence through faith in Jesus Christ.
We will not revisit the ways in which God used many simple human beings to establish the Christ Center ministry in Grand Junction over the last 15 years.
We do want to share with you what God has done over the last 12 months here and in Málaga, Spain. Then we will invite you to become part of what we believe God is going to do on both sides of the Atlantic going forward.
The last year
On May 21, 2019 (last Thursday a year ago), we formally purchased the property in Spain which four months later became a Christian coffee shop called Cuatro Vientos Café y Té. Its location is perfect, virtually in the heart of the University of Málaga (UMA) campus with its 40,000 students.
On October 3, 2019, we celebrated the opening of Cuatro Vientos and the wonderful baristas, key-supporters and Director God provided for staffing of this outreach. We celebrated the way in which God had just provided the last $50,000 “in the nick of time” over the previous 30 days – money without which all our opening plans would have been nothing but straw.
Following the opening of the shop in Spain, God continued to provide operating capital in various miraculous ways. We saw Seth Rickard (our Director in Spain), our Spanish board members, and the baristas finding their way with the menu and with a growing customer base.
When the virus forced the closure of Cuatro Vientos we continued to see God’s hand by the way he sent people who, through their generosity helped our Spanish baristas financially as they navigated the paralyzed unemployment system in Spain. And now, as we plan to reopen the shop, we are once again seeing people from unexpected places giving generously to replenish the operating reserves that will be needed to reopen and push through a lean summer season post coronavirus.
On the Grand Junction side of the ministry we had an equally remarkable year. We saw extremely dedicated staff traveling to Spain to go help with the opening of Cuatro Vientos. Their dedication and sacrifice made all the difference, creating a new ministry in a foreign country while maintaining the ministry in Grand Junction.
As usual, we collaborated with campus ministries and local churches to feed about 750 students in August of last year to introduce them to the ministries on campus (Meat the Freshmen.) We continued to partner with 8 local churches to provide free Sunday Suppers to students as a means of building relationships and community.
When the COVID-19 closed Four Winds, we were able to continue to feed students who had not left for home. Meals went out the door in take-out boxes on Wednesdays and Sundays and we were able to form even closer and open relationships with a small number of students.
When our long-standing bank could not process an emergency Government loan for us, God created a connection with another community bank which processed and got our loan approved within two days. Our baristas, back on the payroll because of the Government loan, showed up to deep clean. They baked lots of goodies which we carried to hospital workers, mail workers, fire fighters, bankers, grocery store-, and other essential workers.
And when Four Winds recently reopened, regulars showed up to support us. Many groups who met here before eagerly came in to resurrect their room reservations.
And ministry?
Pre-COVID-19, Matu Lara, a campus minister at UMA wrote this about the new Spanish outreach: “This semester we were very blessed by the launch of the coffee shop “Cuatro Vientos” in the university area, which is managed by Seth, my flatmate. He came almost two years ago as a missionary from the USA with the dream of opening a coffee shop to provide students and other Christian communities a space to develop our mission: share the gospel of the Love of Jesus. Coincidence?… Naaaah!
This allowed us to have a key space, both for team meetings and weekly activities or discipleship with students. Nowadays it is like the House of Q [Cristianos Universitarios], where you can go and always run into someone you know. And what’s more, the coffee is fantastic!”
And then, in the midst of the severe lock-down in Spain, ministry would not stop. Seth wrote the following about a new friendship with a neighbor born out of sheer hunger for human interaction: “We were almost one full month into the quarantine, and my flatmate Matu and I were feeling the need for contact with someone outside of our apartment. We were sitting on our balcony one day when the neighbor across the narrow street came out onto his balcony. We jumped at the opportunity for a conversation and said hi. That turned into some small talk, which turned into an hours long conversation ending with an explanation of what we “evangelicals” believe about Jesus and the gospel.
Thus began a friendship with our neighbor Bibiano. We talk often in the evenings from our balconies and since the loosening of isolation restrictions we have gone on several walks around the neighborhood. He continues to ask questions about our faith and loves to talk about Spanish life and culture. We keep praying for him and that God will work through us in his life.” Now you see the connection with the photo of Bibiano and his pet goose on a balcony across the street.
In Grand Junction, ministry also continued uninterrupted. For example, a conversation about Jesus with an Egyptian student continues even after CMU closed for the semester and the student returned to Cairo. This new conversation just happens all hours of the day and night. It happens not in person but via WhatsApp.
Progress and needs
So, virus or no virus, God has been moving – here and in Spain.
In our March 13 newsletter, we indicated that we needed $80,000 for operating reserves, care for unemployed workers, and support for our three missionaries.
We reported in our March 24 newsletter that God had provided and that our new needs figure had dropped to $53,000.
Today we project that our shortfall for these needs is about $45,000.
God also addressed a capital need not mentioned in a while. We received an amount of $75,000 earmarked for the purchase of an Intern Residence in Málaga. This will be a residential facility for American students doing internships at Cuatro Vientos, a place where Spaniards can be invited into community. Even here we saw God working: These funds were contingent on the sale of a property which went under contract pre-coronavirus. In spite of the fact that the economy seemed to be falling into a bottomless pit at the time of closing, the buyer nevertheless proceeded to closing and the funds became available.
We are now focused on:
- Generating sufficient operating capital for both ministries to get through the next six months. We are aiming for $20,000
- Sending the Marais’ to Spain. The visas are being processed. Their support is at 62% leaving a shortfall of only $21,000 per year
- Purchasing the Intern Residence. Our budget is $350,000 of which we have $75,000. Our remaining fundraising goal is $275,000
Will you join us on the journey to take the good news of Jesus to the 52,000 students at CMU and UMA?
For His glory,
Andrew and Gerda Marais
“Prepare your heart for your departure. If you are wise, you will expect it every hour. … And when the time of departure comes, go joyfully to meet it, saying, ‘come in peace. I knew you would come, and I have not neglected anything that could help me on the journey.’”
St. Isaac the Syrian