Hi! My name is Malena Campis, and I was blessed with the opportunity to go serve in Alpedrete, Spain, this summer and work with Lea and Anthony Edgmon and their ministry. I was able to be there for four weeks alongside three other students. I was able to help with Vacation Bible School, go on a camping trip with some of the youth from the church and surrounding churches, help with food distribution, help with worship on Sunday mornings, hear testimony from the Spanish believers, learn about the history and culture of Spain, and build relationships with the people. All of these things were amazing and a blessing, but not only did I get to go and do these things, God used them to show me things and minister to me.

During my time in Spain, I was coming in with a lot of “baggage.” My amazing momma passed away in May, unexpectedly. This broke me as she was my biggest supporter and best friend, and I really thought she was going to make it out this time. She was battling a ten-month-long fight of health issues, and she just couldn’t fight anymore. If I am being completely vulnerable, I was mad at God for taking her away from me. I understood why because she was in so much pain and she was suffering, but it just felt so unfair. I’m only 21, how am I supposed to do the rest of my life without my mom? How was I supposed to continue my summer and even go across seas and tell the Good News of Jesus when I just got the worst news of my life? I still had responsibilities and promises to not only Rejoice!  Ministry Team and CMP, but I promised my mom before she passed that I wouldn’t let her keep me from going and doing what God called me to do. I took the weary steps and went on with my summer. I struggled with my faith and tried to keep a brave and strong face on. There were harder days than others, but I tried my best to persevere. July came, and (after all the travel issues) CMP Spain was here. To say I was nervous was an understatement, but little did I know that God was going to show me things that I never expected.

The biggest thing that God showed me was His plan for me. Even though I went to minister to these people and meet their needs, God used them to show me what He has in store for me. Being able to meet these people and make connections with them, God showed me that His plan for me spreads farther than I thought. Before this trip, I was having doubts. My mom just passed away, I have never been overseas this far before, and I had a lot of fears. I started contemplating if I was doing the right thing. As soon as I started meeting the people there and seeing the love and joy they had, I felt a peace that I still can’t explain. God used them to show me not to be afraid of this leap of faith. God opened my heart to these people. Not only did God open my heart to the people, but God also opened my heart to have a burden for this country. One day, we spent our morning on a hilltop that overlooked all the surrounding cities. We sat and reflected on what we knew about the Catholic church’s influence, as well as Anthony giving some statistics of the cities around us. He gave us the population of each city and the number of evangelical churches in that city. I sat there (on a rock) and just cried hearing all the numbers. At that moment, I just sat there and prayed for God to guide my path, and in a still small voice, I audibly heard “Go.” I knew at that moment that even through the last few months of being mad at God and feeling so lonely, He was still near me and guiding me to His divine plan for my life.

Now what? Well, to put it simply, I don’t know. I am letting God work in His timing to guide my steps (another lesson God taught me in Spain). That month in Spain changed my perspective on my life and my view of God and missions. There are so many other stories about my time there, but that would make this a book (lol.) But as you can see, the underlying theme that keeps coming up in this post is that God showed me unexpected things. I went on this trip broken and struggling in my faith and life, but God showed me His character and plan in unexpected ways. This trip truly left me speechless and in awe of God and His glory.

Some advice to those going into this next year of CMP or ETEAM: let God speak to you. Go to spread His name to the nations, but don’t minimize His voice because this trip is to “just help others.” He will use what you are doing to show you things you may never have expected.