ISLAND IN THE SUN

by Chris Mathieson

THE MOMENT I landed in Grand Canary, I realised that it was different to Spain. There were plenty of tourists around, although, on the whole, they tend to congregate in the resorts. But there were some surprises too.

The sub-tropical and semi-desert climate is quite unlike the Peninsula. The temperature is the same throughout the year, and there are always clouds over the North coast, but rarely does it actually rain. Water costs about 50p per litre, and that's not the drinking kind! Showering was severely limited for the Operation Mobilization team I was leading.

Warm weather has no novelty value in the Canaries. People don't have a siesta, but then they don't go out in the evening either. They just go shopping or to the beach when they feel like it and then go home.

The response to open-airs in Las Palmas was encouraging, particularly among Moslems. A special team was trained to reach them and many Gospels were distributed. It was difficult to do open-airs elsewhere on the island.

On the other hand, we found that working with children on the horrendous high-rise estates drew large numbers of all ages. Local churches are organising follow-up.

All in all, the outreach was quite different to what we had expected, but we can certainly say that, despite some teething troubles, we were able to fulfil the commission to preach the gospel and train people, albeit not completing the discipleship process!

Pray for the seven churches which were involved in the campaign and now have the responsibility of following up contacts. Pray also for those who received evangelism training, that they will put it into practice back home.