There is now a small evangelical fellowship in the town of Daimiel, and the happily-growing church in the provincial capital of Ciudad Real, not far away,has had three EMF workers as pastors: Paco Farrugia, Andrew Birch, and Luis Cano. But this is a part of Spain which has always had a sparse population of believers.The Spanish Gospel Mission has long had a heart for these otherwise-unreached areas of the centre and south of Spain, and their workers have had affectionate and fruitful relationships with EMF personnel in the area for decades. It was a former Spanish Gospel Mission worker, Helena Stevens, who initiated regional ladies' meetings, more than 30 years ago, to bring together often isolated women from all over a large area where churches were tiny and fellowship with like-minded folk was hard to find. The meeting in Daimiel in February 2023 is the fruit of that initiative.

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Helena talked to Vivienne Birch the other day, reflecting on the beginnings of that movement for ladies: Vivienne herself had witnessed those first regional gatherings, and took part in its events for years. Jean Pleasence (now Woods) was also there when the first humble meetings were held with only relatively few women attending. But the get-togethers grew in popularity, and on this occasion the meeting place was full. Pilar Herrera had told us about the blessings of that special day in Daimiel, about non-Christians spoken to by the messages, and about believers edified. Helena  felt nostalgic as she and her interviewer remembered how these get-togethers began...

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Vivienne: Helena, you posted a news item from Central Spain the other day.  A local newspaper chose to tell the story of a record turn-out at a meeting for ladies from a number of evangelical churches. What made this story so relevant to you?
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Helena:

‍Because about 34 years ago, when we were working in Central Spain with Spanish Gospel

Mission, I remembered a ministry I had appreciated whilst in Peru where the ladies from each

small church in the region met together every 3 months for support, teaching and encouragement

and I felt it could be of benefit in La Mancha. I was encouraged to broach the idea by the ladies

committee of the Valdepeñas church, so invited the wives of pastors and elders in the area to come to

a meeting where the possibility of organising something similar was discussed and approved, and a

committee was formed to plan Regional Women’s Meetings. I had the immense privilege of

attending the 25 year anniversary some time ago now, and was delighted this week to see the very

positive article reporting a record attendance at the last meeting.

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In pictures from this event, members of the Mission (Spanish Gospel Mission) you were associated with in central-southern Spain could be seen taking part, along with three members of the EMF missionary family, Pilar Herrera (Luis Cano's wife) Virtudes Merlo (José Moreno's wife) and Judith Hill, (Matt Hill's wife). How long have you known them? And have you been involved in any ministries together during your time in Spain?

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We have known these good folks since 1988 and worked closely with Matt and Judith when they

were in Santa Cruz de Mudela. We had the privilege of serving for nine years on the committee

which plans and runs the children’s and youth camps in the area with Luis and Pilar and of course,

coincided with all three in the Regional Ladies' work.

We continue to remember them in our prayers and follow their ministries with great interest.

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You went to Spain after a very fruitful ministry in Peru. How long were you there?

We went to Latin America in 1977 and left Perú in 1986.

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What differences did you notice between Peru and Spain?

We were involved in pioneer work in Peru in unreached areas of the North East province of

Amazonas . Our work therefore differed greatly from our ministry in Spain, as it was mainly

evangelism and church planting, whereas in Spain we were serving in small, long established

congregations. Initially Dave was involved in running Theological Education by Extension in all of

the mission churches, but later in the pastorate of churches in La Mancha and Jaén. Moving from a

fairly poor agricultural community in Perú to a sophisticated modern European country was quite a

culture shock. Perhaps the most immediate difference we noticed was the unwillingness of people

to engage in conversations about faith, because it was extremely easy to talk to people in Perú on

spiritual matters. Church growth was also considerably slower and required a lot of perseverance

and willingness to continue sowing without seeing much fruit. In this aspect the older Spanish

believers were a tremendous example and encouragement to us to keep going .

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What encourages you about the work of the Gospel in central Spain now?

It is wonderful for us to follow the progress of the gospel in that part of the world, and for many

years we have hosted a monthly prayer meeting in our home, now moved to Zoom! The advantage

being that people from all over the country can participate and we often have the privilege of one of

the Spanish workers being present as well.

We are encouraged as we see the growth of ministries we were previously involved in and the

steady perseverance of God’s servants, especially when there are discouragements.

Our respect goes to the churches for the way worship was conducted all through the pandemic ,

and we are excited to see the different things returning eg, The Bilingual Children’s’ Camp ,

Summer Evangelism in Town Squares etc.

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You came back to the UK to represent Spanish Gospel Mission in the UK (work now done by good friends of EMF David and Jacky Cogman, who have also served in central Spain), but now you and your husband Dave have retired. So, have both of you given up all activity in the Lord's work?

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At the moment we have the privilege of serving in Barton Evangelical Church.

Dave is one of the deacons and is involved in producing the weekly bulletin, leading services and

communion, caring in practical ways for elderly people in the congregation etc etc!

I help with Mums and Tots, ladies’ meetings, children’s talks, social care and the planning and

running of the Holiday Bible club. I am also a volunteer Doula .

I am constantly amazed that God gives me the honour of continuing to serve my Lord and

Saviour Jesus Christ and hope to continue doing so while I am able to do so.

We thank Helena for taking a few moments to tell us a little about her time in Spain's regions of La Mancha, where most of our workers have their ministries, as well as in Jaen. She is greatly loved by the EMF ladies in Spain, and by the women she served for so long in this regional ladies' work. Hers and theirs has been a labour of love for the Lord, and it has lasted.

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