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Singing Men of Texas
Spain Journal
Wednesday the 28th

The "performance pressure" is off, and we could tell it on the buses. On the drive to Madrid, we alternated between periods of siesta time and periods of hilarity as we recounted the events of these past days. We all laughed about our unique wakeup calls this morning. At 6:15 a.m., our TV's came on, a recording of a brass choir started playing, and the phones rang. People all up and down the halls were sleepily trying to find the TV remotes to turn off the noise. We had our best breakfast yet, and then left at 8:15. On the way out of town, we saw the property that the city of Córdoba has actually donated as the site for Pastor Gómez' Baptist church's building. A retirement center will also be constructed.

We traveled out of Andalucía and into Castilla La Mancha. This is the region that is familiar to us because of the legend of Don Quijote. We sang a bit of "The Impossible Dream" on the red bus, while we drove by some of the windmills. We ate a quick lunch of soup and sandwiches at noon, and hit the road again. We got to Madrid at 2 p.m. and had shopping and sightseeing time until evening. Most of our group toured the Royal Palace. One of the tour guides works for the government, in the Department of Protocol. She is very close to the Director of Protocol, the "Gatekeeper" for the Queen of Spain. At the music room, this guide commented that the Queen really loves music. Don Blackley told the guide that our group was a choir, and commented that perhaps we could leave a CD for the Queen. When our group got to the Palace Chapel, Don asked if we could sing one song; after checking, the guide gave permission. After the song, she was crying. She hugged Don, and told him that she was very touched, and that the song had been a special experience for her. She is now very excited about being able to get the CD to the Queen, and she plans to come to the hotel to get it tomorrow morning. The men also signed one of their publicity posters tonight, to send to the Queen to make it more of an official presentation. This was a very exciting and unexpected development. We hope that this will have a real impact on Baptist work in Spain. We never know how God will work to open doors!

We had our Victory Banquet in the hotel at 8:30. After enjoying a delicious dinner of salad, roasted chicken, patatas fritas (french fries), pastries and ice cream, we had a joyful and inspirational time of sharing God's blessings this week. Jorge Pastor, the President of the Spanish Baptist Union, joined us tonight. He shared his thanks with the group, and told us that he hopes to work out a possible partnership with Texas Baptists for 2001-2004. He told us that there are only 8,500 Baptists in Spain, a country with a population of 40,000,000. He asked us to pray for their work for the Lord. He made presentations of several gifts. Afterwards, we were introduced to 12 missionaries to Spain. Some have traveled with us this week, and some were only able to join us for the Banquet. But it was a very special time for us, as we got to meet these people face-to-face and to hear them speak of their love for this country.

David Borgan and Don Blackley also expressed their thanks to all those who have had a part in this wonderful time in Spain. Gifts were also given to Tom and John, our two tour guides, and to Bill Haire, our representative from Travelink Inc. We proceeded with a time of testimony, and we felt that special bond of love that we find through His precious Spirit. A time of prayer followed. Then the banquet closed with the men singing "Fairest Lord Jesus" in Spanish.

We have had such beautiful experiences this week. Tonight's banquet helped us to truly realize how God has worked this week. We have sung in prisons and in palaces. We want to thank each one of you who has prayed for us and kept up with our travels. We know that it is the Lord who has opened the doors and done the work here, but your prayers have made such a difference to all of us.