By The Rev. Duane Miller, PhD
AFM Cross-Cultural Worker to Spain
In 2014, after seven years in the Middle East, Sharon and I moved back to San Antonio for an extended home assignment. We spent considerable time with our church, our prayer partners, and the AFM leadership team, discerning what God’s next steps might be for us. While home, I ran into a friend from middle school who challenged me, “Have you ever thought about serving God in Spain?”
I hadn’t. He went on to remind me that I spoke Spanish and that God could use our years in the Middle East to share Jesus with the large Muslim Arab population in Spain. I told him that, with three young kids, my wife and I weren’t really interested in another international move. But God had different plans! So, with the support and encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we headed back overseas.
In the summer of 2017, we arrived in Madrid, Spain. I started prayer walking with a friend in a substantially Muslim neighborhood which led to the creation of an Arabic-speaking church which we named Kanisa, the Arabic word for gathering, or church. Over the years we’ve done Bible studies, lots of networking and connecting people, seasonal gatherings, and outreach events.
About a year ago I received a WhatsApp message in Arabic from Yusuf (not his real name) asking about our church. Yusuf believed in Christ five years ago through a friend’s testimony and was listening to Christian music, but had limited fellowship. Yusuf now wanted to meet a Christian and was asking me to come visit. I could deeply empathize, and I’m sure you can too, with his desire to be among Christian brothers and sisters.
The problem was that he lived five hours away in Valencia. So, I reached out to a Brazilian cross-cultural worker name Pablo (again, not his real name) who lived in Valencia. Pablo took the lead discipling this believer; I stayed in touch but played a secondary role.
Ten months later Pablo told me Yusuf would soon be ready for baptism. I was thrilled and told Pablo that our church, Kanisa, would love to send some people to celebrate this event. Then Pablo surprised me: would I be willing to baptize Yusuf if he assisted? I responded that it would be an honor.
Yusuf’s baptism occurred at a Catholic retreat center. We walked out to the pool and lowered ourselves into the chilly water. Then I asked Yusuf, “Do you believe in God the Father?” to which he responded with the correct phrase from the Apostles’ Creed. We continued, all of this in Arabic. Eventually I declared, “Yusuf, I baptize you in the name of the Father [dunk], and of the Son [dunk], and of the Holy Spirit [dunk].” (Pablo and I had decided to follow the ancient Eastern practice—sometimes used by Anglicans in the Muslim world—of one immersion for each person of the Trinity.)
Afterwards, as we dried ourselves off and changed into our clothes, the pastor of the Spanish-language church that had hosted us came to my table and said, “There’s an old local legend about entering the Valencian castle. People seeking to enter would be asked, ‘Who is your brother?’ The only correct answer to allow entry was, ‘The son of my father is my brother.’”
These words struck a chord within me as I reflected on the way in which our Father draws so many diverse peoples, cultures, and personalities together, united as His children.
Sharon and I have been serving God among Muslim peoples since 2004, but it’s been sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father who have sustained our ministry abroad. For without our prayer and financial partners, and without the AFM home staff behind us, we simply would not have been able to serve God in Jordan, Israel, and now Spain.
Likewise, we serve here because we know that here there are many more brothers and sisters whom God is calling to Himself, and they are waiting to hear how they might know whose children they truly are.
May we all, as brothers and sisters in Christ, be united in responding to His call to reach the nations, sharing the good news of the Father who loves them.
Thank you!
