Jeff Turnbough A Special Wedding
A building is just a building until people begin to celebrate life events there, and then it becomes a special place. The new Villalba church building became a special place for Rubén, María, their family and friends on October 8, 2011, when we celebrated their Spanish wedding there. I say Spanish wedding because they also got married in her home town in Romania. This celebration was more for Rubén's family and friends in Spain. And it was a celebration! The new auditorium was full and guests were standing in the vestibule, eagerly trying to get a glimpse of the ceremony. Besides the significance of the event itself was the fact that many people attending had never been inside an Evangelical church before, and so this was a new experience for them. One such friend said, “I like the spirit I feel in this place.” Another friend was so moved that he asked his girlfriend to marry him right then and there, and then said, “I’d love for us to celebrate our marriage here!” Life events. Places.
Susan and I have known Rubén from the time he was a little boy, when his parents opened up their apartment for us to have Bible studies in 1984. Those home Bible studies were the beginning of the work in Villalba. Time has passed, and we have all “moved on”. It seemed fitting, as well as nostalgic for us to reunite with the family that helped us begin the work in Villalba, in the building of the established congregation, and to do so a couple of days before we said goodbye to our friends in Spain.
It is great to reminisce about God’s past blessings. Time moves on. It is also important to think about what God is doing today, and to dream about what He may do in the future. Many of us involved in this important life event for Rubén and María did all this on this special day. We are so very thankful for all that God has done in the past, and we look forward with great anticipation to what He will continue to do in the future. Our prayer is that He will continue to use the Villalba church building as a special place to remind believers of His blessings and faithfulness, as well as to draw many people to Himself.