Camping Ministry in Spain
Hello. My wife Sylvia and I have been lead by the Lord to serve to Spain as full time missionaries to work in the lives of youth and families over there. I grew up over there as a missionary kid and my parents have been serving in Spain for over 30 years. Sylvia is a native of Spain and was born in a town called Olot up in the Northeastern part of the country. We have a little girl called Shania Grace Frank. The Lord has put our hearts on fire to see the Spanish people come to know our Savior.
Spain is one of many countries in Europe now known as the forgotten mission field. There could be many reasons for this. Maybe because of Spain not being a 3rd world country. It is economically quite stable and industrially advanced. Though the above is true, Spain is in spiritual darkness. With only 0.3% of the population having a relationship with Jesus Christ, Spain is the Spanish speaking country with least believers in it. Presently there is a small Christian witness in only about 400 of Spain’s 8,000 cities and towns, leaving over 7,000 cities or towns without someone to tell them about Jesus.
Sylvia and I have a passion for youth and families. Youth are the future of Spain and families are the foundation of any country. There are so many that do not know the Lord and are headed for Hell. It sounds harsh but that is the honest truth. Now, as we begin to teach our little girl about the Lord it presses even more on our hearts to see Spanish youth come to know Him. We are serving at a camp and conference center in the North Eastern part of Spain called L’Arcada, which translated is The Archway. The camp was founded by my parents and a few other Spanish staff in 1991 and is one of only 15-20 camps around Spain. Most of them very small, some operating out of only a small house on a half of an acre of land running day camp programs. L’Arcada consists of 763 acres located just one and a half hours NW of Barcelona, Spain in the Pyrenees Mountains that border France. In a radius of a two hour drive there are 6 million people.
The Lord has really blessed L’Arcada with this location. The camp runs mostly in the summer time at the present as there are no winterized facilities on the property. In 1991 we had 26 kids come through the camp. In the last years we have had around 1200 youth and families that were able to hear the word and 65% to 80% of these did not know the Lord as their personal savior. What an amazing ministry. My father stated once, “The Lord has shown us over the years that Camp Ministry is very effective in opening doors that religious prejudices have closed for several Centuries in Spain. This is clearly seen and proven at L’Arcada as we have witnessed how many youth and families have been impacted by the gospel.
The Christian youth in Spain are also struggling. There are so few discipleship programs and youth retreats to help youth grow strong in the Lord once they have come to know him. A young believer if lucky may have 1 out of 10 of his or her friends that is a believer and so there is a lot of pull from the world. My wife was the only kid her age in the Church growing up because the other 3 left the church when she was young. So discipleship is also a priority in this country. L’Arcada does follow up of children that come to know Jesus during the camps as well as providing various discipleship programs and retreats for the staff that come serve at the camp. Our mentality is that of reaching and training young Spaniards today…Building tomorrow’s Spanish church.
Sylvia is a graphic designer and Photographer. She has also worked with youth in her church and L’Arcada for numerous years and is in charge of the Design area of L'Arcada. I am more experienced in the computer side of things and have served many years in L’Arcada while growing up. I would be serving L’Arcada in their office network needs and Website upkeep and anything having to do with social media. My two jobs at L'Arcada are in charge of the New Technologies area and Assistant to the Program Director. however we will be heavily involved in programming and running camps and ministry over there as well since there are currently only 5 families on full time staff running the camp which also points out how urgently we as well as other full time staff are needed. None of the families serving full time at L'Arcada have their full support and are trusting our God the provider while they work full time and continue trying to raise their support. Sylvia and I both grew up over there and are fluent in Spanish and Catalan (the primary language spoken in NE part of Spain where the camp is located). We are also very comfortable with the culture which is an advantage. There was not much adjustment at all and there was no need for language school. This will allowed us to start working in the ministry right away with no delays.
The mission organization we belong to and which we will be under is Global Outreach International based out of Tupelo, Mississippi. They are an organization that has been sending out missionaries worldwide for over 35 years and it has been a blessing working under them. They are supported by donors themselves which means that 100% of any donations or monthly support that comes in for us goes directly into our account. They work so hard for us and are there for us anytime we need. The Lord found an amazing group of people for us.
Sylvia and I hope this explains a bit more about whom we are. It is hard for us to tell you everything about Spain and L’Arcada camps here so if you have any other questions or concerns please let us know. We love sharing about what the Lord has put on our hearts and would love to either share with you or your missions board in person or answer anything by phone, email or skype. Please pray and ask the Lord if He is leading you to support us monthly financially and/or in prayer. In our ministry everything that happens comes from Jesus and all glory belongs to the Lord. The enemy does not want Spain to come to Christ and so we need a strong family of supporters to help us reach Spain. We cannot do it without you. It is a Team effort so please take time to pray about this. Thanks so much for reading through this. Our God is great and it will be neat to see what he has planned for the amazing country of Spain as the years pass.
In Him,
Phillippians 2 : 1-18
Jeremy and Sylvia Frank
L'Arcada Camps
c/ Mas Simo N11
17844 Cornella Del Terri
Spain
Skype: Jeremy_frank
336-307-0006
www.larcada.com
