wfn.org | Event will highlight work in Spain

[Beth Hawn]

Microsoft Mail v3.0 (MAPI 1.0 Transport) IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note
To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1998-09-02 14:42
Priority: 3
Message ID: CAF85ED65442D211AAB0006008075ABF
Conversation ID: Event will highlight work in Spain

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September 2, 1998
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
219-294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

Sept. 12 event will highlight 'a community of hope' in Spain

ELKHART, Ind. (MBM) - People who seek to bring healing to those who   
suffer can
find spiritual wholeness for themselves in the process, according to a
Spanish church leader who ministers to prisoners and people with AIDS or
drug addictions.

Jos‚ Gallardo, a mission partner in Burgos, Spain, with Mennonite Board   
of
Missions, will challenge others to consider the impact of their own   
mission
efforts as the featured speaker in the second annual Hand-in-Hand dinner
from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 at Pleasant View Mennonite Church,
58529 C.R. 23, north of Goshen.  A 5:30 p.m. reception with Gallardo and   
other
mission workers will precede the dinner, which will be hosted by WNDU-TV
news anchor Mark Kelley.

Reservations are required by Sept. 8.  Tickets are $12 per person, $100   
for a
table of eight. For more information about the Hand in Hand Dinner,   
contact
the Mennonite Board of Missions development office at 294-7523.

In addition to Gallardo's presentation, the evening will feature:
* Music by Spanish vocalist Eli Lopez and the musical group Accorema.
* Testimony by Lee Green, a young adult from Goshen, Ind., who gained a   
vision
 for mission during a yearlong short-term mission assignment in Burgos,
 Spain.
* An overview of MBM's mission by President Stanley W. Green.
* And stories by Gallardo about the work of ACCOREMA, a Spanish acronym   
for the Christian Association of Communities for the Rehabilitation of
Marginalized people - a ministry founded by the Burgos (Spain) Mennonite
Church.

Gallardo's presentation will highlight ways in which individual   
Christians
can act to transform the world around them.

"My hope in speaking of my work is to encourage people to commit   
themselves
to missions, and especially to be concerned for the needs of those who   
suffer,"
Gallardo said.  "There is a real spiritual renewal that comes from this   
kind
of commitment."

Founded in 1978, ACCOREMA addresses five main areas of need:
* Drug rehabilitation.  This program includes communal living, work
 experience, prayer and Bible meetings, and individualized counseling and   

 training in life skills.
* A women's ministry.  In addition to providing work experience and a   
place to
 live, this ministry also provides child care for the many single mothers   
who
 seek help.
* A prison ministry.  A team of leaders provides social and legal   
support, as
 well as cultural and spiritual learning.
* Reintegration.  As people recover from their addictions or are released   

 from prison, they are eased back into the mainstream by living either   
with
 families or in halfway houses.  Participating local businesses provide   
paid
 jobs and work experience.
* Emmaus House.  With three apartments to house AIDS patients, this   
ministry
provides comfort and compassion for people in various stages of the   
illness.
         

MBM provides support to ACCOREMA and Gallardo in the form of financial
contributions and mission workers for both short- and long-term service.   
   

These mission workers actively work in all areas of the ministry, living   
with
residents of the program, forming relationships with them, providing
counseling and training, and witnessing to Christ's healing love.

"The greatest reward of my work has been in seeing so many lives
transformed, so many families living at peace, so many miracles in   
people's
lives," Gallardo said. "Even the AIDS patients who have died gave   
testimony
to their families because they were prepared to face life and death in a
Christian way."
* * *
MBM staff