Brother Francis and Sister Christiana Odudu rounded up their 2022 visits to our Mainland Europe branch churches and groups with a visit to the saints in Spain from Saturday 19th to Sunday 20th November.

Their flight from London Luton Airport was an early morning one, leaving at 6:50 am, and it was a smooth one. Brother Yaya Bobo, the leader of our group in Spain was waiting for them at Alicante airport with a very warm reception.
They then drove for about an hour to a hotel in Murcia, a very beautiful and warm city in the South-Eastern part of Spain. As they were driven from Alicante, they were shown first-hand, some of the farms where a number of the beautiful fruits and other farm products that are enjoyed in the UK, usually come from.

Later that afternoon, Brother Yaya picked them up for lunch, in the company of Sister Elizabeth Obi, who came to know the Lord some years back through Yaya’s evangelical work when they both met in Holland. The other saints could not join for lunch as they were at work. They parted after lunch with a plan to meet again, for fellowship at the hotel lounge at 10 am the next day, Sunday.

The fellowship on Sunday was not a conventional Church service but the Lord blessed, as they all sat at the hotel lounge and shared the Word of God together. After a brief prayer, the Sunday School lesson was studied, “Worthy Is The Lamb” with Suzzanne Oladele reciting the memory verse. Those that had reasons to be thankful to God were then asked to share their stories. Everyone was eager to share as Francis and Christiana listened to testimonies of salvation, provision and answer to prayers. Sister Rachel Oladele testified about how her husband’s inability to get enough hours at work led her to cry to God; soon after, in answer to the prayer, the husband called to tell her he wasn’t having enough rest because of the increase in the number of hours he was offered to work. There was also Sister Elizabeth who told how, some years back, Brother Yaya shared the Gospel with her, when they came across each other in Holland. As she came to know the Lord from that encounter, she has followed the Lord since then, despite the challenges of life that she has had to contend with, with a promise to remain faithful to the loving Saviour of her soul. Yaya, who was born into a Muslim home, praised God for how He spoke to him while he was just a little child and had never heard about the Gospel. As God saw the yearning of his heart, he heard a voice that said to him, “there is a place where there is no night”. As he pondered this, his family members mistook him for one that was possessed with an evil spirit and made efforts to drive the spirit out of him. In God’s own mercy, the Lord led him to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in 1977, saved his soul, and has kept him ever since. Sister Christiana praised God for having a godly heritage which meant she knew the Lord quite early in her life and that prevented her from following in the footsteps of her contemporaries who did not know the Lord.

All learned from the Sunday School lesson that only the redeemed from all nations and people, would be in heaven to join in continuously praising and worshipping God, and were all determined to make it.

Thereafter, the saints were encouraged to remain steadfast in their faith and continue to serve the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Using the example of Esther in Esther 4:14, they were encouraged to determine to make an impact in Spain, because it could be for this reason that the Lord took them there. Encouragement was also drawn from Caleb’s desire, as seen in Joshua 14:12 – 14, to not settle for the “plain” asking Joshua to, “give me this mountain” upon their arrival in the Promised Land. Caleb, with a resolute trust in God and determination, at his old age fought and conquered the giants that inhabited that mountain. The message was concluded by a quote from Luke 12:32, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” The message was capped off with warm fellowship and a brief session of prayer.

On the way back to the airport, they visited a family of three and Sister Stella Bobo, who were unable to attend the meeting that morning.

There was deep felt the love of a united Christian brotherhood as ways were parted with Brother Yaya at the airport, with a promise to come back and visit the saints again in the new year, should the Lord tarry.

Brother Francis and Sister Christiana have since returned to London, thanking God for the privilege the Lord has given to serve and to visit all our Mainland Europe branch churches and groups, this year.