News & Views
Jim Smith - what did DNA mean to you?
written by Jim Smith
published on 15th June 2007
My name’s Jim and I moved to
Seville
in the south of
Spain
in January 2003 after having done DNA the year before. Some friends and I have started a community called TribUrbana (Urban Tribe) seeking to reach out to people in our neighbourhood through friendship, service, solidarity and discipleship. Our goal is to create a community that will be a centre for spiritual life, mission and justice. We believe that everyone needs to hear the Gospel in such a way that they can understand it, and as such we try to find creative and relevant ways to communicate.
We live together in a central part of the city called the
Alameda
, which is the heart of the alternative community. The
Alameda
is also home to: most of the city’s artists, the homosexual community, one of the red light districts, the hippy bohemian crowd, coke and heroine addicts, and a large homeless group. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the level of need that exists through all levels of society in this neighbourhood, but we feel God has called us here to be salt and light.
When I moved here I didn’t speak a word of Spanish, so I spent the first year and a half of my time here really getting to grips with the language and culture. This time culminated in a three month period I spent working in one of the local bars. This was extremely challenging. I was stretched beyond my limits with the language, and therefore forced to get fluent fast. I was also brought face to face with people in desperate need (coke & heroine addicts, alcoholics) and got to see the reality of their daily lives.
More recently we organised the first ever 24-7 prayer week in
Seville
, which incredibly brought people from over 15 different churches around the area to pray for the city. Out of this we have seen God move and give us some really key friendships, both with Christians and key people in our neighbourhood. We have also been helping at a mission run by the protestant church to distribute food and clothing to the poorest families.
I did a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course back in March following the prayer week, and I have now started working as a teacher. I have a part time job working in a school teaching children from ages 4-16 and a few adult classes.
DNA has had a massive impact on my life in terms of really exploring what discipleship is. In many ways this has laid the foundation for me to come to a difficult place (spiritually) like
Spain
and thrive as I continue my journey as a disciple of Christ and practice many of the disciplines I learnt on the course.
