'Jesus is changing lives in Magaluf'

You may know that the typical 19-year-old goes to Magaluf with a group of friends to drink until they can no longer walk, and then try to get with the best-looking person they can.

As a Christian this breaks my heart. But it’s what many of my friends’ summers consist of. Drugs, alcohol and sex is what these lad’s trips are about.

The amazing news of the gospel is for everyone. Party people like my friends need to hear it. But how?

It was while attending the Big Church Festival that I met Joel and Nils from the Christian ministry, Reach Mallorca. They told me they would be going to Mallorca with 350 other Christians to speak about Jesus, and they invited me to join them. I was in. 

So I went to Magaluf for twelve days - and not for any of the reasons most 19 years old go there!

When I first signed up, I didn’t know what to expect, but God had big plans for this trip.

Training

Before being let loose on the busy strips of Magaluf, us volunteers were taken to a local church for a day of prayer and training. Reach Mallorca take you through how to explain the gospel to a stranger and many methods you can use to grab attention.

Prayer was so important throughout the whole mission as we all strongly believed that God would provide and answer prayers throughout the trip. 

My favourite way of attracting attention came when we walked around with a piece of paper saying “what do you want?” with many different answers such as “peace”, “joy”, “wisdom”, “love” etc also listed. This resulted in many interesting and encouraging conversations.

Another method was the ‘Miracle chair’. We had a big sign above a chair saying “come here if you want a miracle”. People would come over and ask questions and say thing such as “I have a bad foot” or “I have a problem with drugs”. We would then say “God can set you free from these things” and we would pray for people. Many were very touched by prayer and some said they had been healed.

Changed lives

Maya worked at one of the clubs as a promoter. She was intrigued by what we were up to, stopping my friend and I to ask what was going on.

Many were very touched by prayer and some said they had been healed

During the conversation, we asked her what she wanted out of life. She responded by saying, “wisdom”. So we shared about how God can help us grow in wisdom and how he answers prayers. I shared my testimony with her. I spoke about how I was constantly bullied in secondary school for my weight. When I got home I would keep all the pain to myself and even some nights I’d be in tears. Over time God showed me that we live in a sinful world and we are always going to have bullies in our lives but we can have eternal happiness with him. He showed me how to love my enemies (the bullies in my life). She was emotionally moved by my testimony. So we prayed for her too and by the end of our chat she spoke about how she wanted to know more about God. We shared some resources, including a booklet which talks about God’s love and a mini card which explains the gospel.

Maya was just one of many people we had fruitful chats with. Time and time again, we saw God move. Another girl called Emily wanted to know more about God. She said the Lord’s prayer, and recognised she was a sinner, but that Christ had died for her sins. I never thought I would be baptising people at 3am, but that’s what happened. Emily’s life was changed that night, and she will go home with a new hope in Jesus.

Reach Mallorca has given me new confidence in my faith. It was an opportunity to put Matthew 28 into action: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (v18-20)

I’ve come back to England with a hunger in me to tell more people about how amazing our God is.

The mission does not stop

 The trip has given me a new perspective on how to evangelise and talk to people about my faith. A fire has been lit! I have learned that even though I may not be in Mallorca to evangelise, I’m still called to share my faith in my everyday life. Since I’ve come back, I’m more open about my faith with my friends and family.

God-willing I will return to Mallorca next year, with more volunteers from England who want to join in this mission, playing our part in fulfilling the great commission.