History

Oasis Trails was founded in 1996 by a group of people from the Netherlands. One of the founders, Marijn, had gone to India in the 60’s in search for a higher reality and peace of mind. He did indeed find the higher reality he was looking for – the person of Jesus Christ. For someone who was searching for a spiritual guru in India, encountering the love of Jesus was not what he expected, but it was very evident that Jesus was the truth, the way, and the life – exactly what he was looking for. Since then Jesus has been the inexhaustible source and defining goal of his existence.

As Marijn had been a seeker himself, he was drawn to the Camino and all the pilgrims who were looking for purpose and meaning in their lives. In 1999 Marijn and his friend Bob founded Oasis Trails and opened an albergue in Villamayor de Monjardin, on the Camino de Santiago. Since then Oasis Trails has been sharing the love and truth of Jesus with pilgrims.

Christian Comunity

Our community consists of long term volunteers, short term volunteers, and guests/visitors. Depending on the season we have anywhere from ten to thirty people in our community, some staying for a weekend, some for a few months, and some living here permanently. Regardless of how long people stay with us, we are thankful that we are connected through Holy Spirit even when we find ourselves in different parts of the globe!

Below you can read a little about our “permanent” community members who live in Spain year round.

Jan and Annemieke

Gerrit-Jan and Annemieke along with their four children, Rose, Annejet, Okke and Abel, are from the Netherlands. They have been with Oasis Trails since 2016 when God called them to move from Australia to Spain. They love adventure, sharing life with others, making and eating good food, and of course loving God. “God has set us on this amazing path (Camino) of life and it is on our hearts to always grow deeper into God and share this with whoever he brings on our path.” -Gerrit Jan

Michele

Michele is from Michigan but has lived and traveled all over the world. She came to Oasis Trails in 2017 to volunteer for the first time and joined the team long term in 2018. Apart from traveling and anything outdoors, she also enjoys teaching, writing, good conversation, making friends with strangers, and finding joy in everyday. “After walking the Camino in 2010, it made such an imprint on my heart – the journey, the people, the laughter, the pain, the depth of it all. I’m thankful that God has called me here, that He has fulfilled a dream, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share His love, joy, and peace with people from all over the world – to be a part of their journey.”

Serena

Serena is Italian and she’s a passionate of Caminos, since her first Camino in 2008. She walked many Ways in different Countries as well as enjoying Italian Dolomites. In 2016 she started to work as hospitalera in an Albergue 25 km far from Villamayor and in 2018 she visited Oasis Trails for the first time. During 2 years she intensified her visits, from the albergue to the community and in 2020 she started to live and volunteer in Oasis Trails.
“Camino is still a great love for me, but I met a greater Love, Jesus who called me to follow Him, who is The Way on the way!”

Cornelia

Cornelia is from Switzerland but has lived in many different places. She carries the awareness of the bigger picture, of the big harvest to bring in. She loves to be a part of seeing discipleship multiplication movements start. She loves almost all sports and is so kind to every now and then bring us chocolate and cheese from Switzerland.

Our Faith

VINE VALUES – Daily Life

Based on John 15 there are keys values that we hold to as a community for daily life.

ABIDING

We believe our union with Christ is foundational to daily living. Our desire is to abide in Him, to abide in His truth, to abide in His presence. We do this as individuals in our own time with Jesus, and we do this as a community during corporate worship and fellowship. We are branches of the same vine, and we find our unity in Him. As we abide in Jesus He is our nourishment and strength. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.

PRUNING

We believe that as we abide in Christ, the Holy Spirit does a transforming work in our hearts. We are on a faith journey from glory to glory and grace to grace. We believe that as we abide in Him we will experience growth and that as we grow there is a pruning process, a letting go of the things in our lives that don’t bear fruit.

BEARING FRUIT

We believe that as we abide we become one with Jesus and as such we become like Him. We believe that as we are pruned, and as we grow, we bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. This fruit brings glory to God as people are able to taste and see His goodness in and through us – both people in our community and on the Camino.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

These are the core beliefs that Oasis Trails is built on:

God is good; He created us in His image and we are designed to live in relationship with Him.
Sin separates us from God, breaks our relationship with Him, and takes away the freedom He created us with.
God pursues us and wants to restore our broken relationship.
Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life.
Only the finished work of the cross can bring us back into relationship with our Father.
Faith is a lifestyle, it requires actions.
We can do everything in Christ; without Him we can do nothing.
Following Jesus transforms us – we are the light of the world!
We live by the Spirit, bearing His fruit, using His gifts, and speaking faith language.
We grow in our relationship with God through prayer, reading the Bible, meditation, and worship.
We are meant to live in community.
When we love God with all our heart (Great Commandment) we share the gospel and make disciples (Great Commission)
We live with an eternal perspective.