Okay kids, this ones gonna be a short one. It's amazing that the trip is over already and yet it will be great to get back to the states. However, I already told jay I want to come back next year.
Today our plans went a little askew because Lukas our driver was a little late. God always knows what He is doing because the extra time gave me opportunity to plan the lesson tomorrow. Super excited, it's all about how big God is and how he has created the universe and yet still wants a relationship with us. Also gonna sing en espanol.
We headed up to the Aztec ruins which apparently no one really cared for except for me. I became an amateur archeologist and found some pretty cool stuff... And a snake.
We then went to the school in suchitoto which was unbelievable. It's so great to see how the church is helping there and I was so grateful to be a part of it all. I got schooled in a game of soccer, but all the kids were very supportive of me.
After that we went into the town of suchitoto and relaxed at a beautiful hotel and restaurant. I laid out with my feet in the pool and looked up at the amazing night sky. It was the first time the sky has been clear. The stars were incredible. So were the bats flying overhead. They nearly hit jay and I in the face.
Gotta get ready for tomorrow. Buenas noches!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Chapter 37- Sube y baja
God is good! Do you wanna know how good He is? Of course you do! I left my iPhone in the van last night. Jay assured me that we would have the same van this morning so I figured I would just get it when it came to pick us up. Well, the driver decided to take it to a carwash. My phone was not there when it came back. I lost my phone in a third world country where anything like that can mean serious money to the people here. Of course, I was upset. Jay and Josue were awesome in talking to Lucas our driver and getting him in contact with the carwash people to see if they had it. Apparently the guy who actually washed the car had gone home but the people there said they would go to his house to see if he had found it. I was not hopeful. My mentality was shifting to "It's just a phone" and surrendering it to God through prayer. There wasn't much I could do about it. I was thinking "Yes, it's a tough loss, but the sacrifice is ultimately worth it for this trip." Meanwhile, we were going to the campus again to have our bible talk which I was mentally working hard to switch my focus. A few minutes after we got to the campus, Lucas gets a call from the carwash saying they found the phone and Lucas volunteered to go and pick it up. I was dumbfounded. That God would encourage me in that way when He didn't really have to and He cares little about material things was so crazy to me. What I realized is what He does care about is ME. And He cares just as much for you too!
So, the bible talk went great! Erick did an awesome lesson about the Ethiopian Eunuch and relating it to being a great student. I met another guy that speaks English and he came. He's a literature major so we connected on that and he's interested in doing more studies. Then the other girl I told you about, the one I couldn't remember her name (it's Aricela) came out and enjoyed herself. She's coming to church on Sunday.
After the bible talk we went to get some deliocioso chocolate covered frozen bananas. The we went to another beautiful restaurant overlooking the city and Jayelle and I found a teeter-totter that we enjoyed for quite some time.Video is below. It was great connecting with her. She is inspiring. The other day when Jay asked her how the sharing went she replied "That wasn't sharing my faith. That was an adventure!" Girl after my own heart.
After that we got went back down the mountain. We all were quite tired so I blame that for what happened next. Diana, one of the girls who works with Julio our tour guide, was asking me in Spanish how I liked El Salvador. What I meant to say is "I love it". What I said was "Te Amo". Most of you probably know, but for the super-gringos, that means "I love you". I will never live it down.
Then it was to go get ice cream and hang out with the singles at the mall where I did bungee acrobatics and was the source of much entertainment inside a giant plastic ball in a pool. I also went to a great coffee place and they made me a latte with a design in the foam. I want to learn to do that. That laughed at me when I said I worked at Starbucks. When I got home, Mario let me hold the snake. That was cool.
Gotta get to bed for another ridiculously full day tomorrow!!
So, the bible talk went great! Erick did an awesome lesson about the Ethiopian Eunuch and relating it to being a great student. I met another guy that speaks English and he came. He's a literature major so we connected on that and he's interested in doing more studies. Then the other girl I told you about, the one I couldn't remember her name (it's Aricela) came out and enjoyed herself. She's coming to church on Sunday.
After the bible talk we went to get some deliocioso chocolate covered frozen bananas. The we went to another beautiful restaurant overlooking the city and Jayelle and I found a teeter-totter that we enjoyed for quite some time.Video is below. It was great connecting with her. She is inspiring. The other day when Jay asked her how the sharing went she replied "That wasn't sharing my faith. That was an adventure!" Girl after my own heart.
After that we got went back down the mountain. We all were quite tired so I blame that for what happened next. Diana, one of the girls who works with Julio our tour guide, was asking me in Spanish how I liked El Salvador. What I meant to say is "I love it". What I said was "Te Amo". Most of you probably know, but for the super-gringos, that means "I love you". I will never live it down.
Then it was to go get ice cream and hang out with the singles at the mall where I did bungee acrobatics and was the source of much entertainment inside a giant plastic ball in a pool. I also went to a great coffee place and they made me a latte with a design in the foam. I want to learn to do that. That laughed at me when I said I worked at Starbucks. When I got home, Mario let me hold the snake. That was cool.
Gotta get to bed for another ridiculously full day tomorrow!!
Chapter 36- Saved by Water Wings
Beach day! We spent an incredible day at jonathan and carla's parents' beach house today. It was BEAUTIFUL! I have never been to a beach like that. The water was so warm! It was just a wonderful day to relax and process everything from the week. I immediately climbed a tree. Jonathan says I'm the first to have climbed it.
Carla says my accent is pretty good. My Spanish not so much. Makes sense since dialects and character voices are my livelihood. She also said I looked like a flashlight running across the beach without my shirt. Jay and Mel agreed that I looked more like a glowstick. Well I added a little color today. Unfortunately it's red.
I found some water wings and a floaty and decided to be funny and put them on and go swimming. My humor saved my life. I went waaaaay out into the ocean cause i wanted to hit the big waves. Well they hit me. I don't know what I would've done without those floatys. Not the best decision on my part. But I got back safe. I was swimming so hard for shore that I forgot I could stand up and just kept flailing. That was pretty much it for me and swimming.
I then tried to navigate a hammock which happened to be yellow and it just wasn't working for me. I ended up looking like la platano grande. I finally found a hammock that fit and read a little while and took a much needed nap.
Walking the beach was pretty cool. There were jellyfish everywhere and at dusk all the crabs skittered about in front of your feet. I had a mission to find a sand dollar for a particular reason and I found about 5 of them mostly intact. The hard part is gonna be getting them home. I was just really marveling at Gods creation and thanking Him for the creativity in me that I could imitate Him with.
Jay and melyssa and I went walking on the beach at sunset and talked about how we can make the most impact in sharing this trip with those back home. My hope is that each person would be moved by our stories about the people and the needs and decide not only to be emotionally stirred but actually be prompted to use their own creativity to meet the needs financially down here. I pray that the members of the church back home have a desire to be connected and personally sacrifice for their brothers and sisters here.
The day ended perfectly with the most amazing thunderstorm rolling in. Mel and I sat on the beach watching the lightning out over the water. It was amazing! I'm so proud of her. She has such a great heart and continues to step out of her comfort zone and push herself to learn more about her relationship with God. It hasn't been easy for her and she is learning much about gratitude, but I can see her growing. She is a beautiful and incredible woman of God.
The other cool thing that happened today is that Jorge studied the bible with latimam our security guard. We nicknamed him rambo. For the first part of the week we thought his name was latina and probably became so tough from having to beat up everyone who made fun of him. Anyway, the study went really well and he is going to continue to study with the guys inn the church down here.
As we drove home we got to continue watching the amazing light show from God and I got to talk to Sara about her boyfriend and my romantic pursuits as well. Yes, I have romantic pursuits. It was a really great talk.
Tomorrow more work on the mural and then bible talk on campus. Still trying to figure out the hugging thing down here. Where do I put my head?! Do I kiss back!? Help me out!!
Carla says my accent is pretty good. My Spanish not so much. Makes sense since dialects and character voices are my livelihood. She also said I looked like a flashlight running across the beach without my shirt. Jay and Mel agreed that I looked more like a glowstick. Well I added a little color today. Unfortunately it's red.
I found some water wings and a floaty and decided to be funny and put them on and go swimming. My humor saved my life. I went waaaaay out into the ocean cause i wanted to hit the big waves. Well they hit me. I don't know what I would've done without those floatys. Not the best decision on my part. But I got back safe. I was swimming so hard for shore that I forgot I could stand up and just kept flailing. That was pretty much it for me and swimming.
I then tried to navigate a hammock which happened to be yellow and it just wasn't working for me. I ended up looking like la platano grande. I finally found a hammock that fit and read a little while and took a much needed nap.
Walking the beach was pretty cool. There were jellyfish everywhere and at dusk all the crabs skittered about in front of your feet. I had a mission to find a sand dollar for a particular reason and I found about 5 of them mostly intact. The hard part is gonna be getting them home. I was just really marveling at Gods creation and thanking Him for the creativity in me that I could imitate Him with.
Jay and melyssa and I went walking on the beach at sunset and talked about how we can make the most impact in sharing this trip with those back home. My hope is that each person would be moved by our stories about the people and the needs and decide not only to be emotionally stirred but actually be prompted to use their own creativity to meet the needs financially down here. I pray that the members of the church back home have a desire to be connected and personally sacrifice for their brothers and sisters here.
The day ended perfectly with the most amazing thunderstorm rolling in. Mel and I sat on the beach watching the lightning out over the water. It was amazing! I'm so proud of her. She has such a great heart and continues to step out of her comfort zone and push herself to learn more about her relationship with God. It hasn't been easy for her and she is learning much about gratitude, but I can see her growing. She is a beautiful and incredible woman of God.
The other cool thing that happened today is that Jorge studied the bible with latimam our security guard. We nicknamed him rambo. For the first part of the week we thought his name was latina and probably became so tough from having to beat up everyone who made fun of him. Anyway, the study went really well and he is going to continue to study with the guys inn the church down here.
As we drove home we got to continue watching the amazing light show from God and I got to talk to Sara about her boyfriend and my romantic pursuits as well. Yes, I have romantic pursuits. It was a really great talk.
Tomorrow more work on the mural and then bible talk on campus. Still trying to figure out the hugging thing down here. Where do I put my head?! Do I kiss back!? Help me out!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Chapter 36- Artistas!
Te quiero invitad a charla biblica! I am getting to know that phrase quite well this week. Today we went back to the university to invite more people to the bible talk. I was excited to learn that Erick is going to be leading it! I got to go out with marcello again. I am really inspired by his evangelism. He takes the time to really connect with the people he talks to. I learned so much just watching him. He makes the most out of the cold contact sharing.
I stuck to my four or five phrases and even tried a new one, "espero vente ayi"(sp?) which means "hope to see you there." I also smiled a lot. I hear that goes a long way. While we were talking to one guy, I was eyeballing another couple. The guy had long dreads stacked on his head so I knew he had to be an artist. I knew I had to share with them. Turns out they were both artists and the girl spoke very good English so we talked with them for a while about art and invited them out. After we left, I remembered I had photos of the mural with me so I went back on my own to find them and show them the pics. We got to talking a little more and found out that Joel, the guy, is studying acting. He doesn't really like film and television he's strictly theatrico, which I respect. They both seem very interested in coming out Friday. Hopefully I'll see them there.
After that we went to have lunch in paradise. It was a place called Los brumas which I've been hearing jay talk about for months. And it lived up to the hype. It was on top of a volcano overlooking the city and we were basically up in the clouds. In fact, during lunch we could see the clouds roll right into the dining area. It was gorgeous. You know what else was gorgeous? The food! I had filet mignon that rivaled Ruth Chris and at a fraction of the price.
We then returned to the church for midweek and jay shared about gratitude. It had me meditating on the fact that being used by God is often times scary and uncomfortable and we rarely know what to do but those are the times that God shows up most powerfully. I think about all the people in the bible who were called and had no clue what was in store for them. They just obeyed God and let him work.
I have found that I have been pretty emotional on this trip. It may be because of the exhaustion, but the feeling are real and valid. Sometimes they come out of nowhere but it's usually from being inspired. This morning we got to share about Jorge and Sara because it was their birthdays. I was so grateful to share about what both of them mean to me especially Sara whom I consider one of my closest friends. She is one of the most beautiful people I know inside and out. And I'm not just saying that because she reads my blog (which is another reason she is one of my favorite people). Anyway, I was getting a little choked up. I love my friends.
After midweek, i really wanted to work some more on the mural so I stayed by myself and worked on it. It's definitely an obsession of mine until it's finished. Sara was telling me today that she was so glad it was happening because in her mind it was never going to. Sara is definitely more of a doer and i am more of a dreamer. I thought it up and had the vision for her to come on and she has done a tremendous job helping me execute it. It's just another example of how God uses our strengths and weaknesses to balance each other out and accomplish his will. Its so great to use my art to transcend language.
I finally got to try the cheesy whopper, the one with the fried cheese. S'alright, but not as exceptional as I would have hoped. Ah well, it's burger king. More mister donut tomorrow!!
Chapter 34- Raise the Roof
Exhausted. Another full day. But I got to write. Today we got to go to the university to invite students there to our bible talk on Friday. I think for a lot of us there were some fears. Mostly the language barrier and also the normal fears that come with sharing your faith. But josue did a great job at allaying those fears and building our faith. He read from mark about the paralytic and his friends and talked about seeing the solution rather than the obstacles. When we have faith we are able to see the end result and find a way to get there rather than being hung up by the obstacles in our way. The room that Jesus was in was full and yet they still found a way in. Through the roof! It really emboldened and unhindered us from feeling self-conscious about our language barriers and reminded us that God would show up powerfully if we acted in faith.
And He did! We got to the campus and split up in groups of two and three. I had the privilege of going out with marcello the campus leader. Once we took off the fear was pretty much gone and i threw myself in full force. I was greeting all sorts of people in my broken Spanish and marcello was taking up e slack and explaining what the church was about and the bible talk we were having at the end of the week. The great thing was that the majority of the people we met spoke English and they were more than happy to have the practice of speaking it. Most of them were very open to coming out and studying. Marcello told me I had the "eye of the tiger" because I chose the open people to talk to. I also got to connect with him a little bit about music and what I've learned that could help him. We ended up meeting and inviting 120 people out to bible talk and church. Jayelle invited 18 people on her own!
While we were meeting up to go home I met two other people, Antonio and another girl which I'm having trouble remembering the name but it means "alter of God". She was carrying a steven king book and I noticed it was in English and said "That's a great book." she immediately came over and started talking to me. Turns out she is an international relations student and knows quite a bit of English. She ended up talking to us for like 20 minutes. She should be coming out Friday.
After the university we went to the mall to have lunch. I had some amazing corn nuggets and then mister donut, which Mel has addicted me to.
Then we went to the church to do some painting of the walls and cleaning. A while back when I found out I was going on this trip, I had it on my heart to do a mural for them somewhere. I did not know how it was going to happen but Sara and I kept it in our back pocket just in case. Oddly enough, when Jonathan was briefing us this morning about the painting he asked if any of us were artists. Sara and I just looked at each other and raised our hands. "oh, good" he said "i don't know if it would be possible but Id like to do some sort of mural". He had no idea that we had been working on that idea. So we went off to get the supplies and came back and started on the mural. Sara and I put our heads together and used some of her character designs to create a pretty sweet mural for the kids room. I can't wait to post the pictures. But what was really cool was seeing everyone getting involved in making my dream a reality. Everyone was so excited to get involved and we ended up staying there through dinner about 4 hours longer than we were supposed to. I know it is going to have a lasting impression on generations and I am grateful God put it on my heart to make it happen.
I can't even tell you how fulfilling it is to use your talents for God. I feel I have been extremely blessed to be able to serve in ways that I love and I can't wait to continue to pour myself out.
In other news, jay has a new favorite Spanish word. Montegilla de caca huete. Shout that out! I gotta admit it's pretty fun to say. I think it may be my new favorite word too. It means peanut butter.
And He did! We got to the campus and split up in groups of two and three. I had the privilege of going out with marcello the campus leader. Once we took off the fear was pretty much gone and i threw myself in full force. I was greeting all sorts of people in my broken Spanish and marcello was taking up e slack and explaining what the church was about and the bible talk we were having at the end of the week. The great thing was that the majority of the people we met spoke English and they were more than happy to have the practice of speaking it. Most of them were very open to coming out and studying. Marcello told me I had the "eye of the tiger" because I chose the open people to talk to. I also got to connect with him a little bit about music and what I've learned that could help him. We ended up meeting and inviting 120 people out to bible talk and church. Jayelle invited 18 people on her own!
While we were meeting up to go home I met two other people, Antonio and another girl which I'm having trouble remembering the name but it means "alter of God". She was carrying a steven king book and I noticed it was in English and said "That's a great book." she immediately came over and started talking to me. Turns out she is an international relations student and knows quite a bit of English. She ended up talking to us for like 20 minutes. She should be coming out Friday.
After the university we went to the mall to have lunch. I had some amazing corn nuggets and then mister donut, which Mel has addicted me to.
Then we went to the church to do some painting of the walls and cleaning. A while back when I found out I was going on this trip, I had it on my heart to do a mural for them somewhere. I did not know how it was going to happen but Sara and I kept it in our back pocket just in case. Oddly enough, when Jonathan was briefing us this morning about the painting he asked if any of us were artists. Sara and I just looked at each other and raised our hands. "oh, good" he said "i don't know if it would be possible but Id like to do some sort of mural". He had no idea that we had been working on that idea. So we went off to get the supplies and came back and started on the mural. Sara and I put our heads together and used some of her character designs to create a pretty sweet mural for the kids room. I can't wait to post the pictures. But what was really cool was seeing everyone getting involved in making my dream a reality. Everyone was so excited to get involved and we ended up staying there through dinner about 4 hours longer than we were supposed to. I know it is going to have a lasting impression on generations and I am grateful God put it on my heart to make it happen.
I can't even tell you how fulfilling it is to use your talents for God. I feel I have been extremely blessed to be able to serve in ways that I love and I can't wait to continue to pour myself out.
In other news, jay has a new favorite Spanish word. Montegilla de caca huete. Shout that out! I gotta admit it's pretty fun to say. I think it may be my new favorite word too. It means peanut butter.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Chapter 33- In Search of El Chupacabra
Man it is really a challenge to keep these blogs concise. There is soo much I want to share and then so much I forget to share that I want to go back and share. So much in my head and heart.
Today was another full day. We got together this morning and had a "light" breakfast and some time together. Last night on the way home I fell alseep on jorge's shoulder and he shared that this morning that he didn't mind at all because he's always wanted to be closer to me. In an odd way, I was encouraged by that. Sara said it wa s a good thing I didn't fall asleep on her shoulder because she would have slapped me and told her boyfriend. Gravity was with me.
We headed up toward la palma where we were going to have "second breakfast" at this amazing restaurant but after an hour long drive we got there and it was closed. Apparently that is just par for the course with our tour guide, Julio, who is a great guy but maybe not the best planner. We did get to walk around the grounds which were amazing and had some fruit I've never seen before. There was a monkey and jorge acquired a holy gourd.
After that we went into la palma to find some place to eat and found a beautiful hotel with some amazing food. While we were waiting for our food we went down to explore the river (or rather stream) and i took off on my own little adventure to a nearby suspension bridge. Erick decided to to make a nature video about me. Then we did some shopping. La palma is the equivalent of Venice or the east village. It's a town full of artisans. The artwork there is beautiful and I took full advantage. It was also pouring rain which I was loving! I got to utilize my poncho. I also found out that I am a pretty decent haggler. Even with my limited Spanish I was makin some sweet deals.
After la palma we headed to passe tiempos coffee plantation. I was really looking forward to this and I was not let down. The plantation was beautiful especially in the clouds and the rain. The owner, Berto, was incredibly hospitable and made us coffee from the plantation and there was a dog sitting in a chair. Much to the amusement of everyone else I pulled out my starbucks black apron and held a coffee tasting seminar with everyone. I also got my picture taken with Berto. He was so moved that I would come and visit his farm that he gave me the last bag of coffee that he had for that season. What a great experience. We then headed down into the plantation, avoiding "land mines" aka horse doody, and hiked to some waterfalls. It was so lush down there and I brought back a branch of green coffee beans. Julio told us an amazing story about Bertos life on growing the plantation and I just felt honored to be there. My plan is to share my experience with the coffee buyers at starbucks and ask them to visit the plantation. You never know.
Erick recommended a place called Biggest for dinner because he said the cheeseburgers were amazing. I was down seeing that I am a cheeseburger connoisseur. I'm sorry to say that it didn't live up to the hype. We did however go next door to mister coffee who offers combo meals like soup and a donut, hotdog and a donut and hot pocket and a donut. It was fantastic! I highly recommend the donuts!
That was the day! Tomorrow we share our faith on the campus and help at the church with some building and cleaning needs. Looking forward to it!
Hasta luego!
Today was another full day. We got together this morning and had a "light" breakfast and some time together. Last night on the way home I fell alseep on jorge's shoulder and he shared that this morning that he didn't mind at all because he's always wanted to be closer to me. In an odd way, I was encouraged by that. Sara said it wa s a good thing I didn't fall asleep on her shoulder because she would have slapped me and told her boyfriend. Gravity was with me.
We headed up toward la palma where we were going to have "second breakfast" at this amazing restaurant but after an hour long drive we got there and it was closed. Apparently that is just par for the course with our tour guide, Julio, who is a great guy but maybe not the best planner. We did get to walk around the grounds which were amazing and had some fruit I've never seen before. There was a monkey and jorge acquired a holy gourd.
After that we went into la palma to find some place to eat and found a beautiful hotel with some amazing food. While we were waiting for our food we went down to explore the river (or rather stream) and i took off on my own little adventure to a nearby suspension bridge. Erick decided to to make a nature video about me. Then we did some shopping. La palma is the equivalent of Venice or the east village. It's a town full of artisans. The artwork there is beautiful and I took full advantage. It was also pouring rain which I was loving! I got to utilize my poncho. I also found out that I am a pretty decent haggler. Even with my limited Spanish I was makin some sweet deals.
After la palma we headed to passe tiempos coffee plantation. I was really looking forward to this and I was not let down. The plantation was beautiful especially in the clouds and the rain. The owner, Berto, was incredibly hospitable and made us coffee from the plantation and there was a dog sitting in a chair. Much to the amusement of everyone else I pulled out my starbucks black apron and held a coffee tasting seminar with everyone. I also got my picture taken with Berto. He was so moved that I would come and visit his farm that he gave me the last bag of coffee that he had for that season. What a great experience. We then headed down into the plantation, avoiding "land mines" aka horse doody, and hiked to some waterfalls. It was so lush down there and I brought back a branch of green coffee beans. Julio told us an amazing story about Bertos life on growing the plantation and I just felt honored to be there. My plan is to share my experience with the coffee buyers at starbucks and ask them to visit the plantation. You never know.
Erick recommended a place called Biggest for dinner because he said the cheeseburgers were amazing. I was down seeing that I am a cheeseburger connoisseur. I'm sorry to say that it didn't live up to the hype. We did however go next door to mister coffee who offers combo meals like soup and a donut, hotdog and a donut and hot pocket and a donut. It was fantastic! I highly recommend the donuts!
That was the day! Tomorrow we share our faith on the campus and help at the church with some building and cleaning needs. Looking forward to it!
Hasta luego!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Chapter 32- Adventures of a Gringo
Yes, miracles of miracles I am blogging and from El Salvador no less. I couldn't let the opportunity pass to fill you on one of the grandest adventures yet. I mean, my blog is called "In Search of a Story" and this qualifies as quite the story, si?
I've only been here two days and already this trip seems full. We got in yesterday at 7:40AM after taking a red-eye flight and everyone was delirious with exhaustion. We went to our host homes and napped and then Mario our host took Erick and I out "on the town" for some ridiculously good sushi then down to a beach town to see fireworks, eat ceviche, watch some UFC and sit by some of the most incredible waves I've ever seen. I learned that El Salvador has one of the top ten beaches for surfing. So last night really felt more like a vacation than a mission. But it was much need to recharge and be ready to give this morning.
Erick and I woke up and had an amazing breakfast prepared for us by Carmen, Mario's in house maid (we are staying with one of the more wealthy brothers). Huevos and frijoles con queso with steamed milk kinda like hot horchata and Salvadoran tortillas. We headed to service and were bombarded with love and welcome from all the brothers and sisters. I was a little overwhelmed and forgot any Spanish I knew and just nodded and smiled. The music was amazing. I sat there with a big grin on my face as they sang some familiar tunes in spanish and some new ones as well. I didn't understand everything but the heart was golden. Jay preached a powerful message on what true freedom is and how we have to come to terms with how helpless we are to fully experience freedom. Afterward we had some time of fellowship. I did the best I could with what little spanish I know. I said "Mucho gusto" a lot.
After church we went to eat some amazing steak and then headed out to visit some of the poor families in the church. The first was Inez who is battling cancer right now. The joy that her and her family has is remarkable and humbling. They all live in a tiny space yet they opened up their home and treated us with such amazing hospitality. We got to give them clothes and also let Ynez know that the Turning Point family is providing for her to continue radiation treatment for her cancer. She was so moved and grateful for the generosity and how God has blessed her. One thing she said was "Even though I am sick, I know God is making me perfect."
Next we visited Christian and Noemi and their family. They have been Christians for a little over a year and also live in humble circumstances. Christian shared with us how he was brought out to church. He was so touched that we would take the time to come visit him. I asked him what his favorite scripture was and he said Revelation 3: something about "the time is now and those who have ears let them hear." He said we need to hear with the ears of our heart and not our head. He mentioned the scripture in Revelation about "I stand at the door and knock" and how we need to close the doors to what is bad and start opening the doors to the good.
The last home we visited was William and Gloribel. It was truly third world living conditions, yet the joy was so apparent on their faces. William even shared his favorite scripture from proverbs about how God knows exactly how much to give us so we don't struggle. That was so powerful considering where we were standing. Their shower and kitchen were outside. They basically cook on top of corrugated metal. Their kids are adorable. Steven is a character and definitely likes the spotlight. I felt I identified with him a lot. Emily is just too cute for her own good.
All of these families we got to give clothes and other things to and also pray for them. It was very moving and I'm still processing it all, but I am already feeling more connected and convicted about continuing to help my family here.
I have to admit, I had some feelings of insecurity mostly due to the language barrier. It was hard to connect sometimes and I felt helpless. I am a very performance oriented individual so I wanted to do something and not knowing exactly what was very frustrating. What was tough for me to wrap my mind around was that I could be encouraging and beneficial by just being there. There was so much gratitude for us just being present and it was quite humbling to experience that. It's also amazing to know that I represent something much larger than myself. I represent the love of a family 6,000 miles away and am just a vessel, a symbol if you will, for that love and God's love here in El Salvador.
The people are just incredible here and I can't wait to get to know them more and more. Tomorrow we are going to a coffee plantation which is very exciting for me being a master of coffee and all. There is so much more I could write but then it'd be a book. I am looking forward to the impact God is going to make using us here. It's just beginning.
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