Trip to the Country

In preparation for the campaign next week, Hayden and I went to Aguilares with Guillermo and Pastor Manuel.  Our task was to make contact with the principal at a poor school and ask if they would let our team share a lesson on forgiveness in the classrooms and then distribute clothes, including more of the dresses made by the ladies from First Baptist, Ferguson, to those children who were in need.

Pastor Manuel picked a school "out in the country," which meant it was at the end of a gravel/dirt road.  He had never been to that particular school, so before we went in he prayed for God to bless our visit and provide us an opportunity to share the gospel with the kids during the upcoming campaign.  We got out of the car and a student opened the gate.  As we approached the principal, he recognized Pastor Manuel--he had previously been a teacher in a different school in Aguilares where Pastor Manuel had visited.  God was so faithful to bless our visit.

We were able to schedule to return with the team next Tuesday morning to share in the classrooms and pass out all of the donated clothes that the team brings.

Water Problems

Over the past year and a half, our building has had some problems with the water service.  Last Tuesday a pipe in the basement of the apartment building broke and disrupted water to the building.  We didn't know it then, but the whole building would be without water for 48 hours. 

As of last Thursday, they have a temporary solution in place; there are above-ground pipes running from the water pump to the water source.  We don't know when they will dig up the concrete and bury the pipes.

Hayden's Here

My blogging has been sporadic and tardy for the last couple of months.  I just finished blogging about the most recent campaign which ended on May 21.  There was, however, another important event that took place on May 21.  It was the day that Hayden arrived.

Hayden is from Faith Baptist in North Carolina and is here (at least) for the summer.  He is interviewing for a teaching job in three of the English-speaking private schools here in San Salvador.  In the meantime, he's going to be helping with the youth at Vida Nueva and with all of the summer campaigns. He's stayiing with a family from the church so he can work on his Spanish.  

Please pray that God will reveal his plan for Hayden, and that he will receive a job offer to teach during the 2016-17 school year.

A Different Kind of Wedding Shower

One of the things I like about being in El Salvador is that they often do traditional things in untraditional ways.  Last Sunday evening we went to a formal dinner/wedding shower for Steven Whitley and Lorena Canizales.  As you can see we got all dressed up for the party.

Steven and Lorena's story started when Steven came on a mission trip to Nicaragua with his church.  Lorena's dad is the pastor of one of our two church sites in Nicaragua and she and her siblings are great translators.  I don't know who paired them up, but it was the first step of the journey they are on now.  If Lorena's visa is approved in time, they are planning an August wedding in North Carolina, 

It was fun to be a part of their special night.

May Campaign, Part 3

We started going to schools on Monday morning; the team shared the Sexual Purity lesson each morning.  As usual, the impact on the students was evident and there were many professions of faith each day.  

On Wednesday, we made our very first visit to the Instituto Nacional General Francisco Menedez, one of the largest and most prestigious public schools in San Salvador.  Students must apply for entrance in to this vocational high school, where they can major in nursing, tourism, business as well as several other careers.  As always when we are at a school for the first time, Guillermo is anxious to see the reaction of the students, teachers and administration.  We're happy to say that they were thrilled and invited us to return as soon as possible.  

On Friday morning we visited a very poor school in Aguilares; a school which Pastor Manuel, Guillermo and I had visited the week prior to the campaign.  The three of us visited with the principal and shared that we had about 100 handmade dresses to give to the girls in the school.  The dresses were made by several of the ladies of First Baptist, Ferguson, so it was only fitting for the team to be able to distribute them when they were here.  The team shared the lesson in the older grades; afterwards, at the principal's direction, we distributed the reversible dresses to some very happy little girls.    

May Campaign, Part 2

Sunday morning church was at the hotel, as usual, and everyone on the team seemed to enjoy the service.  While they had a few hours rest in the afternoon before the first campaign of the week.

We were in one of the Apopa neighborhoods on Sunday night and it didn't even rain.  (There seems to be an unusual correlation between Apopa campaigns and rainouts.)  All but two of the team were rookies, but they learned quickly.  

May Campaign, Part 1

We welcomed a team of 12 people from First Baptist, Ferguson, Missouri, to El Salvador on Saturday afternoon.  Don Laity joined the team, as well.  The Vida Nueva youth had a celebration for their mother's on Saturday night, so we were not able to schedule a family festival.  

We had orientation at the hotel at 4:00 p.m. and then Guillermo picked everyone up in the van and we went to Los Planes for a bit of tourism and some of the best pupusas in the country.  We had the opportunity to go to one of the national parks named, Puerto del Diablo (Devil's Doorway) which got it's name for the whistling sounds produced by the wind blowing between the clefts in the rocky precipices.  We did not have time to make the climb to the top, nor were we brave enough to zip line across the chasm.  

 

Our next stop was Coty's pupusaria.  She and Guillermo have been friends for more than ten years so it is one of our favorite spots for the Salvadoran specialty.  Mark Cote, the Ferguson team leader, was treated to the "giant" birthday pupusa.  

As I have often said, it's a very, very rare person who doesn't like pupusas and this team was no different--100% loved them.

Visiting California, Part 4

We finished our time in California celebrating as a family.  Saturday night we had dinner together at Fiesta del Mar, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  

It's always a special Mother's Day if I can be with my kids and grandkids.  Church on Sunday morning and then a walk at Shoreline Park.